Auf Deustch

Dad's Favourite Fudge :)

2009-12-23T08:39:00.001-08:00

Back when we lived in Texas, I borrowed this book from the San Antonio Public Library (Enchilada Red, was it called?) about a little girl in a restaurant, and in the back there was a recipe for really simple fudge. My dad loved that fudge, and must have asked me to make it a dozen times or so when I was like, 12. I finally found the recipe again, though I cannot remember for the life of me what in the world that book was titled. So anyway, here is the recipe, just for my dad, and just in time for Christmas.

How to make Super Easy Fudge: for Dad

Firstly, go ahead and butter a 9x9 pan

then line it with parchment paper and butter it again. The initial buttering helps the paper stick to the pan, and keeps it from creasing or tearing, and the second buttering helps the paper peel off the fudge easily, leaving it smooth and pretty.

In a metal bowl set over a pan of gently boiling water (or in a microwave safe bowl, if you are in a hurry or don't like stoves or don't have a metal bowl and a pan of water) dump a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

add one can of sweetened condensed milk
(mmmm doesn't that look nice?)
and about a teaspoon of salt
and a teaspoon of vanilla and mix it all together.
Eventually, it will all melt. Whip it with your spatula to make sure that all of the lumps and chunks have dissipated - there are fewer things more disconcerting than biting in to a piece of fudge that has a big lump of salt right in the middle.
Spread the mixture into your buttered, papered pan and refrigerate for a good two hours. Remove the fudge by gently pulling the paper out of the pan, flipping the fudge over onto a cutting board and peeling the paper off of the bottom (now top, once you've flipped it). I prefer to cut it with a pizza cutter, and it is super rich, so the squares can be pretty small.

I don't have a picture of the finished bits, because they quickly disappeared into the goodie bags that we passed out to our friends and teachers this year :)

You can also feel free to add (as I sometimes do) a teaspoon or so of one of the following: almond extract, cherry extract, peppermint extract, fleur de sel or finishing salt, or amaretto.

So dad, I hope you have the opportunity to make fudge this year! I love you!

December Girls' Night Out

2009-12-22T13:27:00.000-08:00

So, a week late...but here are pictures from our GNO last Tuesday (the 15th) at Restaurant Delphi in K-town!
Greek food in French side of Germany, you ask? Why, yes! And mouth watering, delicious, craving-inducing Greek food it is.

I spent a wonderful evening with Sara, Liv and Adriana - many laughs were had, a few new signs were learned (Adriana is signing one of our new favourites - hungry, hungry, hungry!) and many other diners' meals were interrupted. In fact, they skipped out on giving us the customary Ouzo afterwards, possibly because we were so raucous that they didn't think we needed it, or maybe because Liv is obviously preggo, or maybe because...well, who knows, but did we really need it anyway?

My last meal was the most awesome tsatsiki, gyros and souvlaki in Germany, finished off with a truly bitchin' baklava. Oh. My. Gosh. I swear, I would eat here every single day if I could. In fact, I'm going for lunch again next week, if I can talk someone into going with me.

Of course, on the way home I was horrendously sick at Adriana's and barely got everyone else to their villages before nearly dying...I'm pretty sure it was just nerves over the impending surgery, but it sure capped off the night.

Recovering

2009-12-20T07:09:00.000-08:00

The surgery seems to have gone well. And I'm recovering more or less as expected - there's a lot more bleeding than anticipated, but still within the acceptable range for such things.

I stayed overnight and was released to Will on Thursday at lunchtime. He brought me home, and we've been inundated with meals, treats and well-wishers ever since. I'm so unbelievably grateful for every person who has contacted us - it really makes me feel amazing to know so many wonderful people are concerned about my family!

We had a little scare and a trip to the ER on Friday night, because I hadn't stopped (or slowed) bleeding since the surgery. I'm still getting a lot of blood in my stomach, which is unpleasant for everyone involved, but since I can't taste anything (yay for nasal surgery!) it isn't as bad as it could be. They double checked my plastics and changed my pain meds. Everything is where it should be, I'm apparently just a bleeder.

I've been asked a few times if this is worse or better than I expected it to be, and I can honestly say 'both.' I don't look nearly as bad as I expected - the bruising is minimal, I'm pretty swollen and my nose is crooked at the moment, but it isn't as grotesque as I'd thought. The pain, on the other hand, is more intense than anything I've ever experienced. You know how your eyes water and your head throbs when you bang your nose? Yeah, well, they broke that. On purpose. And then they broke all the stuff around it. And then they cut it up, took parts of it out, and stitched the rest back together. And then I popped a stitch, which sucked. And it hurts like that pretty much constantly. I've got good pain meds, though, so it is under control, for the most part.

Generally speaking, if I'm not sipping liquids, checking my email or changing my dressing, I'm passed out in the recliner, breathing through my mouth and enjoying pain-free dreams. It hurts to talk very much, to swallow, to make any facial expressions aside from slack-jawed indifference and to chew. So there go most of my favourite amusements. Add to that the raging, throbbing pain in my eye sockets, and reading, writing, cross stitch and tv are out for any significant periods of time.

