Can you see the Papa??? He is smiling pretty in the bottom left corner.
Friday, August 22, 2008
The Papa in Istanbul!
A few months ago we were driving down one of the popular streets in our area when I spotted a "Coming Soon" sign and at the bottom I saw a very familiar emblem which read "Papa John's Pizza". Needless to say I was very excited since it is the pizza I grew up on. Since then every time we drove by I would eagerly look to see if it was open, and this Sunday Tim and I saw that the sign had been lifted, and it was open!! It is actually a sit-down-and-eat restaurant, which I don't think there are any in America. Anyways, as we were eating one of the managers heard us speaking English and asked us if we had ever had Papa John's. Of course I explained that Papa John's started in Louisville, my home-town. I all of the suddenI felt like some kind of expert on the subject. His eyes lit up and he told us that he had just recently visited Louisville, Kentucky to visit the Papa John's headquarters. Being that it had just opened he wanted our American opinion right away. Let's just say it was good pizza, but, not enough sauce. I guess that is an American thing, but there is barely ever any tomato sauce on the pizza here. But other than that, it was great, and it was very exciting to see such a familiar place from home.
Can you see the Papa??? He is smiling pretty in the bottom left corner.
Can you see the Papa??? He is smiling pretty in the bottom left corner.
Turkish Wedding
Wow! I just saw that my last blog was July 15th, pretty sad. I know when the baby comes I am probably going to overload yall with pictures, so lets just say that I'm pacing myself. That's my excuse for now at least. This month has been somewhat uneventful except for this past weekend.
Since we got to Istanbul one of Tim's football players and his family has really "adopted" us and taken us in when we definitely needed a surrogate family so far from home. They even helped me celebrate my birthday and made me a beautiful cake. This past weekend one of the uncles and his wife decided to celebrate their wedding in Istanbul since they had originally been married in her home country. It was such a privilege to get a little taste of a Turkish wedding. When we arrived at the house all the women were looking fabulous, looking like they all had had a day at the salon.
We hung out for awhile as they were putting on the finishing touches. Tim was actually shooting the breeze a little with one of the men in the family, in Turkish, I was so proud! Finally the groom arrived, and a very anticipatory moment occurred and the the bride was "revealed"!!! It was so cute! Tim's football player explained that it symbolized that he was coming to take her from her home to their new home together. As we left the bride and groom got in a decorated car with a beautiful flower bouquet adorning the hood and the rest of us caravanned behind. Driving through the traffic of Istanbul we got lots of honks and cheers for the wedding, a really neat tradition I think.
We drove to a beautiful restaurant on the sea and were served a full course, delicious meal. Since the couple had already been married awhile they didn't actually do a ceremony, however, there was a wedding party below us, so we got to witness a real ceremony. Honestly there wasn't much to it, short and sweet. The bride and groom are introduced with some fancy music, they walk in and are seated at a large table with two witness and a man from the government. The man then proceeds to read the marriage vows, and they sign the document along with the witnesses and then they are married. A large party proceeds the ceremony, but there definitely wasn't much to the ceremony, compared to some of our long American weddings.
The other bride and groom getting married (a little dark)
After we ate, the dancing began as the party below us had two live bands. One was an traditional Anatolian Rock Band, lets just say not my favorite. But we had a blast watching everyone kick up their heels and have a wonderful time. This family has been such a blessing to us and they continue to help make Istanbul feel more like a home.
Tim and I, and the bump (large and in-charge)
Our view for the evening
The family
Since we got to Istanbul one of Tim's football players and his family has really "adopted" us and taken us in when we definitely needed a surrogate family so far from home. They even helped me celebrate my birthday and made me a beautiful cake. This past weekend one of the uncles and his wife decided to celebrate their wedding in Istanbul since they had originally been married in her home country. It was such a privilege to get a little taste of a Turkish wedding. When we arrived at the house all the women were looking fabulous, looking like they all had had a day at the salon.
We hung out for awhile as they were putting on the finishing touches. Tim was actually shooting the breeze a little with one of the men in the family, in Turkish, I was so proud! Finally the groom arrived, and a very anticipatory moment occurred and the the bride was "revealed"!!! It was so cute! Tim's football player explained that it symbolized that he was coming to take her from her home to their new home together. As we left the bride and groom got in a decorated car with a beautiful flower bouquet adorning the hood and the rest of us caravanned behind. Driving through the traffic of Istanbul we got lots of honks and cheers for the wedding, a really neat tradition I think.
