They lied.  They all lied.  They lied straight to my face, those rat bastards.

Everyone always talked about how traveling for your company (or travel in general) was so glamorous.  See fabulous places, meet new and interesting people.  What they DIDN'T tell you was that you spend all your freaking time in damn airports!

Over the past few weeks, I've come to realize that I know the Amsterdam airport better than I knew my college campus.  I was at my college for eight years.  How wrong is that?!  I'm so sick of airports, and airport scanners, customs and immigration, and freaking security checks that I nearly went off on the immigration official here in England when I got off the plane this afternoon.  On top of that, it was brought to my attention that I need additional pages added to my passport because all the "Visa" pages are full, except one.  So, that means I need to mail the passport to the consulate, pay money for expediting, and get that crap sorted out, because there are no in-person appointments available for the rest of the month.  Sigh...I need a break.

But, on the other hand, a break is just around the corner!  About ten minutes ago, I finished my PADI Open Water Diver course and passed my exam...97%, baby!  I'm super excited about Wednesday, which is when we fly out to Palma de Mallorca for our diving (I need to do some confined water dives, and an open water dive, to be fully certified).  I absolutely LOVE Spain, and Palma is a gorgeous island!  I wish we were taking some time to go back to Barcelona (my all-time favorite city, ever), but we don't have the extra vacation days.  We're trying to pack in everything we can over this last year (Jamie's contract for this program should be finishing up midway through 2013), so we want to try to get as many travel opportunities in before we (potentially) move home.  Still not sure what is next for his job, but there is a possibility we'll move back to the States, so we want to take advantage of all our time here while we can.

Then, hopefully, at the end of the month, we might be making a trip to London.  It'll just be a weekend trip (leave Friday after work and return on Sunday), but I'm super excited to go!  We've not been to London yet, and though we'll be there for the Olympics, we won't be doing any sightseeing during the games (it'll be way too crowded for all that).  So, we're hoping to get a few weekend trips in so that we can see the London sights without all the massive crowds that will be there for the Games.  Of course, this is all dependent on whether I can get my passport with the additional pages added back from the Consulate in time for the trip...we'll see.  Sometimes the Consulate here in the Netherlands is SUPER fast, other times, not so much.

What else...Jamie had an MRI done on his back on Saturday.  He's supposed to get the results back from the Neurologist the Monday after we return from Palma.  I really hope that it gives us an idea of what is going on.  The neuro doesn't THINK he has MS, but it hasn't been 100% ruled out either.  I'm trying really hard not to worry about it too much until we know something definitive.  Hopefully, it's nothing that some exercise and physio won't fix! 

Ummm...what else.  Honestly, not much.  I've been super busy with work, and my SCUBA course, and all of Jamie's doctor's appointments and whatnot.  We've just been hanging out, and getting back into the swing of working out again!  We started running a few weeks ago...I love having him for a running partner!  He always knows how to encourage and keep me going...I'm so incredibly thankful for him.

And, to all the lovely Mothers out there (including my own), I wish you all a Happy Mother's Day!  Hope it is everything you wished for!

XOXOXOXO,
K.

Sigh.  For those that have been around for awhile and who know me, you know that I've dealt with skin cancer.  Several times.  I think I'm up to 10, currently, but honestly...I've lost count.

A few years back, I noticed a spot on Jamie's back that looked weird, and I told him to get it checked out.  He faffed around a bit, then finally went to the dermatologist, only to be told that he had skin cancer.  As though I didn't know what I was talking about!  Then, for a few years, we were both good!  When I went home last fall, I had another routine check-up with my dermatologist and came home with a sore spot on my hip and pre-melanoma removed.  Glad it was caught in time, but man, my skin needs a break!

So...a few weeks ago, Jamie and I found a spot on his neck.  It was growing pretty rapidly, seeing as how it wasn't there a week or two prior to that.  I told him it needed to get looked at, and we made him an appointment with his dermatologist here.  He went in today, and sure enough...cancer again!  Luckily, it is either basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma, which are two reasonably easy cancers to get rid of.  A little slice, a little dice, and it's gone.  They're going to remove it in a few weeks, and then he gets the privalege of check-ups every six-months.  Lucky boy!

So, here's a little PSA for all of you.  CHECK YOUR SHIT!  Seriously, skin cancer isn't something to fuck around with.  Wear your sunscreen, stay out of the sun, and for god's sake, don't fake n' bake.  And, while you're at it, slather up your kids too. 

Your welcome, in advance.

Sincerely,
Cancer McCancersons and her husband, Mr. Skintastic

Protected post is up.

Our 4 year wedding anniversary is coming up next month, and I have no idea what to get Jamie.  The traditional wedding presents are flowers and fruit, but frankly...I'm not sending my husband flowers.  He'd be like, "umm...thanks?" and then they'd die.  He loves fruit, so I can easily do some chocolate covered strawberries for him (his favorite), but I'd like to get him something else.  Which got me thinking...fruit...apples...APPLE!

Yeah...we're pretty much an Apple family.  Our work laptops are PCs (sadly), and we also have a PC for a personal laptop, but when that sucker dies, it's going to be a MAC.  They may be more expensive, but we really like the user interface a lot more, plus it has a lot of photo editing features that are easier to use than PCs (and Jamie and I love photography, and take pictures constantly). 

