Travel Itinerary-Europe 2013

Last Sunday Dad and I got home from our trip to Europe. There is no chance I'll be able to blog about everything, but I thought I'd at least give you the highlights of each day.. I admit that it's not a very exciting post, but if I tried to add much more it would be overwhelming for both of us. There are pictures on Facebook if you're interested :)

Fri. March 29th- Travel to Paris
Sat., March 30th- walk the neighborhood and see the Grand Opera
Sun., March 31st- walk the neighborhood, discover the Lourve, brouse through books on the left bank, visit Notre Dame and stay for Easter mass, and see the Hotel de Ville
Mon., April 1st- Arc D'Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Pont Alexander, housing protest, and Seine River Cruise by night
Tues., April 2nd- Orsay Museum
Wed., April 3rd- Notre Dame tower, Conciergerie, St. Chappelle, and two neighborhood churches (including St. Eustace)
Thurs., April 4th- Versailles, and Verdi Requiem concert at St. Eustace
Fri., April 5th- shopping by day and the Eiffel tower at night
Sat., April 6th- wash clothes, lunch with an old friend- Caitlin Scott, Luxembourg Gardens, and saw the Sorbon/ University of Paris
Sun., April 7th- Sacre Couer (Sacred Heart Basilica) and the Lourve museum
Mon., April 8th- Army museum and the Eiffel Tower (again, yes, we loved it)

Tues., April 9th- Travel to Rome, eat a pizza, and find our hotel
Wed., April 10th- Giant white building on the Capital hill that we never did find the name of and the outside of the Colosseum
Thurs., April 11th- Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palantine Hill
Fri., April 12th- National Museum
Sat., April 13th- San Castillo Catacombs
Sun., April 14th- Night walk by Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps
Mon., April 15th- Pantheon and day walk by Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps
Tues., April 16th- Day trip to Florence & Pisa:
Wed., April 17th- St. Peter's square and Castle of St. Angelo
Thurs., April 18th- Borghese Gallery
Fri., April 19th- Vatican Museum (including the Sistine Chapel) and St. Peter's Basilica
Sat., April 20th- Travel back to Paris
Sun., April 21st- Travel home to Houston

Happy Birthday.. to YOU!!

There have been a LOT of birthdays happening around here..

*I totally spaced pictures on Dad's birthday, and I can't find anything recent of him. We'll have to change that!

In the past month we've had Dad's 57th*, Grandpa Ogzewalla's 87th, Mom's 50th, Libby's 1st, and Emma's 22nd birthdays. So to all of you birthday folks out there I'd just like to say...

"duh, duh, duh... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!"

I do not own the copyright to this video. This video clip comes from Disney's Cinderella.

Allergy Testing

I recently went to the allergist to see if they might have any clues to explain some of my health-related struggles. And this was the result...

 Day 1 of Allergy Testing

Day 2 of Allergy Testing (not so flattering, but that's reality for ya sometimes)

The first day they test you against everything. They take needles that have been dipped in the different allergens and lightly scratch them across your back.  If you end up with a big red spot it means you're allergic to that allergen. The second day they go back and double check all of the things that didn't seem to react to the first day. They do this by inserting small amounts of more concentrated allergen right under the skin rather than just scratching the surface. I think the proper way to explain it would be, "Ouch, eeeh, oooh, itch!!!!" Again they wait to see which ones react and that shows you what you're allergic to.

And so it turns out that I am allergic to basically everything they tested for. Grass, trees, mold, etc. etc. There was one happy, happy, exception: DOGS!!! They said the reaction was there but it was minor enough that it shouldn't be a problem as long as I don't sleep with the dog. I am SO glad that we don't have to decide between my health and keeping Libby.

As far as treatment goes I'm currently taking two medicines daily and I'll soon be adding regular allergy shots to the regimen.  It takes 3-5 years of consistent treatment, but the allergy shots can help my body build up its own immunity over time.

Year 1

It’s been almost a year since we got married and since then we have had...

