Wow, so it seems like I've been on Blog-Hiatus. Yikes, time to get the ball rolling and throw another blog out there. My time has been spent being routine and boring, and since I didn't want to write a boring blog, I have been skirting the task. But no more. The boyfriend, M, has moved into his apartment, and we've cleaned, painted and decorated. Since he lives only 5 km away (3 miles for all you non-km folks), we see each other a few times a week, although we have to limit our visits so as to not forget about my job and all the other stuff I actually have to do. bummer. We've been going to a local sports bar to watch all of Borussia Monchengladbach's soccer games, although last week's loss to Bremen brought us from 4th to 10th place in the Nation. again, bummer. Hopefully tomorrow we'll win, although Mainz (whom we are playing) did beat FC Bayern last week, so they must be arguably good. I only care about BMG for the most part, so I don't actually know how good the other teams are.
Last week we went to the beach again, and M came with. It was a lot of fun. L, the boy-child, spent last week at his Grandparents' in Hannover, so I had lots of one-on-one time for princess S. A friend of hers came to play Monday, so I had the pleasure of entertaining two 3 year-olds instead of one. Really, they were quite cute. Monday the kids start school again, which also means they will have to be getting up earlier, which will surely be an adjustment... hopefully not too painful of one (for us all).
On another note, I finally screwed up the courage and deleted myspace. I know, I know. It isn't like I ever logged in, but it was a security thing. I knew the ability to log in and myspace-stalk my friends, post annoying questionnaires, and comment on photos was there waiting to quell any extreme boredom. So it was a pretty big step for me, but hey, there's still Facebook to ease my addiction...
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Denmark
I think I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, and I'll add the short recaps I wrote while up there. Enjoy.
Day 1-Sat
We survived the 5 1/2 hour drive up (it should have been 4 hours, but there was an accident which caused a lot of traffic), and arrived at the vacation house in Denmark around 4pm. The house is lovely with windows from the floor to the ceiling. We went to the beach, but couldn't swim since it was so windy and the waves were huge. We walked around the small town (Saltrum) a bit, and then headed home to watch a little TV. I have my own room, on the end of the house near the living room, while the other 3 rooms are at the other end. Nice and private. There's a cool loft bedroom with TV and PlayStation for L, the 9 year old. I'm still trying to figure out the monetary conversion here (something like 7 to 1,
in favor of the euro), but I still can't fathom paying 23 anything for 2 scoops of ice cream. lol. Oh, there's no internet here, so I'm writing daily recaps in word, and I will put them together and post them when I get home.
Day 2-Sun
Today the weather was almost perfect. It would have been perfect if not for the wind, which was still better than yesterday. I was woken up at 7:30 by the kids, who somehow where full of energy despite reeking havoc until 12:30 in the morning. Wonders. We spent a few hours wandering around Lokken (the biggest near-by city), where we saw people making candy... which was a very long and painstaking process... but the end result was yummy and very artistic. We then took a brief walk to the ocean. Then we headed home, where I laid out and read for an hour or so, and the kids took a nap before we headed to the beach once more. We walked bare-foot along the shore, and the water was surprisingly warmer than I expected, in fact we may go swimming sometime despite the wind. We came home for dinner, and the kids hung out in my room attempting to play Pac-Man on my laptop. Then at bedtime the little one asked if I would read her her bedtime story- this is the first time she's ever asked me, and is to be interpreted as something of an honor. We read for half an hour, and it went well, despite her short-attention span and seemingly unending energy. I also fell in love with some goofy pants, but we will see if I break down and buy them... I mean, their name does translate to "Harem Pants".. but they're cute.
Day 3-Mon
It rained almost all day today, so we planned to go to the aquarium. However, after driving half an hour there, the line was ridiculously long, and there was no way the kids were willing to wait an hour in the rain. So plan B. We visited a candle factory and L got to hand dip his own candle, which turned out really nice.
Then we stopped by an art gallery, and the little one (S) got a cute little ceramic piggy bank. We then picked up some fresh fish and headed home. I napped a little and we played games indoors (monopoly, guess who, kids Yatzee and so on). After dinner the kids watched Madagascar, and I took a long soak in the jacuzzi tub.
