FALL!

I LOVE fall. Hands down my favorite season. The crispness in the air, the chilly mornings with hot coffee, the disinclination to bundle up completely so that when you go outside you hustle a bit, the atmosphere that college football creates (that I miss so much!) and the coziness of it all.

I'm not sure if it's because it's fall or what but lately I've been feeling pretty great. Or maybe it's been all the recent visitors that I've loved having here. Or the upcoming trip home. Whatever it is, I'm enjoying it. It's another grey, chilly day but since they have just begun I am still in that period where I enjoy them immensely. And maybe it's because I know I can always get in my car and do something that I don't feel so locked up on dreary days anymore.

This weekend JM, LM and I are going to Weltenburg Abbey. There is a little bit of contention as to whether it is the oldest brewery in the world (Weihenstephan Abbey claims the title as well) but it all comes down to the words "oldest continously operational brewery" as Weihenstephan can claim that title but Weltenburg is the oldest brewery based on foundation date (620 A.D. vs 720 A.D.) -- it just had a period of 39 years in the 1800s where it was shut down during the secularization of Bavaria. Weltenburg is on the Danube and it looks so gorgeous, I am excited! And it's only an hour and fifteen minutes away - who could resist!? JM says I'm driving back, but we'll see...

Here's a picture I snapped a few days ago from our balcony:


Fall is good.

New Talents

These days I am quite adept at accomplishing many tasks that use to take me two hands with one hand. Some examples:

1. Typing.
2. Eating (cereal is the hardest, or a baked potato)
3. Tidying.
4. Putting a sweatshirt on (this requires some baby juggling)

I would also like to add that I am usually doing these things with my non dominant hand. Ambidexterity here I come! Who knew that was an added bonus of children? I can also shower in about 3 minutes flat. It's like camping, but everyday (so it really loses its novelty...fast). Additionally, I now consider 4 hours of sleep in a row "a lot" and those who know me will know how strange that must sound coming from me.

My mom arrives sooooon! HOORAY!

Waiting...

(almost) all the things Jeremy loves - Corvettes, the Badgers, now just need the GBP

I wait a lot these days, usually for (or on) one tiny individual. For those that know me, patience has never been my strong suit. It is a virtue I do not care to possess. Like right now, I'm currently waiting for him to wake up so I can feed him and we can leave right after to go do errands. I usually only have about 2 or 3 hours until he's hungry again and with the base being 30 minutes away it doesn't really leave me with a lot of time to actually get things done. It's a pain to leave the house to be quite honest and I prefer to get errands done with someone because having a second person there makes all the difference. Unfortunately there are a few things we need that can't wait till the weekend so I will chance a trip by myself. I am back to driving Stanley as opposed to JM's parents rental car (which was a luxury). It was a manual diesel Ford crossover (basically an SUV on a car body) and so easy to drive - I will miss it.

I don't mind waiting for the LM though, when he's asleep is when I get things done (like taking a shower) and other than the hassle of actually leaving the house he's a very good shopping companion (meaning: he usually sleeps the entire time). He's 'talking' a lot lately and it is, of course, super adorable and he's started to smile too which is equally cute. He's getting big, over 10lbs, and he's grown about 4" too.

PS: "Cutting for Stone" is a really awesome book. I'm about half way done and I'd definitely recommend it. One benefit of waiting a lot: I get a lot of reading done.

Visitors, Present and Future

For the past weekish JM's parents have been here and it has been great. It is so nice to have them here period but the extra people here to watch LM and all the good grandparent stuff they love doing has been super helpful. JM's dad also bought a drill at the OBI (Germany's version of Home Depot) and has been helping us hang stuff left and right. We finally got our cuckoo clock hung up and it makes our house sound so homey with it's charming tick-tock and, of course, cuckoo-ing. Thankfully, we can turn the bird off at night.

Today it's just me and LM (the grandparents just took off for two nights in Budapest - jealous!) and he's currently asleep in his bouncy chair. He's pushing 10lbs these days and fitting into 3 month onesies. He's making all sorts of sounds (happy and otherwise) and sleeping for longer periods of time at night (3.5-4 hrs).

JM's parents are here until the weekend and then my mom arrives early October! LM is enjoying having his oma and opa here and I have no doubt he will enjoy having his grandma here soon too!

It's been gorgeous weather lately - 70s and sunny, very un-German - and yesterday KE and I took LM for a walk in his stroller. He liked it up until the last 5 minutes and then he was ready to be done. Today it's grey and looking to rain but hopefully it reverts back to the unusually nice weather we've been having.

As winter draws nearer and nearer my urge to research plane tickets home grows. I've been keeping an eye on prices and so far they seem pretty standard aka expensive. We'll be home for actual Christmas Day this year and all of us are very much looking forward to being home. It'll be interesting to fly with a baby and by interesting I mean "could be a disaster" but yah gotta do what yah gotta do and we will definitely be home for the holidays.

I just started a new book, "Cutting for Stone" that KE brought over and I literally mean just started (I'm on page five) but so far it is very well written and the synopsis on the back has my interest piqued. I'll let you know what I think.

Things I've Learned

1. Contrary to what many people say about newborns the little man (LM) does not enjoy being wrapped up tight in a blanket. He hates it. He likes he arms and legs to be free to flail about, and he certainly takes every opportunity to move around.
2. He doesn't particularly like to wear pants so often times he's just in a shirt and diaper, or occasionally just his diaper and a blanket.
3. He can scoot out of his blankets at night and then gets upset about it. I've tried to explain to him that he can easily solve this problem himself by not scooting out of them but I don't think he's grasped the idea of cause and effect yet.
4. He gets tired of being held and wants to be on the floor on a blanket sometimes.
5. He makes hilarious faces and noises.

Yesterday he was up from 1130ish to 10pm (with a 30 minute "nap" thrown in there somewhere) and it was awful - he was so cranky by about 6pm. Today he is sleeping more than he usually does, hence my ability to write up this post. But he just woke up so adieu!

The little man

Exciting, adorable, and completely time consuming. And we couldn't be happier.