Speaking of, I'm getting pretty achy writing this, so I'm going to close it up and go back to sleep. My friend Liv should be by soon with homemade corn chowder for dinner, and I really want to be awake to say thanks :)

Getting Ready for the Big Day

2009-12-14T12:35:00.000-08:00

Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday morning, and the final procedure tally is:
- bilateral maxillary antrostomy
- anterior ethmoidectomy
- septoplasty
- turbinoplasty
- removal of diseased tissue in maxillary and ethmoid sinuses

I'll be in overnight, and if everything goes well (which I'm sure it will) I'll be released Thursday to Will. Several wonderful ladies have made arrangements to bring dinners for my family, to come sit with me and to visit with us afterwards, and I can't thank them enough. And if anyone else wants to come visit or hang out (or help me wash my hair, which I can't do by myself), please let me know

With any luck, having the masses removed will solve an awful lot of my problems. I've got a great, competent doctor, an anesthesiologist who has a great sense of humor (always a plus) and my surgical nurse is my neighbor, who has been following my case from the beginning, so I know I'm in good hands. They'll have someone there to monitor my levels, to make sure I'm not in any danger, and will keep me for observation until everything has stabilized and I pass a neuro exam.

In addition to the normal risks of anesthesia and surgery in general, they'll be operating super close to my brain when they go for the ethmoid sinuses, which are part of your eye sockets, and there's an extra little risk of brain damage. There's also the significant risk of my blood sugar dropping super low and going unnoticed for enough time to cause semi- or permanent neurological damage. If that happens, no one will know until afterwards, since I'm past the point of exhibiting noticeable physical symptoms.

So I'm understandably scared. Scratch that - I'm terrified. The last time I had a surgery this scary (emergency C-section) it all happened too fast for me to truly grasp the risks and potential complications of such a procedure. I find myself wondering if it is worth it... is the risk of having an undetected low during surgery greater or less than the risk of having one in my sleep? What if this doesn't work? What if this doesn't work and I have an undetected low during surgery? What if I wake up and I can't remember words, or how to spell, or can't speak clearly? I know they're all super slim chances, but they could happen.

I mean, what's a few sinus infections, a mass (that may or may not be an insulinoma) and a deviated septum in the grand scheme of things? Enough to risk, how ever slim, the chance that I might lose my short term memory, or suffer frequent loss of consciousness? That I could drop into a coma? Develop a stutter or slur? I'm just not sure.

But I'll go ahead with it. It is the only option I have right now. And like I said - the odds are greatly in my favor. Almost certainly, none of those possible complications will come to pass.

But what kind of person would I be if I didn't entertain them?

How to make Pasties

2009-12-13T11:14:00.000-08:00

How to make Cornish Pasties

One of my favourite foods from our time in England is the Cornish Pasty. A buttery pastry filled with beef, lamb, vegetables and gravy, purchased for 70p at Sainsbury's, their ancestors were made by housewives in the 1700's and carried out to the fields wrapped in a handkerchief by farmers for their midday meal. They are hearty, sturdy and filling, plus they are one of those foods that tastes delicious both piping hot and at room temperature, making them an ideal convenience food.

So! Let's get started!

1 cup of cold butter, chopped
1 tsp salt
and 3 cups of flour go into your big bowl.
Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or two forks - it takes a little while to figure out, but once you get the rhythm, it is easy peasy. We're looking for a coarse meal texture, here.
Add about 1/2c water, 1TB at a time, until your dough sticks together and makes a ball. Knead it a few times to mix the butter through, and form it back into a smooth ball.
Dust the ball with flour, wrap it in wax paper and stick it in your fridge while we make the filling.
SO chop about half a large onion
2 ribs of celery
1 carrot
2 handfuls of cabbage
2 or 3 small potatoes - enough for about a handful of chopped spud
and about 1/2-3/4lb of beef or lamb. I like to use a London broil for this, because it gets so tender. This needs to be in 1/4in cubes, super tiny, so that it will cook through inside the pastry.
This is 2TB of Dale's Marinade (or worcestershire sauce, or liquid seasoning of your choice), 1tsp pepper and 1tsp salt.
Put all the veg, the meat and the spices into your bowl, top it with a good sprinkle of flour (that will help make gravy inside the pastry) and mix it up. Ta da! Filling!
Retrieve the dough from your fridge and divide it into six pieces.
Roll out a piece on a lightly floured surface, aiming for about 1/4in thick. Flip the pastry over so that the floury side is facing up. Put about 1/2c of the filling into the middle of your pastry - don't worry about spreading it out, just let it be a little pile of tasty goodness.
Fold over the pastry, and press around the filling, to kind of seal it in there. Don't worry if there is a huge excess of dough around the filling because...
You get to cut it off with a knife! Leave about a 1/2in 'rim' around the filling.
Seal the edges of the pastry with a fork, like so ^ and cut a few holes in the top with a knife to let the air escape.
Brush them with butter and pop those suckers in your oven (preheated to 350'F, of course) for about an hour. You don't have to use parchment paper, but I like it because I know they won't stick. I don't play when it comes to my pasties.
An hour later, this will emerge fragrant, buttery and golden brown, from your oven. Go ahead. Admire your handiwork.
Oh, check out the flakiness of the crust, the tenderness of the beef, the spice of the pepper - truly, these are a gift from the angels!

