Mi Julia

In just 12 days I get see the coolest person I know. Julia Tayloe Sessoms. It's been almost a year since we've seen each other, and 5 years since she's come to visit. So needless to say, I'm a little bit excited. Jules is the type of friend that even though you don't them often you just pick right up where you left off the last time you saw them, like nothing's changed. There's no time gap. My life has changed quite a bit over the years, but Jules has remained a constant. She's family.

I can't wait to see you "Mutt"!!
Yours truly, "Jeff"

He's just plain GREAT

Ever since I started my new job a month ago I've been jittery, nervous, on edge, stressed out, too exhausted to cook or clean and too busy to spend quality time with my husband. But he hasn't complained once. He's taken everything in stride, puts up with me with a smile, and constantly tells me I'm doing a great job. Even after he's had a long day at work too, he makes me lunch and dinner and washes the dishes. Today he even had breakfast waiting for me with the newspaper when I woke up. He's an amazing guy.

Ada Pearl

My grandma. I didn't see her much, but I have vivid memories of her. All are good. I've already talked about her once in an earlier post with her dog "Hey you" and all her other animals. I also mentioned her in this post, with the old tin lunch boxes in her basement. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

She lived in an old, small, white house on top of a mountian in Cumberland, MD. There was a big grannysmith apple tree out back. The front porch had that old, green, fake turf stuff on the floor, and there was always a fly swatter nearby. In front of her house there was a plot of land for grazing and the highlight of my day was to see the cows come up close to the barbed wire fence to where I could pet them.

My grandma used to save pennies in a huge jar for me. So whenever we'd go visit her in Cumberland, she'd give my brother and sister 50 dollars each...in cash. She'd give me 50 dollars...in pennies. It was annoying, but special. I can still remember sitting in her living room rolling old, dirty pennies, and the smell of my hands afterwards.

She had an old organ in her house, and loved to write songs and sing them. I would call her on the phone, and after she'd told me 50 million times how proud she was of me, she'd say "Do you have a minute? I want you to hear this." Then she'd preceed to put the phone down, run over to her organ, and bust out playing and singing at the top of her lungs. She was a hoot.

One of my favorite pastime activities at her house was shooting old coke cans and fallen grannysmith apples with the bb gun. I would spend hours outdoors with her animals and the neighboring cows.

Even though I didn't see my grandma much (I think the last time I saw her I was probably 13 years old), and I'd roll my eyes everytime my mom passed the phone over to me to talk to her, I loved her and will always remember her. She was one of a kind.

I Must be a BAD Wife

Jose and I have gotten a kick out of this article that my mom sent for the past few days now. He's still waiting for the day I put a ribbon in my hair. My...how times do change.

Lunch in Portosin

Well, the rain seems to have cleared up for at least one day. We woke up this morning to sunshine and blue sky. Days like to today are slim, so we had to jump on our chance to get out and smell the fresh air and feel the sun on our faces. We went with Jose's parents to the beach for lunch and to take a stroll. I forgot to take the camera, but it was a beautiful day. We're back in Santiago now. I hope this weather sticks around for awhile, because natural selection was starting to set in, and we were beginning to grow gills and webbed toes.

For Ashlash, who's never home when I call...

Oh how I love her, let me count the ways...

1. Having old 80s movie marathons and then reciting them constantly over the years
2. Being the only person who would eat at Taco Bell with me
3. Eating candy until our faces started to sweat
4. Sneaking the above mentioned candy into movie theaters
5. Opening Mountain Dew cans in the theater(which had also been snuck in) during the Pepsi commercial right when the man opens his can on the top of a mountain
6. Leaving strange, scary sounding messages on our answering machine for fun, and then dad's boss calling and being completely bewildered by the messages
7. Taking me shopping and spending her own money on me when she didn't have to
8. Hanging out with me on the weekends when she could have been out with her friends
9. Her Sally voice
10. Locking me in the play room in Wilmington
11. Taking me to a New Kids on the Block concert
12. Taking me on Spring Break with her and her friends
13. Making tacky, plastic earrings in the oven
14. Buying a karaoke machine and singing together for hours on end
15. Her Patrick Swayze poster :)

And the list goes on...