3 moves

1 deployment (and another move for Tarah)

4 ER/urgent care visits

1 new addition (that would be Libby)

Busy days and lazy days

1 BYU graduation for Tarah

ABOLC & ARC graduations for Patrick

3 church callings (but no home teachers)

Our fair share of differences

Extra pizza nights (and a few extra pounds)

AND.. lots of love

I think it's fair to say we've had quite the year :) And here's to many, many more!!

Welcome to Hinesville!

Hinesville, Georgia is not exactly a destination location. It’s a good place to visit if you’re looking for... mobile homes or a title loan shop, but not if you want to find good eats or decent shopping. I’ve been trying to stay positive about it, but I feel like it’s totally lame this week.

And speaking of mobile homes, that is where we are currently living. In a pink mobile home. Now, it really was a blessing to find this place. It’s furnished (because all of our stuff is in storage), they rent week-to-week, and we can keep Libby here. Those three things are all challenging to find, so finding them all in one place was a miracle. But even knowing this, I must admit that no matter how I shape it in my mind, it still comes back to the fact that we are living in a trailer park. A trailer park! Oh well. At least it’s only temporary.

Bragging Rights

Today is Patrick's birthday, and for his birthday he took me out shoe shopping.. Need I say more?  Wow. I'm pretty sure I get some serious bragging rights on my husband for that one.

As for the new shoes.. Well you can see pictures of the wardrobe additions below :)

PS. Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband, Patrick! I may have gotten you a CD for a musician that you do not actually like, planned a big surprise that is no longer relevant, and totally botched your birthday "cake".. but I totally love you. 

Gossip

Confession:
I've started watching Gossip Girl via Netflix. It's a guilty pleasure.

Even Bigger Confession:
I just spent the last... 6 hours watching Gossip Girl. Netflix automatically playing the next episode was just so easy and soooo not helpful. So much for making Sunday a day set apart from the world; I think I just turned my brain into fashion-crazed, drama-absorbed mush.

Home Improvement

I've started this new thing where I actually finish the projects I pick up. And you know what? It's kind of fun!! Sure there's always that mid-project schlump but if you can push through it, it feels pretty good. PLUS you get fun new things to decorate the house with :)

SO here are two of the latest projects I've finished:

A wreath for our front door (made from Goodwill scraps). 

Because every "good" homemaker has a wreath up.

Finished TODAY!! A bed for Libby's crate :)

10 Stitches

I've had a small lump on my neck since elementary school. It hasn't ever caused me any problems, but it's gotten a little bigger in the last couple of months and I decided it was time to have it removed. So, I went in. The doctor gave me some local anesthesia, cut the lump out, gave me a few stitches, and sent me on my way. I was in and out within 2 hours. Nice and simple.

While there was nothing to really be afraid of... I was NERVOUS. I mean, I was so tense during the procedure that my upper body started aching before I even left. I guess it was not knowing what the doctor was doing that made me anxious. But I survived!! And I have 10 stitches and a (temporarily) crooked smile to prove it.

On My Radio

I have not been impressed with Georgia's radio stations.  For starters I think there are more Christian stations than every other genre combined.. and that's a lot.  I can only find one top-hits station, and a lot of times it comes in fuzzy.  And to top it off, that ONE top-hits station doesn't even broadcast music on Friday and Saturday night.  What!?  That's right ladies and gentlemen, they broadcast football commentary.  Now I know I'm in the deep south here where people love football and Jesus, but really?  Really??  Oh well.  I guess now I understand why some people might have a hard time keeping up with today's latest.

Because Three is My Favorite Number

I thought today I would share a few facts about myself that you may or may not know. So here we are...
Three Fun Facts about Tarah O'Donahue

1. I like to eat vegetables for breakfast, and I drink hot chocolate year-round.
2. My favorite games are Jenga, Catchphrase, and Rummy.
3. I make the bed every day, even if it's right before I go to sleep.

