The Wehkamps

Sarah Renee Photography - Allie & Joe's Wedding

sarahrmathis@gmail.com (Sarah) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000

It's becoming increasingly obvious to me that the photography business and the business of the Wehkamps will have to be two separate blogs.

I'm working on it!

This last weekend I was thrilled to help take some wedding pictures for my friend Allie.

I was not the only photographer there so I didn't feel the normal pressures of wedding photography. I got to be a friend, a guest and a photographer.

The wedding was gorgeous, and the couple ever so happy.

I've put a few of the images below and Allie and Joe were kind enough to let me link to their album if you'd like to see more.

Thanks for letting us be a part of your day Allie & Joe and many wishes for a long and happy marriage.

Sarah Renee Photography - Two Front Teeth

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 02:00:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of photographing Jordyn at a very cute time in her little life...

She was so much fun! We hung out at her new house and listened to her favorite CD and she showed me all the Christmas decor.

Then she got some cookies and started a birthday card to a friend.

Thanks so much Jordyn and Emily for a fun morning. Hope you guys have a very Merry Christmas!

Sarah Renee Photography - Baby Bell

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:13:00 +0000

I had the privilege of photographing Baby Chloe a bit after Thanksgiving. She was a very happy little model!

She got to ride on the swings for the first time in her young life and loved it! I think that may be a new family outing.

Thanks Bells for letting me spend the morning with you.

Looking forward to a "walking" session soon!

Sarah Renee Photography - Taylor 7 Session

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:10:00 +0000

I feel like this session has been a long time coming.

A great high school friend just rounded out her 4 daughter family to include a son.

The whole family is just beautiful and behaved so well on the treacherous railroad tracks!

I seriously don't know how they are going to choose between all these great images. I have more than double these posted images that turned out just spectacular!

And a special thanks to April for dancing around to help get Jaxon to smile.

Sarah Renee Photography - Murphy Session

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:39:00 +0000

Finally, I can blog about one of my favorite families. I've been waiting for their Christmas card to be sent so I wouldn't spoil their cover image.

These guys are up for anything and they are one of my favorites to photograph.

Congrats guys on the new house and on another year of successful parenting!

Looking forward to taking more shots in 2010!

Sarah Renee Photography - Session M&M

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:04:00 +0000

I've been remiss in posting photos from my latest sessions.

The website is being built, but in the meantime, the blog will be the showroom.

On Halloween I got to work with a Mom and son team M&M. We played around the shore of Lake Ray Hubbard out in Rockwall and got some great shots.

M&M are so much fun and I loved capturing their smiles and playfulness. They are a really cute mom and son team.

I just got their 2009 Christmas card and am honored they chose one of my shots to be included.

Hope to see you guys again soon M&M!

Baby Bombs

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:54:00 +0000

I'm back-dating this post.

It's my blog so I can do that.

I wanted to talk a bit about Thanksgiving, but from the point of view of my camera lens.

I realized this Thanksgiving that we now have a series of pictures of Chris being baby bombed.

I love it when Chris gets baby bombed.

It has to be a sneak assault.

He won't volunteer or agree to hold any child.

You really have to give him no other option.

There was the New Years Day raid of 2009.

Jenica took the wine out of his hand and replaced it with Baby H.

The result was as follows:

Hysterical.

That assault was followed promptly with Baby A.

Me thinks Chris is nonplussed.

That takes us to Thanksgiving day.

Chris's cousin basically dropped Baby R right in his lap giving him no choice but to catch her.

It's like watching someone give a 5 year old a map to hold.

They're not quite sure which end is up, what the purpose is or what to do with it.

It makes me laugh.

And I think it makes Chris laugh too.

Because eventually, he figures out what to do.

And the babies love it.

And I kind of think Chris does as well.

When we had the Moss's over for dinner, Chris introduced Baby A to drums. I'm pretty sure that made her day.

The drums have been quite a hit with the short bunch.

Kiddo B and Baby B loved them as well.

They'll probably be a big hit for years to come.

Chris really doesn't give himself enough credit.

He's quite good when caught off-guard with baby bombs.

Maybe someday he'll even volunteer to hold one.

Someday.

The Dallas Turkey Trot

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:18:00 +0000

Thanksgiving morning we woke up at 6:30 and set off to the DART rail. Upon arriving, we discussed the day ahead.

I've never run this race before and I was surprised to discover that the train was full to overflowing. Sarah and I had to stand on one foot all the way to the race.

Upon arrival, I was even more surprised to discover that 37,00 of our neighbors had shown up to trot with us. Some of them came in costume and others expressed themselves in dance.

Here's a panoramic video to give you an idea of what 37,000 people looks like when they are all packed together and freezing. Also, the national anthem was in full effect.

The "official start" of the race was a bit anticlimactic, since a mob this size doesn't really jump into action at the toot of an airhorn.

Once we got under way I took some shaky video of the perilous run itself. I did eventually see a middle school-aged girl run directly into a parking meter and crash to the ground more embarrassed than hurt. It was a jungle out there.

The truth is, Sarah made it the whole way without stopping or slowing down. She crossed the finish line in about 34 minutes. I, however, had to stop and catch my breath for a bit. I still managed to finish in about 37 minutes.