New Book

SLS, a great friend/old roommate got me Bill Bryson's "I'm a Stranger Here Myself" for my birthday and it is literally laugh out loud funny. The book is about Bryson's return to the US after living in the UK for 20 years and while my abroad experience will never be that long I can definitely relate to many of his feelings. Here is my favorite quote so far:

The many good things about America also took on a bewitching air of novelty. I was as dazzled as any newcomer by the famous ease and convenience of daily life, the giddying abundance of absolutely everything, the boundless friendliness of strangers, the wondrous unfillable vastness of an American basement, the delight of encountering waitresses and other service providers who actually seemed to enjoy their work, the curiously giddying notion that ice is not a luxury item and that rooms can have more than one electrical socket.

As well, there has been the constant, unexpected joy of reencountering all those things I grew up with but had largely forgotten: baseball on the radio, the deeply satisfying 'whoing-bang' slam of a screen door in the summer, insects that glow, sudden run-for-your-life thunderstorms, really big snowfalls, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July, the smell of a skunk from just the distance that you have to sniff the air quizzically and say: "Is that a skunk?", Jell-O with stuff in it, the pleasingly comical sight of oneself in shorts. All that counts for a lot, in a strange way.
::bill bryson

Can't wait to go home again...

Vacation and more

First and foremost I must mention that I am writing this while a thunderstorms brews! Hooray no more heat wave!! Knock on wood. It has been 70s for the past four days and it is forecasted to stay this way for the rest of the week. I am so hoping it stays this way and that summer in Germany is over. I was told that "summer" (highs in the 80s and 90s) typically last 3-4 weeks here so it SHOULD be done and I am so glad. Never again will I complain about the grey rainy weather here.

JM and I just got back from our big vacation - we took a long road to Prague (Czech Republic), Bratislava (Slovakia), Budapest (Hungary), and Vienna (Austria). It was a lot of fun and I got to put two more pins in our map (Slovakia and Hungary)! It was really hot everyday (high 80s, low 90s) but that didn't stop us from exploring, we just frequented the 24 hour marts where they sold water "without gas". Carbonated water is definitely not a favorite of mine. We took Stanley and it's a good thing we did too; we saved Veronica about 1,000 miles and a lot of jostling to her suspension (lots and lots of cobblestone streets). There was also one parking garage in Bratislava that Veronica would not have fit into, we barely got Stanley out of it. The drive times weren't too bad, about 2 hours in between each city with the exception of driving home from Vienna (5 hours) and they were made fun by the ridiculous Czech and Slovak radio stations we found and the many bags of Haribo we ingested.

Budapest was by far our favorite city out of the trip - very very cool, very friendly, and cheap! One USD gets you about 220 Hungarian Forint (HUF) but of course a pizza costs you like 1700 HUF but still, not too bad. Our hotel was relatively cheap (75 euro/night) but super nice (I think it was a 4 star) and we were easily the youngest and most underdressed couple there. It also had air conditioning!! It was so glorious to return to that hotel (we stayed two nights) after walking around 90 degree Budapest all day. Our hotel in Prague said it had air conditioning but it failed to mention that it only had AC in the main areas (lobby, breakfast room, etc etc) and not the rooms. Wtf. That's false advertising! Our hotel in Bratislava had AC in the rooms but it was barely functioning but still, better than nothing. But Budapest...glorious...our hotel room was a cooler. Vienna was very pretty and VERY expensive. Our hotel had no AC (and no parking) and it was sooo hot. Our hotel was also pretty much a remodeled office building but it was the cheapest one I found (75 euro/night) -- I didn't fancy paying 220/night (that was the next cheapest I found and they quickly escalated from there up to 500/night ). I think we were both kind of travel weary too since it was the last city on our trip but we still enjoyed seeing it.

We got home Thursday night and just lazed around. It was hot but at least we have fans here (no fans in the Vienna hotel). We went to Burger King for dinner (nom nom nom) as we had no food in our house and we finished up watching the first season of Nip/Tuck. I rented it from the library so we'd have stuff to watch at night on our trip. Friday was a full day of being lazy - we certainly needed a few days off after a week of exploration. We did go see a movie on base that night but that was the extent of our exertion. Thankfully, by Friday, the temps had dropped to 70s because the movie theater had no AC. On Saturday we finally went grocery shopping and rented "Hot Tub Time Machine" which I would recommend - very funny.

Now it's Monday and everything is back to normal, JM is at work and I am putzing around the house. Cleaned a bit, going to pack some bags for the inevitable hospital trip that is hopefully happening sooner rather than later (c'mon August!). I am absolutely loving this weather. I can drink coffee and tea again and actually enjoy its warmth and I can use the oven without hating myself for making the kitchen that hot. I made lasagne last night and I am thinking of baking cookies this afternoon.

I am getting so excited for the coming weeks! C'mon baby. Andddd JM's parents are coming in a month! Can't wait to see them!

Heat wave

I certainly have a lot I could blog about. Had an awesome baby shower a few weeks back and then EK was were for two weeks and we traveled around quite a bit. Dresden, Munich, Prague, Krakow. Her arrival coincided with a pretty decent heat wave around these parts of Europe and it hasn't let up. It was 93 yesterday and it's looking to match that today. It is unbearably hot outside and barely bearably hot in our apartment. Third floor, no air conditioning, totally sunny. Terrible. Yesterday JM and I just sat around doing absolutely nothing but sitting in front of the fans. It was Sunday so everything was closed but even if anything was open very few places in Germany have air conditioning so no chance of escaping the heat by going out to dinner or anything like that. Very few places in Europe period have air conditioning. Including public transportation (like trains, EK and I found that one out the hard way). I take back every time I complained about the cold, grey, rainy German weather. I would like that back please, now.

I am just going to sit here, in front of the fan, drink ice water, and plan our roadtrip vacation. =)

Only 2 More Months...

Now that I can successfully drive Stanley I've been driving on post during the week and doing the grocery shopping and errands; it's really nice for two reasons: it gives me something to do and it frees up JM's weekends so we are now free to do whatever we please. It is soooo very nice to have my independence back. I actually didn't have enough time to do everything I wanted to do last week and (forgive me, my friends who just finished finals etc) it was actually a nice feeling.

