Euphoria

minutes after sunrise on a july morning i was reunited with Bumbee.

a moment that was 15 months and 5 days in the making.

only a few more hours until husband is home!!!

HE IS OUT OF IRAQ AND ON HIS WAY BACK!

{i rhyme when i'm hyper. it's the cheerleader in me.}

as i type this, husband is flying through the air RIGHT NOW and en route to AMERICA! !!

a few hours ago i received news that Bumbee's platoon safely

arrived in Germany. next stop Maine. final stop - TEXAS!!

since i got word i've been jumping/catapulting out of my skin!

things have been coming together beautifully. the few extra days were seriously what we needed to get the landscaping and our house ready. my in-laws have been amazinggggg.

Family from NYC, Chicago, and San Fran

{all corners of the country}

plopped here in the middle of Texas

for this reunion.

today the fam worked as a team planting tomatoes and flowers

since Bumbee -believe it or not - is a hugeeeee green thumb.

i can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees what we've done!!

{seriously... it was like an hgtv show in the making!}

after a hot day spent toiling, Mom and i went to Le Spa

and then the entire fam went out to a Texan Roadhouse for dinner.

okkkk so now what???

so now we wait.

we wait for that phonecall from Maine at around midnight.

and then my soldier will FINALLY be on his way!

i can do this.

i've waited 450 days (as of today) for this moment.

...what's a few more hours right??

still waiting for my soldier...

Spent the night in Downtown Austin to bring in the 4th! Family flew in from San Francisco yesterday and we had a wonderful dinner together at the Driskill.

the Driskill is the hotel where Bumbee and i got married

{almost} 2 years ago!

and it sorta brought back a lot of magical memories...

{JLC & Bumbee, 07.20.2007}

since we've arrived here there has been:

- a lot of quality family time

{mind you, none of us are actually from Texas except for our puppy Piper!}

- a lot of sweet tea drinkin'

- and oh yeah, a lot of miles.

i've finally reached my goal of running 500 miles

since Bumbee left for iraq!

can I nowwww have my hubby back pretty pleaseeee

with a cupcake on top??

Army says Bumbee should be here in the middle of the week.

let's keep our fingers crossed!!

until then i'll be absolutely over the moon!

Round Up in Texas!

piper and i have safely arrived *sings*

deep in the heart of Texas!!

{sorry but i had to...}

piper was such a good boy on the plane!

even on take-off he just cradled into a ball

then slept the entire flight!

{piper & jlc, @ airport}

some bad news however:

we found out that Bumbee's

arrival date from iraq

has been pushed back a few extra days...

so what to do to fill the time??

why go shopping of course!

mom and i hit up the Round Rock Outlets.

made a few purchases at banana and white house black market.

then i rewarded piper for acting on his best behaviour;

he is now the owner

of a stylish new Coach leash.

Bye, Bye NYC!

flying into Austin tonight!!! one step closer to seeing Bumbee!!

{jlc & lola, wreaking havoc in nyc}

5 years ago on this VERY day i was flying to Paris

to go to school at the Sorbonne.

and today? i'm flying to spend the entire summer in Texas.

Texas, France -- same thing no?

France IS the same size as Texas.

ok, so maybe the two are slightly different.

no worries.

i'll be returning back North this fall.

now, shall i say peace out!

or perhaps... later y'all!?

{hubby comes back from iraq in a few days!!....

i'll be sure to keep you guys posted!}

things i'm going to miss this summer...

last night my best friend had her bridal shower in pennsylvania!! we had a fabulous time!

and when we said goodbye it hit me! i wasn't going to see her again until summer is over!!

this made me think of all the things i'm going to miss this summer

while i'm down in Texas...

1. best friends

{@ the Bridal Shower!}

2. my students

{but this happens every summer. i become attached. and apparently they do too...}

3. my car!!!

4. the new york city skyline

i'm gonna miss being a {hop, skip, and a jump} from the greatest city in the world!

finally the last thing i will miss:

5. the PIZZA and BAGELS!!!

roam outside of the NYC area and they just aren't the same

... le sigh.

must be the water.

perhaps having a Husband back home

will compensate for these things?? ;)

Ok back to some heavy duty packing!!

Bumbee's clothes are being fed ex'd.

and i'm debating whether i should do the same with mine.

... thoughts?

the way you make me feel...

i can't tell you for sure when Bumbee will be home from iraq.

but we are now down to single digits...

i can count that on my hands!!!

today:

summer officially started

i got highlights (sexy hair for hubby's return? check!)

and i signed the contract for next year

life's pretty okay right now.

have a lovely weekend!!