Right before I crossed the finish line we met up again. Crossing the finish line was a great feeling of accomplishment. And I was only a little embarrassed that my wife smoked me.

We're talking about doing the Jingle Bell run on December 22nd now that we've got our first 5k under our belts. It was a fun way to kick off Thanksgiving that I'm sure will become a tradition for us.

Really? At Blockbuster?! - by Christopher

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:50:00 +0000

I have discovered the most desperate man in America. Aaron Siebers, just some schmo from Denver, performed what has to be one of the most illogical, poorly thought out and desperate attempts at getting out of work ever conceived.

The full article at The Smoking Gun lays out the pathetic details; the ripped pants, the implicit racism against imaginary hispanics, the sad, sad life of one very deficient individual.

I'm left with only one pressing question at the end of this moronic tale: aren't there any Subway restaurants in Denver? Or FedEx Kinkos shops? Or fricking Wal-Marts?

Could any job in the entire Blockbuster corporate hierarchy all the way up to the CEO of the company (let alone the job as a peon at a check-out counter) warrant STABBING YOURSELF IN THE LEG???

Have you walked into a Blockbuster in the last ten years? Not to overly disparage what the fine folks are doing over there, but I think the only real qualification for employment is a proven history of sniffing paint. Or a tolerance for being surrounded by screens of endlessly looping dreck? Or are those two qualifications really the same qualification? I'm aware that ex-convicts have to work someplace- but Blockbuster? The company that's been going out of business in gruesome slow motion for nearly a decade on the strength of it's "customer service?"

I mean, we know there's a Target retail store in town (with fully functional security cameras). Are you telling me this guy didn't stop for half a second during his walk past Target while he contemplated EVISCERATING HIS FLESH to get out of a shift and think, "You know, I'll just bet I could walk into this big red store over here and get a job performing comparable tasks for comparable benefits." No?

Then Aaron Siebers, you are the most desperate man in America. There's nothing that I or anyone else can do for you. You are well and truly on your own in life; all the education and well-intentioned wisdom in the world will never make a dent in your perfect halo of idiocy. I'm sorry and thank you. I never would have believed this could have been possible.

Not even any drugs involved? Nothing? Just, this guy one day decides that to keep his entry-level job as a scratched dvd shelver he must badly immolate himself, your saying. And set into motion a city-wide manhunt for imaginary assailants, your saying. AND the job is at Blockbuster?!?

I'm just- my mind is blown. I'm doing my best to peel myself off the ceiling on this one.

Hello.

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:16:00 +0000

I woke up this morning and realized with surprise that it’s already November.

An unreal amount of time has rushed past since we touched down on our native soil. Sarah has been the only member of our duo to update the blog with any regularity. So here follows an update on me in a handy listed format:

1. I’ve been working as a techie for a local college since July. However, it’s only part-time. I spend another 8 hours each week in class to prepare for the Cisco CCNA certification. I’m planning to take the test in mid-December. I’m hoping to be employed as a network engineer by Februaryish.

2. I have started a little home business of converting analog VHS home movies to eternally-preserved digital formats. It’s fun work and it’s nice to feel like I’m creating permanent family heirlooms for people. Some great-great-grandkids are going to be very entertained by what their direct ancestors once wore in public.

3. I’m playing fantasy football for the first time. It is way more fun than I thought it would be. Even on the weeks I get stomped (which is often).

4. On the days I get to see Sarah, I like to be with her doing whatever we think sounds fun. For Halloween we went to dinner and a free production of Much Ado About Nothing. It wasn’t an appropriate way to spend Halloween at all, and for some reason I enjoyed that.

5. I’m slowly writing a book. I started it in earnest on the Greek isle of Rhodes several months ago. The only thing I know for sure at this point is that it’s intended purposes will be twofold: to elicit laughter and puzzlement. I’m positive that the puzzlement part will succeed.

6. I’m slowly creating comics. These are mostly just for me to show to Sarah and to enjoy watching her reaction. I’m a long way from feeling ready to launch these into the world. With each new one I create I think, “This has definitely not ever been created before.” This is to say that most of them are some flavor of bizarre.

7. I am producing nothing musical at all right now beyond my very occasional assault on my electronic drumkit. I did tune my electric guitar yesterday. I sort of forgot how to do it properly.

8. I have no aspirations toward theater at the moment, since I couldn’t possibly imagine how a typical three-night-per-week rehearsal schedule would fit. But when the time is ripe I will strike again.

9. I’ve been training to run the Dallas Turkey Trot 5K. It will be the first time I have run a 5K. I am nervous and excited and fairly sure that Sarah is much better prepared for it than I am.

10. I think there’s been some talk of having a baby.

I know I’m forgetting several things. When I remember the things I’m forgetting I’ll tack them on here or in another post. And I hope all is very well with the few of you who might still pay this space any heed.

‘Heed’ is both a funny looking and funny sounding word. Unlike ‘Pizza,’ which is a funny looking but normal sounding word.

Or ‘Boot’ which is a normal looking word that sounds funny. As in, “Hey Carl, that’s a really interesting boot you’re wearing today.” There’s nothing funny about reading that sentence. But if I called you and told you that sentence you would laugh.