I checked out a book from the library, Water for Elephants, and finished it in about four days. It was so good. I would definitely recommend it, very good summer read. I've been working on my quilt too and only have 2 more squares to go! Granted, I still have to add in the sashing and put the squares together and then add the borders but still, it's getting there! And it's looking good; I'll post pictures when it is fully pieced.

The crib and changing table were delivered and promptly assembled by JM, they look good. The baby's room is very full of packages currently, the baby shower is this Saturday! And EK arrives on Friday! Should be a very fun weekend and following two weeks when she is here.

I wish August would hurry up and get here. Last week it was mid 80s and sunny and I was so hot the entire time. Third floor + no AC = Very hot apartment. That week made me realize some more things I miss about the states:

1. AC standard in most apartment buildings. Or at least a window unit. The windows here are not compatible with any kind of window unit.
2. SCREENS. Only one of our windows has a screen in it (thankfully it is our bedroom window) so come dusk we have to shut the windows or else we get attacked by misquotoes. =(
3. Two kitchen sinks.
4. A washer and dryer that actually wash...and dry. Our washer occassionally likes to slack off and not rinse or spin the clothes. It's great. And our dryer slacks off almost every single time and leaves you with slightly damp clothes.

Bullet Point Blog

• We finally bought a crib and a changing table. Delivery: Thursday. Hooray! What a running joke... we're not behind at all... I'll post pictures this weekend when we (aka: JM) assemble it.
• I have a cold. Ugh. I miss being able to use cough drops.
• We went to a BBQ in Weiherhammer on Sunday, it was really fun. I wasn't the only pregnant one there but I was the only one there who was on their first pregnancy so I was informed (terrified?) of all the lovely things that occur and how German hospitals are just a tad different. It was actually pretty hilarious and we were sitting in front of the snack/appetizer table the whole time so it was yummy as well.
• It's rainy and grey out, what else is new.
• No word on the job front.
  
• We may go to THEE (legit) Le Mans since JM will be around for it now.

Mom's Visit and a Wedding

Having my mom here for the past week was wonderful. She arrived on the 21st and I took the train from Weiden to Nuremberg airport to meet her. Friday and Saturday we just puttered around the apartment - jet lag coming here is much harder to get over than going back home I've found. We got so much done; it was so fun. We sewed a ton (my machine works through a converter hooray!), got my next quilt project completely cut out, hung up a bunch of things I've been procrastinating on, and I practiced driving Stanley/manual. You really have to gun that sucker out of first. Not the biggest fan, but it will do for the next yearish. We took one daytrip to Nuremberg - it was grey all day but the rain held off which is saying something since it drizzled all day, everyday (no exaggeration) here in the town I live. My mom and I noticed sun two or three times all week. Regardless, it was so wonderful to have her here all week and I will definitely miss her around here.

(messy sewing room, the way it should be)

(beginnings of a quilt, half way done cutting things out)


(big PlayMobil man outside a shop in Nuremberg)

The wedding was great, it was so nice to see my family. The day I spent traveling each way was a little excessive and definitely tired me out but I am doing fine today.

(me and the parents)

The boy is doing fine, he practically never stops moving these days and he definitely responds when people (read: JM) poke my stomach. JM thinks this is hilarious. I think he is going to be a terror when he is a toddler. Oh boy...

I am currently up in my newly organized/functional sewing room just working on my quilt! My mom and I also stopped by the on base craft store which is surprisingly well stocked. Not near stateside quilt stores but beggers can't be choosers and it is pretty nice on the whole. Another thing - it is so nice to have someone to leisurely shop with. It's totally a boy trait but quite obviously JM doesn't exactly want to 'stroll' through shops.

Of course, now that we don't have a visitor the weather outside is gorgeous. 70s and sunny. Thanks Murphy's law. It looks like EK is going to visit for two weeks next month which would be lots of fun if she did.

Is it too early to start the countdown to when I'll see family again and visit the states? Let's see... 4 and 5 months to family (S and Y sides, respectively), and 6.5 months till the states? Can't come soon enough! Although I think I am all traveled out (plane wise) for awhile though, at least until July when JM and I will travel to Norway for a week to see the fjords and other sights and even then that's only a 3.5 hour flight so that is nothing compared to the almost 10 hour flight my mom and I took to NC! And EK and I won't be flying anywhere, just train and car so that is more than fine by me.

For now I am pretty okay with staying around the apartment!

Things I Miss

(Ticket and Ranger)

Dogs. I have come to realize that canines are very multipurpose. Not only do they provide the obvious companionship but they keep your kitchen floor crumb free! Seriously! I miss it. Yesterday I caught myself wondering, "how in the world does this kitchen floor get dirtier faster than the floor at home which stood up to more people and more pets--" and that's when it hit me. Our springers do many things well (chase cats, retrieve things, bring in early morning presents in the form of squirrels, moles, and the occassional oppossum, and leave nose prints over every window-y surface) but one thing they, as all dogs, are quite skilled in is licking crumbs off floors. I'm convinced my kitchen floor would stay cleaner longer if only we had a canine companion. However neither JM nor I want to put a dog through a trans-Atlantic flight and quarantine upon our return to the states so we are waiting till we get back. After that I have no doubt 'dog' will be the third thing on our 'to buy' list right after a truck and a place to live.

In other news - my mom comes on Friday! HOORAY! I am taking the train to the airport to meet her since she'll have two biggish suitcases and I just bought my ticket today. The train station is about a 10 minute drive away from our apartment so that is super convenient and I finally found a really easy to use Deutsche Bahn website in English to buy my tickets at! Babybarth kicks so strongly these days you can actually feel his feet (I am guessing it's a foot? Maybe an elbow) on the sides of my stomach sometimes. JM and I are pretty set in our idea to go to Norway this July to see the fjords for 5 or 6 days. Plane tickets are pretty reasonable and we'd either rent a car or get around via train and there are tons of websites devoted to booking English speaking fjord cruises that vary from 1-3 days in length. The Norwegian Krone is pretty decent compared to the USD too although I'm sure, it being a Scandanavian country, everything will be more expensive regardless but it's our "big" summer vacation so that's okay by us.

