Sweetbippy

If my Sister can direct her readers here so she doesn’t have to blog about our trip, then I can steal her random confessions and put some of my strange thoughts on “paper”. So here goes…

 

• I really want a pair of cowboy boots. To wear with a cute little dress like this one below. (Except I want to wear mine with a chunky coral necklace and maybe a leather belt. Who knows, I’ll be skinny then, so I could totally pull it off!) So cute huh??

 

                         
                        via Mighty Girl                                                 via Chictopia

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• I really need to hang up some curtains in  my craft room/playroom/office/crap holder. The sun is just brutal in the mornings and I want to hang a flag banner I bought in Amsterdam. The one I want to hang is polka dots, but I have this one too:

 

• I am completely out of nail polish remover, so I am one of those women who I look at and think, “Goodness girl, ever heard of a manicure?!” ( I don’t really think that about other women, just myself. Anyone want to get me a manicure for my anniversary? Inquire here. )
• I told you they were random thoughts!
• I have lost 22.6 lbs since I started my get healthy journey in March. I celebrated on Facebook with all my friends and family, but I came to realize that losing over twenty pounds means my jeans look HECKA better on me than ever! I don’t have that post baby (yes I know my youngest is almost 8, but it’s still a fact!) tummy hang over anymore! (at least when I’m standing and isn’t that what’s important here people?)
• I like to use a lot of parenthesis to emphasize rationalize my weird and random thoughts. Don’t judge.
• I really dislike when I insert a picture on my blog, live writer decides that I can’t make a numbered list anymore and starts my next entry at 1. again. Grrr…then I have to put it in bullet form. A techno geek I am not. Guess I don’t care that much or else I would know how to get around that. (Should that have gone in parenthesis?) Parenthesis paranoia, it’s real. Look it up.
• I really love mashed potatoes. I’m serious. I don’t eat a lot of desserts (hard to believe I know, as much as I talk about chocolate) but I could eat me a whole bucket of mashed taters. In fact  I ate the last of the mashed potatoes tonight for dinner. I am sad.
• When ever I look over at my box of HAPPYDENT gum that I got in Florence, I smile. It’s all in Italian, I love that.  And it’s supposed to make my teeth white, but in Italian.
• I want to write notes to people. Thank you notes. Not sure what I want to thank everyone for, but I’ll come up with something. Send me your address and I’ll thank you. For sending me your address, but with a card. Deep no?
• After two weeks of recovering from two weeks of walking EVERYWHERE, I think I’m ready to get back in the gym. (Mom if you are reading this, you may or may not have had an influence on my decision. I’m just sayin’, maybe it was you telling me to get my ass to the gym, maybe not. I’ll never tell. ;o) )
• I bought stuff to make chocolate chip cookies. I may or may not eat any. I’ll never tell.
• I have no idea what I will do with myself for 6 whole hours a day for 5 WHOLE days next week during the kids Mission Kids Day Camp. Any suggestions? Anyone who mentions going to the gym will be asked to leave the premises immediately! NO BLOG FOR YOU!
• I read my Oprah magazine cover to cover and enjoyed an hour and a half of “me” time. I was only interrupted 7 times. That’s a new worlds record for least number of buggings during “me” time. Good job kids! Mama feels brand new.
• I want to make some cards (maybe thank you notes) but I’m out of adhesive. You’re welcome, I knew you wanted to know that. Feel free to send me some. I like the Hermafix brand.

Thanks for playing along. This concludes the random thoughts/confessions portion of the blog. Please stay tuned for the next episode of The Harms Family Globetrotters, coming to Sweetbippy.com any day now. I must go eat some chocolate chips.  Or not.

 

Tootles,

When I last checked in with you, I was coming to you live from the air!! In a plane! Over Canada/the Atlantic somewhere…

 

 

That plane ride was seriously the longest I’ve ever been in a seat, but we made it safe and sound and touched down in Amsterdam at 7:45am. That’s a 7 hour difference between Texas and there. It was 12:45am at home! Just about the time I would be going to bed.

