Back On-line

Guess what?  I am connected.  The lovely guys from Cytanet showed up at my house on Thursday and got me connected.  Can you believe it?  I am so H A P P Y!

So, what was the first thing you think I did?  Well, actually the 3rd thing I did?  I went shopping.  I ordered some really great stuff from Close To  My Heart. A few things coming in my order are:

Olivia Level 2 paper packet...love this paper.  The clolors.  The patterns.  So pretty. 

Hooligans.  Is this just not so stinkin' cute.  I mean come on.  I had to have the Hooligans Level 2 Assortment of adhesive-back felt monsters to go with.  You know what I am sayin'. 

And the thing that is really getting me excited is the new How-To book Magic.  The Magic book will show me (us) how to bring inter-active elements into your layouts.  How cool!

All that gorgeous paper from the new Idea Book.  I can't wait to get my hands on it.  After I ordered my goodies, I uploaded all 587 pictures I have taken in the past month.  That took a few hours.

I also wanted to share a few photos from our first day out here in Cyprus.  We headed down to the coast and stopped in Limossal before touring an old Knights Templar castle (that was a winery) and then some Roman ruins.  Enjoy!

On the board walk in Limossal.  

Kolossi Castle.  Built by the Knights Templar a forbidding fortress that exemplifies medieval building skills.  Built to withistand attacks the walls are about 3 feet thick.  The Knights also made wine here. 

Okay the walls are more like 5 feet thick.  This is a window seat.  The windows were strategically set small to keep out heat, cold and arrows.

The view from the top of the castle looking inland north of Limossal.  Love that little chapel in the foreground.

We are now in Kourion.  The boys are sitting in an Roman amphitheater. Amazing!  This amphitheater is still used today for concerts, theater, jazz and classical events. And check out that view of the Mediterranean Sea.  Those Romans certainly knew the value in location, location, location.

I threw this pic in cause he's cute.  ;)

Also thought you could get a better view of the theater seating.  This amphitheater can seat 3,500.  Back in the day you would have watched gladiators go head to head with wild beasts or watched a Roman production of some farce or drama.  Cool!

This, to me, is awesome (okay, I am a geek - History major), we are looking at the tile mosaic from a Roman home.  I know the color is kind of blown out (sorry), but again, the view is stunning looking over the sea and farm lands.

I'm Here

Hello Everyone,

Can you believe that it is already the middle of September?  Crazy!

We of the McDonald Clan are slowly getting settled in our new home.  Well, I am the only one who is slow about the settling.  My husband is working and not much in his daily life has changed, except his commute - all of a half a mile now.  My kiddos are in school and loving it.  This week is swimming for PE.  Yes, there is a pool on campus.  The kids are making new friends and really enjoying this new environment.


Me, let's just say that I am not totally digging it right now.  To be fair that is mainly do to the fact that I am house bound.  I have no car.  I have no internet.  I can only go to the places I can get to on foot.  Which doesn't sound that bad, but walking here is not so easy.  Public transport is unreliable where it exsists.  Luckily, I can walk to my hubbies work and use his computer.  Of course this only works when he is in the building. Last week he was in a ton of meetings at other buildings so I could not get on-line at all.  That bugs me because I have an on-line life in addition to my real life.  Additionally, right now the only way I can communicate with my friends is via the net. So when You can't get on-line it is a real bummer.


Whoo, I feel better now.  I was hoping to get some pictures up for y'all to see. We'll see if this works. I have to do some fancey computer work here, as I don't want to save these pictures to this computer.  So fingers crossed.....Success!

When we left the states we took a weeks holiday in Germany to visit some great friends and to do a little sightseeing.  We flew into Munich and spent the first day of our visit walking around.   This is the Glockenspiel in Munich city center.  So lovely. 

From Munich we took the train to Garmish.  What an amazingly beautiful place.  It is simply breath taking.
This picture is at the top of the Zugspitz, the top of Germany.  We took a cog-train to the first tower and then a gondola to the top.  We were able to walk across a bridge to the Austrian side of the Zuggy and had lunch.

See that cable tower.  That is how we got down from the Zugspitz.  A gondola straight down and then a cog-train back to Garmish.  We got off the train in Garmish and walked around the town for a bit.  Lovely.  Then we decided we would walk back to our hotel.  We were having a nice relaxing stroll when we saw the clouds begin to darken.  So we picked up the pace a little.  Then it drizzled.  Well, we were to far from town to turn back, so we carried on.  Over half way to the hotel it poured rain, like a lot of rain.  We were totally soaked.  And guess who was wearing white cotton capris?  Fun.  Anyway, it was fun. We got back to the hotel.  Took hot showers, opened a bottle of wine and sat on the terrace watching the clouds roll off of the Zugspitz.  Cei'la Vie.