Definitely looking forward to this upcoming weekend/week with my mom - we are going to do lots of projects, putter around downtown Weiden, go on base a few times, and maybe take a daytrip or two! And at the end of the week I fly to NC for a family wedding I am standing up in so I will get to see a bunch more of my family! I will surely post pictures of all our adventures.

Accomplishments and Upcoming Visitors

YES. I can drive manual. It's not a smooth ride 100 percent of the time but I'd say it is smooth 80 percent of the time. Yesterday was the first day I drove around post and didn't stall once. I even managed to stop/start on a hill....we'll just leave out the part where I squealed the tires while an MP watched. At least I didn't stall it five times in a row like the last time I was on a hill, and no one beeped at me impatiently. I still don't think I'd feel comfortable driving to base alone (about a 25-30 minute drive) but I will very soon. Poor Stanley, he has endured so much this past week. He is a trooper of a car. JM calls it the clown car, it is certainly the appropriate color and size. So, adios #9 on my list of things to do in 1001 days! Or should I say tschuss? Also, driving around Schirmitz on Monday I noticed that there MAY BE plastic recycling at the top of the hill we live on... this could potentially be glorious. Right now, we only have plastic picked up at our apartment once a month which is super annoying. We end up storing bags of empty plastic containers in our storage room downstairs (this is what everyone else does too but it is still irritating!). I never realized I was getting spoiled in America by having recyclable pick up every week. So if I could get rid of plastics myself by walking a short distance I would definitely do that.

I also get to cross off #63 (catch up on printing my pictures); 180 prints from Shutterfly arrived on Monday and on Tuesday I organized them (they oddly weren't in chronological order), labeled them, and put them in my album! It was definitely a pot of coffee kind of project.

MY MOM COMES IN NINE DAYS! I am pretty excited about it too. We're going to quilt and hang out, and perhaps take a few day trips to some nearby cities. In the running is Carlsbad (Karlovy Vary), Czechslovakia and Heidelberg, Germany. Speaking of quilting the fabric I ordered just showed up too so I spent yesterday looking at that and futzing around with combinations to start my newest quilt. I'm not completely satisified with the combination I have picked out right now but I'm not sure what needs to be changed, I need a second opinion and Lord knows JM would just stare at me in silence if I asked him so I will wait till the mom shows up. On the subject of sewing/quilting, a part time job at the Craft Store on base opened up and you must have experience sewing, quilting and/or cross stitching - of which I have experience in all three! It would be awesome to get a part time job there and they are open such weird/short hours it wouldn't be hard to go back after Babybarth (thanks to TB for coining that name) is born. They are closed Sun/Mon and when they are open are only open from like noon-4 or 11-5. AND I'd get to hang out in a craft store all day. I'd probably volunteer to work their Saturday hours since JM could stay home with Babybarth of course. I am getting a little ahead of myself though, I still have to turn in my resume.

Blog again soon.

Many Developments

We bought me a car! Hooooray! It's a blue '05 Peugot with really low mileage and we got a really good deal on it. Big hang up: It's. Manual. I'm. A Little. Nervous. BUT I keep telling myself that, statistically, at least half of the people that know how to do it have to be dumber than me. Right? Right? The Civic we looked at was really...shady. And overpriced, it was a 1998 with 137K miles and they were asking 5K whereas Kelly Blue Book put it at 3K. Did I mention the big dent/scratch on the back right door that prevented the window from working? So, Peugot it is! JM feels a little cramped in it but I figure that just means I can get the seat close enough to work the pedals. It'll probably be our travel car too so we can keep the miles down on Veronica and because JM is a little leery of taking Veronica into the eastern bloc but if the Peugot (thinking of naming it Stanley) gets scratched we won't get upset. Stanley also means I'll be crossing off #9 (learn to drive manual) on my list. I have to say, it's the one that is the most daunting to me on that list, INCLUDING jumping out of a perfectly good airplane over the Swiss Alps.

Another development isn't nearly as cool, JM and I will be apart for the month of June. At first I was a little unsure about being alone here but this is my home and I need to make it my home. I have already started a list of things I want to do when he is gone - now that I have a car I am going to get involved in volunteering (since I can't find a job), and the quilt group, and buying things for our apartment and decorating the baby's room to name a few. Also, something I'd like to do is read some fiction books -- I haven't read any in forever (I've been reading lots of econ related books which are awesome, but I need a change) so give me some suggestions! I am thinking of "Water for Elephants" but I need 2 or 3 more suggestions.

I am thinking it's the pregnancy and the whole 'nesting' thing going on but my to-do list for June is pretty damn long already and I am excited to have a car and do it myself. Of course before JM leaves we'll put the crib and changing table together (well, first, we have to buy one, that is a whole 'nother story) but all the little things I can do when he is gone. Crib story: the Baby Walz in Nurenburg we went to didn't have any cribs in store, you had to buy them online (so glad we drove all the way there to find that out) so when I get home and get online I discover they only accept German billing addresses! Lame! So I am just going to buy a crib from the store on base even though I don't like any of them but it'll do. Whatever. I am giving up! The kid won't remember it anyway and we'll buy a different one when we're back in the states because the kid'll still need a crib. On the upside the carseat/stroller showed up last week and that is put together. I ordered it online from a US store and it was on the "slow boat" here, literally. It took six weeks to arrive.

Well, that is it for updates, blog again soon...

Pin #5 and List #80

#80 - Cross off more places in my "1000 Places to See Before You Die" book

It appears I am getting a good start on my 101 things already! This weekend we traveled to Innsbruck, Austria and on our way home stopped at Schloss Hohenschwangau and Schloss Neuschwanstein. Surprisingly, Innsbruck isn't in my book but I am still counting it and I think it should be. Easily one of the prettier cities I've ever seen. The road we drove from Innsbruck to the castles is in the book though (it was through the Alps) as are both castles. I'm not sure if it was the pregnancy, the constant switching back and forth, or the altitude but I felt a little sick on the drive to the castles; nothing bad at all though and it stopped as soon as we left the mountains. Going to Austria also allowed me to put another pin in my map of the world! So we are up to five countries we've visited together. My travels as a single lady (Ireland and Spain) and JM's travels as a bachelor (if we can call Iraq and Kuwait "travels") are not included because I wanted it to be only traveling we did together. I briefly considered getting three sets of pins, each a different color, to illustrate my travels, his travels, and our travels but figured it'd get too confusing and it would cease being aesthetically pleasing.