 

I mentioned breakfast (that was pretty lame and tasted worse the “second” time I tasted it if you know what I mean) on the plane. We were not impressed, but I think they were just ready to get us off the plane and on our way.

 

We made it to baggage claim and gathered all our bags, hit the bathrooms (which had orange toilet paper! I thought that was pretty darn weird, so I took a picture of it. Later I was told it was because of the World Cup and Holland’s color is orange)

 

and after going through customs, we headed out to the “mall” area of the airport. These aren’t even a tiny portion of what is there. I snapped these two photos as we were walking out to the taxi’s. I couldn’t believe my eyes! I wanted to go shopping!

 

 

 

Out side of the Schiphol Airport is a whole network of transportation. Buses, taxi’s, and cars picking up and taking you anywhere you need to go.

 

Below Dad and I as we all met at our gate in Detroit. Fresh as a daisy! Ready to fly the friendly skies! The next picture is in the taxi in Amsterdam, a little worse for wear! Nine hours in a plane will do that to you!!

        

 

We found our taxi and all piled in! It was a weird van ride to the hotel. We must have taken the scenic route because we went through a lot of trees, and lots of canals. After we took a bunch of strange turns and I saw an ALDI grocery store near our Hotel, we arrived!

 

Dad and I shared a room on the 7th floor. It was a suite that had 2 twin beds and a sitting area with windows on each wall. The curtains and lights were controlled by a remote, so you didn’t have to get out of bed to turn off the lights. It was all very fancy-schmancy! I felt like a celebrity (because deep down inside you know I am- in my own fantasy world)!

 

 

Here is the view from our room. Gorgeous canal view with rooftops as far as the eye can see. It was really cool to look out at the people riding their bikes and boats along the canal. The whole time we were there the cottonwood trees were releasing their seeds and it was flying through the air like snowflakes! It was quite a strange site!

 

 

After we got settled in our rooms, we went downstairs to view and coordinate the set up for the Conference/Trade Show with Reverse Logistics Associations (who so graciously allowed my Dad and I to be a World Travelers with their company).

We walked down Ferdinand Bol Straat (straat is dutch for street) and took a look around the local neighborhood. Most of the shops were closed. They close at 6pm daily and all day Sunday. The sun rises at 5:15am and sets just after 10pm there, so needless to day, my body was sure turned around as far as when to wake up and especially when to eat!  This night we found a Sicilian Pizza place and had a great meal.

Here, Dad, Leslie, and I are posing in front of the canal by our Hotel. It was about 7 or 8pm at night. Crazy huh? It’s still light outside!!

 

Here is a horrible google map street view of the restaurant we found for dinner. I didn’t really know it’s name and I don’t think it does either. So we’ll call it Sicilia, the Pizza Place. They were sort of friendly and the food was really good. Cheap too. Only 34 Euro for dinner.

 

 

In Europe, if you want a Diet Coke, you have to ask for a Coca Cola LIGHT. If you say Diet Coke, they look at you strange. Everything in Amsterdam came in tiny wee glass bottles. I loved the little drinking glasses. They were so European! (I’m a dork, I know!)

 

 

Here are the three of us waiting patiently on our Italian dinner. I guess we couldn’t wait to get to Italy to have Italian food! I had a pasta dish with anchovies and capers in it (which didn’t taste anything like it had anchovies in it, but whatever, it was good), Leslie had tortellini with pesto cream sauce, and Dad had a prosciutto and anchovy pizza I think. I was so tired I forgot to take pictures! But I got pictures of my two favorite traveling companions!

 

 

We enjoyed our dinner, stuffed ourselves silly, and had a nice walk back to the Hotel. Fascinated by all the canals, I stopped to take one last picture before heading back to our room. It’s 9:30pm here and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was 4 in the afternoon! What a mind bend! Lovely view though, don’t you think?

 

 

All in all, we had a good but long day of travel. This was the start of a hard week of work and tension, but one experience I wouldn’t have traded for anything. I knew this was going to be a vacation of a lifetime!

