it only took...

two hours of sleep

eight bags

four different lines to check in four bags

two security screenings

two customs check points

a ten hour flight

three movies

four seats for two people

two almost naps

two happy Swiss families

no sim card

lots of dots to follow on floors

one crappy Coke in Miami

one barely delayed flight

lots and lots and lots of giggles

fun conversations

one mom and a truck

a Chick-fil-A

and a fresh Coke

to get us here

auf wiedersehen

 

 

 

 

happy things

Sitting on the hill with Mr. F, imagining our future, eating döner kebab and watching the sunset.

Sunsets over freshly tilled fields.

Laughing.

Emails from Church members in Cyprus saying, "We can't wait to meet you!"

Realizing how much debt Mr. F and I have been able to pay off since we've been married.

Realizing that we were able to make such a huge dent whilst unemployed.

 

Döner kebab.  It's cheap. It's yummy.  It's replaced chicken nuggets in my life.

 

  

Dribbles of Greek yoghurt on Mr. F's sleepy face as he tries to eat döner kebab.

 

Harvest moons.

The need for sweaters and scarves now that the seasons have morphed.

Talking for hours about how good things are.

Mr. F playing music as he left for work this morning.

Knowing that we'll be with family again in eight days.

Knowing there's a 32 ounce fountain coke from Macadocious waiting for me in Amrika.

Dinner plans with friends.

  

 

 

Feeling like we're gonna be more than fine in Cyprus.

what if?

Apparently, I am now a grown-up.  This epiphany just dawned as I have been sitting here for hours, overwhelmed beyond belief because of one itty bitty little thing.


Mr. F got a job offer!


This has been in the works for about a week but we got the official offer today.  It's a killer offer for us and especially for Mr. F.  If you could have asked him what he wanted to do with his political science degree, he would have said this, and this is exactly what we have been offered.

Why is this freaking me out?  Simple.

The job is in Cyprus.

Maybe you're smarter than me, but I had absolutely no idea where this was until two weeks ago.  Turns out it's right in the middle of "Huh???", "Oh!", and "Woah....".  More specifically, an island in the Mediterranean Sea about seventy miles south of Turkey.  (Hence the "Woah...")

Now, Mr. F and I have never had real jobs before.  Yeah, we've both worked, but this gig comes with benefits!  I had almost given up the dream of having health insurance again and the idea of paid time off has got to be revolutionary.  People get paid time off?? Really?? "Woah...."  This alone is a lot for me to handle.  I feel like I've come home from school with permission slips and health forms and need my parents to read over them.  "Is this a good deal?" I want to ask.  The thing is, none of us really knows!  Why?

Because the job is in freaking Cyprus! 

So now we're not only trying to figure out if This is a good offer or  not, but if Cyprus will let us come and live there.  Weird...

Just for the record, when we used to play the "What if?" game, Cyprus was never mentioned.  I think we covered parts of the Middle East, lots of Asia and Europe, but never Cyprus.  You better believe Cyprus is now dominating the "What if?" game.


What if we moved to Cyprus:

Is the Church there?  {yes!!!!!!}
What kind of outlets do they use? {zone G, or like in the UK}
Do they speak English? {yes}
Would we need a car? {TBD}
Do they have bundt pans? {....}
What kind of foods are available?
Are there art supply stores? {yes!}
What about libraries? {yes!}
How big of an apartment could we afford?
How much stuff do we take?
Are there English bookstores?{yes!}
Is the temple nearby?  {no..but travel is pretty easy from the island}
Could Engquist handle the heat?  {umm......maybe?}

So everyone pull out your globes and find the Mediterranean, because so long as we get visas, that's where you'll be able to find us sometime in the foreseeable future!  In the meantime, we've got boxes to go through, yard sales to host, housing to find, and all sorts of crazy outlet adapters to procure.

tack så mycket!

We go back to the States in less than two weeks.  Can you say crazy?!  When did that happen?  My goal, as piddly as it may be, has always been to get our wedding thank you notes written and addressed so we could just plop them in the mail when we returned to normally priced postage. I am pleased to report that I have been writing them fairly steadily, but the addressing leaves a lot to be desired.  As in...I haven't started it.

I just reached the end of my note list (Mr. F is nowhere near done with his.  I won this competition, but no, I'm not keeping track) leaving me with nothing but the addresses.  And then I realized how tedious this process is going to be.  In the nearly six months we have been married, a great many things have happened besides our own numberless moves everywhere.  For the sake of my own sanity, I needed to share the great many changes that have transpired from my end of the thank you list alone to make addressing more complicated.

At least three people on my list have passed away since our wedding in March.  At least.  There may be more.  Two of these three are my grandmothers.  One of these two made my wedding dress and provided the bulk of the decorations for our reception.  She died the day after her birthday.  She never got her thank you note.

My other grandmother's gift arrived in two parts.  Her health began deteriorating rapidly just days before our wedding preventing her attendance.  When I made it back to Florida after Nana's funeral, a giant box was waiting for me in the foyer.  It was a quilt from Grandpa J and L's home in Oregon.  She remembered my fondness of the coral pink quilt and wanted me to have it as I began to set up house.  As if it needed to be mentioned, I sat on the floor wrapped in the quilt surrounded by everything I still had to pack for Germany and cried violently.  Two grandmothers in three weeks.  Really?  Is that necessary?

The second part of her gift arrived while we have been abroad and I'm looking forward to seeing it in person.  An oval serving bowl in our china pattern.  Luckily, I can still write to Grandpa and thank him.  That's been done.

Personally, I don't want to know if anyone else has died.  I don't think I could handle that for a little while.  The other changes to the mailing list are far more joyous, luckily.  Many of my friends have moved since our nuptials took place. Several to Texas and others to places I'll find out as I send them emails.  A few have gotten married, some have had babies, and at least one is now expecting.  A couple have just moved across town.

I've really enjoyed writing these notes actually.  I have such fond memories of our wedding and the people to whom these letters are being written.  It's mind boggling to me that we have been married for nearly six months already, let alone that we have been in Europe for roughly three.  It seems like so little time has passed by, but so much has happened.

In honor of the occasion, here are a few images of our life the past few months.

  

 

conquering the u-bahn

On Saturday we took our first trip into the city so the Czech could get used to his commute. It's lengthy, but really easy. Afterward we played along the river and got a feeling for the local scene. Consensus: we really like Germany.