busy bee.

as my neighbor melissa pointed out, i must be busy, because i haven't even blogged *lol*
between work, moving, the kids, and life in general, things are just really really busy. not a bad busy. just a busy busy. so i promise. as soon as i get a free second, i will update my blog :)

birthday present craftiness.

i just finished this cute i spy bag for my friend's daughter.

here's the back:

i know that the stitching isn't perfect, but part of that is because i'm still learning, and part of it is because i wanted to make sure that it was super secure, so i went over the lines a whole bunch of times.

and then i found this great cupcake gift bag! how could i resist buying it??

so that's what her little gift is going in.

hopefully she'll be as entertained by it as my 12 year old and all his friends were *lol*

busy.

okay. sorry i haven't been keeping up with the blog. between being busy and busy, i'm just sort of busy.. ;)
here's the short and sweet of what's going:
i won a turkish chest at the icsc bingo! *woo hoo* (i'll post pictures when i get copies)
still taking classes; i think i'm almost done.
nonno is here! YAY!
poor olivia has a really bad rash.
all of my kids have taken turns being sick.
and getting the keys to our new house has been moved up to the 1st of march; however we know which house number is ours!! :)
and i'm still working at the thrift store and loving it!
okay, on to the pictures:
nonno and his boys:

olympia finally warming up to nonno:

olivia wearing the pretty dress that zia sent her (she's sick, hence the red cheeks, but she still wanted to "pose"):

brandon loving his goodies from zia:

that's it for now. i have to go to class, so i gotta hop off here. and yes, i'm really going to class so stop laughing andreana!

one more vent.

i hate ebay sellers who won't ship to apo. thanks for supporting us military people overseas who have a hard time getting crap anyways.
you suck.
there i said it!
now you can return to what you were doing.

8675309

ha ha. yes, i know, i'm quite witty.
for the record, i can't find my phone.
i have two.
they are both lost.
so if you are trying to call; feel free to leave a message
which i probably won't return.
crap.

my very own top ten.

this is where i spent my time on the web. in no particular order.

www.myspace.com
www.facebook.com
www.craftster.org
www.splitcoaststampers.com
www.etsy.com
www.perezhilton.com
www.google.com
www.potterybarn.com
www.ebay.com
www.lisarcastic.blogspot.com (to check out all the fun blogs i subscribe to.)

twitter...

seriously?
i don't get it.
i'm there.
but confused.

-lisavengesta

reading between the lines.

i love song lyrics.
modern poetry.
and quiet.
angst progressing.
torn between
what's right
and what's right now.
it's easy to
make the choices
when the shoes
belong to someone else.
even funny girls
get the blues.

what i'm really getting.

okay. so i was kidding about the last bed. this is the one that i think i'm really going to get for olivia and brandon's room. trying to find a few different prices and go w/ the best deal. and i want a different color. still all those built in drawers are nice and i like that the bottom bed isn't attached.

mark said no.

he said olivia already thinks she's a princess and this would just really give her a complex *lol* he maybe right ;)

wearing my heart on my sleeve.

i feel like everything i'm feeling is constantly written across my face.
i can feel it creep up, and i hate it. or maybe it's just my imagination, and i'm only projecting on the fact that i can read it on everyone else's face.
today i'm just really tired.
that's it.
i'm so not as exciting as perez hilton.

moving woes.

why is it that when i have tons of stuff to do; ie packing, making plans, getting rid of stuff; that's when my kids want to fight, or argue or make messes? (more than usual anyway)
normally i'm pretty laid back; but they are stressin' me out today. i know that part of it is just wanting to hurry up and move (or at least be slightly prepared to move!) and i don't want to move things that i don't need; especially considering that we are moving ourselves.
i mean, who wants to keep broken toys, clothes that are too small, and just random crap that you only get rid of when a move comes along?? this is the perfect time. i love purging my house of stuff that i don't need.
now if only i could get the kids to work together.

not everyone has kids that are as cool as mine!

i love my kids. they crack me up. this is just one more example!

i come home and download new pictures off my camera, and this is what i find:

admit it; i know you were laughing! ;)

ps. happy birthday matt! and thanks for reading my blog so faithfully *lol*

WE ARE MOVING!!