We drove to a beautiful restaurant on the sea and were served a full course, delicious meal. Since the couple had already been married awhile they didn't actually do a ceremony, however, there was a wedding party below us, so we got to witness a real ceremony. Honestly there wasn't much to it, short and sweet. The bride and groom are introduced with some fancy music, they walk in and are seated at a large table with two witness and a man from the government. The man then proceeds to read the marriage vows, and they sign the document along with the witnesses and then they are married. A large party proceeds the ceremony, but there definitely wasn't much to the ceremony, compared to some of our long American weddings.
The other bride and groom getting married (a little dark)
After we ate, the dancing began as the party below us had two live bands. One was an traditional Anatolian Rock Band, lets just say not my favorite. But we had a blast watching everyone kick up their heels and have a wonderful time. This family has been such a blessing to us and they continue to help make Istanbul feel more like a home.
Tim and I, and the bump (large and in-charge)
Our view for the evening
The family
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Isn't she a BEAUTY?!!
That's right folks! We now are official owners of a quality Arçelik air conditioner or klima as they are called here in Turkey. It is such a treat to sleep in the cold once again and be able to use a sheet. We decided to put it in the bedroom and I must admit I have been finding alot of excuses to hang out in here and turn the air conditioner on : ) We know its not a necessity but it for sure has made things a little easier. We'll I'm off to go fire her up for the evening at a cool 21 degrees Celsius and try not to convince myself to turn it down to 18 ; )
2 years ago today....
Tim and I were getting ready for our wedding. It was such an exciting day and we were so blessed to have been able to share it with so many special friends and family. The Lord has blessed me with an amazing husband who just happens to be my best friend. These past two years have flown by, with so many exciting events in between. I'm looking forward to many more anniversaries and I am so grateful I have such a wonderful partner to share in this journey.
To celebrate we went to a really fancy restaurant here we like to call TGIFriday's. Yep, we went there again, a place that we always say we would never go if we were in the States, but their food sure does taste good right now. And, here it is definitely anniversary date prices.
Here we are before going to dinner (sorry so close our self timer works best on a bookshelf right in front of a table)
We also have had the opportunity to use a car, which is such a treat! I haven't had to ride the bus in awhile and Tim is getting really good at driving a manual.
My driver for the evening
Happy Campers in an air conditioned car!
Happy Anniversary Babe! I love you!
To celebrate we went to a really fancy restaurant here we like to call TGIFriday's. Yep, we went there again, a place that we always say we would never go if we were in the States, but their food sure does taste good right now. And, here it is definitely anniversary date prices.
Here we are before going to dinner (sorry so close our self timer works best on a bookshelf right in front of a table)
We also have had the opportunity to use a car, which is such a treat! I haven't had to ride the bus in awhile and Tim is getting really good at driving a manual.
My driver for the evening
Happy Campers in an air conditioned car!
Happy Anniversary Babe! I love you!
Monday, June 16, 2008
The Little Kicks
Most of you know by now that we are expecting a baby boy in late October. We are so excited!! Recently it has become more real to the both us as he has started to kick. At first he would always kick for me and then stop as soon as Tim would come over to feel, that little stinker! He is already stubborn like his dad! But now he is doing some major kicking we both are able to feel all the time. We have an amazing doctor here who is so personable. I think she may have more fun watching the ultrasounds than we do at times. At the last appointment she took 11 pictures!! It was wonderful. She got some really great shots that I'm hoping everyone can see. We go for our 21 week appointment on Thursday so I'm sure I'll have many more pictures to post. We are so grateful that the Lord has blessed us with this precious gift and would covet your prayers in the next couple of months.
Sorry these are so blurry!! P.S. Dad, I thought you would enjoy the Seinfeld reference in the title!
There he is!!
His cute little feet! If you look close you can see his toes.
Waving for the camera.
Sorry these are so blurry!! P.S. Dad, I thought you would enjoy the Seinfeld reference in the title!
There he is!!
His cute little feet! If you look close you can see his toes.
Waving for the camera.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Wonderful Week With Family!
