Spring Fever

So Spring is officially here, but it hasn't come in full force to Malta yet. There have been some warmer sunny days, even a beach BBQ, but it's still too cold for me. We also haven't sprung forward an hour yet, so I'm stuck in this winter one day, spring the next sort of vibe. I know at some point I will regret saying this, but I really want it to warm up here.

Luckily, I've been busy with my final capstone paper, the last paper for my last class of this degree. I basically holed myself up in this cold, cold house so I could concentrate on finishing this thing. This method sort of backfired, though, I think I just drove myself crazy, and really think I managed my time better when I had more going on the fill it up. But somehow it was turned in last week, and now I just have a few more things to wrap up before presenting it the last week of April. I can now return to the land of the living:)

So this week, I am focusing on my final assignments, finishing up some volunteer work and starting the search for a new place to live. Our lease is finally up end of April, and we would like to be in the new place by mid April, due to the above mentioned presentation and a visit from Brian's parents in early May. I don't want to be between places internet-wise, not knowing where I'll be able to do the presentation, plus I want to be slightly settled for the parents' visit.

But it hasn't just been all work and no play these past few months! I managed to squeeze in some Carnival festivities in Valletta, and take a day trip with friends for some much needed relaxing and sightseeing. From Carnival:

 And from the warm(ish) day of exploring :

Update, and What I Am Doing for the Superbowl

Sleeping. Because it doesn't start until midnight here.

There is a bar in Balutta Bay that is showing the Superbowl, and Brian is headed there now.

 I've never been much of a sports person, with the exception of my very brief stint as a cheerleader. And that was so long ago cheer leading wasn't yet a sport, per se, mostly just jumping and waving pom poms. Which, if anyone really knows me, they know I'm not the cheerleader type, so I'm not even sure how or why that all happened in the first place.

Proof that long ago - I had spirit, yes I did

However, I do like hockey, and thoroughly enjoyed the two soccer games I have been to. I've never had a particular team affiliation, or felt any emotion if I team I was watching lost. Is that a "guy" thing? I don't think so. As an outsider, watching people get excited about sports is pretty fascinating. And the soccer fans here seem pretty intense. All the same, I will miss the usual Superbowl party with our friends.

This past week has been a long one. I've been working on a paper and presentation, and for some reason, second guessing myself on a lot of things. I have no idea why. It's my last class, I could write this paper in my sleep, but I just keep...over-thinking it, I suppose. I need to remember to step away from the desk every once in a while and think about something else.

That's about it, really. I will leave you with a cute picture of my dog, since there clearly aren't enough of those floating around Facebook:

Hope everyone has a good week!

Deeep Thoughts

Have you ever wondered how some people just seem to understand who they are, and "get" life effortlessly? Then there are others, who take a little more time figuring things out? I fall into the latter category. 

 I remember a sort of crossroads in my life. I was eighteen and had just graduated high school in Orlando. I wanted to get out, to do…something. But I didn't know what. I had toyed with the idea of going away to college, away from home, just to have a new experience. But my grades were awful, I was more interested in going out, so I started looking at community colleges in town.

There was a hurricane coming. I sat on the couch, looking out the living room through the bars on the windows (not the greatest of neighborhoods) at the looming storm, and my mom sat down to talk to me. She asked me why I was considering staying. She told me she didn't want me to end up like she did, she wanted more for me. My mom then proceeded to call the out of state college I was interested in, eventually getting me acceptance on conditional status.

So I left for college. But I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Like many, I partied my way through four years, which became five. In the end, I had no better idea of who I was or what I wanted to be. If anything, I was more confused.

My twenties were a blur of dead end administrative jobs because WHO KNEW that my liberal arts degree was useless unless I wanted to teach?? I was swimming in a sea of student loan debt, and my personality changed depending on whomever I was dating. If the term "hot mess" had been in use at the time, my picture would have sufficed as a definition.

After a particularly destructive relationship, I went home. My family had migrated to a different state by then, but they took me in and let me get myself together, without judging me (to my face). Part of my "healing" was a self-imposed hiatus from dating. I needed to figure out who I was apart from anyone else getting in the way. Five years later, I met Brian, and the rest, they say, is history.

The strangest thing of all is that it took me nearly twenty years to figure out who I was, to essentially go back to the person I was before I left for college. Seems like such a waste. I really envy those classmates of mine who seemed to have all the answers, were responsible and now have teenagers and amazing careers. But, if I hadn't gone through all that, I wouldn't have met Brian,  I wouldn't be in Malta, I wouldn't have finally found a career that is, to me, more interesting and fulfilling than I could ever hope for, etc, etc.

Regrets? Yes, I have several. The fact I missed out on so many family events during my wandering years. The fact that I let life lead me for so long, rather than the other way around. That awful tattoo I got when I was nineteen, serving as my permanent reminder of my youth and stupidity.

We all have our own paths, I guess. 

Finally, happy.

Home Again, Home Again...

I guess it has been a while since I have posted anything, but I have had a much needed break from school, and just needed some rest overall. We went back to the U.S. in December, and honestly, I think I slept until ten every day that I could. I'm trying to get back into a schedule again, but it has been so hard getting out of my bed with the heated mattress pad!! Seriously, go out and get one of those.