The time we spent in Innsbruck was definitely, definitely needed. We didn't even know it but I think Germany's grey, grey weather was getting to us. I was definitely feeling grouchy, sluggish and bored. I can't say enough how pretty Innsbruck was and how breathtaking the mountains were. Would you agree?

(view from the Old Bridge)

We got really lucky, there was 60 percent chance of rain both days we were there but it was sunny and almost hot each day! I got a slight sunburn on my face. Also, Austrians are SO nice! I know it was a touristy town and the economy there depends on customer service but they were above and beyond nice. We've visited touristy towns in Germany and the people there are still German in personality. Also, I didn't feel stared at the whole time which made me so comfortable for once. What a reprieve. They were also ten times more willing to speak German with you. The guy working at the souvenir shop we stopped at asked JM if we were from the Netherlands. When we told him we were from the states he started speaking (pretty much) perfect English and told us he was from Chile studying political science at the Innsbruck university. He and JM chatted briefly about the GOP (the guy even said 'grand ole party'), Afghanistan and Senator McCarthy and Lafayette. Dude was informed about US politics, let me tell you. The girl at the wine shop and our waitress also spoke German to us.

The castles were also beautiful (sorry, no pictures allowed inside either, lame!) and hearing about the history of them was very interesting. Apparently this family's main residence was in Munich (these were their summer/holiday castles) but JM and I didn't see it when we were in Munich in 2008. After both tours we walked a little bit further up the mountain (only about 5 mintutes) to Marien's Bridge and was granted this gorgeous view of Neuschwanstein:

(Neuschwanstein, view from Marien's Bridge)

The bridge moved slightly and it was PACKED with other tourists (which made me a bit nervous about it supporting all the weight) but it was totally worth it. Postcard perfect dontcha think?

We got home around 1900, had a dinner of soup and sandwiches and lazed about watching 'Mr and Mrs Smith' which was actually really good. It's not an Oscar winner but it was funny, really entertaining, and original. I'd recommend it if you're looking for a movie for a lazy night. My legs were definitely sore from all the walking we did and the fact that we walked down the mountain (after our Neuschwanstein tour) so I was more than happy to take residence on the couch for the rest of the night.

I have emailed a few people about cars they have for sale so keep your fingers crossed something actually happens this time! One is a Peugot and one is a Honda. Peugot is manual, not sure about the Honda just yet, assuming it's automatic since it's a civic but who knows. The weather appears to be changing here in our little town, it is 62 and sunny today. PLEASE Germany stay this way! I can't handle any more dreary-ness that forces me to turn the lights on in the afternoon!

Two more pictures for your viewing pleasure, the gorgeous Dom St Jakob in Innsbruck:

(view of the catherdral from the top of the Stadttum (Old City Tower))

(the ceiling of Dom St Jakob)

101 in 1001

A long time friend of mine, Lindsey, has this great blog and she has had it for years. Her blog is like Jane Eyre whereas mine is more like...Twilight (SLS: the green leaves waved greenly). I love her layout and her posts are always so well written and so interesting. Today I feel like stealing one of her ideas for a post entitled 101 in 1001 which is 101 things you want to do in the next 1001 days. I have no idea if I'll actually get to 101 things BUT here goes. In no particular order other than when they pop into my head:

1. Sky dive the Alps

2. Learn to play the banjo

3. Have a huge vegetable garden
--3a. Con my child(ren) into weeding it for .25 cents a bushel like my parents did to me and Matt

4. Have our wedding

5. Go out West

6. Go to Alaska

7. Buy a house with lots of land (a pre-req for a vegetable garden I'm thinking)

8. Learn to make yogurt (I stole that one from Lindsey)

9. Learn to drive manual

10. Make a great Thanksgiving dinner

11. White water raft in Wisconsin

12. Bike from the Mississippi to Lake Michigan

13. Go apple picking

14. Istanbul

15. Get back to Ireland

16. Get a dog, or two

17. Paint the walls of our house

18. Join a summer softball league just for fun

19. Tour Wisconsin breweries (Cap brewery and New Glarus, specifically)

20. Make a whole cloth quilt (ok ok, START a whole cloth quilt)

21. Finish my behemoth of a sampler quilt

22. Read the biography of someone I admire

23. Kayak

24. Go rummaging

25. Bake a large variety of Christmas cookies from scratch

26. Get our first real Christmas tree

27. Learn how to use power tools better

28. Vatican City

29. Milk a cow

30. Learn to drive a big farm implement

31. Get a job that entails working with farmers and/or agricultural economics

32. Buy a really great old wooden serving tray so I can...

33. Make breakfast in bed

34. Get an espresso maker

35. Make homemade donuts

36. Make more scrap rugs

37. Dry laundry outside in the summer time

38. Buy a charcoal grill

39. Make our balcony here a place we enjoy being

40. Have a meal on our balcony

41. Buy a better sewing machine

42. Go to a Packer game

43. SCUBA

44. Get a blackberry (so shallow, yet so desirable)

45. Get a swing set for our kid(s) (and maybe me)

46. Subscribe to The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times

47. Actually READ aforementioned newspapers almost every day

48. Have a room only to sew/quilt in in my house

49. Transfer the rest of my VHS movies into DVDs

50. Have our son experience snow

51. Meet Bucky Badger and get a picture taken with him (I can't believe I never did)

52. Have a good collection of good wine

53. Learn how to buy good wine

54. See Amsterdam during tulip season

55. Go to a spa

56. Get some really great art to hang in our house

57. Get tons of old bookcases of all different sizes and fill them up over the years

58. Learn to make cheesecake

59. Get a claw foot tub

60. Get in the habit of waking up earlier

61. Invest

62. Have a bonfire in our backyard and roast marshmallows

63. Catch up on printing my pictures

64. Get a bird feeder

65. Buy a fire extinguisher (Seriously. There isn't one in our apartment)

66. Buy lots of Bob Dylan

67. Learn to french braid my own hair

68. Go to the Kentucky Derby wearing the appropriate hat

69. Buy a really great "little black dress"

70. Host guests at our current apartment

71. Play tour guide here

72. Reread some of my Russian lit books I was too busy to fully appreciate during the school year.

73. Get really great stationary

74. Take kickboxing

75. Pay off one of my student loans completely

76. Kiddie pool

77. Family Christmas card

78. Take tons of extended family pictures when we're home this December

79. Make my own butter

80. Cross off even more places in my "1000 Places to See Before You Die" book

81. Go for more walks

82.