 

 

Stay tuned for the upcoming installments of The Harms Family Globetrotters take on Europe!

 

 

I’m coming to you “live” from flight 242 out of Detroit, MI en route to Amsterdam, Netherlands. It’s been an uneventful flight, except for the sore bum and back. There isn’t much leg room in this row, and there is a HUGE gap near the window where I’m sitting, so I have to prop my tote bag on the arm rest and use that as a pillow holder-upper. Wheeee!! Isn’t this fun so far?

We boarded our flight less than an hour after we left our home cities. Dad, Leslie, and I all walked to our gate at almost the same exact time! I heard my Dad whistle my Angie whistle and I knew he was close by. I can’t really explain it other than to say, he whistles the syllables of my name. He does it with my Sister too, since we were little girls. I love that sound, it means my Daddy is here!!

This is a pretty big plane. We are in the first section behind the hoity-toity passengers, or as I like to call it, first class. Dad and I are on the right side of the plane in two seats, and Leslie is in the middle on the end in the same row as us. For such a large plane, the seat feels smaller to me than the small commuter plane I flew out of Dallas.
The bathrooms/lavatory on the plane is actually bigger than I expected it to be. Or maybe I’m smaller than I thought I was. In my mind, I was a large woman trying to fit into a small space just to pee. I don’t know if this happens to you, but I’ve had to go at least 5 times since I left Dallas. I didn’t think my bladder could hold that much!
OK, enough with the TMI.

We had a snack and beverage first, then about an hour later, we were served dinner. Our choice was chicken or pasta. It came with a pre-dinner appetizer of a cheese snack and two crackers, followed by a small green salad with 2 cucumber slices and a radish slice. A roll with butter, and stuffed pastas with marinara sauce was the main course. For dessert we had a blondie bar, it was soo good, and only 3 pts! I don’t know how many points the rest of the meal was, but it couldn’t have been more than 11 total. That’s my guess anyway.

After dinner we rested for a bit. I tried to watch the movie “When in Rome” and I couldn’t keep my eyes open. So I snoozed for a while until we hit some turbulence and I was wide awake for the next 20 minutes or so. Exciting stuff here people!!

We’re about 1.5 hours to our destination, and they’re supposed to be starting the breakfast service soon. I’m getting a little hungry. All this sitting makes your bum hurt and your tummy hungry.

Speaking of tummies. Both flights have been encouraging to my weight loss efforts because 20 lbs. really does make a difference in how you not only feel about your body, but how well your body feels out in the world. New clothes are an obvious bonus, but I haven’t flown much in the last 10 year. I can tell you this backside has been squished and pinched all to accommodate the person sitting next to me, so I am not busting in on their personal space with my behind hangover. I’m typing this with the tray table down and that has never happened before. Now I can’t wait to go ride a go cart without getting stuck. That happened once, I couldn’t lift myself out of the go-cart because I had no upper body strength and a big butt. Wow, enough about that too. I didn’t realize I was so into talking about my butt. LOL

Here comes the breakfast cart! That means we’re almost there!! Yippee!!

More adventures from the Harms Family Globetrotters coming soon!

Molto Amore,

Angie the World Traveler

I am a little. I keep talking about my trip to Europe here and here.  I’m sort of tired of talking about it…nah, not really! I’m excited and I can see it more and more in my minds eye because I’m ticking off the To-Do’s on my lists!

Here are a few of my favorite finds! Everything I am purchasing for this trip can be mixed and matched with what I already have. Most important was finding a good pair of shoes to walk around in that looked cute with all my clothes! You know how I love me some shoes. A girl has to have priorities!

Sweater on clearance at Old Navy- good for air conditioned chilly spots and cute with my new skirt.

 

 

Cute ruffle front top and tiered skirt
pair really well with my new comfy shoes.

I was actually thinking about jazzing this skirt up with some embroidery floss and a little swirly action. What do you think? I can’t find any examples anywhere. These things are all in my mind…it’s a jumbled up place to live folks!

