first timer

Tonight was my first trip to the grocery with my new knowledge of coupons. I saved $28.78. Pretty good and stocked up on some good stuff (cake mixes!) to get started. I sat down earlier today and cut my coupons, organized them in my little accordian notebook, and made my menu for the week. I put all my stuff in a little tote, as suggested my faithful provisions, and I was set! I was a little nervous, but Jack went with me and they didn't tell me I couldn't use any of my coupons! I'm getting excited about the money I'm going to save so we can spend it on our bills and traveling, of course.

obsessed much?

Why, yes I am. I admit it. Isn't that the first step to getting better is admitting you have a problem? My name is Cindi and I'm a twilightaholic. Ever since New Moon is getting closer and they keep posting stuff about it, like another new preview, I am obsessing again. Entertainment Weekly is my all twilight source to all things Twilight. They have video, photo shoots, and they have pop watch, where they announce everything in the news about Twilight. I can say hours have been wasted by watching and browsing these items. I need to get back to reality, but is it not fun reliving your teen years? Being all giddy and silly? Let's not take ourselves too seriously, people.

coupon heaven

Tonight I went to a class on coupons. The words, "super double" "blinkers" and "catalina", have new meaning to me. These women mean business. Check out this website to learn more. She holds classes, but you can learn the majority of what she is teaching on the site. She does all the dirty work for you and gives you majority of the grocery stores deals each week. It is amazing. She also does meal plans. Anyways, check it out. The best part of the night: I won the free drawing!! I've never won anything, so I am really excited. And what else should I get but COUPONS! Lots of coupons. Everyone was really excited so I'm thinking it's a pretty good thing.

Graduation

Now I know this post is late, some say, but actually I just received the piece of paper saying I am a Masters in the arts of Counseling! I picked this up last week and shed some tears. It is UNBELIEVABLE where God has brought me in the last two years. There is part of me who wants to boast in what I have done, going back to school and completely changing my career, when everyone probably thought I was crazy or didn't think I could do it. This would be completely false, I must boast in what my God has done. He created this idea to counsel others in a time that I found myself fighting to be able to get the nerve to walk into the hospital one more day. He gave me courage. He gave me strength. He gave me a dream.
It was two and a half years ago that he pointed to scripture to have me go this path and confirmed it along the way. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:17-20. In actuality he has been working this in me all my life and I can definitely see where my life has piled up struggles to be able to convey to someone, I have been there.
I'm not quite sure where he will take me next and I only can pray that I listen and desire only him. I am now doing my internship for my license at Hope Clinic for Women where I see women in unplanned pregnancies, post abortion, or postpartum depression. I am loving it! I just really have enjoyed working with the college age population and can see myself working in that area. I have lots of dreams about starting something involving education on nutrition, exercise, self-worth, counsel, and the gospel for women.
A very special shout out to my wonderful and supportive husband, Jack, who believed in me every step of the way. He was patient, encouraging, loving, and always willing to quiz me before a huge test. I could not have done it without him, nor would have wanted to. He has helped me dream and stepped along with me in that dream. I am so blessed to have him in my life.
Another shout out to all of my friends who have encouraged me and told me I would be a good counselor when I may have doubted. Thanks to Judd, Traci, Melissa, Ben and Shelly for being my "clients"! HA. Thanks for putting up with it!
You guys, I did it! I am overwhelmed with joy. Cindi Burger Barrett, RN BSN, MA, NCC =)
PS. I actually "walked" in May and celebrated with a picnic along with my family and friends.

secret treasure

The Patterson House, in Nashville, is a new little gem that has you feeling you stepped right into a speakeasy. It opened recently off of Division in the old Patrick's building down from Virago. The sleekness and sophistication has you feeling you are not in Nashville anymore and the place is decked out with a blue velvet curtain, chandeliers, light green wallpaper, and wood booths. The drink menu is divided up by the spirit, so Gin, Whiskey, Brandy, Tequila, and so forth. Each drink is $11 and I know, that is a lot for a drink, but seriously this is the first time I have ever felt it is worth it. I have paid $12 for martini's on top of the Hancock building and they aren't worth it, but this is. The tax is also included in all the prices on the menu, a plus. They hand squeeze their juices and have an array of home made bitters in old medicine bottles. The ice is also special in each drink, designed to be specific to the concoction so it doesn't water it down. Jack had a whiskey drink and it had a huge ice sphere in it. My drink, the Pimm's cup, had one long piece. I have gone twice (begging to go again and again but my bank account can't take it all the time!) and I will tell you what were our favorites. Juliet and Romeo was to die for-rose water, gin, cucumber, lime, and mint. Refreshing and came in a dainty glass with a sidecar. Pimm's cup, very delicious-gin, mint, Pimm's, cucumber, and strawberry. Jack really liked his Vincent's Ruin, a whiskey drink- can't remember what's in this one, lemon, among other things. Alicia liked her daiquiri drink, it tasted like egg nog but light. Just try it and you'll see. 
Not only are the drinks great, but the food is, too. You can't be loading your bill up on $11 dollar drinks! So hit up the food. The chef comes formally from Craft in New York and Fat Duck in London, whipping up witty little plates from elvis panini, banana, peanut butter, and bacon, to tator tots and shrimp corndogs. The two menu items I have tried are the melt in your mouth donuts and the fig and prosciutto flat bread bites. The first time we went we ordered the donuts and they came out after our drinks, so we got them free =). The owner told us they are made of brioche dough and rolled in cinnamon sugar. You bite into them and they fill your taste buds with sweet cinnamon sugar, butter, and salt, all at the same time. The flat bread was also very good, but yo, those donuts were off the chain! I got them again my second time. They also have a smore dessert and truffled deviled eggs I was eyeing, maybe next time. Patterson House is a great place to treat yourself or take your out of town guests. If I could (that being I had more money and could tolerate all the calories) I would go every other week!