Ok this is all you get. I started this at noon and it is now 1530; I've been doing other things but coming back to this as I thought of more but I have no more ideas. Maybe I'll slowly add to it in the coming days and weeks. It is way harder to come up with 101 things than I originally thought.

Going Ons

I must say a Very Happy 21st to my brother-in-law!! Just in time for Beer and Bacon at Wandos on Wednesdays! And I hope you abuse the hell out of Monday Dollar Wisconsin Taps at Vintage (my favorite!).

First of all, we found out last week that we've having a boy! Very excited. My brother-in-law WD may be the most excited of them all. The 3D ultrasound was really cool (we have the pictures up on our fridge) and the doctor/tech guy was really nice and personable (a rarity). I'm kind of starting to wonder if I'll ever see my actual doctor? We'll find out next week when I have my routine checkup I suppose.

Lately it's been so-so here weather wise; can't really complain about it but it's certainly not the mid- to high 60s it was a few weeks ago. Usually it's in the high 40s and grey and dreary. Currently the sun is out but it's a bit too chilly to have open windows. I've noticed the disturbing trend however, that when I wake up it is warmer in WI than it is here! And it's like 2am back home! That's not fair at all! C'mon Germany, cooperate with me.

This weekend JM has a four day (well, as of today he does) and we have a ton of things we have to do. Taxes being the number one priority with a visit to Nurenburg to go to Baby Walz being close behind. Hopefully we also get to OBI, maybe this time when we go we will actually find a parking spot and it won't spontaneously start hailing (a sign that I shouldn't start a garden just yet?).

No news on the job front (frowny face) or the car front. I found one I'd like to test drive that's for sale on base but the person who listed it isn't getting back to me! Ugh! C'mon! I want to give you thousands of dollars, you could at least email me back!! Frustrating.

If we do get to Baby Walz this weekend I'll post some pics of what we bought (provided we find things we want to buy, which I hope we do!).

Here to Stay

After almost two weeks of 55+ degree weather I finally feel confident enough to say that winter is behind us. I've been spending a lot of time out on our balcony, reading, making to-do lists, grocery lists, and doing anything else I can outside. I've decided I want to have a garden in pots (much different than a 'pot garden' which I almost typed) this year. I'm thinking peppers, cucumbers, carrots, and maybe a cauliflower or two. I want to get to an OBI this weekend (Germany's Home Depot) and see what they have for patio furniture and pots and maybe even dirt.

I wear my Tevas daily now and I even got a slight sunburn on my arms this Monday. I feel confident enough to pack up my mitten collection and put it upstairs. It is definitely not winter anymore.

Czech Mix, German Docs, and Online Shopping Frustrations

*Disclaimer: The last two paragraphs are me venting*

It's been an interesting past few weeks. Last week Friday when JM and I were out we noticed some of our neighbors had put out some large trash items on the curb (a computer, a big arm chair); sensing an opportunity to finally get rid of some broken electronics I gathered up two broken (American) radio alarm clocks and put them next to the chair. I hadn't even finished placing them on the ground when a car pulled up next to the pile and a man got out to inspect it, I said hallo and went back inside. Once inside JM noticed that the man was picking up our broken radios but ultimately decided against them. Not two seconds later (no exaggeration) another car stopped by and this man DID pick up our radios and put them in his car. At this point JM noticed that they were both Czechslovakian (by their license plates) and that there were no less than two other cars going through other big trash piles (one that was left over plywood and doors) around our neighborhood (we have quite the view from our balcony). I hope he realized it was American electronics and if he did, why pick them up? The wiring? Czechs are silly. Maybe it's because we are so close to the border (approx 45 min) and perhaps the Czechs know when German big trash pick up day is, but whatever the reason it was rather strange.

I also had a routine checkup at the Klinkum in the "big" town next door. We were really looking forward to it because hopefully it'd be the visit when we'd find out the sex. We arrived early and saw my normal doc leave hurridley (I am thinking he had to go deliver a baby upstairs) but we were taken back into the examining room minutes later. The nurse comes in, sets down my paperwork and says the doctor will be there in about 10 minutes (apparently, socialized medicine or not, doctors like to be late). Ten minutes later a random doctor walks in and I think he's just there to grab some tool or something...but no, he's going to do my check up today. That in and of itself is completely fine by me, I understand that my doctor also delivers babies and is sometimes paged away but what irritated me is that no one said anything about it, not my doctor as he left the office and not the nurse (who I would expect to say something) nor did the new doctor. All I would want is "Hey your doc is tied up right now so I'm going to do your exam." Nada. He just introduced himself, sat down, and asked if we were have a genetical ultrasound (his English was...okay). I replied I didn't think so, because I certainly didn't ask for one but who was I to know if maybe that is just the type of ultrasound they do at 18 weeks and given the language barrier maybe he was using the incorrect word. I asked if I was having an ultrasound today and he impatiently responded "yes" (sorry for asking dude). Anyway, I get the ultrasound and the gender is still up in the air (I have a 3D one in two weeks so hopefully that will clear it up AND I am so glad I don't have to wait a month to have the gender question answered) which isn't a big deal. Everything looks healthy and it was really awesome to be able to see all the different bones and it's hands and fingers and face. And we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time which was super cool. So at the end of this exam by Dr Awkward he's looking at my Mutterpass (a book they write down all your info and stats in that you bring to each appointment) and essentially tells me I'm fat. Ok, I'm exaggerating, but he did tell me I had gained too much weight for this point in my pregnancy. I was kind of pissed, mainly because I've gained 8lbs, maybe 9 since I've gotten pregnant and I'm almost half way through my pregnancy (in which I've read normal weight gain is 25-30lbs so I think I'm doing pretty damn good). Also because I can honestly say I don't think my eating habits have changed/increased since I've gotten pregnant; if anything they have gotten healthier. I snack on apples, carrots and banana/PB toast. Yes, there are thin mints in my freezer but I don't chow down on a whole roll in one sitting. I was always irritated because I think may have said that because I'm American and we all know obesity is a huge problem in America. His exact words were "I know in America you think you are eating for two...." No jackass, that's just a colloquialism and last time I checked we still have the superior medical knowledge so stop treating me like I'm a dumbass. I was pretty offended about it for the better part of the night (sorry JM) but today I've written him off as a super awkward guy who has the first name of a woman (legit).