Kaiserslautern Christmas Market

2009-12-13T10:43:00.001-08:00

It is Christmas Market time again here in Germany! Today we ventured out in the snow to visit Kaiserslautern's annual Christkindmarkt. By far one of the smaller Markets we've been to, it certainly wasn't lacking in all of the Christmas Market necessities; namely rides, gluhwein, dampfknudeln and hats.

Joseph and Ella enjoyed this small ferris wheel, and were positive that they could convince me to ride it with them. Mommy: 1 Small Children: 0

And here's Will with his two favourite market items: chocolate crepes and gluhwein cups! He has a whole collection of the mugs on top of our kitchen cabinets, but this is the first with a picture on the inside. He's very, ridiculously excited about it.

Like I said, it was snowing and cold, so we all bundled up in our warm winter clothes. Joseph and Ella love their coats and hats and gloves, so this is easier than you'd expect. You can't see, but Joseph is incapable of keeping track of gloves, so the ones he wore today were not matched - one was teal, one was brown. To be honest, Ella can't keep track of these things either, but she's bad with hats - that's why she's wearing last years' set rather than the new Hello Kitty stuff I bought her a week ago.

We're all home now, and our tummies are full of home made pasties, which were awesome, and I'll post the tutorial for those in a little bit for my friends. We're hoping to hit two more 'big' Christmas Markets this year - Deidesheim and a super cool one that is inside a cave - and we'll post pictures from those when we're done :)

A Day in Our Life

2009-12-12T12:33:00.001-08:00

This is a project for a swap on Swap-bot, but I thought I'd post it here in my nearly defunct blog, on the off chance that someone still reads this thing :) We were asked to photojournal a day in our lives, so here's what our days more or less look like here in Germany!

0700 - Wake up time! We get dressed in nice, warm clothes, and get ready to take Joseph to the bus stop for school!

It is cold and rainy here in the winter, so coats are a must, even when you don't really want to wear them :)

0730 - Time for breakfast! We head over to the bakery in our village for some warm bread. The bakery is right down the street from the bus stop, so it is quite convenient on busy mornings. As you can see, it is still very dark outside. In the winter, we'll only have sun in the middle of the day, so it is dark when Joseph leaves for school, and dark again when he comes home!

Joseph and Ella are very good at paying with Euros. That is what we use here instead of Dollars. One Euro is about $0.70 USD on a good day. See that crescent thing by Joseph's elbow? That's the German version of a croissant. It is less flaky and less buttery, and more like plain German bread.
Showing off our breakfast bags!
We eat our pastries in the car, because it is very cold outside! Today, it was about 35'F and drizzling all morning.
0800 - The bus is here! Kids in Germany don't ride yellow school buses, they ride big touring buses that are all different colors. Joseph especially likes the blue bus, because it has rainbow seats.
0830 - Ella helps me make a shopping list, because we really, really need to get some groceries today! I try to write my lists in sections that match the sections of our grocery store. It makes sense to me, but seems to confuse everyone else :)
0900 - We get to drive on the Autobahn here, which is a very well made road that is super smooth, so you can drive very, very fast. This is my speedometer in the slow lane, going about 130k/ or 80m/ph. There were Mercedes and Audis in the fast lane that were flying past me - they can get up to 120mph on these roads!

1000 - I had a doctor's appointment today, and Ella came with me. This is her favourite picture at our ENT office - a picture of a healthy sinus and a picture of a sick one. I'm having surgery next week to fix a lot of the things that are wrong with the sick sinus picture, and she likes to show me what I will look like afterwards :) She knows all of the parts of the nose and sinuses now, because she asks so many questions about this picture.

She also really likes this ear model. It is missing a few pieces - the eardrums and the small ear bones, but she still loves to show where the blood flows and where the air comes out. She says she wants to be a nurse some day, and I think she's starting already!

1200 - Checking the mail! All of our American mail is shipped to this post room at the hospital. If we have a package that won't fit in our little box, they'll put a special slip in. We take the slip to the window to pick up our packages! Alas, there were no slips in the mail today :(

1230 - Grocery shopping! This is our favourite grocery store: Globus! It is like a little tiny mall, full of different shops selling everything from expensive clothes to flowers to vacations!

There is also a restaurant in the grocery store, and we love to come here for bratwurst mit brotchen (sausages with bread), pommes (french fries) and Cola for lunch. Ella really loves brats!

