Oooo-oooo, That Smell!

I checked into my hotel room yesterday here at the luxurious National Hotel in Sliven. Immediately, I notice a powerful and somewhat familiar smell. Holy dog crap! Where have I smelled that before? It's like an old lady funeral home. It's like a flower farted. It's what I imagine Sex Panther smells like. Oh yeah, it was the same smell that was in my hotel room the last time that I was here in the Hotel National. Except it was a different room in the hotel.
When I was here then, I thought that the smell was maybe from the strange dried flowers that were in the room last time. Some sort of bizarre, Bulgarian potpourri. But here I am in a totally different room with the same stench and no dried Bulgarian flowers. So what gives?? A couple minutes of frantic searching reveals the culprit:



Some shitty Plug-In? That's been causing this epic aroma? Jessica and I have had these things in our house before, and they usually aren't worth a damn after about one week. But not this little bastard; he's cranking out the juice. Well, mystery solved. Pretty lame, after all.

**UPDATE**

Just got off the phone, and my luggage is en-route from Sophia to Sliven, with a short detour into Plodiv. It should be here sometime this afternoon. I can finally change my underwear. After three days, it's starting to wear a little thin. Gross.

Rolling into Sliven

I arrived today in the bustling metropolis of Sliven. Where might that be? Why, it's nestled within the heaving bosom of Bulgaria. See for yourself:



As you can see, it's the hub of all things Bulgarian. Things such as green peppers:



Red peppers:



And bear statues.



It's a little much to handle all in one day, but I'm making the most of it. Those photos were actually taken on my last trip to Sliven, around 24 August. Not sure if there's any photography buffs out there, but those were actually taken with my crappy cell phone camera. I know! It's hard to believe from the quality!

Those peppers were from a farmer's market that sets up near the center of town and the bear was on top of a communal water fountain. There were probably 10-15 people at any one time around this water fountain; drinking, splashing their faces and hands, filling up little bottles. And when I say water fountain, I don't mean the metal, rectangular boxes that we see in office buildings. This was an old stone watering point, with little brass spouts that water flowed out of into a basin. The people would come up and either fill a little cup or bottle, or cup their hands to drink.

I did pack my video camera to capture the essence of what is Sliven. Unfortunately, that camera is packed away in my missing luggage that has still not materialized. If everything goes as planned, the luggage will arrive on the 1600 flight from Rome today and the airport's courier service will bring it to me tomorrow morning. We'll see how that goes.

Get your fill of my kids

Here are the kids... not much story, just some cute pictures.

Lake Garda, Part II

I've never been to a lake in the states, so I really have nothing to compare to this one, but it was really unbelievable. The view was ridiculous; just see the pictures. The water was cold, but not freezing, and super clean. I also really liked how the area around the lake was grass, so we could lay Ava down without her getting sandy. My only complaint was that the shore is made of rocks, and it hurt my feet to walk out and once in the water, the rocks were really slippery. Next time I'll have to figure out some kind of water shoe situation.

There were also olive trees all over. It gave the area a really sweet smell and the trees shaded the beach area. Awesome! Joel was checking them out for snacks, but they were really small. I think the olive harvest is in the late fall, like October or November.

Back in Sophia

It's been months since my last post. Thankfully, Jessica has been stepping up and making some posts so everyone doesn't think that this blog has been abandoned. We're still here; unfortunately, I've been away on my business trips to the Balkans for most of the summer. On the plus side, if anyone is interested in doing anything in the Balkans (specifically Romania or Bulgaria), I'll be happy to lend my services as an area expert.

I'm going to try and increase my blog output this month, at least the first two weeks when I'll have some free time without adult supervision. For starters, here's a slideshow of our recent trip to Innsbruck, Austria.

We drove there on Thursday and came back Saturday evening. It was a short trip but we all had a great time and saw some cool stuff there.

It's late here, so I'm signing off. Tomorrow I'll have an update on whether my luggage arrived from Italy or not. As of now, I'm 2 for 3 at having my luggage lost at the Sophia Airport. Moral of the story: If you're flying into Sophia, try to have your stuff in a carry on. That's a little tip from the pros. It's a freebe. Enjoy.

By popular demand...

One of Ava to keep you all off my back about seeing her:

I did it!

Before....
Something made me decide to participate in a 5K walk/run here on post on the 4th. I had never done such a thing before, but Joel was gone and I am always looking for things to do in his absence so I'll have news to tell him. This was really advertised as "stroller friendly;" in fact, my t-shirt says "Running, Walking, Strolling," which is pretty silly. I pictured old-timey people with parasols strolling along the run route, but sadly didn't see any. Maybe next time.

