White Noise

Shocking

15 09 2009

I have reached an all new culinary low in my life. I just dont have the energy or appetite for any of the recipes in the zillion cookbooks I have. As a result, our dinners have been less than stellar lately. But last night was an all new low- I made spaghetti and meatballs (something I have NEVER EVER made because I kind of hate spaghettic, I know, weird.) but I used premade turkey meatballs, premade sauce, and just boiled the spaghetti. Did I mention the meatballs were precooked too? I am so ashamed!

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14 09 2009

As I sit and recall this day of our trip, it surprises me that it was really the middle of our vacation. When you are on Isla, time seems to slow down just enough to feel like you have more than 7 days for your vacation. Our lack of cell phones, commitment to staying email/internet free, and no TV (not that we watch much anyway) lent itself very well to this feeling as well. Anyway, having heard so much about various places on the island and studying the Mapchick Map day after day in preparation (no, more like anticipation!) of our trip led the hubby and I to want to do an island tour. But we weren’t sure about renting a moped or golf cart since we were traveling on a pretty small budget. That being said, the more we thought about it, the more we thought riding bikes around the island would be a terrific idea. (Remind me of that when I finish this story, ok?) We figured it would count as a day of cross training towards our half marathon training while getting us around the island in a leisurely pace and the price certainly was right! Kate at Las Palmas kindly allowed us to borrow one of her bikes and we got the other bicecleta from a nice man down the street for $8 US/day.
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We had breakfast at the French Bistro where we enjoyed crepes and scrambled eggs and bacon. At the end of it though we felt we could’ve gotten that breakfast anywhere at home and vowed to return to a Mexican breakfast the next day. After Breakfast we lathered up in sunscreen, filled our ubiquitous water bottles with pure water (that Las Palmas provides free of charge!), packed some snacks for the road (what can I say, we were addicted to that Oaxaca cheese and Emperados cookies!), and decided to bite the bullet and bring the DSLR on the road with us (poor hubby volunteered to carry THAT bag). And away we went!
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We decided to head out via the Caribe road as we noticed the breezes and view were quite nice along there while running. Let me tell you, we were nowhere near prepared for the beauty we encountered further down the island! Simply stunning! The breezes kept things comfortable and we biked at a leisurely pace so as not to die of heat exhaustion. Everyone was very conscientious about giving us space on the road which we were pleased to notice. We took our time noting the change in housing styles as we got closer and closer to Punta Sur and we enjoyed waving at people working at various construction sites and shops along the way who I’m sure thought we were two crazy gringos! We were so relaxed and cool (well, it IS all relative after all) we really enjoyed ourselves. Until the giant hill before the Park at Punta Sur. I thought I literally was going to die. But then we arrived and “parked” and then we REALLY thought we were going to die. Nothing could have prepared us for how hot it would be once we stopped biking (and thus eliminated the self propagated breeze). While we stood literally dripping in the shade we found in the parking lot we had a good laugh- we WERE crazy gringos! If you know us at all though, this is the type of thing that “we do” all the time. Rehydrated, we set out to check out Punta Sur. The views here really are incredible and made being completely drenched totally worth it. We can’t believe we are really on Isla- a place that really IS this beautiful in real life. It’s like stepping into a post card and not having to wonder how they got that shot because it looks like that all the time! We walked around the garden area, walked over to where they are charging you to see those crappy statues. We loved the sign that explained they the service fee was being charged. The gist of it was they need to maintain the crappy statues they put up that nobody even likes. Anyway…

see? They are crappy!!

We climbed up into the Lighthouse and enjoyed the even more breathtaking views. I could not get enough pictures, it was great. Until we realized tons of people were coming up and that staircase isn’t exactly built for two way traffic. People were coming up but none were able to go down so we got to know the other tourists quite well, if you catch my drift. We contemplated paying to walk along the cliffs but decided to head over to Garaffon Castilla.