We get lots of fresh produce from all over Europe, especially Spain and Greece. The grocery store has a huge cheese section, and a full butcher's shop, too. You don't get grocery bags at the stores here, you have to bring your own. We bring reusable bags to the store every time, or else we'd have to carry our food out in our hands!

1400 - We have a waffle from the vendor outside the store - you can see his cart in the first picture. Warm waffles with sugar are one of the best cold-weather treats!

1600 - Time to see Santa! We picked Joseph up from the bus stop (I forgot my camera for that part) and put on our nice clothes, then headed over to the Community Center on base to see St. Nick!

He was super nice, and even though Ella was upset about the other reindeer being mean to Rudolph, Santa assured her that everyone loves Rudolph now, and they are all friends. He promised to bring Rudolph by on Christmas Eve when he brings our presents!

1730 - Dinner time! Homefries, veggies and chicken for dinner - yum! After dinner is bedtime and then mommy can finally take a deep breath and relax :)

Playing Catch Up

2009-04-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

I forgot - we checked out the Dinosaur Park in Kaiserslautern a few days ago. It was basically the coolest park I've ever been to, EVER. There are giant, life-sized dino statues all over the place, plus half a dozen different little parks with swings and ropes and slides and water playthings, and flowers - oh my gosh, the flowers - that made the whole parks smell amazing!

So Danny and Bill Sr. (Will's dad and brother) are finally here! After a lunch of tasty doner kebaps from our local shop, we visisted Schloss Nanstein, the gorgeous castle ruins in Landstuhl. Will had a great time messing around with his new tripod and remote control camera shutter, so we have plenty of random pictures :) Tonight we're just relaxing, but we've got a fun day planned for tomorrow!

What a Loooong Day

2009-04-04T23:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, the last few days are mostly a blur, but I'll see if I can sort them out...

Friday night was dinner at my friend Deborah's house. Her three girls remind me of my sisters and I, if we liked each other more :) Logan, her youngest, is great friends with Joe and Ella - they're all so darn cute together!

We made snickerdoodles (they were awesome - props to Alyshia) and grilled out. The kiddos picnic'd in the yard and rubbed chicken all over their faces, from the look of things.

So after dinner, we headed over to Lana's (have you met my friend Lana?) to see how she was doing getting ready for her mom to come visit in the morning. She was a tad panicked about driving all the way to Frankfurt airport by herself in the dark, so we had a bit of an impromptu sleepover so I could drive with her.
Three hours after we finally went to bed (they have a super comfy couch) we woke up to drive the hour in the dark, through a city to the airport, got lost parking, got lost finding the terminal, finally found her mom, couldn't get back to the car... it was a very long morning.

So I gather up my kids and zoom home. I get the rum cake in the oven, shower and dress everyone for our egg hunt while it's baking, stuff Easter eggs while it's cooling, throw everything in the car and head out to our Easter BBQ at Kathleen's house :)

There was a fantastic lunch - a full grill-out, and tons of sides and desserts provided by the guests. After we all stuffed ourselves, we dyed eggs (I know what you're thinking, but it actually worked out really well!) and had a spoon race, which Joseph won!

And finally, the main event - the Egg Hunt! Easily two hundred eggs were hidden in Kathleen's yard, and when we ran out of hiding spaces, the balance was just tossed on the grass. It really did look like the Easter Bunny threw up back there. Everyone got about a bazillion eggs and had a blast - my kiddos were so tired when we left :)

We picked up groceries on the way home, and Jamie dropped our little friend Aidan off to spend the night, so that she and her husband can volunteer with Airmen Against Drunk Driving (AADD), an organization that puts soldier volunteers to work picking up intoxicated soldiers in the local area and returning them to the barracks in one piece :) Between calls, you get to hang out in the lounge, playing video games, watching tv and chillin' with the other volunteers - all in all, not a bad way to spend a Saturday night.

So here I sit, exhausted, looking forward to a relaxing day of... doing absolutely nothing at all :)

Pools & Pizza

2009-04-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

Oh man, today was a great day!

We met Lana and Deb at the pool today for some swim time - after everything that's happened in the last week, I just needed to spend some time with my close friends. It was awesome! The kids love to swim there, because it has a slide and a little kiddie climbing thing. And I got to float in the water with Nana, Lana's baby, which was nice :) Poor thing was so sleepy, I thought she was going to fall asleep right there in the water.

Then a few friends came over for pizza and playtime, and we spent several hours chatting it up and hanging out, enjoying each others' company. Even a couple of husbands came, so Will got to meet some guys and hang out, too.

And best of all, Ella stayed dry in her big girl panties ALL DAY! She had one little accident when her friend was here tonight, and I think it was because she got so caught up playing that she forgot she wasn't wearing a diaper. She was dry all night, and even in the car today - I'm so proud of her! She was very, very upset when daddy forgot and put a pull-up on her at bedtime, but we fixed it :)

*sigh* So today was great. And we might go swimming again tomorrow, just for fun... who knows?