So anyway, I showed up at 7:00 to register with Ava strapped to my chest and Aidan in a stroller. So, I was carrying an extra 12+ pounds and pushing another 50 or so. There were a few other moms with kids, so I wasn't embarrassed thinking about my awful future performance. At 8:30, they shot the gun- the big highlight for Aidan- and I was off... as the last person to start the race. Through the race, Aidan kept me motivated by angrily yelling "GO, mommy! GO!" whenever I slowed to readjust Ava in her carrier or get a drink of water. Just over an hour later, I showed that it was possible to maintain such a pace by being the very last person to finish the race! At least I'm consistent! I seriously blame the crappy stroller I was using... yeah, that's it...

All in all, I was really glad I did it. It wasn't that hard- walking just over 3 miles (or a mere 18,000 steps!) in really nice weather is hardly torture- and I felt proud of myself for doing it. For the next one in September (yes, I'll do it again!!) I'm going to rent the double jogging stroller here on post and try to jog it. Ans as a final plus, my picture was in the paper, with no mention of being the final participant. Hooray!

...and slightly sweatier after:

Guess who won't be drowning this year?

Answer: my kids! I got these life jackets for our upcoming trip back to Lake Garda. Aidan wears one at the pool, and really likes it. He's able to play in the water without having me hold him or dying, which is good news. I also got one for Ava, because I'm completely crazy with my irrational fear of the kids drowning. So, better safe than sorry, right? And how cute do they look?!?

Local Customs

Here is a picture of my laundry hanging to dry on the balcony. Some Americans laughed at me the other day when I said that I actually hang my stuff out to dry, but it's really not that big of a deal. In the summer, I really look for any way to make the house cooler and avoiding running the dryer is way up on the list. Also, we have a limit on the amount of electricity we can use at one time, so by not using the dryer we can instead use the air conditioner (yay!). But, I think the biggest incentive is how cute the kids' little clothes look when they are pinned up to the rack!

Happy Birthday to me

Well, I have to say it has truly been my birthday now that I received my official Army birthday greeting "card" from Col. Davis, a man I have neither met nor ever heard of, but whom I assume is Joel's boss. I am forced to put quotes around the word card, since it is more of a half sheet of off-white stationary than anything with a picture of a cake or presents on it. To Col. Davis, I respectfully accept your greetings, sir!

Anyway, it was my 29th birthday last week, ho hum. After 21, it's kind of been lame. Even before 21, it was lame, because every year my family would go on vacation the week of my birthday. I guess it was fun to decide where in Ocean City we would eat for my birthday- Tommy's Subs, Dayton's Chicken, or even The Dough Roller, but having a party with your friends is good, too. I'm just saying, there are 51 other weeks in the year to go on vacation, people!

I am starting to think there is a curse on our family where birthdays are concerned. First, Joel misses all of his thanks to the Army, and Aidan's have been weird because we're always moving in the fall. Although I'm sure he enjoys having a party with each set of grandparents, it would be nice to have a kid party with games and stuff. Maybe this year.

Sorry, not my job

"Brizmo"'s comment on the last post about the house being his domain of resonsibility had me thinking of how different things around our house are divided up- like, even if there is a mountain of trash on our porch, I will NOT take it to the recycling center, because that is Joel's job (unless he's out of town, of course). Likewise, I don't think he has bought anyone a present or a card since we got together, because that's my job. He has occasionally come up with an idea, but it's still up to me to shop for it, wrap it, and mail it.

So, here are some of the areas of responsibility for each of us. Although this list doesn't cover every single thing that comes up, these are things that each of us is completely responsible for. There are lots of other things that we both do, like giving Aidan his bath or cleaning up the dishes after dinner.

Joel: computers, cars, trash, fancy cooking, finances, taxes, mopping, driving if we're both in the car, washing the dog, using the video camera, cooking meat, downloading tv shows on the computer, using the drill to hang things on our brick walls.

Jessica: presents, daily cooking, shopping (food and clothing, including Joel's), running errands, laundry, cleaning (except mopping), brushing Aidan's teeth, taking care of Ava (by neccessity), writing thank you notes, making vacation plans, walking Aidan to school, organizing, unpacking when we move (which is a lot!), decorating the house.

I'm wondering if this is a pretty standard male/female split of the duties, or if other people have radically different "jobs" around the house? Leave a comment!