Blogging Hazards

Hazard #1: The-I-will-tell-you-everything-about-my-life-or-emotionally-vomit-into-cyberspace-sickness.

Nobody wants to read about EVERY detail of your life. And if you have to turn to cyberspace to feel heard, that's just depressing.

Hazard #2: Stranger Danger.

Putting up too much personal information about yourself can present a real safety issue.  I've experienced online stranger danger first-hand and it was creepy! I do NOT want to put myself in that situation again.

These two hazards are at the root of my dilemma about blogging. I want to share, but I don't want to share too much. Add on top of that the fact that my husband is in the military and so there are occasionally things I shouldn't really talk about... and I find myself hesitant to write anything at all.

And that's why I haven't written about our trip to Savannah, my birthday, or Patrick's graduation. At least I have good justification for being a terrible blogger, right?

Caution: Unsolicited opinion ahead!

I have decided that a blog is the PERFECT place to give your unsolicited opinion to the public, so here's is my unsolicited opinion on exclamation marks :)

I've known people who end every sentence they write with an exclamation point.  In fact, I used to be one of those people.  I used to think that using an extra exclamation point would show people that I was really enthusiastic about an idea or especially sincere, but I don't believe that anymore. Now I believe that people should use exclamation points with caution.

Here's why:  When you use exclamation points in excess the emphasis is lost. It's the same concept with highlighters. If you highlight everything nothing will stand out.

So the next time you're tempted to (SHIFT+1)... consider whether you should let your words speak for themselves.

No more little white lies

You know how there are those times in life where you tell a teeny-tiny little white lie to avoid offending someone or embarrassing yourself? Well I have a confession about that..

When someone announces their engagement you're supposed to say, "Congratulations!" or "I'm so happy for you!" (And if you're really feeling enthusiastic you might even say both.)  But for many engagements I didn't really mean it when I said those things. What I was really feeling was jealous.

Now for anyone else who admits to being human I think you can at least understand where I was coming from. I haven't known a single person who spent more time with their single friends after getting engaged, and you might as well forget you ever knew the person after they actually get married.  And on top of that every moment the two love birds are around is a pretty powerful reminder of the fact that you are still struggling through singledom. Some people can be legitimately happy for other people's happiness, but this particular situation was something I really struggled with.

And then I met Patrick. We fell in love. We got engaged. We got married. And pretty much everything in my entire life changed.

 

I was finally in a position to understand why engaged people acted so sappy all the time!  And it made sense to me why newly weds want to spend every waking moment with each other! Because I finally understood what was happening emotionally between the couple I was no longer jealous. I was just happy for them.

The Besties- Mike, Jenni, and Brendan

And now two of my best friends have found their special someone, and I can legitimately say, "Congratulations Mike and Taeler! Congratulations Alex and Jenni! I am SO excited for you. Being married to your special sweetheart is the most wonderful thing in the whole wide world! It'll be hard sometimes, but you'll have each other to hang on to- so hang on tight! You are my best friends, and I am so happy. May you enjoy every happiness in your upcoming marriages!"

Quick Trip to Texas

Last weekend Patrick and I took a quick trip to Texas. We weren't even there for three full days, but it was a great little adventure.

We woke up early on Saturday morning (1:30 AM... yikes!) so that we could make the 2 hour drive to the airport and catch our 5:40 flight. That was a little painful, but I loved that it allowed us to spend a little extra time with my family. On Saturday night Dad and Grandpa Ogzewalla came up from Sugar Land, Eldon finally came home from work, and we all had dinner at Cracker Barrel. It was so fun to visit with everyone, and the food was absolutely delicious!