A Bowling First

Needless to say, I was shocked to find out Jose had NEVER been bowling. So he has now been enlightened to a very important American pastime. His technique was below par, but with the kiddie bumpers he didn't do too bad. There's still room for improvement, but we were privileged to have a "pro" in the next lane, so he studied his every move :). He thought the whole shoe thing was a little weird. Actually, so do I.

Snerd Mc Ferd

That's what my brother has called me since I was a kid. Of all the people in the world, I think I have always been his biggest fan. I think the best thing about our relationship is the simplicity. We don't expect anything from each other and we never have, and that works for us. As a child I used to worship my brother. I thought he was the best and coolest thing since sliced bread. Of course he, being who he is, liked to take advantage of this fact. On numerous occasions he would use me as his personal slave to get him a glass of milk with cookies, tell him where mom had hidden all the snacks, get me to scratch his back, or go get his shoes for him. And my love for him always led me to quickly forgive him for putting me on top of the fridge and leaving me up there, shanking me and making me moon the entire neighborhood, giving me the occasional swirly and accidently kicking me in the face mid-cart-wheel. I never seemed to mind. I just laughed. I mean, hey, it was Brian...my idol!

I'll never forget the time that my dad wasn't able to come to my Indian Princess meetings, because he'd been transfered to Raleigh and we still lived in Wilmington, so my brother filled in. Not many 18 year olds would hang out with their little sister and 10 other 9 year olds in indian head dresses making crafts and singing camp songs. Although he always did take over my craft and do it himself, and I never could get him to sing. But like I said before, I forgave him. I was just so happy he was there. As I've grown, the whole "idol worshipping" bit has faded and I know longer subject myself to personal slavery (even though he still tries every now and then!). But I still think he's great.

Brian, you can always count on me to watch "Cool as Ice" with Vanilla Ice, go 4-wheelin' in the mud, fishin' on the pier, listen to old-school rap with the bass pumping, or a game of prisoner's base or war in the old neighborhood. But you can get your butt off the couch and get your own darn beer!! And keep calling me Snerd...I actually kind of like it. Love you.

Far

We're used to distance, but....I'm going to miss you, Joss.

Grapes (part II)

Well, we survived the grapes. I choked a little bit but ate all twelve nonetheless. I have a video of the event, but don't know how to post it.
After the grapes and champagne we went out on the town.




Got home at 5AM. I think it's time for a rest!

EDITED: I think I figured out the video thing.
New Years Grapes

Noche Buena

Having my parents here with me and all I completely forgot to send Christmas cards out. Please forgive me. Here are a few shots of our adventures. Have a very Merry Christmas and remember why we celebrate.


Nativity Scene in Obradoiro Square


Cathedral


Holy Cross on the roof of the Cathedral


Jose and I on the roof of the Cathedral



God's Promise


Mom and Dad


Sunset Portosin

Fogar do Santiso

Last night Jose and I took mom, dad and Sergio to Fogar do Santiso. It's a really fun restaurant... a wooden shack with cobwebs hanging from the ceiling...no forks or plates...good music, lots of people, and the "Queimada", which is a typical Galician alcoholic drink. They put the alcohol in a big cauldron with coffee beans, orange peel, and lots of sugar...then they burn the alcohol out of it. We had a blast. Ate octopus, squid, and pork ribs. Drank cinnamon liquor. Listened to Galician bagpipes. Drove away the "meigas malas" (bad witches) with the Queimada...it's a fun Galician tradition. Here are some pictures of the event.












Tomorrow's another day...

The Parentals

They're here! They're in Madrid! I can almost touch them! Yes, my wonderful parents have made it safely to Spain for Christmas. I talked to them last night and they're doing great...jet lagged, but great. They're spending two days in Madrid before coming here. They'll be here in Santiago on Friday. In the meantime I still have to work, but soon I can play. It's been a year since I've seen them, so I can't wait for them to get here. Well, I'm off to work. By the way, these pictures were taken on our trip to Italy in the summer of 2003. I'll put some more pictures of our trip on another post.

Christmas Cards

Now is the time of year when families all over dress up the kids and go out in search of the perfect Christmas card picture. I remember it well. Our best Christmas card pictures were taken when we were goofing off. It's funny how, to get that perfect picture you have to go through 4 rolls of film (luckily digital camaras have made things easier). Flash didn't go off, someone had their eyes closed, red eye disease, someone was caught gold digging, angry faces saying "hurry up already!" And then, Ahhh, the perfect pìcture. Beautiful smiles, lovely pose...the perfect family has been captured perfectly.