Very relaxing. Hopefully the weather improves tomorrow.
Day 4-Tues
The weather was perfect today, so we spent the day outside. We visited an old lighthouse, which is being swallowed but he dunes. The door is covered, but it has been broken down enough to squeeze through, so of course I had to go in. The stairs were missing railing in some places, but I made it to the top and (despite a fear of heights) got some pretty amazing pictures. We stayed and played in the dunes a little too. After, we visited a museum about the lighthouse, and a history of this particular part of Denmark. We had lunch at the beach, and spent the afternoon playing miniature golf. Nearby on a stage setting up for an evening concert, they performed the sound check by playing a Tracy Chapman CD. In the evening we stopped by the beach once more, and walked along the shore and collected shells/rocks.
Day 5-Wed
Today we drove to the northern most point in Denmark, which also happens to be where the east and north sea meet. Of course we took pictures with one foot in the north sea, and one in the east sea. Much fun! After, we visited a nearby city and then played in some of the biggest Dunes in Denmark.We also visited a cute little church, where we had to climb tiny little steps to get to the top.
Day 6-Thurs
Today we got up early and went to the aquarium. We saw sunfish, seals, and lots of other cool creatures. After we went to the Barracks Museum on the coast, home to 54 barracks built by the Germans during ww2. (over 7,000 in total were built in Denmark during the German occupation). It rained, we bought fresh fish and came home.
Day 7-Fri
Last night was a big storm, I was awoken a few times by the pounding of the rain and wind. We all slept a bit later this morning. The weather was o.k. today, windy but with hardly any rain. We visited a candle factory in Vra today, and I bought a few candles. Then we went to downtown Lokken to shop and walk around. I bought a cute beige skirt, and the harem or Punjabi yoga pants I have been lusting over. They are sooooo comfy, I must learn to make them. :) I also got some postcards. We spent the rest of the day relaxing, packing and cleaning the house to leave early tomorrow morning.
Day 1-Sat
We survived the 5 1/2 hour drive up (it should have been 4 hours, but there was an accident which caused a lot of traffic), and arrived at the vacation house in Denmark around 4pm. The house is lovely with windows from the floor to the ceiling. We went to the beach, but couldn't swim since it was so windy and the waves were huge. We walked around the small town (Saltrum) a bit, and then headed home to watch a little TV. I have my own room, on the end of the house near the living room, while the other 3 rooms are at the other end. Nice and private. There's a cool loft bedroom with TV and PlayStation for L, the 9 year old. I'm still trying to figure out the monetary conversion here (something like 7 to 1,
in favor of the euro), but I still can't fathom paying 23 anything for 2 scoops of ice cream. lol. Oh, there's no internet here, so I'm writing daily recaps in word, and I will put them together and post them when I get home.
Day 2-Sun
Today the weather was almost perfect. It would have been perfect if not for the wind, which was still better than yesterday. I was woken up at 7:30 by the kids, who somehow where full of energy despite reeking havoc until 12:30 in the morning. Wonders. We spent a few hours wandering around Lokken (the biggest near-by city), where we saw people making candy... which was a very long and painstaking process... but the end result was yummy and very artistic. We then took a brief walk to the ocean. Then we headed home, where I laid out and read for an hour or so, and the kids took a nap before we headed to the beach once more. We walked bare-foot along the shore, and the water was surprisingly warmer than I expected, in fact we may go swimming sometime despite the wind. We came home for dinner, and the kids hung out in my room attempting to play Pac-Man on my laptop. Then at bedtime the little one asked if I would read her her bedtime story- this is the first time she's ever asked me, and is to be interpreted as something of an honor. We read for half an hour, and it went well, despite her short-attention span and seemingly unending energy. I also fell in love with some goofy pants, but we will see if I break down and buy them... I mean, their name does translate to "Harem Pants".. but they're cute.
Day 3-Mon
It rained almost all day today, so we planned to go to the aquarium. However, after driving half an hour there, the line was ridiculously long, and there was no way the kids were willing to wait an hour in the rain. So plan B. We visited a candle factory and L got to hand dip his own candle, which turned out really nice.