Sunday morning brought two wonderful surprises. Emma came home, and Patrick's dad happened to be in town. We weren't expecting to see either of them, so it was a REAL treat. Patrick and I spent the day sleeping and visiting with family. Dad invited everyone down for dinner at his house, so between family and more good food... it was a near perfect day :)

Monday had a few hiccups, but we tried not to let it ruin the trip. We had originally planned the trip so that I could renew my driver's license (which expires in August) and so that Patrick could get a Texas driver's license. Well our experience at the DMV was about like every other trip I've ever had there.. an absolute disaster.  First we spent several hours in line (outside) because the payment system was down (across the entire state! and they couldn't even take cash!!), and then we were turned away because they wouldn't accept our proof of residency. So neither of us ended up with a new driver's license.

After disaster at the DMV we got some food (thank you Sonic!), stopped back in Kingwood, and headed for the airport. There was some rough weather in our connecting city, and that made for an extremely long delay, a missed flight, and a good bit of worry, but we made it back to Columbus safely by about 2 AM.

That was our little adventure. It wasn't perfect by any means, but we sure did make some memories :)

A Little Personality

Let's talk about Libby. Because I don't do enough of that already.

Libby is an absolute attention hog! She always wants to be noticed and is not afraid to get in your face and tell you that. It cute, but also a little annoying sometimes. This intense drive to get all the attention possible makes her a true "people pleaser."

She's not perfect though. She does have a tendency to act out if she doesn't get enough attention and sometimes she can be a bit of a selective listener. Oh and sometimes she just has plain old princess syndrome.

This "I'm pretty sure your world should kind of revolve around me just a little" problem would be enough to put anyone out, but the rest of her usually makes up for this short-coming. I mean, who could be mad at that little girl when she's snuggling up to you and giving you kisses?

Now if you thought that all this little girl wanted to do is snuggle you would be mistaken. She does have a tendency to run around like a wild-thing. She's curious and loves to be outside. She can be a little shy/submissive sometimes, but it's mostly because she wants people to like her. This little girl just absolutely loves people.

All of this makes for an interesting mix of fun, sweet, and crazy. And the more I learn about Libby's little personality the more I wonder, "Did I just adopt myself!?" Even with all the crazy, I think it was a good choice.

Libby & Tarah- July 10, 2012

Libby problems

Libby is currently driving me crazy.

She has discovered my shoes and likes to give them what I will call "love marks." Somehow she thinks it is acceptable to do this RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! Absolutely not.

The other thing she likes to do right in front of me is chew on the underside of Patrick's leather armchair. This is also not OK.

Oh and housebreaking? Yeah I thought we'd made a breakthrough this morning when she sat and whined at the door, but she'd actually just heard the dog from across the hall go out.. so she just wanted to go play. This was not a breakthrough.

And training.. ugh. I feel like my vocabulary has been reduced to, "Sit. Leave it. Off. Let's go. Do your thing." and "Good girl!!!" Some of the training is sticking. She'll sit for food or some attention, but she does NOT want to listen when you tell her she can't be on the bed. It's becoming a pretty bad case of selective listening.

One thing she is pretty good at is being my little alarm clock. Nobody sleeps in past 6:30 on Saturday because Libby starts demanding some lovin'! And if you try to take her out and then put her back in her crate you need to be prepared for about an hour of whining. This is also true when I get up and take her out at 4:30 in the morning on the weekdays. #sotired.

And when I think she's FINALLY being cute and snuggly again, she bites my ears and absolutely attacks my hair. That is not cute OR snuggly.

So my sweet little girl is growing up. I know it'll be awhile before she gets over some of this stuff, and I still have a lot of learning and training to do with her. We'll make it. I just need to keep repeating, "Patience, practice, consistency. Patience, practice, consistency."

Choosing to say, "Goodbye"

This week Patrick taught me an important lesson about backing up my decisions.

I realized that one of my biggest stresses right now is the puppies. I started asking myself, "Do I really want two puppies? How is this affecting our family?" So I had to make a hard decision.. And I decided that I could only care for one puppy. That alone was difficult, but then I had to decide which one! Talk about heartbreaking.