For those of you interested in going to Garaffon Castilla from Punta Sur, pay close attention to the signs. We ended up biking about a mile past the beach club before realizing we had passed it and headed back. Sufficiently hot again, we locked our bikes up (we had purchased a PacSafe mesh bag that was able to lock our camera back and bikes to a light pole! I highly recommend the product, it was great), paid our $50 peso/person fee to gain access, rented scuba gear for $30 pesos/person and set off for the water. Ahh, what sweet relief! And the fish really are RIGHT THERE! In fact, they are everywhere! We snorkeled around for quite a while until we decided to have a snack. We had packed some Oaxaca and Panella cheese and various other things and sat in the cool shade while we ate. We quickly rekindled our love affair with the Oaxaca cheese and expressed our dislike for the Panella cheese. Or at least I think that’s what It was called.

At this point I was pretty beat so I took a snooze. When I woke up, hubby was back in the water snorkeling so I went to sit in the tide pool that’s created by the dock/rocks and talked with a lovely lady from Sweden who was visiting from Cancun. All of a sudden I see hubby’s head pop out of the water and a stunned look on his face. Concerned, I asked him if he was okay and he said “A fish just bit my nipple!! There’s blood!” We laughed over this for a long time, and still do actually. Apparently he decided that since we didn’t particularly care for the Panella cheese, perhaps the fish would. Well, they were quite the overzealous eaters and mistook his nipple for the cheese.

Some clouds rolled in at this point so we rinsed off and took cover under the sun awning (this is a GREAT Beach club!!) while we had a brief shower. Once the shower was over we didn’t really want to leave but knew we had more things to see! Groaning both outwardly, we took off for the Turtle Farm. Although this leg of our journey was hillier than on our way out, we enjoyed the scenery and our self propagated breeze until we got to the turtle farm. This project is quite cool and worth the $30 peso entrance fee. It only takes a few minutes of your time and it’s neat to see the conservation efforts!

At this point we decided we wanted to head back to the Caribe Road to head home for a well earned siesta so we cut across the island, passing La Bruja where we ate with Zina the night before. Since I had studied the Mapchick map in such detail I knew there was the “Conch Shell Beach” to look forward towards the end of our ride. We estimated where it was- just past the airport buildings on the airport strip, dumped our bikes away from the road near the edge of the cliff and scrambled down. Wow, they weren’t kidding. This really WAS a conch shell beach. My scientific nature made me dubious that this was legit, but hubby laughed at my doubts because who really would dump all these shells here on purpose? I mean, there were tons and tons of them, everywhere! We enjoyed scrambling over the rocks and checking out the rock formations, the caves, and all the shells. I grabbed a few for souvenirs and we biked the rest of the way to our home away from home and after taking a dip in the pool, headed in for a siesta before dinner.

I post this picture because hubby took it of me while I was insisting this couldn’t be real, and because Im a good sport and it makes even ME laugh!