Harry Potter and the Computer on Fire

Well, the good news is that it looks like I have again narrowly escaped divorce. Joel took the news very well. The bad news, though, is that I set the computer on fire. How, you may ask? Well, long story short, I switched the power setting from 115 volts to 220 and burned up the power supply. It made a hissing noise, and then smoke and sparks starting coming out of it. I kind of freaked out, but at least I didn't "pour a bunch of water on it," which is what Joel guessed I might have done. No, I unplugged everything and took it out on the balcony, at which time it seemed to calm down and not escalate into a house fire. Phew!

So, I still have the laptop, until I spill a coke into the keyboard or it gets too wet from the steam when I listen to radio shows online while I take a shower (just kidding, I don't do that... anymore). Joel will be back in a few weeks, and hopefully he can salvage parts of the old one and cobble together a new frankenstein computer, like he does every six months anyway.

On a side note, I took Aidan to see the new Harry Potter on post, and I had to take Ava, too. Some guy sitting behind us in the theatre mentioned LOUDLY a few times something about "finding a babysitter," and I took a huge leap in assuming that he might be talking about me. Excuse me, but isn't Harry Potter for children?!? He's the one that should have stayed at home if he can't stand the sight of babies. It costs $4 for adults/free for kids to see a movie- Dear jerk, I'm sorry if I ruined your movie experience; here's a five, keep the change, baby hater.

I'm getting divorced! Probably!

Well... I had an accident. A really, bad, expensive accident, caused by my own stupidity in not knowing how something around the house, that I use all the time, works. I won't say what happened just yet, since the next of kin (Joel) has not yet been informed.

But, this had me thinking about Lucy Ricardo. I think she is kind of ridiculed as a caricature of the 50's housewife and how subservient they were to their husbands. Yet, when I made this huge mess, my first thought wasn't a feminist "What mad-cap scheme can I come up with to fix this myself? but a sad, pathetic "Oh my god, Joel is going to kill me!"and then I cried for a while. Oh Lucy, help me!

On a funny note, I asked Aidan if he thought Joel would be mad and he said, "Well, daddy will be 'prised about that!" Sweetie.

Come on, it's what we're all thinking!

Thanks, Onion! http://www.theonion.com/content/cartoon/jul-23-2007

Lake Garda

Mid-June, we took a trip to Lake Garda, the closest of the three big lakes here in northern Italy. It was really fun- we saw a castle, ate fresh fruit, had ice cream, saw the ruins of a first-century villa... just your normal, every day resort kind of things. Here are some pictures. We are headed back, but to a different part of the lake, in August. Enjoy!

View of the lake from the area of the ruins:

The castle at Sirmione:

The ruins, surrounded by olive trees:Lemons are grown all over in this area:

Sorry, we're all out of red face paint.

I think this picture speaks for itself:

Sibling Rivalry

My friend Lora has two children, almost the same ages as Aidan and Ava, but she has a toddler girl and a baby boy. She sent me an email recently, saying she thought her daughter was trying to kill the baby and make it look like an accident- "she's the sweetest little assassin you'll ever meet," she wrote.

Aidan has his moments, too- his MO is usually to try to suffocate Ava through hugs, but he has also been known to drop toys on her head and bring her "presents" that pose clear choking hazzards. Here he is, on good behavior, lulling Ava into a false sense of security. So tricky...

Pisa-tastic!

I know it's been a while since I rapped at ya...but on the bright side, I have lots of fun pictures to show you what we've been doing!
First, Joel's parents came to visit and meet Ava for the first time! So, we went to Pisa while they were here. I have to say that the attractions here do not disappoint (ahem, Liberty bell, anyone??? Linda, don't even defend it) and the leaning tower was no exception. It was cooler in person than I imagined, possibly because it was so clear on the day we went and it made for a beautiful contrast between the blue sky and white tower. We didn't climb up- maybe next time. Here is Aidan doing his best to keep the tower from falling:
The Springers mentioned that they had not yet been featured in the blog despite this being their third trip to see us here in Italy, so here is a picture of them to thank them for coming over:

The next day, we had Ava dedicated at church. It's sort of like a baptism; follow this link to read about the difference. Here we are, in church with our Chaplain, with Ava wearing my baptism dress:

Finally, how can July end without a family pool day? Here is a picture of Aidan, who is definitely ready for the water:

First of July cookout

We had a July 1st "Fourth of July" cook out this weekend. The unusual timing is due to the fact that post is having a 2-day carnival on the 3rd and 4th, so we didn't want to compete with that. We had fourteen adults and fifteen kids come over, but since most of the guys are deployed, it was pretty much all moms. Is there an opposite of a sausage fest? Joel did have two guys to hang out with, so it wasn't all bad. Joel's parents are on their way to see us right now, so we'll probably be on post hiatus until they leave, but we'll be back with "actual" July 4th and (hopefully)



Pisa pictures!