Then, I realized that Jamie's iPod touch is about dead.  It won't hold charge anymore, and it's bulky to use when working out (the thing is huge, let's be honest), so I thought about getting him a replacement.  I don't want to spend a lot of money on a gift, since the day after our anniversary we're heading to Palma, Spain for a SCUBA certification course for me (and to relax at the beach).  So, that will be our main gift to each other, but I'd like to get him something small, just for him.

Soooo...I think I'm going to get him an iPod Shuffle.  It's super tiny, it clips to your workout clothing, and can be worn with a wristband as a watch.  Even better, you can get it engraved for free (like I did his iPad), which I really like.  It's not like we care about resell value (since getting it engraved makes it harder to sell)...we tend to use these things until they die.

I think I'll get him the blue one.  He loves the color blue, plus it'll be easier to find than the standard silver one (since he has a tendency to toss things in a drawer until he uses them...sigh.  At first, I thought the color was a bit girly, and then I realized that it matches the color of his eyes, so I was hooked (I absolutely LOVE Jamie's eyes...gorgeous).  So...too bad...it might be girly, but it reminds me of him.  Plus...it's only $49 online, and I might be able to get it cheaper from Target or Wal-Mart online (though no engraving...but that's ok).  I'll do some shopping around to get the best deal, and go from there!

Finally...I have an anniversary gift idea, and I figured it out EARLY!  That said...do any of you have better ideas?  I'm still open to suggestions since I haven't bought it yet!

XOXOXO,
K.

I feel like 2012 year is flying by!  It just seems like yesterday it was New Year's Eve and we were talking about all we wanted out of this year because it would probably be our last here in Europe.  Now, it's already April, and we have no idea where we'll be in a year's time.  Sometimes, I appreciate the uncertainty.  I think it's God's way of preparing me for the uncertainty of life in general, and reminding me that sometimes I just need to let go of my need for control of all things in life.  Because, honestly, it isn't going to happen.  I'm never going to be 100% in control of everything, and I need to learn to accept this.  Jamie would refer to this as a "learning opportunity."  He's probably right (though I don't tell him this because he's already near impossible to live with).

I've started taking prenatal vitamines now, and I have an appointment on Friday to switch antidepressents.  Once that is done, I'll probably stop taking birth control next month to give my body a few months to even out.  Then, once we decide what we're doing next year, the baby making is on.  It's hard to imagine that, come next year, we might be parents!  I'm not getting my hopes up that we'll get pregnant right away, but it would still be pretty amazing.

In other news, I'm holding on until Saturday.  Since it's a holiday weekend (we get Easter Monday off here in the NL), we're taking a long weekend to go to Norway and hike/kayak along the fjords!  I'm so excited, especially because I absolutely LOVE Norway!  It's so gorgeous, and very devoted to outdoor activities, which is perfect for Jamie and I.  We're getting in mid-morning on Saturday, exploring on our own that day (probably hiking some), then kayaking and hiking on Sunday), then we have a half day on Monday (until around 3pm) to do our own thing before our flight home.  We definitely need the break, as these past few weeks with work have been absolutely ridiculous, so this will be a nice way to relax.

After that, we have a trip planned to Mont St. Michel in France for our anniversary!  We leave the day after our anniversary, and have a long weekend in France (Thursday - Sunday).  We're going to hit up some wineries and explore the area, and basically relax.  We're going with friends, so it should be a great time overall!  We've been in northern France before (to see the beaches of Normandy), but we didn't have time to see Mont St. Michel, so I'm really excited.  You used to only be able reach the island when the tides were low, because its was tidal causeway.  When the tides were high, the pathway was blocked by water.  I'm pretty sure that's changed now, though.

And, our last planned trip over the next few months is to Palma de Mallorca in Spain.  Jamie is SCUBA certified, but I'm not, so we're going there for a long weekend to do some dives and get my certification.  We spent a day in Palma last year on our cruise, and it was such a great island!  Very relaxed, tons to do, the ocean, great seafood.  Sigh...I'm going to eat myself silly on seafood...I can't wait.  We are aiming for end of May for that trip, but we'll have to see how it works out with vacation days and my job (I tend to not be able to travel at the end of the month due to forecasting and pricing that goes on at month's end).  Otherwise, we're just trying to work our way through our list of "must do's" before the end of the year, in case we leave.  I know we're putting aside a week to go to Iceland, but I think that won't happen until June/July time.  Iceland is supposed to be amazing, so I'm really interested to start planning that vacation as well.

I think that's all for now.  Not a whole lot going on lately, other than work being a real bear.  Having some vacations to plan, even though they're just long weekends, has really helped and has given me something to look forward to, which I've really needed.  Tonight is our date night, so Jamie and I have plans to go for a nice long bike ride (lord, I hope the rain clears up), then head to Subway for dinner.  Yes...you heard me...our date consists of a bike ride and Subway for dinner.  Sounds cheesy as hell, but we love it! 

Hope you're all having a wonderful day!

XOXOXO,
K.