Then we stopped by an art gallery, and the little one (S) got a cute little ceramic piggy bank. We then picked up some fresh fish and headed home. I napped a little and we played games indoors (monopoly, guess who, kids Yatzee and so on). After dinner the kids watched Madagascar, and I took a long soak in the jacuzzi tub.
Very relaxing. Hopefully the weather improves tomorrow.
Day 4-Tues
The weather was perfect today, so we spent the day outside. We visited an old lighthouse, which is being swallowed but he dunes. The door is covered, but it has been broken down enough to squeeze through, so of course I had to go in. The stairs were missing railing in some places, but I made it to the top and (despite a fear of heights) got some pretty amazing pictures. We stayed and played in the dunes a little too. After, we visited a museum about the lighthouse, and a history of this particular part of Denmark. We had lunch at the beach, and spent the afternoon playing miniature golf. Nearby on a stage setting up for an evening concert, they performed the sound check by playing a Tracy Chapman CD. In the evening we stopped by the beach once more, and walked along the shore and collected shells/rocks.
Day 5-Wed
Today we drove to the northern most point in Denmark, which also happens to be where the east and north sea meet. Of course we took pictures with one foot in the north sea, and one in the east sea. Much fun! After, we visited a nearby city and then played in some of the biggest Dunes in Denmark.We also visited a cute little church, where we had to climb tiny little steps to get to the top.
Day 6-Thurs
Today we got up early and went to the aquarium. We saw sunfish, seals, and lots of other cool creatures. After we went to the Barracks Museum on the coast, home to 54 barracks built by the Germans during ww2. (over 7,000 in total were built in Denmark during the German occupation). It rained, we bought fresh fish and came home.
Day 7-Fri
Last night was a big storm, I was awoken a few times by the pounding of the rain and wind. We all slept a bit later this morning. The weather was o.k. today, windy but with hardly any rain. We visited a candle factory in Vra today, and I bought a few candles. Then we went to downtown Lokken to shop and walk around. I bought a cute beige skirt, and the harem or Punjabi yoga pants I have been lusting over. They are sooooo comfy, I must learn to make them. :) I also got some postcards. We spent the rest of the day relaxing, packing and cleaning the house to leave early tomorrow morning.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Just back
We just got back Denmark today. We had no Internet, so I have a lot of pent up stories. Expect them tomorrow, with pictures.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Buesum, and a new place to live
Yesterday the bf and I returned from a 4-day trip to the North Sea coast (specifically a town called Buesum) to celebrate our anniversary. We stayed at a cute little family owned place (Hotel Siegfried) not far from the city center or the shore. It was lovely, although it rained a little everyday except one. The first day we strolled along the shore, where we were harassed by birds. Evidently they had chosen the rocks on the path as a nesting place, which we discovered upon seeing two adorable babies--- we then left the path and the birds in peace as quickly as possible.
The next day the weather was pretty wet in the morning, so we decided to visit the much heard about indoor swimming pool. It was fantastic! The largest pool was a salt-water pool which had waves every 30 minutes or so. There was also a giant water slide, which we went down at least 5 times, a few heated pools and a jacuzzi. Very nice. Upstairs was the sauna, which we visited since we planned to stay most of the day in this pool wonderland (the weather was so uncooperative for hiking or biking). The thing about the sauna is... it's mandatory to be nude (with a towel of course). There's no option to have a swimsuit on or such, and there are signs and employees every so often who will politely remind you to get naked. ??? A little weird, but since there were also signs asking you not to sweat on the seats (what?) it was pretty much required to have a towel- I had two (they were kinda small). The sauna was soooo nice. There were 4 saunas, one at 90 degrees (194 f), one at 85 (185 f) which was on the roof, a 70 degree one (158f) which had fennel and anise/aniseed, and a 50 degree (122 f) one. There was also a steam bath, which had a big salt quartz in the middle. We tried all of them except the 90 degree one, since we thought the 85 was warm enough, and after an hour or so, we had had enough of the sauna.
The next day the weather was lovely, and we had planned to spend the day biking, but unfortunately I spent the night and most of the day suffering a stomach virus or food poisoning, and stayed in the room until about 6 p.m. when I finally felt well enough to go to dinner, the bf did hike a while, but he was sweet and felt bad about me being alone.