Edit: you were all right. the title IS a tribute to my favorite MJ song. And that photo is of me on iguana island in turks and caicos... ohhh take me back! :)

i truly, truly love my students!

i've been ridiculously hyper all day long!

tomorrow is our LAST DAY of school!!!

today my students put on the cuuuuuutest little Fashion Show!!

really wish i could upload pics but alas, it is illegal.

instead voilà une photo of one of my student's folders.

notebook checks are always more fun when i come across art like this:

and then a card that said this:

dear madame chiang,

thank you sooo much for everything this year. i walked into your class not even knowing a word in french and walked out practically french! i learned so much and i had sooooo much fun with you as my language teacher. i hope to have you in eighth grade again. have an absolutely great summer! thanks again!

sincerely,

matt (gaston)

it truly makes all the work worthwhile.

on another happy note, there was no rain today.

the teachers had a barbecue.

i got to wear my orange dress.

beautiful music on a not so beautiful day...

got caught in the pouring rain today. it's rained here for the past 25 out of 29 days.

where was i? a co-worker and i went out for some dessert

since we had a 1/2 day of school today! (yay!!)

we decided to walk. and then the rain decided to downpour.

which means

i, JLC, literally ran in the pouring rain

for a cupcake.

my tastebuds later thanked me.

and despite this gloomy weather,

i've somehow managed to run 5K's

for the past 5 days in a row.

i think i might have to take tonight off!

{the Met, NYC}

just a reminder to stop and smell the roses...

{or perhaps some waterlillies if it's raining.}

p.s. here's some beautiful music that

can always, always lift my spirits on a rainy day!

today at the salon, i had to say no.

Husbee alwayssss likes to make fun of me for being pampered.

getting the hair cut every 6 weeks.

getting nails done every 2 weeks.

this is a man who tried to save a few extra bucks

by giving piper a haircut.

our poor pooch had a lopsided beard

once he was finished.

and yet, like every marriage

we grow and learn from each other:

Bumbee's first "man"-icure.

{shhh don't tell! but look at that face!

i think he secretly loved it!}

today i got my usual mani.

and the nail salonist told me to come back in 2 weeks.

{i had to politely decline.}

in 2 weeks i will no longer be in jersey,

since Husbee will be HOMEEEEEE by then!

to the coolest art teacher i know...

happy father's day, mom!!

{@ maggiano's}

With an iPhone and a facebook, I'd say she's pretty coolo.

love you!!

p.s. piper also sent his love to his daddy in iraq;

apparently our son has amazing e-mailing skills.

xoxo

a taste of brooklyn and good things to come.

drove into Brooklyn last night to meet up with best friend V. we ate at Giando's. the view of Manhattan was gorgeous! even for a terribly, terribly rainy night.

started with dee-lish baked clams then ended with cannolis. my kinda dinner.

{kent ave art, brooklyn}

and today was the last full day of classes for teachers! Hurrah!! next week begins half days. Yes, school is still in session here in jerz.

starting tomorrow, some {happy} countdowns begin. let's see:

• 5 {half} days left 'til summer vacation
• 10 days 'til i fly to texas
• 15 days 'til Bumbee comes home (!!!!)
• and exactly one month 'til our 2 year wedding anniversary

alright! time to go get dolled up and go out!! just came back in from a 3.2 mile run and je suis sweatyyyyy! (how lovely to publicize over the internet right?}

happy friday!!

Bedshaped

Some days, when I'm lucky, I'll check my e-mail at work.  And when I do I'll find the most amazing one liners from Bumbee.  Today was one of those days:

I think about us in a bed in the morning tired 

and our bodies intertwined 

in warmth and sheets.

{photo taken in turks & caicos, 2008.}

and yet, not to kill the moment... 

but do we all notice how even then

the Army rucksack is taking my place in this shot??

Story. of. my life.

... but not for too long!

we make plans and God laughs

BIG BIG BIG NEWS! well, at least in my little life this is pretty groundbreaking news. before Husbee went to Iraq for his 15 month deployment, i had decisions to make.

and a dream career in new jersey that I {made the well thought out decision to} quit in the middle of the school year.

i quit in order to spend time with Bumbee down in texas before he left.

while in tejas, i tutored at the local elementary school. then when i moved back to new jersey that may, i taught elementary school french. the following september, i began what is now my current status of teaching middle school french and started my master's program at the same time.

on friday.... that dream career, the one i had quit where i taught high school french and loved every second of it? at one of the very TOP rated schools in new jersey? contacted MOI. i got an email from the adminstration and they asked if i would like to come back next september!!!!

not that i was excited at all or anything. :)

today i had the interview with my old principal. old familiar faces greeted me with huge grins while I was waiting to see him. and my old students --- oh my goodness,

you would think I was a celebrity

to them or something...