I don’t know what it is about siestas on Isla, but they are so restorative! We got cleaned up and met one of the other hotel guests are her young son to go out to dinner. We had planned to eat along the Malecon where the various vendors had set up stands but we were too early for them (we were eating early for the young boy’s sake). We made a detour for La Cocketeleria Justica Social as we were all in the mood for some seafood (we don’t get much of the good stuff here in Cleveland after all). The place was deserted and the service was a little rough, but we got what we ordered in a timely fashion. Unfortunately it wasn’t one of my favorite meals, but this was entirely my fault. We ordered a large mixed ceviche which was to die for- it was leaps and bounds above the ceviche from Picus to share. Then hubby and I shared a dish knowing we’d probably find snacks to grab while enjoying the evening in the Zocolo/Malecon. While we were waiting for our dinner, we were enjoying the chips, pico de gallo and salsa. Thinking the bright green salsa on our table was salsa verde (which in my experience has been relatively mild) I loaded my chip up and stuffed the whole thing in my mouth. I knew it was blistering hot even before I put the chip on my tongue- I could feel the heat searing my lips going in. I should have spit it out to save myself, but I didn’t want to be rude, so I just swallowed it. Lordy, lordy, was my mouth on fire. I had ordered a beer and that was only a small help. Fortunately the lady we were with suggested putting salt on my tongue, and you know what, it did the trick. After the 4th time or so, that is. That salsa was HOT HOT HOT! It was like the temperature of Isla personified into a salsa hot. It was funny, until we noticed the little boy lifting a chip full of the stuff towards his mouth. We all shouted NO NO NO!!! And his mother took it away, but not before a bit got on his tongue too. This was also humorous in a very sad sort of way because the poor kid didn’t understand why his mouth was on fire. Some horchata and salt and he was good to go, though. So my mouth is scalded and then I remember I stupidly ordered the spicy shrimp because I really didn’t think it would be THAT spicy. I love the flavor of spice, but I guess I am a wimp and cant take that much heat because I couldn’t taste anything, my mouth was on fire. I ate the rice and beans and some tortillas and left feeling kind of bummed about dinner.

Nothing a little flan on chocolate cake and pina colada juice cant fix! We went over to the Malecon on our way to drop our friends off and got dessert and juice and just took in the nice night. A great way to end a great day, I wish I had a Malecon to sit out on every night! To be continued…

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Day 3: Isla Mujeres

3 09 2009

Day 3:

It would probably be easy to say “lather, rinse, repeat” at this point in the trip report process. But that wouldn’t be any fun and not necessarily true!

We woke up around 7:30 again- this is sleeping in for us as we are often at work by 6:45 am- and tried to decide what we would do with our day. After talking it over, we decided to postpone both our run and our originally planned bike trip around the island in lieu of something a little more relaxing. We had an appointment to meet up with a very special lady around 5:30 and we didn’t want to be rushing around in the heat. And so began the “lather, rinse, repeat” portion of the day where after we coated ourselves head to toe in sunscreen (For those of you wondering, SPF50 does work better than SPF30, but be sure to buy something with “broad spectrum” and UVA/UVB protection- the hubby is in dermatology and this is his advice, haha), got dressed and decided on what to get for breakfast.

(I never saw a tourist at Hemingway’s but it was always hoppin’. Hubby wanted desperately to go in but since we don’t speak much Spanish we thought better of it and didn’t.)

We settled on Aluxes Bakery because we were craving some sweets and I was looking for tea since I couldn’t find decaf coffee on the island anywhere. I know, I know, sacrilege right? But I am not a decaf drinker by choice, so humor me. Aluxes had just opened as we walked by and while his lovely wife was in the process of baking, we were able to get some of the infamous banana bread and four delicious looking cinnamon rolls in addition to some Twinings English Breakfast tea (with milk!). The poor guy had decided to wear jeans because it had been “so cold yesterday” and he thought the rains would come again. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) it was very warm and didn’t rain today so we felt very bad for him! Anyway, we took our dessert, I mean, breakfast back to Las Palmas to sit in the courtyard and share the goodies with our new friends. Oh man, the best cinnamon rolls and banana bread I have ever eaten! I felt only a little guilty about having something so delectable for breakfast (I would sweat it off later anyway, what was I worried about?) It was great to “break bread” with Maria, our lovely and sweet maid, Kate, the hotelier, and a German mother with her little boy in our courtyard. We could hardly force ourselves to get moving in the heat after being so satisfied, but we decided to take a walk around town and get some pictures.

I had recently upgraded my camera equipment and loved all the great places I was finding that would be perfect for a photo shoot. Unfortunately it was too hot and both my model and lens started getting foggy But at any rate, Isla Mujeres is a photographic land mine. I want to shoot a destination wedding here, hey, any excuse to get back to the island, I will take!