But maybe you aren’t named Carl and don’t wear boots and that’s why you would be laughing. And if that’s the case, you just totally screwed up the end of this post.

Happy Birthday, to Me

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:01:00 +0000

October 17th I turned thirty-one years old.

Hard to believe this time last year I was opening air mail packages in a tiny apartment in Ankara, Turkey.

How the time flies.

Such a fantastic birthday.

I didn't want to put anything on the girls calender as this year has already been a whirlwind of activities.

So, I was shocked when Thursday night my doorbell rang and standing outside were 6 of my best friends, holding a cake and singing Happy Birthday.

I hear Jenny made the cake (Thanks Jenny!) Very cute and tasty.

Bree and Bauer helped us celebrate by creating some very peaceful background music on Chris's drums.

I have the most amazing girlfriends of anyone in the world.

It was so nice to sit and chat with them.

Felt like the old days in the dorm when we could all just walk down the hall and hang out.

Too bad hanging out like that now involves an hour drive for most of us.

Better than a 10 hour flight to Turkey though right?

Then Sat. night the family and I descended on PF Chang's for some very tasty chinese food and for me, a pink dingo, the drink of choice at our wedding.

Lovely Ladies

Mom and Dad W.

Mom #1 and Mom #2

Happy to have my Dad here

The pink dingo turned into something green. What can I say? I indulged in a rainbow of celebratory beverages.

The Whole Gang

After dinner we all went back to the apartment for cake and presents.

Grandma's in the Apartment

Yes, I did ask for a baby doll for my birthday. And yes, my sister did oblige me. (It's to practice baby photography...not because I'm 31 going on 13.)

All in all a terrific 31st B-Day.

So terrific in fact, when Chris asked me the next morning how it felt to be 31, I was a little confused.

Wait, I'm a year older?

I thought we were all just getting together to celebrate.

Hmmmm...

I feel happy and blessed and optimistic about life. So whatever number of years goes along with that feeling, I'm fine with.

Happy birthday to me.

Who Me?

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:43:00 +0000

In keeping with the theme of "behind the scenes of Chris and Sarah's Wild Ride", here's a set of pictures I call "shots I had no idea I was in until they were shown to me a month later".

Did I ever not have a camera in my hand?

My dad is still sore from the rock hurling.

Might be picking my nose here, not sure.

Chris is just thrilled that I'm taking my time in picking out the right French blouse.

Got to get close sometimes - the girl walking by is so curious about what I've found in the bushes that warrants stopping for a picture...she'll never know.

Camera might be getting a bit heavy at this point.

This is how we did it folks.

Great idea dad...an evening walk to the nearby cemetery. It was very interesting. There was even a man there walking his baby in a carriage because the baby couldn't get to sleep. An oddly peaceful place to be.

Whatever my mom just said I think it's safe to say I doubted her.

The next water wheel is...umm...umm...behind us?

Only Chris and I (and my mom and dad) know the story behind this shot. And thus it shall remain.

First fajitas in months. I think Chris looks funnier here than I do!

Amazing shot. Thanks dad. (Can you see where I get some of my skills from?)

Perfect photo summation - this was literally the last afternoon of our trip. Our faces say it all.

Hope you're enjoying this behind the scenes tour!

Disinfecting in Desperation

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:25:00 +0000

Sometimes it's hard for me to believe I ever lived in Turkey.

The reality of my past Turkish life hit me hard this weekend.

While at my grandmother's 85th birthday party, I had the special chance to meet all her friends that live with her in her retirement home; a very happy, out-going, well-traveled, humorous group of ladies, all of whom (thanks to Nana) got to be a part of Chris and I's insane journey in (and back out of) Turkey.

After speaking to them, I realized a few things:

1. There's still so many stories that have not been told from our time there

and

2. I need to be careful what I type, as about 47 grandma's are reading what I write.

So glad they are though. It's neat to know we can provide a little entertainment, and that people actually like reading this stuff.

So this one's for all the lovely ladies at Lakewood - thanks for celebrating with us yesterday - enjoy!

One of the most frustrating things about living in Ankara was the lack of general hygiene and the poor medical care.

The shower spewed forth dirty water, the tap water was undrinkable, the washing machine ate holes through our clothes with its rancid water, and every doctor's visit ended in the prognosis of - "you have a cold."

The few times we did get sound medical advice, it came in the form of a phone call to my good friend Jenica, a trip home to the States, or WebMD.

Upon suspicion of tiny, mean, itchy creatures in our sheets, Chris decided to disinfect them. (The sheets, not the creatures).

With limited options at hand (dirty tap water, dirty shower water, parasitic washing machine water), Chris ever the ideator, chose to do the following:

Sarah Renee Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:29:00 +0000

That's right.

I'm back.

We've done market research, held some focus groups, talked with our lawyers, and found 18 topics we can blog about that won't get us in any kind of trouble, but will still hold an audience.

Topic #12 of safe, interesting topics - baby photography.

You'll remember I took some pictures of my friends Julie and Sean's kiddos this summer.

This weekend I had the honor of taking pictures of Ashley and Brad's beautiful new baby boy.