Been a While...

2009-03-31T03:14:00.001-07:00

I know it's been a while, but I really need to get back in to blogging, for my own sake. Basically, my handwriting is awful, and I can't read my own journal entries anymore. So... time to catch up!

Kaile (Joe and Ella's Godmother) came to visit. We went to Paris. It was...swell? I don't know - we had a great time and all, but so many little things went wrong - at the very least it's a great story to tell :) Actually, several stories - we also visited Heidelberg Castle, and the Nazi Prison, Gross St. Martin and the Chocolate Museum in Cologne and went for dinner and dancing in Kaiserslautern... so many, many stories that I will torment her with for years to come :) I absolutely can't wait until she comes back to visit again, but that won't be until after she finishes basic training and AIT :( We'll be waiting for you in the fall, Kaile!!

Ella turned three! She had an Abby Cadabby (Elmo's best friend on Sesame Street, keep up!) party at Yabadoo, and had a blast. She's been clinging to the Hello Kitty wallet and stuffed EVE from Wall-E ever since. Ella also contracted Hand, Foot and Mouth two days after being bit by a hamster. Completely unrelated, but still an interesting timeline, in my opinion. The little rodent took the tip of her finger off, but it is healing nicely and at most, she'll have a lack of fingerprint there for a while :)

Joseph has a best friend ever now. His name is Jackson, and Joseph refers to him in all things. 'If Jackson were here, he wouldn't run in the house because he is a good boy' and 'Jackson doesn't like (insert random thing here) but I do because we're friends.' It's funny to hear him talk about friends now, and it makes me feel pretty good about things. Jackson's mom, Lana, is my best Germany friend, so we do a lot of hanging out with their family. It's nice to finally have a good family to hang out and bbq and just... be friends with, I guess.

I learned this week that Andy, an old boyfriend from Scotland, passed away last fall. I found out when I was redirected from his website to his memorial page, which is honestly not how I would have chosen... There is no information on cause, but I'd wager that the bacterial meningitis they had been trying to contain with amputations finally overcame him. I'm struggling to remember him not as the angry, hurt man I last spoke to, but as the loud, fun guy with the glass eye that I remember from my time in Scotland.

Will's brother and dad are arriving in the near future for a weeklong visit. I'm trying to work out an itenerary, but finding it rather difficult... I don't know what to do! Tulips in Holland? A day in Amsterdam? Berlin? Black Forest? Castle tours? I just can't decide! Ah well, I'll figure it all out somehow.

Oh, and today starts potty training for Ella. I absolutely can't handle diapers anymore - they arealways out of her size at the commissary, so it's become rather a necessity to get her out of them. I'm trying cold turkey this time - lots of water and juice, and no more diapers. I have tile floors and a mop - we're just going to ride this out, if we have to.

Back to Blogging and Big Emma's

2009-01-30T02:28:00.000-08:00

I haven't been posting because I didn't realize anyone was actually reading this thing. No one has commented or emailed or called to let me know, so I just... stopped. I keep a journal for myself, so I've just been writing there, but as one person has let me know that they like reading my blog, I figure I'll keep it up. Even if just one person is reading it, that makes me feel good :)

Not much has happened in my absence - my Christmas presents from Will finally arrived and they are GREAT! I got a new camera that I can just stick in my purse - I love my Rebel, but it's so big, and I'm afraid to take it to say, a concert or bar, because something could happen to it. This one fits nicely in my bag and takes amazing photos :) He also got me the Post Secret books, and I'm happy to say that one of my secrets made it in!

We also finished furnishing the guestroom/family room downstairs - there are now two couches down there, one of which contains a fold-out bed. The old coffee table and tv stand and tv are down there as well, with a nice carpet - it's shaping up to be a great place to hang out with the kiddos and watch a movie :)

And lastly, Joseph finally got a pet. Max is our new tortoise hare (I know, it cracks me up, too) and he's super friendly. He likes sitting in laps, being petted, eating celery and hopping spastically. He's litter trained and only chews on paper if you leave it on the floor, and Joseph is thrilled with him. He wanted to change Max's name, but...

J: I think the bunny needs a new name.
A: Oh? Like what?
J: *thinking* Well, how about Stairs?
A: Stairs the bunny? I don't know. Do you have any other ideas?
J: Yes, we could call him Plugs.
A: Plugs isn't really a bunny name, Joseph.
J: Ok, ok, ok... how about this, Mom. We can name him Spoons.
A: ......... You know what, Joseph? I think Max is actually a very nice bunny name.

And so the bunny's name remains Max.

On to current events!
Soon we'll be heading out for a Hail and Farewell for a buddy of ours who is leaving this unit. We knew him back at Ft. Belvoir in Virginia, and it's been nice to see him again, even for a short time. Will was put in charge of picking out his going away gift, and instead of the usual plaque, he got this soldier a HUGE stein, with an eagle carved on and an engraved silver plate with the name and dates. It's really nice, and I think it's a good departure from the plain old boring certificates and plaques people normally receive.