After walking around for a while we decided to head the Playa Sol for the day for a change of scenery. We loved the palm trees and the music coming from Jax in addition to seeing all the families together on the beach. We enjoyed hours of lazing about in the shade, reading through the books we had brought and taking occasional dips in the sea to cool off. There’s nothing like a nap on the beach to restore your spirits, eh?

Late in the day we headed back for a brief siesta and to get rid of the beach remnants before meeting Zina for the handoff of the medical supplies we brought with us. Around 5:30 she arrived on her golf cart to take us to her place to meet with Dr. Salas. It was such a privilege to meet him and see what he is doing in the community. We are hoping to coordinate some more medical supplies/equipment to be brought down to support the new hospital they are building in the Colonias. To that end, if you are interested in contributing your time, your checked bag allowance, some space on your boat, or monetarily, please contact me at t_eleftheria at yahoo dot com. MedWish International has exam tables, IV poles, bloodpressure cuffs, and various other pieces of equipment and supplies that they really need at this hospital! We’d like to either fill a shipping container or find people with space on their boats/luggage to make this all possible! Anyway, back to the story.

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After making the handoff we went in search of food and finding some of our choices closed we ended up at La Bruja for chilaquiles and enchiladas. Yum Yum Yum!! That’s all I can say J After a brief, but hilarious episode of “Josh: Isla Mujeres Ranger” we headed to Miguel’s Moonlight for some mojito’s- and at 2×1 you know we had a few. Yum, I don’t know if it was the rum, Zina’s mint, or what, but these were incredible! Unfortunately, my allergies were starting to get to me so we cut the night short after lots of good conversation and feeling like we now had life-long friends in Zina and Josh. Back to Las Palmas for a great sleep in anticipation of our adventure for tomorrow. To be continued…

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Day 2: Isla Mujeres

2 09 2009

After a rough year in the health department I (stupidly? crazily?) decided to train for the Cleveland Half Marathon in May 2010. That being said, training could not be put off for an entire week even though we were on vacation! I admit I was just a tad (that’s quite the understatement really) apprehensive about going for a run in this heat. We haven’t had many 80+ days in Cleveland this summer and I just didn’t know how I would handle it. At any rate, our alarm went off at 7:15 am (we forgot about the 1 hour we gained so we got up an hour early by accident!) and feeling invigorated at the prospects of a day at the beach, I laced up my shoes, spent what would become the ubiquitous 10 minutes covering myself in sunscreen and headed out for a run. We ran down Ave. Guerrero and turned left on (I think) Ave. Absalom to pick up the Malecon at its beginning. The view of the Caribbean was simply breathtaking (or was that the humidity?) and made the early morning run totally worth it. We ended up running all the way down the Malecon, then out onto the Caribe Road, down past the “College” until we were chased by a friendly dog. Only I didn’t exactly know it was friendly right away so there was a lot of squawking from my general direction while the hubby gently said “Aww, the puppy just wants to be pet!” We went a ways further, and having no idea exactly how far we had run we turned back to head home with grumbling tummies.

Our run was over none too soon and we literally looked like we had taken a swim! Better fill those water bottles up and get to hydrating! After chatting with some guests in the courtyard at Las Palmas (and showering off) we all headed over to Alexi y Giovanni’s across the street for some breakfast. That’s really one of the best things about Las Palmas, and Isla too, that you can make friends in an instant! Oh.my.word! Best breakfast… probably of my life! I had a Giovanni omelet which has Oaxaca cheese and mushrooms in it. Hubby had the Huevos Rancheros. We both commented on the delicious red sauce on t he Huevos Rancheros – nothing like the Huevos Rancheros in the US. After a delicious and filling breakfast, we walked to the Super Express in what would become our morning ritual of getting stuff for our “lunch” on the beach. I love shopping in foreign countries- especially ones where you don’t speak much of the language. It’s such an adventure! “What is this?” “I have no idea…. Let’s get it!” Came out of our mouths multiple times, and we were always pleased with our purchases. We became addicted to Oaxaca cheese and these cookie/cracker type things that had Lime cream in between them. Oh, and the praline type nuts we found were delicious too. Our favorite beer became the Modelo Especial… in a can. That’s how we roll, haha. And the mangoes. Oh, the mangoes. Don’t even get me started! From their insanely cheap price to the luscious flesh, we just couldn’t get enough of these mangoes!