 

I think these have got to be the most comfortable shoes 
I’ve owned in a really long time. My only problem with them: 
they turn my toes black from the dye in the leather. Oh well, happy feet
seem to be the priority! 

 

What will I carry these lovely gems in you ask?

I found a great bargain at Sears for this American Tourister luggage set. Originally $119.00, Sears had them on sale for $49.99!! Saaahweet! The tote doesn’t have much structure, but I can still use it to carry my computer and all my purse guts for on the plane. I’m a happy girl!

 

There are still a few things left on my list of must haves, like noise reducing headphones and a camera. I have the incidentals already, like a pillow, travel blanket, and even a travel make-up bag. Only 23 days left! Seems like far away, yet I know it’s only around the corner!

A bonus visit from my Sister over Memorial Day weekend is icing on the cake!   I told her I needed her help figuring out what to pack, but really I want her to be able to spend some time with the kids before this summer is over. We’re going to have to squeeze in a lot of fun in just a few short days, so we’ve got to make it count!

I’ve got a list of fun things I want to do with her when she gets here. I love lists you know, weather I complete them or not! :o) I’ll spare you another trip post and list all the fun things we can do in four days! Stay tuned…

 

 

You heard that right! 27 days until I board a plane for Detroit and then me and my two adventure buddies head out over the big blue Atlantic to beautiful Amsterdam.

 

 

Guess what?! I’m excited! I’m scared! I’m making a hundred different lists that need to be checked off and then executed before I even leave for the airport!! Someone give me a valium, please!

 

My mind is swirling with things that need/have to be done in those 27 days so that I can leave for 2 1/2 weeks and know that my family is taken care of in my absence. Not that my husband isn’t capable, but I would like to leave him with a plan and a sense of peace, not chaos and lots of fast food runs! And besides, I’m kind of a control freak. What? Don’t laugh, you know it’s true.

 

Some of my lists include:

Meal plans for Jon with recipes

Chore suggestions to keep the house running smoothly and stress free

Packing- this is a MUST, but I’m working on what I need to supplement to my wardrobe because I am still in the process of losing weight and and unsure of my clothing sizing. This is a GOOD thing and a BAD thing, all at the same time!

Checking off lists of doctors to see, medications to make sure are up to date, and making sure my insurance is accessible overseas.

A must- Checking with ATT about my phone/internet coverage for my iPhone while I’m over there. I must find out if I can add to my plan so I can call my babies and wake them up in the morning or heck, even call my Dad in the other part of the hotel if need be.

Planning what I’ll want to pack in my carry on bag for the flights and making sure my iPhone doesn’t crap out on me in the middle of the flight. That would stink!

 

Overall, I’m excited and anxious to just go already, but I know preparation is the key, so I’m making my lists. I’m checking them like an OCD mad woman, but a list maker and worry wart has to do what she has to do!  

One thing I get to cross off my list is my passport! I got it in the mail about 3 weeks ago and I’m pretty jazzed about it! I sure can tell though I’ve lost 15 lbs since that picture was taken. I hope they recognize me when I go through customs! What do you think? Can you tell a difference?

 

How could I have forgotten the most important thing?! My plane tickets! Maybe they weren’t on my list because I didn’t have to book them! My Dad went through all the frustration and elation of getting out tickets to both Amsterdam and Florence. At one point, he was sure he was going to have to fly home by himself though Paris because all the seats on our plane were full! I almost told him to send me home through Paris so I could spend the 14 hour layover exploring the airport, so I could say I’ve been to Paris too! But…I changed my mind when I realized it would take me over 31 hours to get home. No thanks.

Passport: CHECK 

Plane Tickets: CHECK

So far so good!

 

All in all, I’m really looking forward to hitting the town and shopping around for everyday souvenirs for Jon and the kids. Wouldn’t it be cool if I could find some Pokémon cards in Dutch for the boys or some fun bracelets for the girls at the local drug store? I think so, I hope the kids would like that too!