Yesterday after we got back we met with a guy about an apartment we saw in the neighboring town. It's not the city where the bf originally planned to live, but it does have about 6,000 inhabitants, and there's easy/cheap train connections to a few bigger cities. After talking to the guy again the bf is taking the apartment! yay! It's pretty nice, and it even has a washer and refrigerator, which is almost unheard of in small apartments here. It's on the third floor, with lovely big windows, and they are even redoing the floor this week (the only thing we didn't like was the hideous blue carpeting, so they are putting in normal fake-wood laminate). He's putting down the deposit and getting his key on Friday, and on the first he's moving in! Exciting.
I'll put up some picture from our trip soon, I have to work though, since I've had 4 days off, and the family and I are headed to Denmark for vacation on Saturday for a week.
The next day the weather was pretty wet in the morning, so we decided to visit the much heard about indoor swimming pool. It was fantastic! The largest pool was a salt-water pool which had waves every 30 minutes or so. There was also a giant water slide, which we went down at least 5 times, a few heated pools and a jacuzzi. Very nice. Upstairs was the sauna, which we visited since we planned to stay most of the day in this pool wonderland (the weather was so uncooperative for hiking or biking). The thing about the sauna is... it's mandatory to be nude (with a towel of course). There's no option to have a swimsuit on or such, and there are signs and employees every so often who will politely remind you to get naked. ??? A little weird, but since there were also signs asking you not to sweat on the seats (what?) it was pretty much required to have a towel- I had two (they were kinda small). The sauna was soooo nice. There were 4 saunas, one at 90 degrees (194 f), one at 85 (185 f) which was on the roof, a 70 degree one (158f) which had fennel and anise/aniseed, and a 50 degree (122 f) one. There was also a steam bath, which had a big salt quartz in the middle. We tried all of them except the 90 degree one, since we thought the 85 was warm enough, and after an hour or so, we had had enough of the sauna.
The next day the weather was lovely, and we had planned to spend the day biking, but unfortunately I spent the night and most of the day suffering a stomach virus or food poisoning, and stayed in the room until about 6 p.m. when I finally felt well enough to go to dinner, the bf did hike a while, but he was sweet and felt bad about me being alone.
Yesterday after we got back we met with a guy about an apartment we saw in the neighboring town. It's not the city where the bf originally planned to live, but it does have about 6,000 inhabitants, and there's easy/cheap train connections to a few bigger cities. After talking to the guy again the bf is taking the apartment! yay! It's pretty nice, and it even has a washer and refrigerator, which is almost unheard of in small apartments here. It's on the third floor, with lovely big windows, and they are even redoing the floor this week (the only thing we didn't like was the hideous blue carpeting, so they are putting in normal fake-wood laminate). He's putting down the deposit and getting his key on Friday, and on the first he's moving in! Exciting.
I'll put up some picture from our trip soon, I have to work though, since I've had 4 days off, and the family and I are headed to Denmark for vacation on Saturday for a week.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Random Updates, Patience and Gardening
Today the weather is beeeeautiful- warm and not too humid. The bf arrived last night. He's registering up here (you have to register every time you move (or plan to), so the government can trace your every move here. lol.). This morning he left early to catch a ride with Mrs. A on her way to work, and hopefully he gets everything figured out- and can get the *perfect* apartment we found :). Yesterday I finally got my work visa. *yay* so I can legally stay until 14th of June 2010. Although I believe I will actually be headed back at the end of May... we'll see. It feels nice to be "legal."