At left: Joel's friend Chuck and his daughter; Elenora, our landlady's granddaughter; Joel boozing up the ladies in classy plastic cups.

Happy Father's Day, Joel!!

The Army doesn't like Joel to celebrate his birthday at home- he's been deployed or in the field five out of the last six years on March 21. Unfortunately, Father's Day may also be doomed. First, we went to church, where Joel had to sit through a sermon challenging dads to step up to the plate and lead their families; after church, while Joel had to go into work, I took Aidan to the art center, where they were supposed to have a card-making activity, but it was closed "due to illness;" next, we ran errands on our way to a kid's birthday party (you know that no one would schedule a birthday party on Mother's day!); finally, Joel packed for his trip to Bulgaria the next day. The beef and veggie kabobs I wanted to make for him that night were still marinating in the fridge when he left. Sad!

Since I got a picture with the kids on Mother's Day, we wanted Joel to get one for Father's day. As usual, neither kid wanted to cooperate, but we got a few good ones. Enjoy!

In Sofia, city visits you

I'm back after spending a week in Sofia, Bulgaria for a lame planning conference. When I learned I was going to Bulgaria for a week, I didn't know what I was getting into. I had thought that it would be full of thick-necked guys named Boris and lots of borscht. As it turns out, Sofia is a fascinating city with lots of history and thick-necked guys named Boris.

Truth be told, there were three types of people in Sofia: Russian mafia thug-types, skinny hairy guys, and beautiful girls. The proportion of beautiful girls was actually alarming, even compared to Italy or Europe. I'm not sure the reason for this, but maybe it's because Sofia is named after the luscious St. Sofia.



Compare her to the dowdy Statue of Liberty. Snooze!



She's certainly not the gilded, bare-shouldered hottie that St. Sofia is. But I digress.

Here's a slideshow of some pictures that I took around Sofia. Nothing too nuts, just your standard vacation snapshots. I had only a half-day to really explore the city during the day, so most of these were taken on a whirlwind tour in the afternoon. Worth mentioning is the Ruined Soviet Monument. The picture is just a detail of a much larger monument that used to stand in one of the parks there. It's got a lot of classic cold-war motifs going on: the strong square-jawed worker standing tall with hammer in hand, the poor and infirm cradled in by the caring hands of the workers, you know the drill. But this huge (7-10 story) monument has since fallen into disarray since the fall of the Soviet Union. You can clearly see the exposed steel frame showing in the picture. It's as if the people were happy about the fall of their Soviet masters, but not enough to actually tear down the monument. Lazy capitalist mores creeping in already!

Ava "Shiloh has nothing on me" Kate

Little Ava hasn't made too many appearances here lately, mostly because she is the sleepiest baby EVER, and doesn't do much but sleep, sleep, sleep- not exactly Kodak moments. But, there has been a big demand for her pics (almost at a Suri Cruise level!) so here are a few for you:

Italian Rock-a-billy Scooter Shin-dig!

Love Vespas? Have a Fred Perry polo shirt and/or low profile Adidas tennies? Live in Italy? We have we got the most exciting weekend event for you! It's the Vespa Club Lonigo Gimkana Vespistica 2007!!!

We went to this a couple of weeks ago in a town about 30 minutes away from us. It was pretty cool- there were classic Vespas, local bands, inflatable slides for the kids, face tattoos, souvenirs for sale, food and beer, all to the sounds of a DJ playing what Joel called "60's soul B-sides" on 45's. As usual, we were solely responsible for representing the American community, but whatever. We seem to be a fun novelty for the locals we run into.

On a side note, this was another example of how much more family-friendly the Italians are than Americans. There were rides for the kids, and many people were giving the little ones rides on the scooters and asking us about Ava and Aidan. Although I have never been to a Vespa scooter rally in the states, I can't imagine that the tattooed rockabilly participants would pay any attention to any kids there. Of course, I could be wrong... if you have been to a US scooter rally- and really, who hasn't- I welcome your comments!!

An Overdue Delivery

Fact: Carnivale was in Februrary this year.

Fact: I took some great footage from Carnivale in Venice that I was going to edit and put up here for you.

Fact: I haven't produced this as quickly as I would have liked.

That being said, here's a long overdue video of the Italian Carnivale experience. Let me know what you think.

Running stinks

I think that about covers it.