Last year, Dad and Leslie had to go to the drug store for supplies.   What they were looking for and what they found were very different to a couple of Americans! A search for band-aids resulted in 4 inch long bandages that wrapped around Dad’s finger. Vinger Pliesters is what they were called in my phonetic Dutch. I can’t find an example on the net because I think I need to speak Dutch to understand all the websites, but you get the idea.

I searched through a lot of their web albums today and revisited all the places they went. I tried to picture myself there, but my minds eye couldn’t do it. I guess I’ll just have to go and experience the real thing!! I think I can handle that.

 

IN OTHER NEWS… How about bullet form? Shall we?

• Daniel played Daniel Boone tonight in the 5th grade Wax Museum at school. He was nervous and stumbled some of his lines, but after the parental units left, I’m sure he did great!
• Lauren is preparing for a choir banquet that is happening in a couple of weeks. They’re not performing, but get to go to a formal dance as an end of the year party.  I think we’ll be shopping for a new dress this weekend and scheduling a hair cut soon. She is excited and so am I! I get to dress her up like a doll and she’s even going to let me do her hair!! Squeeeee!! Maybe she’ll let me do her make-up too??
• Brenna is rehearsing for a big Spring Pop Choir concert with no less than 7 dances. They’ll be performing music from Glee and other pop hits. She is excited but loaded down with end of the year projects and tests to prepare for. She’ll do fine, but you know how it is when you get near to the end of school! Summer fever is in full swing.

• Michael Jon is going to sing with the Praise Kids choir at church this Sunday. He is over the moon because he gets to “dress up”. Meaning, he wants to wear his suit that he got for Christmas from Grampa Mike. I told him we should get him a new tie. He’s down with that!!
  I just realized something…
  I sense a running theme here. My kids like to perform in front of people, musically. Hmm… maybe I should have named after the Von Trapp’s and they could have had a shot in show business?! Oh btw-I have NO idea where they get the need to be in the spotlight. I’m just sayin’.

Jon is recovering from a slight knee injury. He was so excited to start Weight Watchers and working out that he tweaked his knee and had to go back to the approach of being kind and tender to his body. His knee is thanking him and he’s back on track to someday run that 5K he training for. He’s lost just over 10 lbs. I’m so proud of him!

I’ve stalled as far as Weight Watchers is concerned. I’ve allowed some stress to lure me off track and I haven’t been writing down my meals in over a week. I feel like I’ve got the points thing down to some degree, but obviously, I lost 0.0 lbs this last week, so what I’m doing is clearly not working for me. I really just need to get off my “stress-me-go-round” and walk it out on the treadmill. It always makes me feel better and more focused on tracking my food intake. I’m gonna just “DO IT!”

 

So, that’s the latest NEWS from the Bippy household. We’re all just chugging along, preparing for the next big thing and counting down the days until my vacation. Wheee!!!

• I like to eat with big spoons. You know those little teaspoons that you use to stir coffee with or give to the kids? Yeah well, I hate ‘em. I like the big spoons cuz you can get more on it! Cereal takes forever to eat with the tiny spoons. If forced to, I will use a small spoon to eat yogurt, but that’s about it.
• In the utensil category, I also HATE salad forks. Those handles are so short, they drive me mad when I have to use one. I like the larger forks and I will actually judge a restaurant on their fork size. I know it’s not the size that matters, but for me, the bigger the fork, the better. (Ha! get your mind out of the gutter…teehee) Oh and if someone at home tries to give me a small fork at dinner I go and get the right one. They don’t so much do that anymore though, I guess I’ve taught them well.
• I have a very specific bed time routine. It’s not always at the same time every night, but the ritual is the same. I wash my face, brush my teeth, and take my medicine. Then I plug my phone in. I fluff my pillows, and pull back the covers. I get all snug and cozy. While I wait for my sleeping pill to kick in, I read Facebook, Twitter, and play ONE game of Scrabble against the computer (I always win) and then I turn the light out. I turn over to the other side and go to sleep. Now, don’t you feel better knowing that? I sure do.
• I have a hard time finishing projects. Cases in point: The kitchen, still needs base moulding and the ceiling painted. I have at least 10 sewing projects still waiting to be finished (started really because I bought the fabric, but haven’t done anything with it yet- I have plans though!!) and I have a dozen painting projects that need to be done so the house will finally look put together. Why do I wait?? Well, the weather has been a big factor for the painting, but the others? Well, I think I’m just an idea person and not so much a follow through-er.
• If you ask me to work on something for you, most likely I’ll say yes, and then forget to do it. I guess the bottom line is, don’t ask me so you won’t be disappointed when it doesn’t get done OR expect that I’ll forget and forgive me in advance! LOL