Last stops-Santorini and Naples

Santorini was our next stop, another greek island, which was our favorite place we went on the cruise. This place was picture perfect, pretty much what you would imagine Greece to be. I kept thinking Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants or Mama Mia. Santorini is a volcanic island and one side has a super high cliff and the other is low, with beaches. The beaches are all black rock, which is so weird to see, but gorgeous. I have a friend who told us to just rent a bike of some kind and just drive. Jack and I took the tender boat to shore and once you get there, you have to get up to the cliff to the town, Fira. I think there are something like 500 steps that are made for the donkeys and horses to take you to the top. We didn't take the donkeys because we heard the locals believe they are actually souls who are in purgatory and they don't encourage it. They also looked miserable, probably not treated the best. The stairs zig zag up and are very steep. I had read lots of reviews not to walk these, unless you go down or a glutton for punishment. We took the cable cars up because there were not many people out yet. Fira was beautiful, with breathtaking views off the cliff. The houses are cave houses, with white walls and blue accents. After taking a look around, we rented a moped. As we were getting ours, we saw a couple where the wife was not quite happy with her husband. He forgot about the motorcycle license in order to rent a moped, so they had to get a 4 wheeler. As she was putting on her white ginormous helmet she said, "I feel like dumb and dumber". Ha. I like this lady. Exactly what Jack and I were thinking. 

We got our moped, which was hilarious compared to being on Jack's motorcycle back at home. It barely got up large hills, going about 15 mph, but it did the trick. We drove the most magnificent road on the way to Oia. It reminded me of Pacific coast Highway, right on the cliff overlooking the ocean. We were blown away with it's beauty. Blown away. 

Oia was great, pretty much the scenes you see on post cards: white walls, blue domes, and cliff views. We walked around the paths by the houses and restaurants, just in awe of this place. I could not believe we were here. After a while we decided to go check out a winery off of Wine Street. We came upon one that looked good and we were the only ones there! It was so great. We tried about 6 different wines-they are more known for their whites and are distinct because they grow in their volcanic land. They gave us some bread that was kind of like huge croutons. While were there two kitties came up to us, even Jack thought they were cute (he hates cats). Now this winery experience was much better-outside, looking at the ocean,the vines, and pink flowers, no warehouses.

After our redeeming winery experience, we went back to Oia for lunch. Oia is also known for having the best sunsets. People actually gather every night to just watch it, so most of the restaurants have a open view to the cliff and ocean. Our lunch was great and then we drove around the island for a while, ending at the beach. It was all together the perfect day. We did take the stairs down on the way back after stopping for a greek beer and gelato. It was steep, slippery, and we had to make sure and bypass the donkey poop. Yeah, I said poop. 

That night on the ship we ate at one of the specialty restaurants, Silk harvest. We got several sushi rolls and pad thai. Fabulous. Best pad thai I have ever had. We also both tried new drinks-Jack had ordered Sapporo, but they were out, so he tried a new japanese beer-Hitachino Nest. I tried the Lychee Sake, fabulous. I was wanting to get Sake and on the menu, it suggested this one for new sake drinkers. Mmm.

The next day was a cruise day, which was fourth of July. I was slightly sad not to be at home for the fourth, but that quickly dissolved when realized I was laying out in the middle of the ocean on the Mediterranean! The ship put on a lawn party on the top deck with some of the band playing and the singers. They played a medley of american songs and we ate cheeseburgers and fries from the grill. It was a great fourth of july. 