Had to share this picture of the typical Bavarian houses in and around Garmish.  Too, lovely. Yeah, I took this picture on our stroll back, see the clouds,  it wasn't raining yet.

When you are in Bavaria you can not not go to the Neuschawnstein castle.  It is a must do. It's a hike to get to this picture spot, but I think the picture was worth every huff and puff I made to get here.

3 Days

Hi All!

This morning I am writing to you from Philly.  We decided to head back a day early from Boston and make a side trip to Philly to see the Liberty Bell.  Can I just say that seeing THE bell in person was much more of an emotional experience than I expected it to be. 

I am a very patriotic person.  I grew up as an Army brat, and proud of it.  I have traveled the world, which has been amazing and great.  I know our country is not perfect.  But, I have to say that as we stand on the threshold of again leaving our home country for 3 years I am more in-tune with the great things our country stands for and has to offer.  So, when we walked up to the Liberty Bell, in all it's simplistic glory, the magnitude of what it symbolizes was just overwhelming.  I stood there with my family for a moment and just marveled in the history that surrounds this old cracked bell.  A tear slid down my cheek as my kids said, "Wow, mom! This is so cool."

Today we head back to Virginia. Sunday we fly to Germany.  That is gonna be some fun.

Have a good one!

T.

Now What?

My house is empty. Everything is either on it's way to our new local or it is being put in a warehouse for the next three years.

So, now what?  Well now we are finishing up some odds and ends around town before we begin the vacation leg of this big move.  As I write this (from our hotel room) my husband is showing his car to a potential buyer....fingers crossed.  Our dog, Toddy, will be going into a kennel for he next 20 days.  My daughter has a birthday party to attend.  The boys are going to spend the afternoon with some friends.  We have to drop our old 1977 International Scout off to a friend who is going to keep it for us for the next three years.  And we have to drive up to Dulles to pick up our rental car.

Tomorrow we are heading up to Baltimore for the day.  A friend of our is going to take us sailing. That is when the relaxing can begin.  I am looking forward to the relaxing bit.  Can't wait to open a good book and just let my mind wander. 

Speaking of good books.......

Love this new mystery series featuring a scrappy scrapbooker, Kiki Lowenstein.


The following is from Joanna Campbell Slan's blog.

The Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-N-Craft Mystery Series

Paper, Scissors, Death - Book #1 in the Kiki Lowensten Scrap-N-Craft Mystery Series

Now available from all major booksellers--Paper, Scissors, Death: A Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-N-Craft Mystery Kiki Lowenstein is a woman who's only ever been good at two things: scrapbooking and getting pregnant. She thinks of others first--with her family being paramount. She is clever and courageous, but she'd never attribute those qualities to herself. She's a bit insecure, a little overweight, and she is always comparing herself with others unfavorably. Because others sense her insecurity, they run right over her--but she never gives up on life, on love, and on the people who are dear to her.

She's a great mother, a terrific friend, and a good decent person with creativity and talent to spare. But her attributes are not those that society typically values or rewards. At least not financially.
When Kiki's husband George is found dead, Kiki's comfortable soccer-mom world turns upside down. Now she must fend for herself and her 11-year-old daughter, Anya.
"You can do this," says Mert, Kiki's best friend and former cleaning lady. "I'm enrolling you in the School of Hard Knocks."
Another friend steps forward to help. Dodie owns Time in a Bottle, Kiki's favorite scrapbook store. She offers Kiki a job, and a shoulder to lean on.
But the "new normal" doesn't last for long: George's college girlfriend turns up dead. Kiki finds herself the prime suspect in a murder-and if she can't solve the "who-dunnit," she may be next on the killer's hit list.

Step 2 & 3

 This was our formal living room.  Although we did not use it as a formal living room.  We used this space as our school room.  Now this is our staging area.  In this space I have 2 piles of stuff...the stuff that will sent via air and the stuff that will go on the boat.  The air shipment is the stuff that we need immediately, like dishes, pans, sheets and towels.  We are whisked from the airport and driven to a home that has been selected for us.  It is a furnished home, but you still need your personal effects. The air shipment will arrive about a week after we do.  Until our air shipment arrives we are given a courtesy box which will have 6 plates, 6 cups, 6 towels, sheets for each bed, you get the idea.  Once we get our air shipment we return the courtesy pack. 