The venue for this H&F is pretty well known around here - it's called Big Emma's. I've never been before, but I hear the schnitzel is amazing. If you get a chance, check out that website - it really does offer a fair insight into the German dining experience :) Please note the use of phrases such as 'big how you like it,' 'taste it and check your quality' and 'woman-size menu.' This is pretty standard :)

There's no sharing of dishes in German restaurants unless you're ordering a regular meal for two small children, which is what we usually do. The children's menues here don't differ much from those in the States - they invariably offer chicken nuggets, french fries, grilled cheese or spatzle (sort of like German macaroni and cheese). Joe and Ella don't really eat too much of any of those things, so they usually split a schnitzel or wurst of some sort.
I've got a weakness for rumpsteak with krauterbutter - a filet-mignon style steak topped with a fresh butter mixed with garlic and herbs. There are no steak sauces or ketchups on the table - all cooking here is supposed to stand on it's own.
Also, they bring the dishes out of the kitchen as soon as they're ready - there's no waiting in the window for a whole order to come up. And as soon as your plate is on the table, you're expected to start tucking in. It's rude to leave your food untouched, as this signals to the waiter that something is wrong with it.
Learning to eat here really has been an experience, but it's been so much fun, too. We've found so many great places to eat and tried a lot of new foods - I can't wait to see what else we'll find.

I'll let you know how Big Emma's was next time :)

Five Years Today

2009-01-10T14:02:00.000-08:00

Today is our anniversary - five years ago, I married a man I hadn't known very long. He was older than me. From a completely different walk of life. Another race, another heritage. A whole different view of the world.

And it was the best decision I'd made yet.

Five years, two children, three duty stations and two countries later, I'm just as happy to see him everyday as I was when my dad walked me down the isle and handed me off. I'm proud of my family, my life and my kids, I'm proud of the new heritage and history I learn more about with each year, and I'm proud of what I'm teaching our children - not every choice you make as a teenager is a bad one, and that we love each other very, very much.

This is not nearly as eloquent as I'd meant it to be, but I am exhausted. Tonight we hired a babysitter and went out for Indian food - an anniversary tradition, though it wasn't intentional the first three times :) We also saw "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" - an amazing, beautiful movie that I give two thumbs up, though you'll need to bring a box of tissues with you.

I guess the long and short of it is this: I'm very, very happy tonight :)

2009-01-07T02:40:00.000-08:00

Wow, these last few days have been busy!

Firstly, it SNOWED! Finally! I've been assured I'll be sick of white flurry bits soon enough, but it's so beautiful right now :) It has been a bit of a problem, as we live on the top of a steep hill, so going anywhere in the car involves going down and around our hill and approaching from the other, less steep side. Last night when we were leaving the store, the thermometer said 17'F - and boy, was it biting cold. It's the kind of cold, here, that really does suck the air out of your lungs and make your throat hurt just breathing. And please excuse the giant stack of wood in the foreground of the picture - our Naked Neighbors decided that against our back fence was definitely prime placement for their firewood supply this year :(

I've been cleaning out the downstairs storage and laundry rooms, where we dumped everything we didn't feel like unpacking in the first few weeks. And I'm almost done! I really wish I'd taken before and after pictures, but oh well. I'll at least get 'after' pictures up when I'm done :) Our laundry and storage rooms are really both big enough to be spare bedrooms, save for the lack of heating and windows in there. I've got four boxes of Stuff sitting in the hallway that I'm slowly photographing and posting for sale on Ramstein Yard Sales or giving away to the local shelter. Once that is done, I'll be able to start getting ready for our first scheduled visitors - Will's Family! They're coming to see us in April, and we can't wait. We're researching trips and making plans to get the most sightseeing we can out of their time here.

And, last but not least, I'm starting a new project. I'll not say what it is now, but fingers crossed that I get it finished. If I work on it (like I really should work on all of my projects), I should finish by the time Will's family gets here. Hopefully. I'm really excited about it, and I can't wait to show it to all of you! But that's all I can say about it now. We've been spending the last few days researching and getting all the bits and pieces I need, and as soon as they all get here (stupid military mail system) I'll be able to start!

So that's it, really.
Oh, and if you're willing to cut me some slack, you can read my old bartending blog, Kind of a Big Deal. Just don't judge me too harshly - it was mostly meant for comedy and fellow hospitality workers, and the language is less-than-safe for little ears.
Love you all!

Now With Clicky Goodness

2009-01-03T10:42:00.000-08:00

Pardon my grammar.
I've finally figured out how to add links to my blogs, so that if you click a linked word or phrase, it will take you to a website that will tell you all about whatever you clicked on! For example:

Tonight, I made a batch of delicious chocolate cupcakes. They were so tasty!

So you click on the word 'cupcakes' and it takes you to another site explaining cupcakes. Pretty cool right?

