Mark and I moved to Naples, Italy on April 22, 2012. We will be there for three years and will be documenting all aspects of our crazy new life overseas. Enjoy! Ciao! -The Bakers
Let the games begin. Marko and I landed about 3 hours ago. My co workers gave us a very nice care package, complete with a bottle of wine and a teddy bear! Mark is working on setting up the Magic Jack so that we will have a United States landline and I am working on unpacking. We are SO EXCITED for our new adventure! Our hotel room has a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom (complete with a set of bunk beds and a queen size bed! haha!)
This is going to be fun. 
Ciao!
Marko and I are in Terre Haute tonight through Sunday morning before we leave for our three year move to Italy. :) We are going to start this whole blog thing again. Let the games (and the stories) begin. Ciao!
Did I have chores? BAH! What chores DIDN’T I have?!? I used to tell people that my parents bred children solely to do their dirty work.
…I actually still say that. They are going to have a rude awakening when both of the boys are out of the house…and THEY have to do the dishes or (GASP*) clean the MAIN bathroom!
Kayla and I had to perform separate chores when we got home from school each day. They way it was all nice and tidy for when David and Pammer got home from work.
There were four main rooms that always needed cleaning: Living room, dining room, kitchen, and bathroom. Kayla took the first three and I took the last one. I though ti was getting ahead because my room had the least square footage and I only had to make some room sparkle versus Kayla’s three. Kayla though she was sliding one past me because she never had to clean the toilet. Turns out Kayla had the right idea. I realize now that I had to scrub the toilet every day while Kayla ran the vacuum. Well done, sis.
I’m guessing the ‘rents are going to be inviting us over to the house more often when my brothers move out… to clean.
At least we have years of practice. Hey Kayla, I call Living Room!
My basement was non-existent when we were younger. I was fortunate enough to have to experience of “trailor-park life.” The neighbors would always joke when a bad storm was coming:
“Git outside in that there ditch cus it’s more safer in a tornader than bein in yer trailor!”
That kind of talk is always comforting to a six year old girl who is already terrified of bad weather.
Then we moved to a big, fancy house without wheels. Still no basement. When there was terrible weather, my sister and I would freak out. We would grab our boom box, flashlight, and a can of Chef Boyardee and another can of Beef Stew. We would head to the center of the house: The laundry room. To make the laundry room (tornado safehouse) better, my Mom used it as a storage area for her Mason jars full of green beans. Luckily, there were never any major tornadoes when we were younger. But the laundry room always made us feel much safer than the nearest ditch at the trailor park!
What were your favorite tv shows growing up?
My favorite shows growing up were high-quality productions. Let’s discuss:
FULL HOUSE: I loved all the girls in this! DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle! I loved Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. I also loved Stephanie, even though she was addicted to meth in real life. I could always relate to DJ and her issues as the older sister.
Then there were the guys of the house: Dad, Uncle Joey, and Uncle Jessie. I thought all were UBER HOT. Turns out they all had mullets. Back in the day, I loved that they all lived together. Turns out they were all bums who couldn’t live on their own. The story lines were cheesy but I loved it and still do!
SAVED BY THE BELL: Let’s discuss the characters of this cliché teenage trainwreck of a sitcom:
KELLY: The pretty girl who is bad at math. She has huge, teased bangs and a boyfriend with a phone the size of my purse.
JESSIE: The nerd alert who is always stressed about over-achieving. (THINK: “I’m so excited” scene) Jessie later did a shocking movie about stripper. What a hoe.
LISA: The token black girl whose sense of fashion is keen for the early 90’s. (Hello shoulder pads!) She is sassy and has an on again/off again with Slator.
SCREACH: The geekazoid who makes mistakes and says ‘zoinks’ a lot. He never finds a girlfriend and stays around for the sequel season. He later loses his house in real life and sells shirts to earn some dough.
SLATOR: The greasy jock with the even greasier mullet. He does the most manly sport ever: wrestling.
ZACK: The funny hot guy who has a love-hate relationship with the principal. Back to the reason he was so cool (and the reason I love this show): Zack’s cell phone was the size of Montana and he could STILL pull some tail!
**Quality TV**
What was your favorite meal growing up?