A few weeks ago we had the privilege of Tim's Mom, Dad, and brother Nathan coming for a much needed visit! From the start Tim and I were spoiled rotten with lots of super fun goodies from the states (which I want to thank everyone for being so sweet to send us and the baby something, it was such a treat and so encouraging!) and lots of wonderful dinners while they were visiting. We ate at TGIFridays twice, which I know some of you are saying to yourself " big deal" but to us it was like being back home. They were the most "American" type meals we had had in 5 months. I'm pretty sure the waiters remembered us the second time we went, and therefore decided that we deserved some honorary TGIFriday's hats!! Which by the way have "Miller Light" written all over them! Tim and I tried to make sure they got the full experience, we ate a ton of Turkish food, saw all the sights, and visited with some of our new friends. Danny, Charlotte and Nathan were great sports even when they were subjected to a hour and a half, very interesting, ferry boat ride.
One of my favorite things we did while they were here was visit Buyuk Ada, which is one of the 3 islands across the water from Istanbul. Buyuk Ada is the largest with the literal translation "Big Island". These islands are a wonderful retreat for anyone living in the city because they don't allow cars, only service vehicles, which even too are a rare sight. The only type of transportation you really see are bikes available to rent and horse drawn carriages. The quiet roads are very relaxing and the houses are beautiful. When we got to the island from a ferry we rented a carriage to the middle of the island. This first ride proved to be somewhat thrilling and terrifying all at the same time. One of our horses did not want to run fast up the hills and kept knocking his whole body around which resulted in Tim, Nathan, and I fearing for our lives. We were tossed back and forth thinking we would be tipped over any second. It was not funny at all at the time, but now makes for a funny memory at least. Once we reached our destination we hiked, and it was definitely a hike, about a mile and a half of incline, to an old monastery. It was defniately worth the hike for the view and the beautiful chapel at the top. Afterwards we grabbed a quick bite to eat and found a boat that takes you around the island to a beach club. It was really nice, and to me was a complete surprise. They had a nice place to change clothes and had chairs with umbrellas on the sand. We were even serenaded by man with a Speedo and a guitar, yes, its quite a combination, I've included a picture. He was definately not speaking English and none of us could figure out where he was from. We all decided that he sounded like a poor man's Louis Armstrong. It was a great escape for me to be able to just relax and sit in the sun. Nathan and I both left pretty pleased with our "basecoats". It was a great day. Tim and I plan to go back soon, I can't wait!
We were sad to say goodbye to our visitors but look forward to them coming again at Christmas! Love yall!! Miss you already!
The guys outside the Blue Mosque
Fun at the Haggai Sophia
Inside the chapel at the monastery on Buyuk Ada
The view from the top of our hike
Tim and I inside the carriage
View of our driver
At the beach club!
Our "singer" for the afternoon
Our view of the beach from the boat
TGIFriday's and our new hats!!
One last pic with the family and Seyfo!
One of my favorite things we did while they were here was visit Buyuk Ada, which is one of the 3 islands across the water from Istanbul. Buyuk Ada is the largest with the literal translation "Big Island". These islands are a wonderful retreat for anyone living in the city because they don't allow cars, only service vehicles, which even too are a rare sight. The only type of transportation you really see are bikes available to rent and horse drawn carriages. The quiet roads are very relaxing and the houses are beautiful. When we got to the island from a ferry we rented a carriage to the middle of the island. This first ride proved to be somewhat thrilling and terrifying all at the same time. One of our horses did not want to run fast up the hills and kept knocking his whole body around which resulted in Tim, Nathan, and I fearing for our lives. We were tossed back and forth thinking we would be tipped over any second. It was not funny at all at the time, but now makes for a funny memory at least. Once we reached our destination we hiked, and it was definitely a hike, about a mile and a half of incline, to an old monastery. It was defniately worth the hike for the view and the beautiful chapel at the top. Afterwards we grabbed a quick bite to eat and found a boat that takes you around the island to a beach club. It was really nice, and to me was a complete surprise. They had a nice place to change clothes and had chairs with umbrellas on the sand. We were even serenaded by man with a Speedo and a guitar, yes, its quite a combination, I've included a picture. He was definately not speaking English and none of us could figure out where he was from. We all decided that he sounded like a poor man's Louis Armstrong. It was a great escape for me to be able to just relax and sit in the sun. Nathan and I both left pretty pleased with our "basecoats". It was a great day. Tim and I plan to go back soon, I can't wait!
We were sad to say goodbye to our visitors but look forward to them coming again at Christmas! Love yall!! Miss you already!