You can see all the images here: Brandt 8 Weeks

Brandt loved the camera so much, he smiled his first smile during the session! Ashley and I couldn't believe it.

Unfortunately we weren't in the best light and I didn't want to flash in his eyes so the pictures are a little blurry, but you get the idea.

This kid loves modeling!

I love taking pictures of kiddos and families and am working on building my own photography business.

If you would like a photo session I am doing them right now for free as I try to work up my portfolio.

Photos for Christmas cards, newborns, families, silly, serious, the sky's the limit.

I have fun ideas but am open to whatever you want or need.

Leave a comment or email me to set-up a session.

There.

That was good, right?

A Doggone Favor

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:45:00 +0000

So...in spite of Chris and I's first failed attempt at dog ownership (see Sunday, February 8, 2009), we're on the search for a pup.

Your mission is to help us.

We know we want either a golden retriever or a goldendoodle.

In addition to being a loved member of the Wehkamp family, this dog has to be able to go to schools and libraries and sit still while children read to it. I am a huge fan of Library Dogs and have high hopes of making my own contribution of time and support with our future furry friend.

This will be a 100% therapy dog. One that can be taken to hospitals, retirement homes, even to court with young children who are scared or shy.

I hear the downside to goldens is they shed a lot, and the downside to goldendoodles is they are hard to groom.

But really, how can there be a downside to either of these adorable guys?

I want to jump through the computer and hang out with them.

Golden Retriever

Goldendoodle

Any information you may have on responsible breeders or specific breed information would be greatly appreciated (thanks for the mouse-lady Burke - though she never wrote me back...do we settle for one of her baby hedgehogs?)

We need a loveable, well-mannered, intelligent, dog that is patient and easy with children. And one that they don't immediately shrink away from just after looking at it, even if it is the nicest dog in the world.

If there's a breed we missed and should look at please let us know.

Thanks for your help helping us find a helpful dog that can eventually help others that need help.

Help.

Month in Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:08:00 +0000

And by month I mean months since we've been home...

We made it home in time for:

Hailey to turn one year old

a meeting with my dog nephews (Winston, Owen and Norton)

a photo shoot with two of my favorite potatoes

Bauer's 1st B-Day Party

Keri and David's Wedding Shower

Jenny & Adam's Wedding Shower (which I'm mysteriously missing photos of)

Welcoming Brandt Wilson into the world

Christie's 30th B-Day party at the roller rink

New Class of 3rd graders

Keri & David's Wedding

and about 3 months to train for the 5K Turkey Trot

No I don't have a picture of us training.

And I'm not really sure what this picture proves except that I have running attire. You'll just have to trust that I use it.

Reasons Three-Fold + July 1, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:28:00 +0000

I refuse to let a month go by without blogging, and one month is knocking on my door, so here goes...

Our reasons for not writing, I've decided, are three-fold.

#1 We both work for the state now and anything we say can and will be used against us in a court of law.

#2 A new country, a new apartment, a new car, two new jobs, being around friends and family again = little to no time to write.

and finally,

#3 We're not flitting about in France anymore or meeting magical ferries in Greece - we work, go to Target and watch HGTV. Trying to make that interesting, or even reporting on it at all, is a challenge. And to tell the funny, ironic truths about work and going to Target, leads us back to #1 and the possible expulsion from our current places of work.

Sooooo...what does one do?

Well, for today, I'm going to go way back in time and touch on a tiny part of our European adventure that never got properly blogged about.

Final Day in Europe: Luzern, Switzerland; July 1, 2009

Summer tobogganing is actually one of my favorite pastimes. It's something I wish I could build in Texas because I know Texans old and young would love it too.

You start at the top of a scenic Swiss mountain, then hop on a metal tobaggan and away you go.

My parents definitely got a kick out of it.

Chris and I had a blast.

We flew down the mountain at break-neck speeds and giggled the entire time.

A very successful last day.

After coming off the mountain we had some dinner in town, crossed the lovely bridges, and made our way into a candy store.

All in all, a great last day in Europe.

We woke at 5 a.m. the next morning to catch our flight home and the rest is history.

As I look through the pictures today I realize there's a lot that you haven't seen. I'll try to par them back and add some never before seen footage soon. Maybe a director's commentary, some bonus features.

Until then...

To Readers Abroad

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 19:15:00 +0000

Oh sweet wifi.

As Chris mentioned, it's now up and running. Unnamed phone company finally got their AT together with their T and got it working properly.

Apologies galore for our lapse in writing.

As mentioned, the blog is going through some changes. Both theme, approach, look...we might divide it into two blogs, might not, lots to discuss.

Your comments on what you'd like to see were really helpful.

All 3 of them.

So this post is mostly for those not living in Texas or the United States. If you do live in either of those places the post could still prove interesting, but it's mostly designed for those foreign to American apartment living and life in the Texas suburbs.

So, to those in Spain, England, Ireland, Australia, France, Belgium, Turkey, Canada, Norway (yes, Norway) and China (when you can get past the Great Firewall) - this one's for you. Thanks for reading.

If I had friends visiting from Europe or Asia or any other continent, I would hope they would say that Dallas, Texas is a friendly place. I would hope they would recognize the ease of buying milk or getting gas or finding donuts at 11 pm. I think they would be tickled to see how cheap common place items like trash cans and notebooks are. The Dollar Store would be an immediate favorite I'm sure.