Another huge frustration in my life lately has been trying to get baby things delivered. Almost every website claims to deliver to APOs but when I type our address in I get a big fat rejection. Kohls, Amazon, Babies R Us, the list goes on and on and on. It is so irritating because shipping to an APO is domestic rates regardless of if the base is actually domestic. And everytime I see a website that delivers to APOs I get my hopes up only to be let down when I actually go to purchase my items online. Lots of people have asked me if I can buy things at German baby stores beacuse obviously Germans have babies too and if anyone could tell me where any of these stores are I would gladly check them out. I don't think people understand how small of a town we live in and how small all the towns that surround us are. We don't live in downtown Frankfurt, hell we don't even live in Nurenburg. This isn't America were there is a Target or WalMart or anything within 30 minutes. It would probably be a two hour drive to find a large department store that sold what we needed and even then it would be German brands which I don't know the reputations of and don't feel comfortable purchasing. I finally found stores that would ship to APOs (for example, amazon would not send us a stroller/carseat combo but will ship us a crib, wtf? so I bought a crib thru them) but so far the entire shopping for baby stuff has been anything but fun. Registering for baby stuff, however, has definitely been good times. =)

Anyway, I'm sorry this blog turned into a rant but I have just been ruminating on it all in my head for most of the day. Hopefully my next appt will be with my normal doc and not that dude from yesterday and hopefully my stuff will start arriving in the mail and I can happily put it together and arrange it.

Blog again soon.

Not Spring yet....

I knew it...if 22 years in Wisconsin only taught me one thing it's that mother nature is a gigantic tease. The past many days have been chilly and snowy. There's about 3" on the ground now and it's falling in big fat flakes as I type. If this weren't March I'd think it was pretty, but it is March and I am not amused. Bonus points if you know who's red car is driving down the road. Another reason this weather is unfortunate is because of our *excellent* snow removal services at our apartment complex. Picture two rectangles (A, and B, respectively) that are side by side (they touching on their long sides); Rectangle A is where the cars park and it is covered, Rectangle B is of equal size and it's totally open and it's the driveway area for lack of a better term. So of course when it snows Rectangle B gets covered, our snow removal man thinks it is more than appropriate to simply shovel the perimeter of Rectangle B and nothing else. Not only is this irritating to get to the car it makes it rather difficult to park into Rectangle A. Oh Germany. You are not America.

Spoiled!

Guten Tag Everyone!

I am writing this to you from my kitchen table waiting for some banana nut muffins to come out of the oven. They are filling the kitchen with tasty smells.

I heard back from one of the jobs I applied for -- I have an interview this Friday! I also applied for another secretary position today and have two more I want to apply for but their applications aren't due for another week. I've also been actively searching for transportation and I am thisclose to simply buying a manual and learning because there are so very few automatics for sale. Part of me thinks that is semi-irresponsible but another part of me knows I need a car and I know I can learn and I want to learn. On the upside there are a lot more cars for sale and a lot more job openings!

I have been so spoiled recently with regards to the weather. It has been 50s for the past four days (today was chilly...only 45) and sunny and I have had the windows open every day. For some reason having open windows has made me much more productive and I have gotten so much done. I'm not sure if this is just a tease (like Wisconsin does every year) or if this weather is here to stay. All of our snow is gone except for a few tiny little piles here and there, I hope this is the beginning of spring in Deutschland.

On Saturday JM and I went to a baby/kid stuff rummage sale held at a local German Catholic church near base and browsed. We picked up a few items of clothing and some toys. When I first heard about it I figured that all the toys/clothes/etc had been donated and that the proceeds would go to the church but come to find out it was all separate "vendors" (people) and the proceeds went to them. Totally fine by me but the process in which they kept track of who's stuff was being bought was totally...German (inefficient). You were allowed to browse and search and pick out stuff at your leisure (just like a normal rummage) but there was just one central check-out area (with three different places to pay at, it was quite busy) On each item there were two different numbers, the price and a random number (ex: 1.50/144) and when you got up to the register you handed your purchases to Person A, Person A read both numbers out loud to Person B; Person B wrote them down on a piece of paper which Person C looked at and typed into a computer. After everything was written and typed you got your total and paid this central location (with the each vendor getting paid, I imagine, after the event was over). It was so inefficent and the line moved so slow; JM and I both commented that it would've been a lot quicker if Person A, B and C were one person. And what was the point of writing it down on a piece of paper? Oh Germany. Regardless, we got some nice stuff and I am in the process of washing the clothes right now.

We were planning on going someplace this weekend but now it looks like we may just stay at home because JM's work schedule got kind of hectic and we'll probably both be happier just relaxing.

I'll blog again soon!

Another day, another dollar (maybe soon)

I finally found two jobs I want to apply for - hooray! I turned in my applications a little over a week ago and now I am just waiting to (hopefully) hear back. Both are secretarial positions, one is part time and one is full time (but both are permanen positions) and right now I wouldn't care which one called me back, as long as one does! I'm not worried yet about not hearing back, this bureaucracy takes forever to do the simplest things. It's a joke that is both sad and hilarious.

