Midweek Randoms and Giveaway Winners announced

*This week has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. TLS was supposed to deploy in less than 3 weeks. Things around here got crazy trying to buy him extra uniforms, boots, get all of his shots, and outprocess. I was pretty much running around like a chicken without a head. It was not a situation that we were happy about, but at least we knew what was going on. We knew where he was going, what the dates were, what he'd be doing, etc. I had made plans to go move back to the States for 4 months and travel to see my friends and family and be with my cousin when she had her baby. This morning, when TLS got to work, he got news that his position is no longer needed and his deployment got cancelled. We should be happy at this news. We really should. But I am incredibly Type A and like to have a set plan of what's going on. We had that. Now we don't know anything. The next deployment that comes up to T's squadron is automatically his, no questions asked. So he may very well end up going to a much worse location, for a longer period of time. Yippee.

*I've led a sheltered life. I never had tried Crystal Light before in my life. A few days ago, I was at the commissary and decided to just go for it and buy a box. It was so good that I had to get another. And then another. And then, you know, another. And then I ended up ordering the Mocktail flavors off Amazon. We have a 1 liter Paulaner beer mug in our kitchen that is now being used to hold Crystal Light packets. T might have cried a bit over the mug's sad fate.

*Since we don't know where T will be going, or when, we can't make many summer travel plans. However, we are still hoping that now we can actually get to spend our one year anniversary together. We made a reservation at what is quite possibly my favorite restaurant in the whole wide world- Hiltl in Zurich. Love it. Insane amounts. Can not wait to go back.

*Speaking of our anniversary- can we talk about the fact that we have been married for nearly 10 months now and still don't have any fancy China? We couldn't agree on a pattern when we were registering (cue heated debate in Bed, Bath, and Beyond with a very confused-looking registry attendant) so we eventually just agreed to disagree and not register for China. We figured that eventually, somewhere down the road, we would find something that we both loved and would start buying it ourselves piece by piece. That day has finally come- we picked a pattern. Hallelujah.

Vera Wang Vera Lace by Wedgwood

The funny part? This was the pattern that I originally wanted to register for and someone didn't want to because he didn't like the lace on it. Now he loves that same lace. Go figure.

*A Bubble Tea shop opened up in our town. It's exactly a 15 minute walk from our house. I know this because I have walked there and back several times now. It is incredible and reminds me of being back in the city again. I love it.

*How cute are these Snoopy lip balms?

Kimmie sent them to me and I am in love! It's always nice to have a little Snoopy in your purse to brighten an otherwise dreary day.

*Teddy, the Teddy bear I got the day I was born, lost an eye button recently. I was ok when he lost his bow and his mouth back in elementary school, but the eye button kind of sent me over the edge. (I was having a really rough week and was getting ready for T to leave - see the first bullet again- and was already an emotional mess.) I started crying uncontrollably. T tried to rush him to the tailor for emergency surgery, and got there half an hour after they closed. Insert more tears here. The tailor laughed when T brought him in. I finally got him back today and he looks distinguished although he does have a slight scar (not even joking) from where the tailor had to pinch him to make the stitch. For any Ramstein/KMC area parents who might be reading this: if your child ever has an accident and his or her stuffed animal requires emergency surgery, the Turkish tailor by Vogelweh does not charge for minor animal surgery.

the morning of our wedding- getting ready together

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for- the giveaway winners.

Not Soap, Radio Lip Balm: Palmetto Belle

Lemon & Line Bracelet Set: Susan

Congratulations you lucky ladies! Email me at whaleflipflops {@} gmail{.}com and I will tell you how to get your prizes!