I think they would love the Mexican food and probably crave it when they went back home.

I would hope they'd think the roads are good and customer service is adequate (this is compared to what's available in their home country of course...where most of the time sending back a meal is unheard of and returning items once opened is impossible.)

Drive through banking and ATM's would get a big thumbs up, I think.

I would think my foreign friends would enjoy the almost limitless technology available.

On the downside, I'm pretty sure they would notice how large most Americans are. I know they would find our general lack of interest in healthy physiques both startling and sad.

I know they would be frustrated at the lack of public transportation. And they would probably feel overwhelmed anytime they went to shop for something and couldn't get the salesperson off their back.

They might feel it's hard living in a country where most everyone sets their value based on house size and car price.

I get a good feeling when I'm in a country or town where value is set on how much time is spent with family, or how open-minded one is, or how great the local beer tastes!

And let's go ahead and say what no one wants to say, or hear; there are many Americans so patriotic and full of American pride, they refuse to concede there are some things that America is doing, and has done wrong.

This can be quite a turn-off to foreigners who though patriotic to a point, will easily concede there are things their country needs to improve upon.

People that have never left America and don't have anything to compare it to can't truly know what to appreciate, or not appreciate, about their own country. They don't get the chance to see that some other countries have better ideas and programs when it comes to education. And they don't get to compare banking hours abroad enough to know they appreciate that their bank doesn't take siesta.

Don't get me wrong, patriotism can be good if it's done right.

I wish every American was required to spend a total of one month on 3 different continents. That could be one week on one, one week on another, and two on another. It could be spread-out over two years or done all at once. But either way, it would lead to the majority of Americans having a larger world view.

I find myself wanting to say negative things about the US but I don't know who to say them to. I don't feel there are many people wanting to listen.

And I'm not sure why not.

Don't we want to improve? Don't we want to be the best we can be?

Then what's wrong with noting what we need to improve upon and looking to others to figure out how to do things better? We don't always have to be in the "right" or on the cutting edge.

All that being said, here's the lighter side of this post, pictures of the new apartment.

I'll take some more of the outside facilities.

For those abroad, this is not a typical apartment complex in TX. Or anywhere in the US as I know it.

We're surrounded by 8 pools, a bar, a restaurant, parks, shopping, a gym, a clubhouse, all within walking distance.

All the buildings look different and many are town homes or lofts that you can buy.

Our apartment is a simple 2 bedroom, 2 bath, and we're quite happy here. It's quite a step-up from what we were in as it has clean running water and furniture that doesn't break when you sit on it.

We do miss the little guy coming to knock on our door at random and hang a Turkish flag on our balcony.

(All pictures taken with an iPhone hence slightly questionable quality. Also, nothings been hung on the walls yet.)

Kitchen

Living Room

Loft

Stairs

Sarah's Home Office

Master

Chris's Home Office

Come visit anytime. Mexican food and cheap notebooks await!

Ahhh...American Bandwidth.

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:15:00 +0000

There we go. Finally got internet hooked up and going at our new apartment. I've been trying to think of a witty acronym for AT&T to post as a title to this blog. But at the moment I'm too happy to act mean to them. Even if the process did take three weeks to complete.

So we've been living in north Dallas for a month and four days now.

It's been a challenge resetting our lives in America. Of course, there are one hundred and one modern conveniences we'll never take for granted again after Turkey. But with those conveniences come one hundred and one hoops to jump through, it seems.

I forgot (or never truly understood) just how complex life in America is.

I stood in the aisle paralyzed by the dozens of different kinds of mustard to choose from on a recent trip to Target. I knew that I wanted mustard and I knew that all I had to do was pick a bottle of mustard up and take it to the cash register. But my mind couldn't even begin the process of weighing the dozens of variables involved in making a selection.

Job hunting in America is also complicated. Nearly every potential employer I contacted required that I fill in the blanks on each of their own practically identical but nonetheless proprietary online applications. Most of them were more than happy to allow me to attach my resume (which had all the information they were asking me to fill out in the first place) to my online submission.

The truth is, these online applications represent a series of gradually narrowing hoops. If you fit through the first series of hoops (the criteria they have established in their software) then you'll get the chance to see if you can squeeze through the next series of hoops (i.e. you might get the luxury of speaking to a human being). Despite this dehumanizing system of maze running, I have recently secured employment at a place I respect doing work I enjoy.

Before I left (less than a year ago), I could still count on talking to another human being when I patronized the drive-through lane of a sandwich shop like Jimmy John's. Now when I pull up to the walkie-talkie sign thing, I get a pre-recorded message from the owner of the restaurant before an actual downtrodden sixteen-year-old can ask me if I would like to increase the size of my order for only a few cents more.

Certainly, no place I know has more complicated food than America does. Pre-packaged, pre-cooked, microwave-safe, preservative-rich pseudo food surrounds me here. Also; butter, salt, butter, salt, butter and salt. Some food comes with butter or salt, but most food comes with butter and salt. And I'll never forget the first American meal I ate in a restaurant upon my return. It was the biggest plate I have ever seen. The restaurant wasn't making an artistic choice in their presentation; every square centimeter of it was covered with food.