"are you coming back!? are you coming back?!"

they literally shrieked!!

kinda weird {and really nice} to think that i will have all

the same exact 7th grade students

from my very first year of teaching...

but as 10th graders now!

i'd also be teaching French IV Honors for next year!

then the following year my mentor wants me to teach AP French, and after that she may be retiring. eek! which means i'd be on my own.

everything has finally come

{ full circle }

to what it was way before Bumbee's deployment.

i just laugh when i think about how i had my life planned out for the next two years...

and then something like this comes about!

i could've never planned for this,

nor sent out a resume/application because

i had absolutely no way of knowing...

everything just kinda

{fell into my lap.}

i will be teaching high level french courses at a high school with one of the most reputable names in new jersey, and i didn't even ask for it.

pretty fantabulous.

...oh, and i said yes.

this may explain my love for cupcakes...

that girl you see in the photo below is a teeny tiny me.

my sister never really liked to share that much.

and so the obsession began...

i was so so happy to receive such amazing suggestions

for which cupcakeries to visit while

the Husbee and i are soon in texas.

i really appreciate all my wonderful readers.

thank you!!

we hope to visit them once we're back in the austin area.

Have a BEAUTIFUL weekend everyone!! 

oh and i just found out some very good news 

today that i can't wait to share.

but i'm still waiting on a few things.

new summer loves

today has been one of those blah/hair won't fall in a certain way kinda days. so tonight i decided to

order some chinese food and play with piper.

let's face it. playing with a puppy can make anyone happy

...and so can a little shopping!

recently i went at the shops at riverside and fell in love

over a few choice items;

these new lovely purchases

have me absolutely smitten:

dolce vita's

found in bloomies

i'm a huge fan of flats since

Husband is about the same height as me.

{sorry Bumbee, but it's true.}

&

a hope garden tote

found at vera

before leaving the shops,

i had to of course stop at the brand new opening

of mr. cupcakes.

{lil sigh of content}

what's a girl going to do down in Texas all summer

without her

cupcake shops??

this makes me happyyyy.

this week I got an e-mail from the FRG stating:

please do not send anymore mail

because there is a chance your soldier may not receive it 

before he comes home.

{read: your soldier might not receive the mail because he may already be on his way 

back home to you...}

14 months down.

25 more days to go!!

and i feel like i was just saying 

Fiddy Mo'.

make a difference.

yesterday i did something that i have not been able to do for almost two entire months(!) 

i ran 5 miles.  

i had hurt my knee after doing 7 miles and then 8 miles back to back.

{stupid, stupid JLC.}  learned my lesson though.

happy to report i'm back to my mileage.

and on saturday i walked a few miles 

to support a good friend of mine.

at the young age of 22, he faced and conquered Cancer.

his story however is not what inspires me, 

but it is his amazing 

sense of humour throughout all of it.

joe is the future brother-in-law to one of my best friends.

she and i walked along with joe's family

at Relay for Life.

Bumbee's father passed away from this disease, 

so it really hits home for me.

if you'd like to make a donation,

{even just 1 dolla}

click here and make a difference.

xoxo

{birthday celebrations} with dina

friday night my best friend of over 20 years 

and i had a joint birthday dinner at grissini ristorante

in englewood cliffs.

our meals were to die for.

after sharing some cosmos and martinis at the bar we were seated.

first we had the tomato caprese with buffalo mozzarella.

i had the gnocchi eggplant

dina had the penne a la vodka.

our taste buds had a field day.

then again if it were up to me, i'd eat italian food 

everyday for the rest of my life.

{dina & jlc, bffs since 1988}

after our date night we exchanged gifts

for the big 2-5.

i could not get over how incredibly creative her gifts were....

have you ever seen anything like this??

if Bumbee wasn't my husband, i'd for sure marry this girl.

{birthday celebrations} with lola

two army wives in new york city. one with a hubby in iraq. another with a hubby in a'stan.

can you blame us for wanting to have a good time?

i'm not gonna lie. 

 the big 2-5 has been a difficult birthday for me to see without Sam here.

this is my second birthday in a row with him overseas.

{is it weird for me to write Sam or should i stick to Bumbee?}

:)

since me and lola's birthdays are just one week apart we decided to

get dolled up,

put on pretty dresses,

and head into the city 

for some margaritas and cupcakes.

{we went to Caliente Cab}

and then later headed into Magnolia Bakery

for our sweet treats.

 

2 chiquitas singing happy birthday 

on park benches together

made for

1 unforgettable night on bleeker street...

fo sho.