After stopping at the ATM, we headed over to Posada Del Mar to leave a message for someone from the board who was staying there to see if they were interested in meeting up for dinner. Then we enjoyed the brief rainstorms that cooled things off and still managed to spend most of our afternoon basking in the delicious sunlight on Playa Norte.
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We returned around 4 to go grab rotisserie chicken for our dinner on the terrace only to find that every place in town had completely sold out. Mental note, if you want to eat rotisserie chicken, especially on a Sunday, get it super early!! You will be disappointed otherwise. At any rate, our friends from the board met us at Las Palmas despite the rain (they certainly were troopers!) and on the recommendation of Kate (the hotelier) we sloshed our way over to Sancochos on Ave. Hidalgo. Becoming fast friends, we all ordered a variety of dishes with the offers to share. And you gotta love 2×1 pina coladas! We are on vacation now!! We ordered a “pumpkin zucchini cheese” appetizer that we were intrigued about, only to find that it was just zucchini and cheese. Still delicious and I think it ended up being the only significant veggie we had all week, haha. Tixinchix tacos, mole enchiladas, octopus tacos, the works. Absolutely delicious and at the end of it, and super affordable for the budget traveler.

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Feeling quite stuffed but wanting more at the same time, we took a walk over to the Zocolo to check out the festivities and the of course the infamous Church Flan ladies. Let me tell you folks, I don’t even LIKE flan, yet I could not get enough of this stuff. It probably helped that it was so fresh, and the fact that she baked it on top of a delicious chocolate cake (seriously!). Oh and that it was 15 pesos didn’t hurt either. We sat out on the Malecon enjoying the breeze and just chatting with out new friends- a very great end to a fabulous day. To be continued…

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Day One- Isla Mujeres

31 08 2009

6 am came early, but with all the built up excitement and anticipation I could hardly sleep anyway. When the alarm went off I went into autopilot- passports, tickets, brush my teeth, grab the breakfast and lunch we had packed, is our ride here yet? We got to the airport about an hour and 40 minutes before our flight and I had a little anxiety that we weren’t going to get checked in on time. The line was LONG. And I was nervous about the giant bag of medical supplies we had with us- I didn’t know if they would refuse the luggage because of what was in it or because I had had to duct tape a small tear.

Gotta love self portraits at 6:30 am!