The guys outside the Blue Mosque
Fun at the Haggai Sophia
Inside the chapel at the monastery on Buyuk Ada
The view from the top of our hike
Tim and I inside the carriage
View of our driver
At the beach club!
Our "singer" for the afternoon
Our view of the beach from the boat
TGIFriday's and our new hats!!
One last pic with the family and Seyfo!
Friday, May 16, 2008
I'm Back! So sorry I've been such a slacker!
Well, to use a quote from my sister's blog, "we are still breathing"! Again, I apologize for being MIA, life here just gets crazy sometimes as it does I'm sure for everyone. Heather (my sister) tagged me on her blogged, I've never been tagged but secretly have always wanted to be ; ) So here it goes,
Four jobs I've had:
1. Concessionaire, Lifeguard and Receptionist (this has probably been one of my favorite jobs) at Lakeside Swim Club then a lifeguard again at Wildwood Country Club
2. Cashier at WKU bookstore (my sister has been a good reference for me at both Lakeside and WKU : ) )
3. Nanny
4. "Floater" (what a job title!) at Southeastern
Four movies I've watched more than once: ( I have alot of these but I'll try to narrow some down, I like movies!)
1. Pride and Prejudice
2. The Sandlot
3. Elf
4. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Four places I've lived:
1. Coco Beach, FL (I bet this does'nt really count, I lived there till like age 2, I don't remember any of it)
2. Lousiville, KY
3. Wake Forest, NC
4. Currently residing in Istanbul, Turkey
Four TV shows I watch:
1. The Office
2. LOST
3. Friends
4. really anything on HGTV, but we don't get it here
Four places I've been: (I'm hoping for this list to grow more interesting in the next few years)
1. Cyprus
2. Arizona
3. The Outer Banks, NC
4. Florida
(wow, I feel kinda lame)
Four of my favorite foods: (I'll do restaurants too)
1. Panera Bread
2. Chick-fil-a
3. Popcorn
4. Mostly all fruits, I can't get enough of it!
Four things I'm looking forward to in the coming year:
1. The birth of our first baby!! It's a boy! Due Ocotober 30th
2. My Mom and Dad coming when the baby's born!
3. Danny, Charlotte, and Nathan coming in a few weeks, and everyone coming at Christmas!
4. Hopefully going to the beach this summer
Four friends I'm tagging:
1. Lindsey Isham (you may have already done this tag)
2. Marsha Turley
3. Bess Contreras
4. hmm... not alot of my friends have blogs... sorry I can't think of a 4th
That was fun! Thanks Heather! Can't wait to see everyone elses!
Four jobs I've had:
1. Concessionaire, Lifeguard and Receptionist (this has probably been one of my favorite jobs) at Lakeside Swim Club then a lifeguard again at Wildwood Country Club
2. Cashier at WKU bookstore (my sister has been a good reference for me at both Lakeside and WKU : ) )
3. Nanny
4. "Floater" (what a job title!) at Southeastern
Four movies I've watched more than once: ( I have alot of these but I'll try to narrow some down, I like movies!)
1. Pride and Prejudice
2. The Sandlot
3. Elf
4. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Four places I've lived:
1. Coco Beach, FL (I bet this does'nt really count, I lived there till like age 2, I don't remember any of it)
2. Lousiville, KY
3. Wake Forest, NC
4. Currently residing in Istanbul, Turkey
Four TV shows I watch:
1. The Office
2. LOST
3. Friends
4. really anything on HGTV, but we don't get it here
Four places I've been: (I'm hoping for this list to grow more interesting in the next few years)
1. Cyprus
2. Arizona
3. The Outer Banks, NC
4. Florida
(wow, I feel kinda lame)
Four of my favorite foods: (I'll do restaurants too)
1. Panera Bread
2. Chick-fil-a
3. Popcorn
4. Mostly all fruits, I can't get enough of it!
Four things I'm looking forward to in the coming year:
1. The birth of our first baby!! It's a boy! Due Ocotober 30th
2. My Mom and Dad coming when the baby's born!
3. Danny, Charlotte, and Nathan coming in a few weeks, and everyone coming at Christmas!
4. Hopefully going to the beach this summer
Four friends I'm tagging:
1. Lindsey Isham (you may have already done this tag)
2. Marsha Turley
3. Bess Contreras
4. hmm... not alot of my friends have blogs... sorry I can't think of a 4th
That was fun! Thanks Heather! Can't wait to see everyone elses!
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