Driving Scout to the shelter was about like having the heart ripped out of my chest. I started crying about what was coming before I even left the driveway, and by the time I got there my face was of course covered in nice big red blotches. I had filled out the paperwork, cried my way through several Kleenex, and started saying goodbye to Scout when I realized that in my rush to get the difficult thing over with I had forgotten to let Patrick say goodbye. Oh boy. After all of that I brought Scout back home. I spent the afternoon crying and trying to think of another solution, all the while knowing I had already made the right decision.

When Patrick got home I had to remake for myself the decision to give up Scout. It was awful. And then I tried to explain to Patrick that he had to take Scout back for me; I just couldn't make that drive to the shelter again. Patrick was very kind and supportive, but he told me that if I was going to make this decision I needed to be the one to follow through on it. And so I did.

Patrick came with me, held me hand, wiped my tears, and did the driving home. Having his support was just what I needed to be able to follow through on this difficult decision.  It also taught me a really important lesson: making the decision is only a small part of the bigger battle. Following through, often  in the littlest ways, is how we are really going to win the war.

one BAD week

This last week was the worst.

On Sunday I had to speak in church.  Normally I like public speaking, but it just didn't go as well as I'd hoped. Basically my talk was short. WAY too short. And then I had to substitute for a random class in Primary (with no prior warning). It was just stressful.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday... Not too bad. Except that I think I cried every night for one reason or another. (I'm just really emotional some times. Or all the time.)

I had high hopes that things would start looking up as the weekend got closer (even though Patrick would be gone on Thursday and Friday for some training). But Thursday wasn't any better. In fact, it was even worse.  I was in charge of this Relief Society activity that was an absolute fail.  I made the best of it, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it was incredibly stressful and disappointing.

I finally made it to Friday night. Patrick came home hot, sweaty, and exhausted, but he was home. And even if he was just crashed in the bedroom- he was home. And I love having him home.

Saturday was filled with just getting stuff done. Nothing too exciting, but I did get to spend time with Patrick.  Instead of a date that night we babysat for another couple from church. I hate babysitting, but I said yes because this other woman sounded absolutely desperate for a date with her husband. And I can understand that.

With as much anxiety as I had about babysitting.. it was even worse than I expected.  Their little girl screamed for 5 hours. The parents came home to a quiet house (I'd finally gotten her to sleep about 10 minutes before they arrived) but a red and blotchy faced Tarah that was too traumatized to even be able to carry on a coherent conversation.  Talk about the cherry on top of an awful week!

The good news is that after Saturday night caring for two puppies seems significantly easier. And I don't have any babysitting this week :) So even though it was NOT a wonderful week, I still think it's a wonderful life.

Scout & Libby

The puppies are growing SO FAST, and I am absolutely loving learning about their little personalities.  

I must admit that I was wrong about Scout; he is certainly not the dumb one! In fact he is our house-training champ. He just isn't as "in-your-face" with his demands for affection as Libby is, and sometimes he need a little food to motivate him.  Typical boy :) I'm connecting with him a lot better now that I've realized this, and that's been very encouraging.

The next big news is that... I finally got a camera!! Goodbye to the days of having to try and capture wiggly puppies on my computer. Now that I have an actual camera I've been doing my best to document all of the cute and funny things the puppies do. I've had pretty good success so far (with the help of Patrick), but there are two things that I can't seem to catch on film:

1. Out of nowhere they'll do this cute little crawl. They are 100% stretched out, completely flat on the ground, and then they push off with their toes and inch their way forward. It is hilarious. And adorable. And I'm going to be seriously disappointed if I don't catch it on film.

2. They tease each other to no end! Say Libby wants to play but Scout is tired... Libby will go pick up a toy from their crate and then proceed to dangle it in front of Scout's face until he decides that he wants the toy enough to get up and play. They take turns going back and forth picking toys out to tempt each other with.. It's really funny.

I'll be sure to share some of the pictures and videos I DO have when I get the cord to connect the camera to the computer. When you see more of these little guys you'll understand why I have become slightly puppy obsessed these day :)