And I totally did make cupcakes tonight. Ella loved them :)

Fireworks and Fish

2009-01-03T10:07:00.000-08:00

So.
The fireworks are still going.
Apparently, this is STILL the 12 days of Christmas, until the 6th of January.
The 6th of January will be Three Kings Day, and from the first of the year until then, little kids (mostly boys) are putting on homemade capes and crowns and going door to door singing, and you're supposed to give them candy or money. Some of the towns, like Speyer, which we visited yesterday, are having markets and festivals to celebrate this, the week of the Three Kings. Everywhere we look, there are children with gold crowns and crooks - it's a little surreal.

Anyway, we went to Speyer to visit Sea Life, a big aquarium 'chain' here in Europe. I say 'chain' because there are several Sea Lifes located in a few different countries. Anyway, it was terribly expensive and frustratingly crowded, but I think it actually would have been pretty neat if there had been about half as many people there that day. There were lots of tanks of diffrent fish, and we got to pet some sea anemones and starfish, and the stingrays were particularly interested in me, although that's not the first time we've noticed that they have a strange affinity for the taste of my ankles.
And I'm not sure if it's more to do with my lack of technical German language skills or their lack of signage, but apparently there was something wrong with their parking lot, so we parked in another part of the city and walked about a mile (part of it in a ridiculous unnecessary detour) in the 25'F weather to get to the aquarium.

I know the picture says 'legoland' but the shark was made out of legos, so I guess it's a cross-promotion. Anyway, the kids liked it :)

On the upside, the mile walk took us by one of the oldest cathedrals in this part of Germany, and it was amazing. It looked more like a castle than a church, and we could hear the choir singing from the outside. I have no idea why it didn't occur to either of us to take pictures (duh) because it was absolutely beautiful :)

So to summarize:
Fireworks
Kings
Cold
Bad Aquarium
Awesome Cathedral

Tschuss, 2008!

2009-01-01T04:12:00.000-08:00

I'll be the first to say that 2008 was not really one of my favourite years. Getting laid off, fighting Hilton Corp., Ella's kidney problems, drama, getting sick, a less-than-stellar moving experience and a disappointing holiday season have all combined to make 2008...tiring. That's not to say there weren't great things that happened this year - we were able to spend time with my family, Joseph and Ella were baptized and now have two fantastic Godmothers, Will has made great strides at work, we moved to Germany (!!!) and found a beautiful house.
But still, I am looking forward to 2009 and all of the untapped potential and innumerable possibilities that are in front of me - travel, education and personal fullfillment are all in the cards this year, and I can't wait to see what happens.

I didn't realize until now that New Year's is such a big deal in Germany. The fireworks started around 6pm yesterday, and finally tapered off near 2am. And I'm not talking about those little dinky fireworks we get in the States - no, these were big professional fireworks, the kind that make huge shimmering blooms in the sky. The guy next to our Naked Neighbors (that's another story for another time) had a full setup in his backyard, and was putting on a display that rivals our 4th of July celebrations back home. The sound of those fireworks was like cannonfire, and the smell when I opened the window was the acrid burn of gunpowder - but it sure was awesome to watch. The beauty of our New Years is that Will and I were able to sit on the couch in our living room, sipping sparkling cider (he had to leave for work at 4am, so no champagne here) and watching the show through our huge living room windows.

It occurs to me that I've never posted any pictures of my house - so here is the view from the couch, and the view out the windows. The fireworks were coming from the yard next to the frozen pool - I could throw a rock over their fence, that's how close they are. And the big house to the right with the pool is Naked Neighbors' house. Thank goodness they were inside when I took these!So here is hoping that you all had a wonderful New Year's, and that 2009 is awesome for us all!

Finally!

2008-12-30T01:16:00.000-08:00

I completely forgot, but we got our internet hooked up yesterday!!! YAY!
So, if you'd like to call us, now you can! We're using Skype, so we have an American phone # - a New York phone number, in fact - so there are no international or long distance charges, aside from whatever it normally costs you to call New York. If you'd like that number, just ask Mom or Memaw, as I'm not going to publish it here, for obvious reasons. I only ask that you please take into account the fact that we are 7-9 hours ahead of you, depending on where you live, and I'm not terribly talkative at 3a.m. If you've been the recipient of one of my previous calls and are concerned about call quality, let me assure you that things are MUCH better now. Really, you can't even tell we're halfway across the world!
I can also update my Flickr.com account, which you will see to the right hand side of this page, more often, so you can always look there to follow my camera. I'll try to post the gems here in the blog, but a mom of two toddler's time being what it is, it might be safe just to check there every now and again, in case I miss something :)

A Brief Visit

2008-12-30T00:50:00.000-08:00

We had the awesome luck to see dad for a few minutes last night on his way home from Afghanistan. Well, technically from Turkey, but still. We met him at the airport not far from here, but what was originally a three hour layover became about thirty minutes, so we didn't have the chance to sneak him away for dinner and a visit to the new house, as we'd hoped.
We brought along a bag of treats - Kinder Eggs, some German tea called "Hot Loving" that is actually quite good, if unfortunately named and several tasty baked treats from the bakery in our village. Hopefully, dad is en route to Baltimore, enjoying fresh pretzels and pastries. At any rate, it will be better than what they usually serve on military flights :)
It took Ella a while to warm up to dad, but by the end of the visit, she was giving him plenty of kisses and hugs, and was quite sad to see him go. She wanted to show him her room at home, and Joe still didn't quite understand why Papa didn't have his motorcycle with him, but they were happy to be tickled and hugged, in the end.