I couldn't even finish half of the food before me that night. But I've been here a month, I'm readjusting quickly. At the doctor's office this week I weighed in at 188 pounds. That's about 5 pounds heavier than I weighed when I landed.

Of course, my body doesn't really bear any responsibilities to move anymore. When I was abroad I walked everywhere, all day, every day, for everything. Now I get up from my seat to walk a few feet to sit in another seat that drives me to my job where I walk a few feet to sit in another seat where I do my work and then a couple of hours later I do the same process in reverse until I feel sleepy, at which time I walk a few feet to lay on a comfy bed.

When before, ample exercise was simply hard-wired into every task in my daily routine, now if I want to "exercise" I have to make a separate time for it in my day outside of my daily routine. This must be a common problem faced by a large portion of Americans, a society which currently suffers from a 66% rate of obesity or overweightness (Center for Disease Control, 2009).

I'm so very pleased to be back home in the States. Just a few days ago I caught myself hesitating to fill my glass from the tap, feeling unconsciously suspicious that the water might not be safe. I felt so lucky when I remembered that it isn't a concern I need to worry about here. The advantages and the benefits of living in America far outweigh any negatives I can think of, current economic recession included.

It's good; but it's complicated. I've basically gone a year without watching TV. I didn't miss it very much when it was gone, but now that we're home we decided to get the most basic cable TV plan. I asked the lady from AT&T to tell me how many channels their most basic, stripped-down plan had and I couldn't believe it when she told me that it had 40 channels. I asked her for a cheaper, simpler service and she told me that she offered no such service. Sarah and I watch about three of them; I'm not even sure what the other 37 are. How can I possibly make room in my head to watch 40 channels after being perfectly happy watching 0? Why can't I just choose and pay for those three channels, wouldn't that make more sense?

Or maybe "more" sense isn't the kind of sense worth making, maybe that's the point. Maybe it's "better" sense that we need.

Blog Update

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:35:00 +0000

I think my littlest sister put it best: "...why no blogs lately? Combination of crazy stalkers and no internet? Gotta love it."

Yes. All those reasons and more.

I think we warned everyone we are in a transitional phase with the blog.

The transition phase came at such a good time since unnamed phone company cannot figure out how to get wifi working at our apartment.

We'll be back in working order soon. Many good things to come. Hang with us.

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:36:00 +0000

Sitting at Corner Bakery using their free wifi and eating breakfast. Trying to prepare for my first job interview since returning home. Pretty nervous.

It's a phone interview, so at least I won't have to concentrate on forcing myself to stop fidgeting with my hands. And I won't have to wipe my sweaty palm on my pants before shaking hands with my interviewer. Still pretty nervous.

I typically interview well. Acting skills at work and all that. It's a one-man performance called "Every Positive Quality I Possess and Some I Don't." Typically performed in three acts.

Job hunting is all about patience. Waiting to hear back on applications, hoping to hear from some jobs over others, counting the minutes, hours and days that go by. It's like fishing without the beer.

Then when you finally get past all the modern filters (online application, resume request, background check, reference check) you get to speak to a person. Then you get to sell yourself. Without sounding too much like you're selling yourself. It's a complicated dance.

I'm a little bit rusty on the steps. Which is why I'm prepping for the big sales pitch over hot tea and scrambled eggs.

I'm distracted though. My mind keeps wanting to go over our moving plans for tomorrow. We've decided to move into an apartment for a year. We've discovered some serious commitment issues with settling on a house and a home. We think time and more research is the solution.

And if we find the location of our dreams in three months, we can always buy the lease out and be on our way. But I'm really not looking forward to two more moves in the near future. Moving is a singularly loathsome activity, both for the expense and the hassle. For such an involved activity, surprisingly little of it is very interesting.

But we're both ready to be living in a space of our own again, however temporarily.

Well, I'm going to get back to prepping for my sales pitch, er interview now. Wish me luck!

Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:01:00 +0000

Something I've been avoiding doing for about 2 weeks now is unpacking.

Chris and I are still living out of the same suitcases we've been traveling with for over 100 days.

Same clothes, same toiletries, same everything.

I look at the suitcases and boxes at my parents house and my in-laws house, and I cringe. I want to run away and hide.

Sometimes when I'm feeling really brave I slowly unzip a suitcase and peek inside, and I'm immediately overwhelmed.

The wedding gifts, the Turkey suitcases, the memorabilia from childhood, the drum kits, it's all there, waiting to come out.

Which begs the question, if we've lived without all this stuff for this long, how much do we really need it? Why do we have so much stuff that we don't fundamentally need? Why unpack any of it?

Part of the answer is that we've been using other people's stuff. As we're living at my Aunt and Uncle's and with parents, we use their pot holders and their plates and cups and trash bags and sheets.

When we have our own place, we'll need our own set-up.

As for the rest of the stuff, I can only chalk it up to sentiment. Framed wedding invites, Bible, journals, old birthday cards - all that stuff for me is a good reminder of where I've come from and where I'm going.

As of Saturday (or Monday), I'll have to overcome my avoidance of unpacking.