It's funny how families all over search for perfection. You never get real life Christmas card pictures in the mail with everyone in their PJs and messy hair and no make-up, or kids with dirty faces, or frowns. Everyone's always clean, dressed up and smiling. We want people to see perfection, but what makes us human and not robots is our imperfection.

I think everyone has received the typical Christmas card LETTER too. Oh you know what I'm talking about...we've all gotten a good laugh out of them. My sister even fell into the trap of writing one last year! Which I got a kick out of, but I still love her. Every year my family got a Christmas card letter from the same family updating us on their perfection. "Well it's been a wonderful year. Sarah decided to follow her dream of traveling the world, Bob is now working from home, and little Ronnie spends all day pursuing new technological advances." What really went on was that Sarah got kicked out of college and became a truck driver, Bob got fired and now stays home with the kids, and little Ronnie is glued to his PlayStation all day! It seems like we've always got something to prove. Always trying to keep up with the Jones'.

The Cleaver's were not a real a family. A real family is one that's faulty and flawed, but based on love. A real family is not always successful in life. A real family is one that has trials and struggles, but that sticks together. The world is full of real families that are flawed, who are just trying to fool everyone.

José pointed out to me the other day something that is so true. He said he didn't understand why sending Christmas cards was so important. Why is remembering to send a Christmas card to the neighbors so important, but we've never even invited them over for coffee. No one has seen the 'Johnsons' in years or ever cared enough to call and see how they were doing, but if they don't send us a Christmas card...the friendship is over! It doesn't make much sense does it?

I'm not saying by any means that we should stop doing these things, because, heck, it's a Christmas tradition. I love getting a good chuckle reading the Christmas letters as much as the next guy! But I do think we put too much importance on petty issues. Instead of trying to cover up our family flaws and sugar coat them, lets embrace them. Our imperfection is what makes us beautiful and God's grace is the only thing that can cover them.

In the meantime, here are some of the past Edwards' Family perfect Christmas pictures! I have to admit...they are perfect pictures...even if we aren't.

Thanksgiving Volume 2

So I was feeling a little down about not being able to make Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. I realized I had to do something. It would have been my first Thanksgiving EVER not doing something. So I went out today and bought some turkey breast. Nothing special, but Jose and I sat down and celebrated together.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is not a big event over here in Spain. I wonder why?? Hmmm. Normally I buy a big turkey which I have to actually order at the grocery store, because there's not much of a demand for them. I cook my big Thanksgiving dinner and have friends over. I've done this every year since I've been here. Some years have turned out better than others...I have yet to find the right potatoes to make mashed potatoes that don't look and feel like paper paste!

This year I'm not making the bird, though. My parents are coming for Christmas and in order to take off from work, I have to make up all the classes I'll miss before they come. So that means no time to cook Thanksgiving dinner this year. I could do it on Saturday, but then it wouldn't be the same...not like anyone over here would notice, though!

I just talked to my sister, Ashley, on the phone. She's fixing Thanksgiving dinner for my parents this year. The bird is in the oven, she's peeling potatoes, my dad made pumpkin french toast for my neices and nephew and my mom is just relaxing playing with the grandkids...which feels sort of strange for her.

I love Thanksgiving. It's makes my mouth water just thinking aobut it! Mmmm. It's not just the food, though. I have great memories of being with my dad and sister, playing football in the yard...well passing the football..."playing" is a strong word. Watching the Redskins on TV. Having my brother, Brian, practice all his Walker Texas Ranger moves on me. Watching my mom do whatever it is she did with that nasty little bag of giblits. Helping make the relish tray. Pulling the wishbone...which never broke because it was too moist. Taking the picture of what always looked like the Adams Family. The day I got promoted to the big persons table! I always felt like a reject sitting on the little stool at the munchkin table. And sitting by the fire eating leftover turkey sandwiches.

I do have a can of pumpkin left over from last year...maybe I'll make a pie on Saturday and buy some cold cut turkey to make sandwiches. Oh well. Here's a picture of my sister and I many Thanksgivings ago.