Heartbreak.

I am flipping out a little. We're spending all this week getting the house ready for the packers. I am starting to feel really good about that part, although I still think we have too much stuff, but nothing a yardsale can't solve on the other side. 

The thing is, last night we went to eat at our favorite restaurant in Bernkastle. I told the owner that we would be leaving for the US in three weeks and he asked for how long? I said, "Forever." 

He looked like he was about to cry. He grabbed me and gave me a huge hug and said, "No! You all can't leave me here alone!"

Man, that was hard. I almost burst into tears. I said we would come visit, and I fully intend to, but who knows when. Every other week we share our time and smiles there. We have brought every visiting friend there, much of our family, new friends from the base... 

An Indian restaurant is going to break me. 

Today I can't catch my breath quite right. I feel like there is no way I'm going to survive leaving here, our home. In the past few months I've been pushing it away and have planned on going without looking back, but I have a feeling it's going to be much, much harder than that. 

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We were able to get out to Daun Wildpark once more before leaving. The baby boar are so cute (but not the mommas, haha!). And the deer were sure putting on a show for us!

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Just two other things,  a tattoo plan....

And new best friends:

Johnny sits on the couch and calls, "Luckie! Luckie!" until he comes and jumps on his lap. Then he pets the crap outta him. Super cute. Not bad for a dog we almost re-homed because he was so nasty to the baby, I'm so glad to see this!! It definitely unbreaks my heart. <3

Turtle suitcase.

 Oh, packing. I've been great at packing my whole life, like a tetras master ;D and I always, always do it last minute. I'm not a light packer, either and once I had Johnny I figured I'd always have to lug around a million pounds of extras. This time I decided to really cut it down and super pack for our 8 week 'trip'. We'll be in a hotel at first, starting the first of August, then at some friends' houses, my grandparents' house and then on our way to Arizona finally in October. The last thing I want to being doing is hauling a huge suitcase, a carseat, some carry-ons, and a kid.
Awhile back I saw an article about a stewardess who can pack for ten days in a carry-on. My smallest suitcase is a larger carry-on. It can be used as one if not extended but it's pretty roomy once the zipper extension is open. I did a test run today to see if I could fit it all in.
I made a very specific list then gathered all the ingredients and set to work.

Here's what I had to fit:

Me:

• toiletry bag (makeup, soap, tooth brushes, hair brushes, ect.)
• sewing kit (with hand sewing projects included) 
• 2 pairs of shoes, vans and maryjanes
• swimsuit
• 6 pairs of underwear
• 3 pairs of socks
• 2 pairs of leggings, one pair of tights
• 5 tanktops
• 1 long sleeved shirt
• 4 t-shirts
• 1 pair yoga pants, 1 pair yoga shorts
• 1 pair shorts
• 1 pair of jeans
• 2 dresses
• 3 sweaters

Johnny:

• 6 diapers for night time
• 2 pairs of shoes
• 6 pairs of underwear
• 6 pairs of socks
• swim trunks
• 3 pajamas
• 2 long sleeved shirts
• 4 t-shirts
• 1 button-up shirt
• 3 pairs of shorts
• 3 pairs of pants
• 1 sweatshirt

I almost can't believe it, but it all fit!! I had all the clothing piled up next to the suitcase while rolling everything and was SURE there was no way it was going to work, but then there was even room for Turtle! Amazing.

We will obviously be wearing one outfit each on the plane, which are not listed above.  

I will have a carry-on with a shawl for me, a change of clothes for J, my camera, a couple books, a handful of toys and some snacks. 

I am also sending a box to my gram's with some art stuff, some school stuff, a couple pairs of shoes, and some sweatshirts to hold us over into fall in New Hampshire. 

I bought an airplane seat strap for J (like this) to avoid carrying the carseat onto the plane. I'll be carrying him in his hiking backpack to make things much easier while not on the plane. I'm not sure yet what's going on on the other side of the pond once we get there, so I'm trying to make sure I have all our bases covered. If we have to do some walking I want to be prepared.

So anyway, hooray! I declare project packing a success!! We actually have our entire household shipped in about 2 weeks, so this is a huge relief. It seems like such a tiny amount to live on for 8 weeks, and especially in comparison to the rest of the house! We have a lot of stuff.

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As for the rest of this past week, I've got a new finished tattoo for ya....

And some yummy cupcakes for our friend's son's birthday!

the morning after.

Painting late at night can lead to some hurried and ridiculous mistakes. I'm always thankful when I wake up in the morning and see the finished product and it's in the safe zone... although I'm not quite sure what's going on with the elbow, haha!!

The main thing is I wish I had gotten my act together and created an original Captain America drawing, but that's what happens when you start planning a gift at 10:30 the night before a birthday party! It was fun, though as I haven't drawn a comic book character since about 9th grade I think.  

Anyway, here he is, all done (this photo is a bit darker than the painting): 

acrylic on canvas, 23"x31"

'Merica! Eff YEA! ;)

art and monster movies.

It's about 3 a.m. and I'm ready to head to bed. I've been up much of the night working on an art project, a painting for one of Johnny's friend's for his birthday tomorrow. Way to procrastinate again, although I did manage to get it done! This is such a comfortable spot for me, up late painting. It reminds me so much of high school and times pre-kiddo. 

Speaking of the kiddo, he's found a favorite spot in the house to hang out, on the living room window sill! 

And yesterday in the kitchen I spent most of the day walking over or around these toys. I imagined him planning a grand scale Mothra-type movie... Snake vs. Lobster anyone?

I've been working quickly to get all my long-term tattoo clients wrapped up, since our house gets packed in just two weeks now! There are several, but this is one I've gotten a good photo of so far, a bit of a retake on Little Red Riding Hood! 

:)

Pake. Fo serious.

A pake (we don't know what else to call it) is a delicious fruit pie baked into a delicious cake. No, really.  A pie-cake. Pake. Or, piecaken, like turducken, but oh, so much better. ;) 

Melissa said we should make one weeks ago, and Brenda and I laughed at her and then decided to make her one for her birthday! 

It was FUN. 

Seems sad though to mess up a perfectly good pie! 

They fell apart in the cake batter, but no biggie! It still tasted crazy good.

Raspberry pie on one side.

Blueberry on the other. Both in chocolate cake and topped with vanilla frosting. All hand-made, all vegan!

We decided it would make a really good Thanksgiving dessert. Maybe pumpkin pie with spice cake? Man, the possibilities are endless.

We ate a lot of that, then sat around a Fourth of July fire, finally soaking up a warm summer night!

 Woot! Summer is finally shaping up!!

Sun and cherries.

Johnny and I spent some time with the ladies yesterday, Brenda and Melissa. We went out for lunch, did some shopping, hit up a market, enjoyed the sun!! 

Afterwards we went to see the Gossip in Luxembourg for Melissa's birthday! Really, really amazing show. The singer had phenomenal stage presence and was incredibly fun to watch and interact with! In the same venue, next door, was Patti Smith! When we left the doors were open so we spent spent some time dancing around in the hall watching her over everyone's heads- pretty awesome!

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I've been painting some. I NEED to do it a lot more. I'm having fun with it, painting gifts for friends  :)

I should be blogging a lot more because I deactivated my facebook page. It's only temporary, but I think it'll be a nice change of pace :)
Now we're off to decide what to do this July Fourth!