 This is our airship stuff.  Towels, and sheets and all the goodies that will make the new house feel less like a hotel and more like where we live.

 This is all stuff from my very expensive Costco run.  These are the items that, although they have them where we will be living, are terribly expensive.  So I try and stock up on the bare necessities.  The paper plates will be saved for large social gatherings.  The paper napkins as well.  When we live overseas I use mostly cloth napkins, and save the paper for big events.  Other items that will be hard to find are taco seasoning and Montreal Steak seasoning (I can't eat a steak or burger with out the good stuff).

 This is a pile for the slow boat, but it is an important pile.  These are the things that will make a house our home.  The pretty stuff and the personal items.  They are weighty but I will never move without having some of the lovely things that will make a house a sanctuary for my family.

 This seems frivolous, but we have found that keeping the items you use during traditional events with you helps to make the transition easier.  Especially during the holidays.  I did not bring the whole set of dishes, but I did bring enough for a holiday open house.  We have found that when we live overseas we tend to invite several other families over to celebrate.  Thanksgiving is usually a biggie.  We have shared Thanksgiving with 18 additional people in the past.

My family room.  Bare.  The walls are unadorned.  The personality has been striped.  This furniture, all of our furniture, will be put in storage for the next three years.  The fun part will be when we return and we find all the pieces that we missed.  Sometimes I will get a piece out of storage and think...why in the world? Ha!  The fun of moves.

The count down is on. . . we have 7 days left in our house.  Then we will take a little holiday and spend a week in Boston.  Why Boston?  We have never been there, so why not.  After Boston we will spend a week in Germany visiting friends.  And from there we go to our new home.  Once we are set up (and yes, my Mac is in my airshipment - it helps me feel more adjusted) I will post an update. 

For now...I wish you a blessed end of summer. 

The Purge

So, this is what step 1 looks like. A......MESS!!!

The First Step

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to take a minute to stop by and say Hi!  I feel that I have not been sharing very much lately.  I aplogize about that.  But if you bear with me I will get my scrap-on again....soon.

For those of you who are not aware, we are moving and the count down has begun.  This is when my life becomes super crazy, super unpredictable and at times super scheduled. The crazy is how much I jam pack into a day.  The unpredictable is when I pack a little more into my days, usually in the effort to squeeze one last visit in with friends, my friends and my kiddos friends.  The super scheduled is there are certain things that will not be put off course, so I have to get those things done regardless of who I want to visit with or what fun stuff we want to do.  I mean it is crazy time!


Making a move is a huge undertaking. Over the years, and what feels like a lifetime of moving, I have managed to create a four step process to prepare for our moves. I would like to mention that our moves are not little cross town moves, but big changing country moves. So, my process is key to making this whole thing come off successfully.


Step 1: Purge - any and everything that is no longer serving a purpose. All purged items are put into a yard sale. The golden rule for yard sale stuff .... if we put it in the yard sale pile we no longer have a need/purpose/use for it so it does not come back into the house. If an item does not sale then it goes into either the donation pile or straight to the tip.

Step 2: Sorting - this step is key. So to make sure we have a clear picture of what is going and what is being stored I clean out one entire room and that becomes the staging area for items that are shipped overseas and items that are mailed overseas. Whatever is in this room is what we will have for the designated amount of time for the tour. Whatever is not in this room is going into storage for the duration of our tour. By storage I mean packed into boxes, put into a crate and shipped to a warehouse storage.

Step 3: Necessities - these are the items that we will need immediately upon arrival in our new 'home.' These are the items that we can't carry in our luggage due to weight or size or practicality, but stuff that will help us make our new home more comfortable. This is also the stuff that we want before our air shipment arrives. This tends to be personal items like extra underwear and clothes. Other things that we usually will mail to ourselves are our Bose speaker so we can listen to our iPods, some games and, for me I usually send myself some scrapping supplies and my basic scrap kit. Oh, and books! We love to read so I usually mail myself and my kiddos plenty of books to read.

Step 4: Packing Out - this is where I just get to supervise and answer questions. At this point I have minimal control of the situation. I am usually emotionally numb during this stage. But, after the last box is loaded I usually just want a glass of wine and a nap.

So, this Saturday we take the first step. Then it is a snowball of events for the next 3 weeks, until it is finished. I will look forward to that glass of wine and will continue to dream about the nap.

T.