Our last stop was Naples and we kept hearing wonderful things about the Amalfi Coast and that Naples was not as great to visit-lots of crime. So we took a boat trip that went off the coast, where we could see the beautiful coast of houses and caves. Our boat actually went into a cave, complete with bats. We stopped at Amalfi, a little charming town with narrow streets and full of cafes and shops. Amalfi produces a lot of the limoncello, so it was everywhere and so we got a bottle (still haven't busted that one out). Jack and I stopped at a cafe and had a nutella croissant and a cappuccino. Oh, dear, I could have eaten 5 of these. There was also a beautiful church there that we took a look around that are in the pictures. We hopped back on the boat and went back to where we loaded to take a bus to Pompeii. Before going in, we went to the cameo factory to get a tour and a look at cameos I couldn't afford. Lunch was also right around pompeii and we sat with some of our fellow tour goers. I was a little nervous about this, but it turned out we met some very interesting people. One couple was your typical Jersey couple-woman with the full accent, gold jewelry, and LOTS of makeup. The other were on their honeymoon. The woman looked about in her forties, the man in his late fifties. They both preceded to brag on each other. He is a famous sculptor, who we found out sculpted that Billy Graham statue in downtown Nashville (that's not why he's famous). She does behaviorist counseling and has been on Oprah and written several books about dreams. They were unique and we did enjoy getting to know them. Lunch was so good and we had lots of it. Champagne, wine, mannicotti, chicken and veggies, pizza, and ice cream. The pizza was so good-the crust was thicker with such a rich taste and the toppings were simple- tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella. It definitely lived up to the hype. 

Pompeii was super interesting, although Jack was a little toured out. Pompeii is a town that was destroyed by Mt Vesuvias and it ended up preserving the town. It was neat to see how this town lived and scary to see the "red light district" with penis' still on the street to direct you to it. 

Our trip was amazing. It really was humbling that God made this trip so delightful and relaxing. To see how others live and be in that world is just the best. We loved it and our thankful for God allowing us to do it. Thanks for letting me share it with you!

Rhodes and Turkey

Our next stop was Kusadasi, Turkey, where we visited ancient Ephesus. We signed up to do the Best of Ephesus, which took us to Mary's house, Ephesus, St John's Basilica, and to a carpet demonstration. Mary's house was this place where they say she lived the last 5 years of her life. Of course, the house is rebuilt, but it was still pretty neat to see. It was tiny and you walked in single file, no talking, and if your back was showing, they gave you a lovely scarf to cover it. A nun was at the far door and she looked like she could take you down if you messed with her Virgin Mary. Outside of the house you could light a candle or write a prayer for the Virgin Mary. You could also fill a jar with the "holy water" outside from the spring and take it back with you. We weren't quite sure what we would do with that, so we by passed that... The drive up to the house and Ephesus was gorgeous. Turkey was beautiful and very clean. Ephesus was amazing in person. So much history and it just is so weird to think this is how people lived, they were here, living just like us... and Paul was here preaching! What?! It was overwhelming at times and made it seem like it was more real than I previously believed. The library and the theatre were my favorites. The old bathrooms were interesting, with a ditch of water that flowed at your feet to wash your hands afterwards. Supposedly servants would also warm up the stone for your back side in the winter. Mmm. While we were in Ephesus, this little group put together a show of how it would have been back in the day. It was really stupid, but hey, we watched, I cheered, Jack rolled his eyes, it was great. 

Next, we went to St John's Basilica, where he was believed to be buried. Around the site was a Mosk that went into chants and there was something great about being there seeing the country side and hearing the sounds of Turkey. Lunch was next at a "5 star" hotel that was super good, but I didn't get to have Turkish Delight. I always think of the Lion, the witch, and the wardrobe when I think of Turkish Delight =). I'm not sure I would like it anyways. I did however have some Turkish wine at the carpet demonstration that was quite disgusting and I was kicking myself for not getting the traditional apple tea. The carpet demonstration was very interesting, but the whole time knew we would not be buying anything. I kept thinking about being haggled, but no haggling, they were very nice and professional. 

On the way back to the ship, I was once again reminded of Mj's passing by this poster in a store window. 

The next stop was Rhodes, another greek island. Rhodes had a totally different feel, being the Knight's hopitallers came in and captured it, giving it a very medieval feel. Old Town, which is right of the port, has a huge wall around it and a castle, with lots of shops, restaurants, and parks. Outside of the medieval wall is called New Town. Jack and I decided to see Old Town and then head to the beach and maybe a winery. I had seen a winery that I wanted to check out, but it was about an hour away. As we were walking blindly around the town, all of a sudden we came across an information center. They were extremely nice and helped us figure out how to get to the beach and a winery. They showed us another place that may be good that was located in town that we could hit up afterwards. Before going to the beach, we had a traditional greek lunch at a cafe. I had greek meatballs, pita, and saganaki. The beach was gorgeous, with perfect weather. Before heading to the ship, we decided to venture to this winery. The taxi driver pulled up and it looked like we were at an abandoned warehouse. Seriously? We told our driver to wait on us... "give us 15 minutes". We were the only ones there and it was pretty much a warehouse. Hilarious. We did try the wine in about 5 minutes-fastest time ever-because we were nervous to be the only ones in this shady warehouse and hoping our driver wouldn't leave. The wine was good, bought a bottle and headed back. We both had a good laugh out of that and knew it would have been a much better option to go to the winery an hour away. Oh well! If we hadn't gone, I would have always wondered. Thankfully, we have a much better winery experience in Santorini.