Chris and I have signed the dotted line on a new place to put all our stuff.

A fabulous 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment.

It isn't what either of us planned on doing when we returned, but I think it's a good compromise.

As much as I've been avoiding the unpacking, I am curious to see what's in all those boxes and suitcases.

Let the parade of stuff begin!

UP

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:17:00 +0000

(Pardon the lapse in posting...my MAC has been getting a post-European adventure tune-up)

On Thursday Chris and I saw the newest Pixar creation, "UP".

We saw it in Disney 3D, hence the rocking glasses.

UP is the animated story of a 78 year old man who, in search of adventure, ties thousands of helium balloons to his house and flies away to South America. Mid-way through flight he discovers an eight-year-old stowaway; comedy and emotion ensue.

I left the movie theatre over 48 hours ago and I am still thinking about the movie.

I think I've only written about 2 movies on this blog, this being the second, and they are both Pixar movies.

The messages in the movie are solid.

The three that stood out most to me were:

1. Even in the midst of life's grandest adventures, it's people and relationships that matter most, not things.

2. Middle-class can mean happy and fulfilled.

3. It's never too late.

For Chris and I, moving back to the States has been a whirlwind.

I had a dream the other night that I was on a lake merging my boat into a lane of jumping fish. Only, the more I merged, the more jumping fish there were. So many that they were smacking me in the back of the head and I couldn't see anything beyond them.

I psycho-dream analyzed myself and decided this dream is a metaphor for how I feel about merging back into American life.

Slowly trying to drive our boat into home ownerships, jobs, cars, relationships with friends and family, mortages, etc...it's blinding.

Where before I was taking time to enjoy my tea, snap pictures, enjoy nature and live with only the things I needed, now I am driving through restaurants, barely remembering to bring my camera places, avoiding the outdoors in fear of dying of heat stroke, and staring down boxes and boxes of "stuff" I own.

Where does this feel to rush and value stuff come from? How much of it is the culture of America bearing down on me, and how much of it is just me feeling like I need to go-go-go?

I like to believe it's 90% culturally driven, but even if it is cultural, who in the end decides how to act?

That would be me.

I've never been to China, but in my travels around the world I have never experienced a more face-paced culture than the States.

This may anger a few of you (though I'm not sure why), but Americans have trouble slowing down.

When someone asks you what you did today (Saturday), how good would you feel about telling them "slept in, cooked lunch, took a nap, and watched some TV." I'm willing to guess that would cause embarrassing feelings for most of you.

Or if you're a teacher and you have the summer off, how good do you feel about saying "I'm just going to relax all summer."

It's not really in the American psyche to think doing nothing is okay.

We're always suppose to be wanting more, doing more, seeking more.

What's the rush?

Where are we going and why?

After 5 days of mortgage hunting, house hunting, bank switching, hair cutting, social eventing, car searching, utter and pure exhaustion, no one suggested we slow down.

No one.

No one asked us "what's the rush?" or encouraged us to take time to get over our jet lag.

Sure, people said, "don't make rushed decisions," but no one suggested we don't be rushed.

There was one person, one very professional person, who recommended we slow down.

And I ask - Why had that never occurred to us? Or to anyone else?

UP is a beautiful reminder that there is no need to rush. And, that it's important to separate working to live vs. living to work.

There is so little that we really need to do over the weekend.

See our families. Re-connect with friends living far away. Keep our bodies healthy. Take the dogs on a walk.

I'm going to try to remember this as Chris and I fumble through moving back to this fast-paced environment.

When You Need A Pro

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:38:00 +0000

It's only been 5 days in Texas, but it feels like weeks.

Being back in Lewisville/Flower Mound is something. I can't quite put my finger on what though.
It's a mix of excitement and exhaustion for sure.

Most days I go to bed at 11 pm and don't sleep well, then wake at 6 am and get out of bed. By about 11 am I'm usually so tired I'm lying in Chris's arms crying from fatigue and re-entry shock and over-stimulation and the feeling that all my stuff is spread out across Denton county.

It's great to eat the food you like and be around the people you love. It's fun to search for your first home and dream about what it will be like to finally use all your wedding gifts.

Monday we went on our first round of house hunting.

This house is older, but looked normal enough from the outside.

Inside was a time-warp of dramatic proportions. We didn't even know where to look first.

The whole experience was both terrifying and hysterical.

We have a fantastic realtor that we feel very comfortable with, so for the moment we're just going to chalk the whole thing up to "funny, bloggable experience."

I think we looked at 5 houses in total that day.

Yesterday we hit the ground running and drove from bank to bank, closing, opening, ducking, diving, depositing, withdrawing...

We ended up at a bank that has branches in Spain, so that's convenient.

At lunch, I went to get Chris a lid for his tea - I had three choices; small, medium and large lids. I looked at the cup and thought "yeah, that's a large."

Nope. That's a medium folks. How is that possible? Who needs more cup than this?

Next, on account of needing two professional haircuts, we went to ProCuts and let some random lady cut our hair.

About half-way through my cut, she dropped some knowledge (quite extensive knowledge really) about medical marijuana. After explaining that her dad has his medical marijuana license and her husband as well, I asked the obvious: what does one have to have wrong with them to get a license for medical marijuana?