so i get a call from my husband (who's a known practical joker!) telling me that we've been offered one of the nice NEW housing units on base. so of course, i'm convinced he's lying until he forwards me the e:mail! i almost fell out of my chair!! and as my trembling fingers called the housing office, i'm still waiting for the punch line... but true to his word, we did get offered a house because of our family size and the length remaining on our tour.
i can't put into words how happy i am. i've come to terms with our older housing; i've accepted that there's good and bad wherever you live; but this is just exciting and totally unexpected!! the only thing is that we have to move ourselves; which is no biggie because we've done it before. so now, i'm making a mental list of what there is to do!!
i won't miss our itty bitty kitchen, our ugly stairs, or the peeling tile. i will miss living next to melissa and being right next to the school.
okay. off to start preparing. i love moving. i know that's crazy, but change is something that i crave... must be the A.D.D. ;)

thank God for extensions!

turns out that the only things on are overseas list were: Kunsan, Osan, (both korea) Alaska, and 1 slot to Aviano. those aren't very good odds; so i'm definately not complaining about staying here an extra year!

olivia's potty.

i buy her a potty and this is what she thinks it's for:

i guess it's all about doll accessories these days ;)

Marko is testing today.

So stop what you are doing and say a quick prayer for him! :)

i spy camo circle bag.

i was going for something more boyish and recycled *lol*

i made my own.

these little i spy bags are so much fun! so i finally broke down and made my own. had i known that i could do this; i could have saved myself a cool $30 dollars at christmas time! (i bought one for brandon AND olivia!) not bad for my first attempt (i added the taggies because those are my new favorite things!) i made this first one for my friend's classroom, but i will have more up in my etsy shop eventually; give me time; finding the stuff to put in them is not as easy as you would think *lol*

hot mess.

that says it all.
sums up my mood and all the things that go with it.
the worst part of internet blogging is the things that people read into what you are saying. the best part is saying what you mean, and not having anyone understand it.
i feel like i am at a standstill.
it's a battle of wills, and i'm not sure which way to go, or even where to put it all.
i feel like i have no idea what i am supposed to be doing, so i'm just playing along. it's not good. it's not bad. and the indifference is driving me insane.
i want to be more connected than i really am.
i am craving something.
and coming away absolutely empty handed.
i feel bad for wanting more than what i have.

sam.

it's official, my son is joining the four eyes club. poor little guy needs glasses. so, i just ordered them, and hopefully they'll get here soon; i'll be sure to post pictures.

turning those lemons into lemonade.

i have a confession to make.

however before i start, let me begin by saying, "if you can't say nothing nice, then feel free to keep your comments to yourself."

i <3 the power outages that we randomly have here in turkey.

i know, i know. they are inconvienent, i do find myself making references to things that i need power for (ie; cook it in the microwave; or randomly turning on the lights) however, the last few power outage days have been so... relaxing.

it's one time that i don't have to listen to tv, or hear the kids fighting over videogames. as a family we tend to do more together, and even just make random conversation. that's nice.

people spend so much time griping about them. i'm pretty sure if they put that energy into figuring out something fun to do, then their whole perspective would change!

take a look at what we did today:

the first part of the day was spent crafting. i worked on these super cute taggie bean bags for my etsy shop (which is currently empty; and i need to rectify that!) and well, since i couldn't use my sewing machine for obvious reasons; i spent the morning cutting and peicing the project together.

while i worked on that, mark decided to add to our peg people collection (which will also be joining my etsy shop here in the next few days) he made: a zombie, mr. t, a skeleton, batman, and a ninja.

after that we took a break and took the kids to the park, here's a few really cute shots.

when we got home, i spent some time taking pictures of the older boys skating:

then daddy took a nap with his princess; she was worn out from the park and fell right asleep :)

i don't know, i just think it was a really good way to end the weekend. enough fun was had that it felt super productive; and while yeah, some things about no power are a pain (peeing in the dark, and having an electric stove) all i can think is that at least for one day we are stopping to smell the roses and not getting so caught up in the world of technology (said by the girl who loves to blog)!