A little side story on the medical supplies- my husband and I were so blessed to be a part of this “mission” and we were just amazed at how everything got worked out. The organization that we got the supplies from charged a nominal $40 fee to pack the supplies (a very large warehouse) and although $40 isn’t that much, we are students so it was going to take a hit on our vacation funds. The day I was to pick up the supplies, a lab where I work contacted me to donate blood for research purposes and guess what they would pay me? Yup, $40. Then I was convinced I had a duffel bag I could pack the stuff in and leave on Isla or wad up and put it inside of my other bag. We don’t like to travel with a lot of bags and we were also fretting over the $15/bag fee. I could not for the life of me find said duffel bag and after coming up empty at Goodwill and struggling with the thought of spending $40 on a bag we were going to essentially throw away, or using a bag we already owned that we’d have to pay $15 to bring back we were stumped. The Sunday before we left, we drove down our street on our way to visit friends and lo and behold there is a GIGANTIC piece of luggage in the garbage. It had a minor tear in it but aside from that it was in great condition. It’s funny how God works out the small things in life. When we finally got to the check in desk we got checked in okay and walked away to go to security and then realized we had never paid our checked bag fee. We were ecstatic but not sure if we should mention it. Due to the interest of time, we ran to security to catch our flight and just considered it good Karma. Later though, we found out that there is no fee for checked bags for international flights. But you couldn’t wipe the smile off our faces, we were on our way to Isla and everything was going so smoothly! We arrived in the airport and after a very long line at customs we got asked to step aside and have our bags searched. I didn’t even press the button!!! I knew what was coming next because I knew they had X-rayed the bag and saw all the various medical paraphernalia. It took us an hour to convince them that we didn’t have any pharmaceuticals or medicines and that everything was a gift, but we were finally through customs with all of our items intact much to our relief. We walked out to find the Best Day guy and were quickly whisked to Puerto Juarez by our friendly driver (private transfer even though I paid for the group transfer!). The whole time we waiting for and taking the ferry we are commenting to each other “hey, it’s not that hot!” and “wow, could this be anymore beautiful?” Well, let me tell you, one step off the ferry on Isla and we were drenched! It was hot hot hot. But the beauty and prospects of relaxation made the heat totally bearable. We tested our shakey Spanish and one of the nice tricycle guys took our bags to Hotel Las Palmas, our home away from home for the week. And when I say “home” I really mean it! Kate at Las Palmas is a real joy and her little oasis of tranquility fit our needs perfectly. I could honestly see myself moving in there!! After we unpacked, liberally slathered on sunscreen, we got to know each other a little bit before headed to the famous Playa Norte!

We spent a few hours basking in the blinding sunlight (of which we have had very little in Ohio) and enjoying the semi-cool Caribbean waters. Hubby remarked more than once, “I cant believe I’m here. This is absolutely stunning” That was pretty much the sentiment for the rest of the week. We just couldn’t believe the beauty of the island. We headed back for some drinks at the hotel on the rooftop terrace (you know we hit up the Super Express pretty much right away, don’t you? Haha) and to freshen up. The great thing about Las Palmas is they have amazing water pressure in the showers which was definitely needed to get rid of the sweat/sunscreen/sand/salt water combo we had going on. And did I mention their bathrooms are spotless? I was thankful I got a drastic short haircut the week before we took our trip because not only did it keep me cool, but it certainly was wash and wear!

We settled on Picus for dinner as we were both craving seafood and Justicia Social was observing summer hours and closed at 7 pm. The ceviche was delicious as were the seafood tacos, even if I didn’t totally understand what the sauce was (it was dark). The guacamole however I could have done without, just no pizzazz and I hate to say it but Ive had better in Cleveland! Service was great and we wandered off for a walk around town. Little did we know but Isla was celebrating 159 years and so there were rides and a stage with dancing and music in the Zocolo which were highly entertaining. We got gelato from Cool’s and walked over the malecon to just check things out and enjoy the breeze. After a great day we headed in for a relatively early night, anticipating the adventures to be had the next day…. To be continued.

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Operation Baking GALS update

6 08 2009

Well it wouldn’t be my life if I havent gotten so busy I barely have time to sleep but I am proud to say I finally found time to bake for Team Golden Tornadoes. It was such a welcome respite from my day job to have some time to bake!! Unfortunately, with thoughts of cells and cytokines running through my head I completely forgot to take pictures before I sent my package yesterday. But I made snickerdoodles and an amazing cooking from Tasty Kitchen- Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chunk cookies. Oh my, these were tasty and fortunately I thought to double the recipe so I was able to sample a few (or three) for myself. Here’s the recipe- you’ve GOT TO MAKE THEM!