Today I paid my student loans online (hooray..) but I am glad I can pay them online as opposed to trying to work out some convoluted payment system between my mom (where my bills get mailed) and the loan providers. Why not just change my mailing address you ask? I tried. I have learned it is very hard to get many online shops/websites/whatever to accept an address of other than the typical street address, city, state persuasion. Some do it with no problem (like Target! Dangerous!) but some just refuse (like my loan providers, lame!).

Today I finally used my iTunes gift card (thanks mom!). I downloaded a bunch of Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and Lady Gaga (I admit it). It is wonderful to hear music from home. We have a radio station, AFN (armed forces network), and it plays this most ridiculous mix of music (it's hilarious). It's understandable though since it's the only English speaking radio station around here period and practically everyone relies on it to hear a piece of home, however they don't often play the bands I mentioned above. I've missed hearing the music I love and it's doing wonders to bring my mood up (not that I was particularly down at all). I remember growing up with these bands (except Lady Gaga of course, I take full blame for that one) thanks to my parents and now I love them.

Google buzz is strange. I don't think I'll be using it. Then again I'm also not into twitter at all and I very rarely use my facebook status.

On Saturday JM and I went to the Audi Museum in Ingolstadt. It was really well done and the old Audis were so cool. They don't make cars in the colors they use to, and I think they should. There's a Merecedes museum kind of near us too and I think the BMW one, but I'm not sure if we'll visit either of those. Apparently the Corvette museum back home is really awesome, I'd like to see that when we're back.

Nothing too exciting really coming up. Lots of family birthdays in the coming weeks and months but that is about it. I am looking forward to May a lot -- my mom is coming over!!! and I get to see a lot of my family when I fly home for a wedding that month too so that will be wonderful. Nothing else to report, will blog again soon...

I like lists

1. The past week JM and I had a ball to go to and I needed hairspray so we ran into Kaufland and since we were pressed for time I was dressed completely American (old jeans, Asics, Wisconsin sweatshirt, glasses, hair in a ponytail) and the Germans were....nicer to me? What the hell... I will have to test this theory. Maybe they just don't like posers.

2. There is an amazing Greek restaurant near us; we went on a Friday night and every table was filled with other Americans. It was kind of funny to be someplace where all I heard was English, but this is a very common occurrence in the restaurants around base. They also automatically serve you a shot of liquor along with your drink (whether you get an alcoholic beverage or not).

3. Lately I've been addicted to apples with peanut butter.

4. We went to see a movie at the movie theatre on base; good movie (Daybreakers). It was almost like being home again. Except they played the national anthem before they started the movie and everyone stood up. And the popcorn, while very tasty, was no match for the (terrible for you) buttery deliciousness that is Marcus Theatres.

Interesting Tidbits

1. People from the water company stopped by to read the meters under our sink on Friday so we asked them if they perhaps knew how to work our dishwasher and they did! Glorious!

2. In talking to a German woman on base one day we learned that apparently only rich people live in our town. It's the "rich suburb". This doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to JM or me because we live, literally, steps away from a farm and it always smell like manure, and it's just a tiny little town. Who knows, maybe I sound a little bitchy but it certainly isn't like the rich suburbs of the states.

3. I made chili on Sunday and it turned out really well. Even tastier leftovers.

Oh Geez.

Oh man, I really have no excuse. Let's be real, it's not like I've been busy, except I have been; it's a strange concept. I can't believe it's been over a month. Let's see, this past month we had our one year anniversary (we celebrated by going to the Black Forest for a long weekend and buying a pretty sweet cuckoo clock), FINALLY got our household goods (after they sent them to Schweinfurt by mistake) and got to spend a good amount of time at home (although it went by too fast, as it always does).

Home. Home was wonderful. As I expected I didn't get to do half the things I wanted to do or see half the people I wanted to see but it was still a wonderful 10 days. Our flight left Nuremburg at 6:30am and it had, of course, been snowing steadily, so we left our apartment around 2:30am and got to the airport at 4. Unfortunately the desks didn't open until 5 so we sat around and waited. From Nuremburg we had the pleasure of connecting via Amsterdam three days after what happened in Detroit. I have never had a full body pat down before that day. Quite the experience. We finally got back home aroudn 5pm, had a big dinner with JM's fam and my parents. The whole first week was spent celebrating various Christmases with various sides and sizes of both our families. During the day we did various things, JM went hunting and I went shopping (so cliched, I know but I was SO happy to finally know where to go shopping and have someone to go shopping with!) or we'd laze around at either house. The second week JM and I did some errands (banking, etc), and the day before we flew out we finally made it up to Madison.

It was a busy vacation and I think if we did it again we'd do it differently and maybe not have so many planned events but all in all I can't really complain. I already miss home, the culture I'm use to, and having friends nearby. I'd forgotten how nice it was to be able to go familiar places with familiar people and just enjoy yourself. It's kind of nice to not be the constant tourist and not get stared at everywhere I go.

Lots of people asked me how I was liking (or adjusting to) Germany when I was home and it really made me think. I know I haven't been here long at all but the best response I could come up with without sounding melodramatic was that I'm trying to appreciate being here knowing I'll never have this opportunity to live abroad again but that by the time our time here is up I will be more than ready to come home. Lately these days I feel like I sound blatantly patriotic but, damn, I miss America. More accurately, I miss the midwest.

Soon more jobs should open up though and then I will be more occupied. Right now we are still trying to get our apartment organized (I feel like I never, ever stop saying that) (since our stuff arrived just 6 days before we left), there are boxes everywhere and paper/mail/stuff is just piling up. And now our suitcases from our travels are half-empty, half anywhere in our closet room. But today I made a big dent in organizing and did a ton of laundry. Tomorrow will be more laundry and more organizing but hopefully that will mark the end of the big time organizing.

This weekend JM has a three-day weekend so I'll make him do some heavy lifting for me. =) I think I'm going to take my first stab at chili (as both dad's have sent me recipes) and we'll just have a cozy, calm, relaxing weekend. I'll try to update more regularly, I promise. I want to do this for me too but I also like to keep you all at home updated!

PS: Sorry for the typos, I'm not proof-reading this, it's too long, haha.