"A headache," she replied.

"You know," she continued, "it's too hot here. I just want someone to drop me off in Alaska, but not tourist Alaska. 'Alaska-Alaska,' where it doesn't get above 80 degrees. And I want someone to just place me on Mt. McKinley and I'd just be there. Just sit and chill out, you know?"

It was at this point I realized she was in fact high.

We're less than half-way through cutting my hair, and my "stylist" is high as a kite.

Super.

She's not bothered. She assures me everything is going to be "soooo fine."

I leaned over to try to get Chris's attention but he was engrossed in the magazines. I was so annoyed that I couldn't get his attention, that I decided when it was his turn, I would just leave my seat, pass by him and say nothing about the fact that the lady about to cut his hair was baked.

And that's what I did.

Ah, the joys and stories that come from having spent all your money in Europe and now having to frequent ProCuts.

Retail+Tacos+Apple to Re-Boot Life

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:07:00 +0000

From hang-gliding in Switzerland to a plane bound for Texas - And everyone is asking "what are you guys doing now?"
"How does it feel to be home?"
"Have you eaten Mexican food yet?"

For the purpose of those questions, and for anyone curious what it takes to move your foreign affairs around in this day and age, we took the camera out with us yesterday.

The first day we were home, July 3, I slept off the previously mentioned anxiety medications I have to take for flying. I think the Wehkamp family ate a few meals and Chris did some laundry.

But when I finally woke up yesterday, Chris and I set off to re-boot our lives in Texas.

First stop, Verizon.

Second stop, AT&T.

Third stop, bank.

Fourth stop, AT&T round two where we gave them all our monies and they gave us 2 acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) thermoplastic mobile devices that make phone calls and would probably make me a lasagna if I wanted them to.

Yes, we have phones now. No, I do not know how to use mine so please don't be offended when I don't pick up.
Not that that could happen anyways as neither you nor I know my phone number.

After AT&T and the bank, a close third is always Target. We zipped inside on a whim to try to find cases for the new phones.

As I was walking in I saw a girl leaving and I thought, "hmmm...that girl actually looks a lot like me."

Turns out, it's my little sister Emily whom I hadn't seen in 7 months. Just cruising through Target buying a hat for a day at the lake.

And then, the jackpot, grand prize, first place in all of Lewisville for lunchtime satisfaction: Abuelo's Mexican food Embassy.

After lunch we had to drive back to the Wehkamp house to get my sick laptop. Maya, as I call her, started overheating in Europe and had a Dr.'s appointment at the "Genius Bar" in Southlake.

On the way out of the neighborhood, we passed a lemonade stand. I always stop for these. Even though Chris and I had no more than $1.35, we ended up getting a piece of watermelon, a huge brownie, one cookie, and a tall glass of fruit punch. Have lemonade stands gotten more fancy or have I just been frequenting the wrong neighorhoods?

As we drove off they yelled "God Bless!" and "Happy 4th!" and "nice car!" I'm going to pretend a group of 11 year olds weren't being sarcastic about the quality of my 1997 Ford Escort with no power locks or windows, but they probably were.

Next it was on to Starbucks to blog and work on our new phones. Starbucks has a very complicated wifi system that took both Chris and I and two employees to work out, but we finally managed to log on. (This stuff is just as riveting as France and Switzerland right? Right?)

Apple store to fix Maya

(Chris wanted me to note the pink bag in the picture is mine, not his)

While we were waiting for our appointment, we saw a lady with this purse

That was neat.

Turned my computer in to get fixed, then we drove around neighborhoods in Argyle to look at properties.

I have no pictures of that because I had no idea where I was and for a little while felt like I was back in Italy with Chris navigating and neither of us having a clue where we were.
Until we found Google maps on the iPhone. And now our marriage will forever be bettered by this tiny little mapping device.

Got hungry again, got chips and salsa again.

This picture perfectly encapsulated the way Chris was feeling by this point.

We went home and he immediately ran to the bathroom. Jet lag isn't particular about who it affects. It affects everyone. Chris had his turn at about 8 pm last night. It weren't pretty.

So.......We're at a bit of a crossroads now between old and new.

The rest of the trip pictures are at another location. We still have many exciting stories to tell from our remaining days in Europe. There's still some high speed adventures, beautiful Swiss towns and good-bye sentiments.

We also want to continue to keep you informed of our lives here. Not sure how exciting it will be - but we'll try hard to find an angle.

If there's a part of the blog that you really enjoy, let us know. We're at a point where we're re-evaluating what kind of content we want to include.
Obviously posts about what we had for dinner and who I saw at SuperTarget isn't going to fly for long.

Drop us a line if you want and give us some direction one way or the other. Do you like the personal stories, are you just wasting time at work and could care less what we type, are you interested in re-entry to US life, do you want some stock tips, more photos, marriage stories...now's your chance.

I know a lot of you live abroad and might actually be interested in what American restaurants look like and lemonade stands, etc. Others at home might find that as interesting as reading a shoebox.

I'm not saying we'll take all suggestions, but since we're reflecting and repurposing, we thought it would be nice to have your two cents as well.

More to come...first official house-hunt today.