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Pay it Forward, Cleveland Style

22 07 2009

One of my favorite things about living in Cleveland is (are?) the people. I grew up in the heart of the midwest so it has always been second nature for me to talk to strangers about the weather, about a product in their grocery cart (wow, those asparagus look good, I didnt see them..), to ask for directions, to comment on their jewelry/hat/funny purse… WHATEVER. When I went to college in the Allegheny mountains of Pennyslvania this type of outgoing friendliness was almost always misinterpreted and rarely appreciated. Moving to Cleveland has almost been like “coming home” after a very long deployment to another world. Just this past Tuesday I witnessed the midwest brotherhood at their best. As hubby and I were driving home from grabbing a quick dinner out, we noticed a car broken on the side of the road and a guy trying to push it. I always feel bad for people in these situations because I have been there so many times with the Fox. I urged Bryan to turn around and offer to help in any way. By the time we turned around and got back to where the car was I witnessed the most humbling and inspirational sight I have seen in a long time. A biker, in full biking regalia (spandex from head to toe) hopped off his bike, threw it to the curb, and started pushing the car. Then a car stopped in the middle of the side street and a guy got out to help push too. We later found out the original pusher was a stranger to the lady in distress as well. So that’s 4 strangers who became friends and stopped at nothing to help someone they didnt even know. We need just a little more of that selflessness in the world dont you think?

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Operation Baking GALS Round 11: Team Golden Tornadoes

21 07 2009

Lagard, Mullen and Grassi

My best friend Bec and I have shared a lot of laughter and a lot of tears together over the course of our unlikely friendship. We first met at preseason Cross Country camp at college and although neither of us could stand each other based on first impressions, we shortly became fast friends. The kind of friends that even if you havent talked for a while you are always thinking about and are there for at a moments notice. Although we dont see each other as much as either of us would like our friendship has continued to grow as we have each moved around the country living the “adult life.” One of the things that makes our friendship so great is that we are extremely loyal to each other. While we were both in graduate school we’d have lots of talks about how crazy we must be for becoming students again and we found ways to keep each other sane. When I had a major family emergency just 5 weeks before my wedding, one of the first people I called was Bec. Her “no bullshit” personality (just one of the ways we are so similar) made her compassion all the more real to me because I knew she was genuinely hurting for me. She stood up next to me when I married my husband in July of 2007 and was there for me every step of the way- especially as my “sanity officer” for the day.

Bec married the love her life, Joshua Mullen August 4, 2006 and I was privileged to stand up with her as she took her vows. I can honestly say I have never cried that much at a wedding before. I literally could feel the love oozing out of their pores. The beaming smile on her face as she walked down the aisle to meet her groom was only overshadowed by the even larger grin on his face as he saw his bride. The heartfelt vows (filled with moment of laughter as is so characteristic of their love) moved me. It was on that day that I considered Josh my new “brother” because he had made my best friend the happiest I had ever seen her. His quiet strength coupled with his zeal for the hilarious is her perfect match. When people say a couple “completes” each other, no where is that more true than in their relationship.

Just 4 short months after they married, Josh joined the United States Navy and an even shorter 2.5 months later he went off to boot camp. That was in February of 2007 and since then Josh and Bec have only had the opportunity to live in the same house for about 6 months. I have seen them use this time as an opportunity to grow in their love and support of one another rather than viewing their separation as a punishment. I am constantly amazed at how deep their relationship is and how it continues to develop even though Josh was deployed to GTMO in September of 2008. Josh has an incredibly tough job while in GTMO- guarding suspected terrorists and detainees. I can only begin to imagine how difficult it must be to get up every morning and face that job. But Josh does it impeccably and without complaint. All the while supporting his wife in her dreams and her life goals and remaining a loving and faithful husband. Josh’s duty section (made up of soldiers from all the branches of the armed forces) has been deployed since September ‘08 and they most likely will not get to come home until Thanksgiving, or Christmas. And when they get back, many of them face additional training and separation from their loved ones. So Im asking you to help me shower Josh and his buddies with love and affection from the home front in the form of baked goods. I have insider intel that they love anything sweet and really enjoy cookies especially. Here is a short blurb about Operation Baking GALS:

Baking GALS (GALS stands for Give A Little Support) is a group of volunteer bakers who bake and ship homemade goodies to our heroic troops that are currently deployed. Each soldier is “Hosted” by a blogger, and potential bakers are “recruited” from the bloggers own site as well as the GALS site. Each Host recruits between 20-25 bakers, meaning LOTS of goodies get delivered to our soldier…so many, in fact that he or she has plenty to share with their fellow troops!