 

That’s all I can think of for now… I think you probably know almost all there is to know about me, so this list is short!

 

I’ll update you on the Italy planning: I am this close —- to getting my passport!! I had to send away for my birth cert. because the card I tried to use from Alaska didn’t work. I’ll be sending it to South Carolina tomorrow and hopefully, I’ll be getting it in the next couple of weeks!! I’m so excited!!!

Our travel dates have changed too, we’ll be leaving a week earlier because we’ll be working a trade show with my Sister! I can’t wait for that either. It will be so much fun to work with her and explore Amsterdam that week.

 

Sorry I’ve been MIA…just haven’t felt much like blogging. You know how it goes? I’ve been living life and working on my health. That takes up  lot of time and the rewards are so sweet!!

 

So until next time…I’m going to go get started on that bedtime routine! Night!!

See that list over there? To the right…yeah that one.

 

Um……

 

I’m not doing so well at  crossing those things off the list.

I have had a date night with hubby, kept up with birthdays (so far)…and that’s about it. I’m not sure if sleeping a lot is doing something nice for myself.

 

I have to remind myself that it’s only a list and although I REALLY want to get a lot of those things done, I’m only human…of flesh and blood…a man. Wait. I guess that song doesn’t really apply. Surry.

Moving on….

 

What have I been doing you ask??

 

I’ve been trying to get over being sick. Sick with mysterious “allergies” that feel like a sinus infection, but don’t present like one. Sick with a tight burning chest and a cough that isn’t really responding to the nebulizer treatments.

I’ve missed the last 4 Sundays at church, either because I was sick or one or more of the kids were sick.

 

Being sick sure does take up a lot of time and energy. Ask my Sister, she knows all too well. I don’t know how she does it. All. The. Time.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

I’ve been enjoying watching the Winter Olympics! They are probably the only sports I enjoy watching.

Some of my favorites to watch:

Short Track Speed Skating

Ski Jump

Curling

Moguls

Half Pipe

I think the only thing we haven’t watched is Ice Hockey. I like to watch that in person, but not so much on TV.

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

I’m super excited to be preparing for a trip to Europe this summer with my Dad. My Sister  and Dad went last year after a business conference and Dad promised he’d take me there one day. This year is my year!

Who wouldn’t want to go here?

 

I have mixed feelings. I have always dreamed of traveling but because of my severe motion sickness, it’s sort of been just that; a dream. After I discovered a patch to wear behind my ear, I am able to fly without puking and I’m sure go on a train as well.

We’ll be meeting my Sister in Amsterdam at the end of her conference, and then see my friend Nanci, that I’ve known since the 4th grade. She lives there with her sweet little family of 3. After our visit, it’s on to Italy!! I am just along for the ride, and Dad is making all the plans, but I KNOW it’ll be an experience I’ll never forget.

I’m mostly looking forward to experiencing Italy with my Dad. When you don’t know how long you have to spend with someone, every second is precious!

Besides, we have such a good time when we’re together, who wouldn’t want to spend 10 days with these guys??

 

So…the first thing that should be on my To Do List, is get a passport! I’ll be working on that, and my diet. I have a personal goal to lose 20 lbs. by June 1st. We’ll see how that goes, but I have a really good feeling about it.