SLOPPY JOES! I’m not talking about homeless person Mamwich sloppy joes. I’m talking about Pammer’s special sloppy joes! This consists of ground beef, Velveta cheese (fancy), and cream of mushroom soup mixed together and slopped on a hamburger bun. The top of the hamburger bun has to have a hole torn out of it with a little bit of beef, cream of mushroom, and Velveta sticking out the top. Throw them in the oven until they are crispy. Then serve and devour. They weren’t for homeless people. They were a huge hit in our trailor park.
Did you play with the neighbors? Who were your friends and what did you do?
I didn’t have many neighbors growing up. My parents lived around a bunch of coyote infested cornfields. But there was Ashley and Amber Boyce. Amber was a year older than me. Ashley was a year younger than my sister.
The four girls would oftentimes form a club. The club was always secret and ALWAYS devoted to something stupid: beany babies, how to earn money, babysister’s club, etc… Depending on the weekend, Amber or I would be President/Vice President. Ashley and Kayla would ALWAYS be stuck with the filler roles or Secretary and Treasurer. We would make everyone but the President and Vice President pay dues. I just loved those clubs…
Mark and I were walking into a gas station last week. An older man was standing outside and kindly turned to us and said, “Excuse me. Could you two bless me with 50 cents?”
Mark and I responded by telling him we didn’t have any cash. We walked into the gas station and bought our drinks with a credit card. We avoided eye contact as we walked to our car.
After leaving the gas station (and the old man empty-handed) Mark and I discussed the situation:
Tiff: I hate that.
Mark: I have a dollar in my pocket.
Tiff: I definitely could have found 50 cents.
Mark: Rejection is just the normal reaction people have.
Tiff: I hope that wasn’t Jesus.
Mark and I vowed not to say “no” again to sweet old men who ask for 50 cents. We don’t care if they spend it on booze or gumballs or their mortgage payment. God blessed us with financial stability that allows us to have plenty of extra dollars to share. It’s time to reset the norm and love others.
There is a man who stands by a busy intersection by our apartment with a sign that reads, “FAMILY FACING EVICTION. PLEASE HELP.” We’ve seen him at least once a month for the last year and a half.
I’ve always wondered what his story was. I would love to interview him. I want to know what life events led him to where he is today: A busy intersection with a cardboard sign. It’s not my position to judge (and I refuse to.) I’m just so intrigued by him. He is my brother in God’s eyes and I want to understand him. I wonder about his family, his friends, his finances. I wonder about his beliefs, his outlook on life, his goals. What brought him to this place?
We were driving downtown last weekend. While trying to find a parking place, we passed several homeless people. They were settling in for the night. Under an overpass, surrounded by nothing but blankets.
It was so cold outside, Mark and I were driving around and around in pursuit of the closest parking spot to Conseco Fieldhouse. We wanted to find a close parking spot to avoid the cold so we could enjoy the basketball game together. In the meantime, a homeless man was making his bed on a cold sidewalk. alone.
yeah. We will have fifty cents for him from now on. You never know. He just COULD BE Jesus…….
My sister and I shared a room when we were younger. The room was always dirty and always blamed Kayla. Then we moved to a bigger house and we had the luxury of separate rooms. The messy room mystery was solved at that time. Turns out it was my fault. My Dad LOVES telling that story.
When I was a teenager, I moved my room to what the previous owners called the formal dining room. We decorated the room with light blue cloud wallpaper with dark blue butterfly border. My parents bought nice big fancy beds and dressers for each of Kayla and I. I loved my cloud filled getaway.
When I turned 18, my 8 and 10 year old brothers asked when I was planning to move out. Since I was about to START my senior year of high school, I asked them if it would be okay if I stayed just one more year. They agreed to the terms.
After high school, I moved into an apartment with my best friend, Jenny, to start our college career. THE DAY I moved out, my siblings had their rooms moved around. Talk about being SAD about your older sister moving out!!!!!
Kayla and I got the boys back, though….
Remember those fancy bedroom sets Mom and Dad bought, thinking they could use them as guest beds in the future?
Kayla and I now have them in our homes…. I hope you boys enjoy your playstation 3’s….SUCKERS