Why do we do it this way? Why not just ship to “Any Soldier”? Well, we don’t know “any soldier” – and “any soldier” doesn’t know us. And recieving baked goods from a stranger, while probably safe, is frowned upon and in many cases, those Any Soldier gifts could be thrown out. Baking GALS will introduce you to a soldier. You will know his name, a little bit about him, maybe even his favorite cookie…and he will know in advance that he will be on the recieiving end of a cookie bombardment – so everyone is prepared. It is a safer way to treat our troops, and it helps them to know when to expect a barage of goodies.

Please join my team “Team Golden Tornadoes” which you can do by going to Operation Baking GALs and logging in and joining my Round 11 team! For more info, feel free to email me at sarakiavo@yahoo.com. My goal is to have 20 people baking to give these soldiers a big thank you for all they sacrifice to keep us all safe. Signups will be between July 22nd-25th and shipment dates will be between August 3rd-12th.

And Josh, if you’re reading this, Im honored to know you and I am so grateful for the love you have for Bec and for our country. We can’t wait to have you home!

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July 6, 2009

7 07 2009

doreianweddingpicture

Much like July 6, 2007, July 6, 2009 was one of the best days of my life. It’s because I got to wake up next to my best friend and remember the day we promised our lives, our hearts, our bodies to each other. Every day is better than the last and I love to see how our love has grown. From the first time we met, to intrepidly deciding to start dating and the 5 years before we were engaged, to the 2 years we have now been married, I have fallen more and more in love with you. I didnt think that after all this time I would find new things to love about you and new ways to love you, and even though Im not always very good at it, I have. I am so thankful for the joy you bring to my life, for the calmness you bring to my storms, for the strength you bring to my weakness. Here’s to another gazillion years of loving you.

Props to Linczak Photography for our wedding day photography

Linczak Photography

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I celebrated my Independence…

6 07 2009

This is the corn I bought for our bbq. LABEL FAIL!

by:

1) Going to a minor league game and heckling #29 about the rip in his pants and enjoying the fireworks with my honey afterwards

I <3 him!

2) Spending the day at the beach and gaining some red to my blue outfit in the form of a wicked sunburn

3) Walking the sidewalks of Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH and finding lots to laugh about (many comparisons to the Jersey Shore were made)

4) After forgetting to bring charcoal and a lighter, having to go to two stores to buy said bbq essentials and then laughing over our attempts to start a charcoal grill without lighter fluid. This invovlved lots of blowing on a torn up paper bag and sticks we tried to kindle our fire with before finally asking a grill neighbor if we could borrow some.

5) Have a great BBQ for 2 on the bluffs over the lake

6) Getting some amazing donuts from a street vendor and a very tasty Reese’s Pieces blizzard from the oldest Dairy Queen I have ever seen!

7) Sitting together like little kids in the park waiting for fireworks and then deciding we were okay with being lame and going back to Cleveland and miss the fireworks in favor of our own.

Laughing over the loss of our 2nd gear in the Fox- time to replace the bushings!!

9) Eating a POUND of cherries and 1/3 of a watermelon by myself. I have a feeling I will be “celebrating” from this one for a while

10) Being grateful for our freedom and indepence and all those who fight to keep us free!

6 hours on the beach and a bbq later!

On the bluff overlooking Lake Erie, I love this park!

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White Noise

Shocking

Day 3: Isla Mujeres

Day 2: Isla Mujeres

Day One- Isla Mujeres

Operation Baking GALS update

Pay it Forward, Cleveland Style

Operation Baking GALS Round 11: Team Golden Tornadoes

July 6, 2009

I celebrated my Independence…

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