I started the last class of the MLIS (Master of Library and Information Science) program, and I'm beyond excited about graduating. Finally decided on a topic for my capstone paper, and will be working with the National Archives project in order to write that paper. Again, beyond excited:)

It was so nice to see family and friends over the vacation, but there were so many that we missed. It also seemed like we did a lot of running around, buying things we can't find over here. While I loved every minute of the trip, I found myself really looking forward to coming back to Malta. It's strange, before we left, I was in sort of a funk, frustrated with things here, stressing myself out. We came back, and it was almost like a switch was flipped, nothing seems to bother me anymore. Sure, little things are annoying, but nothing compared to how I felt before the vacation. Maybe I just needed copious amounts of sleep.

Broadway Street in Nashville

Did you know there is a Parthenon in Nashville?

The one day I saw snow

(Too)Short visit to Atlanta

Back home again:)

Santas Most Wanted

So, obviously, there aren't many chimneys here in Malta, which is slightly problematic since this is Santa's preferred method for magically appearing and bringing toys.  For the past few weeks, we have been seeing Malta's solution to this problem. We like to refer to it as Santa Breaking and Entering, or just Santa B&E :

It makes sense. There are tons of balconies here, and it would be the easiest way into the house.

The Maltese are also really into nativity scenes, they call them cribs. We took a walk last night and saw so many little scenes in windows along the alleys. They do decorate with lights here, but not anything like in the U.S. It will be fun to see the differences in decorations when we visit next week.

Or actually, tomorrow! I am so excited. We fly out tomorrow afternoon, and will be spending the night in Frankfurt with our friends, can't wait to see them! We also hope to have a little bit of time to walk around the Christmas markets. Then we're off to D.C. on Tuesday morning.

See you soon!

Home For Christmas

Winter in Iowa - Skating on the ice rink my dad made.

 
I know it has been a while since I've written anything, but I have been crazy busy with finishing up my papers, and my class. One. More. To. Go. Really can't wait.

My class was technically finished last week, but I am still just sort of out of it, brain-wise. A month ago I had tons of ideas on what to write about, and now that I have the time, I mostly stare at the screen, watch bad TV on Hulu, or further feed my addiction to beauty blogs and vlogs.

I am also getting ready for a trip back to the U.S. for Christmas. We'll be flying to D.C. on the 17th, staying for a few days and then driving down to Brian's parents' house in Virginia for the actual holiday. The day after Christmas, we'll drive over to my parents' place in Nashville. New Years Eve will be in Atlanta, and we'll start driving back on January first, flying out of D.C. again on the third.

I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone, and hopefully a little snow! Last weekend I made cookies and we listened to Christmas music, the table all pretty with lit candles and the poinsetta our landlord gave us. It is the first time it has felt like Christmas here. It helps that it is definitely getting cold. And little by little, Malta is starting to decorate for the holiday. I'll be taking some pictures and posting them before we leave.

My family Christmas traditions were pretty much the same every year. One present to open on Christmas Eve (always pajamas), opening up the rest the next morning. We would have a big dinner later that afternoon or evening, but there was a relaxed, lazy Sunday sort of feel to the day. I would always take all my gifts after we unwrapped them and put them on my bed.

Of course, there were the few odd Christmases, where everything didn't go as planned. There was the year that my mom was REALLY sick and couldn't make dinner. And the year of the ice storm, where half the family was at my parents, and half was at my sister's house down the street. A tree fell over the driveway and blocked us from leaving, so we did Christmas the next day. Much egg nog was had that day.

Yeah, the present in this picture gives away how old I am

Still can't get over how glasses made popular by Sally Jessie Raphael are back in style

Merry Christmas!

My Non-Traditional Family

This isn't even all of us

Now that Halloween is over, I have been thinking a lot about the upcoming holidays. I can't believe Thanksgiving is in just a week! I have some gluten free cornbread mix (thanks, Betty!) that I can't wait to make into dressing.  We are trying to coordinate some sort of Thanksgiving dinner party where we will eat tons of food and try and possibly watch some of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, even if I have to watch bits and pieces of it on You Tube.  

In my family, Thanksgiving has been the big family get-together, as opposed to Christmas which was much more laid back and usually included napping at some point. You see, when my parents got divorced, they wanted to make a point of remaining friends, which had to have been difficult for them, especially after they remarried. Right away, Thanksgiving became the holiday that the whole family spent together – exes, new spouses, new siblings, sometimes friends. 

I remember we often "adopted" friends, who spent endless days and countless holidays at our house. This happened before the divorce, but seemed to happen more often after. Maybe we all understood at that point that sometimes family is not mandated by blood. From the start, my siblings were my siblings, never half or step siblings. My parents would even stay at each others' houses over these holidays, with their new families, resulting in homes that were bursting at the seams. At times, we could barely find enough spaces to eat. Our traditional Thanksgivings were loud and chaotic, with occasional hospital trips. 

I never realized how strange my situation was compared to others with divorced parents. Over the years, there has been tension here and there, but that's to be expected and it always seems to get resolved. Even now, over twenty years has passed since the split and all the children are adults, but the tradition continues. And for that, I am very thankful.