New Photos

2008-12-27T02:14:00.000-08:00

New photos uploading to flickr as we speak!
Supposedly, our internet will be hooked up in the next few days, so I promise they'll be updated more frequently after that.
Enjoy!

A Very Merry Christmas

2008-12-26T02:07:00.000-08:00

Well, it's over. Months of planning, miles of paper, yards of tape and innumerable trips to the Mail Room : Christmas has come and gone again.

Joseph and Ella were thoroughly excited by the idea of Santa and his reindeer coming to

our house, and left out far too many treats for one jolly old elf to eat all by himself, and Rudolph would certainly have been too heavy in the tummy to do much flying after the giant carrot Ella found for him. But Santa never disappoints, so they woke to crumbs on the plate, and reindeer bite marks* on the nub of carrot.

Santa sure did leave plenty of presents requiring delicate and/or time consuming assembly this year, but everything was so well received that I could hardly say it wasn't worth the millions of steel cable twist ties and plastic restraints I struggled through. We had Spike the Ultra Dinosaur, a remote controlled beast who plays fetch and lumbers around the house, slipping a little on the tiles, a collection of toy power tools that would make Uncle Jack drool, and a great GeoTrax airport with a plane that flies on a loopy plastic track for Joe. Ella was happy to find a ride-on caterpillar, the same Little Tykes vanity that Samantha had when she was little (a surprise find at a base yardsale, and a steal for $15) and a Little People princess castle dollhouse, complete with dragon. Will got a french press for making German coffee, a European tea pot, a new leather wallet and the complete Chronicals of Narnia, as he's never read any of them but enjoys the movies. My gifts haven't arrived yet (military postal service being what it is) but I'll let you know as soon as I find out :)

One of Will's soldiers brought his wife over for Christmas dinner - and video games, which I suspect was really the plan all along. I made my first ham, which was a huge success (thank you, Alton Brown!) and we had greens, giant parker house rolls (I misjudged the size of the muffin tins), black eyed peas, glazed carrots, mashed potatoes and parsnips (it's a German thing), green bean casserole (which I did NOT make), arroz con pollo (which I did make) and fried okra. All in all, a very yummy southern dinner, with the obvious exception of the chicken and rice, a Puerto Rican dish Will insists we have for every holiday. Sweets were plentiful, and I'm afraid we'll be sending most of them to work for the soldiers to munch on there - I don't think I can handle that many here in the house.

Also, a few interesting notes on Christmas in Germany, as I haven't been able to write about them so far:

- Here, Santa does not come Christmas Eve. He visits good children on December 6th, and leaves small toys, snacks and apples in the boots they place outside their front door that evening. If the children have been naughty, they get switches in the boot for their parents to use. :S

- Christmas Eve is the night of the Christ Child, when an angel comes and brings gifts to children, representing the gifts of the wise men to the baby Jesus. Children yell up the chimney to give their Christmas lists to the angel, but telling Santa has become popular in the last decade. The Germans are starting to adopt a lot of American and English traditions, but they also hold on to their own, so for instance, when you see Santa walking around a market or store, he is accompanied by a woman dressed as an angel, usually with a long, blonde wig.

- German Christmas trees don't have the same lights as ours - theirs look like little candles, about two inches tall, and clip on to the ends of the branches. Germany is the home of the Tannenbaum, and the trees traditionally used real candles. Obviously this is dangerous, but older Germans still use real wax candles on their trees, and you can buy the special candles and holders at any grocery store.

- Recycling is mandatory in Germany. I'll write more about this later, but for now: As we opened and assembled toys and gifts this year, we had to sort the rubbish into piles: wrapping paper and cardboard boxes, plastic (which has to be removed from the cardboard boxes, in the case of those clear windows) and twist ties and restraints, metal bits and foil wrap, and even the tape from the paper had to be removed and tossed into the residual can, as it can't be recycled with the paper. It feels good to recycle, but man, it made cleaning up after gift-opening such a pain :)

*Does anyone know what reindeer's teeth look like? I just winged it, as she's two and has no frame of reference for these things.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Welcome!

2008-12-18T10:47:00.000-08:00

This blog is for our family and friends, to follow us through our first tour in Germany. We'll update when we can, add pictures and just let you know about our day-to-day experiences. For security reasons, we won't write about future trips or excursions in detail, but we'll be sure to let you know all about them afterwards. Enjoy!