They say "Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you and scorn in the one ahead." Ok, by "they," I mean Mac McCleary, although I, myself, admire the patience of ALL drivers on the road when I am learning to drive a manual. Since I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to have only driven automatics for the last 8 years (besides the occasional few times... which were hilarious), I am finally going through the painfully embarrassing process of learning at the ripe age of 24. The bf and I practiced a little in a parking lot behind his house a month or so back, and now I've driven two times here in Gnutz. First I drove to and from the Kindergarten with Mrs. A to pick up the little one- it's only like half a mile away and the car died 3 times... although it was coming out of reverse, and after a stop. ooops.. Yesterday I got to drive back from the library in the neighboring town, about 3 miles away. This time the car died at like every stop, of which there are about 3, and of course, I had to stop at a light on an incline, and the young woman driving behind me (in a flashy convertible, mind you) *had* to pull up sooooo close to me- my biggest fear of driving a stick was coming to life- I nearly wet myself, but I did manage to stay somewhat calm (for the sake of the child. lol). I took Mrs. A's advice and used the hand brake, inadvertently squealed the tires, but managed not to do any damage to her car or "ours", so overall I consider it a win... Mrs. A is very patient with me killing the engine, squealing tires, grinding gears and mostly driving 15 mph under the speed limit. I need to practice a lot more.
I have three plants I got a few weeks back, 2 Gerber daisies and some other mini-tree like thing (that's the scientific name b y the way). I thought one of the daisies was a goner, the poor thing was all wilted. But after researching them online, I read that if may be outgrowing the pot and not getting water to the middle roots. Needless to go into detail I nursed the poor thing back to health and now it seems to be thriving. I do need to get them new homes soon (pots I mean, I'm not giving these badboys away, they're like pets). Anyhoo--- I will post pictures of the pretty little things soon. I think that's all that's new.
Oh, speaking of lovely weather- this was kinda funny: http://blog.statravel.com/index.php/2009/07/13/top-10-things-you-shouldnt-wear-to-the-beach/
They say "Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you and scorn in the one ahead." Ok, by "they," I mean Mac McCleary, although I, myself, admire the patience of ALL drivers on the road when I am learning to drive a manual. Since I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to have only driven automatics for the last 8 years (besides the occasional few times... which were hilarious), I am finally going through the painfully embarrassing process of learning at the ripe age of 24. The bf and I practiced a little in a parking lot behind his house a month or so back, and now I've driven two times here in Gnutz. First I drove to and from the Kindergarten with Mrs. A to pick up the little one- it's only like half a mile away and the car died 3 times... although it was coming out of reverse, and after a stop. ooops.. Yesterday I got to drive back from the library in the neighboring town, about 3 miles away. This time the car died at like every stop, of which there are about 3, and of course, I had to stop at a light on an incline, and the young woman driving behind me (in a flashy convertible, mind you) *had* to pull up sooooo close to me- my biggest fear of driving a stick was coming to life- I nearly wet myself, but I did manage to stay somewhat calm (for the sake of the child. lol). I took Mrs. A's advice and used the hand brake, inadvertently squealed the tires, but managed not to do any damage to her car or "ours", so overall I consider it a win... Mrs. A is very patient with me killing the engine, squealing tires, grinding gears and mostly driving 15 mph under the speed limit. I need to practice a lot more.
I have three plants I got a few weeks back, 2 Gerber daisies and some other mini-tree like thing (that's the scientific name b y the way). I thought one of the daisies was a goner, the poor thing was all wilted. But after researching them online, I read that if may be outgrowing the pot and not getting water to the middle roots. Needless to go into detail I nursed the poor thing back to health and now it seems to be thriving. I do need to get them new homes soon (pots I mean, I'm not giving these badboys away, they're like pets). Anyhoo--- I will post pictures of the pretty little things soon. I think that's all that's new.
Oh, speaking of lovely weather- this was kinda funny: http://blog.statravel.com/index.php/2009/07/13/top-10-things-you-shouldnt-wear-to-the-beach/
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Prancing through mainstreet
Bragging is not an attractive trait, but let's be honest. A man who catches a big fish doesn't go home through an alley (according to the genius Ann Landers). Speaking of which, I like to read Dear Abby, Dear Prudence, and Dear Margo in my free-time. I think at the least I might learn some etiquette. Now onto bragging. I finished my first puzzle this week (I started it a few days after coming here, so it's been about 3 weeks of work). O.k., probably not my first, because I've surely completed numerous kiddie puzzles of 50 or less pieces, and I may have chipped in on larger puzzles that were a group-effort. But I have never done a puzzle all on my own- until now. (Note to all: I am very boring, and when I am winding down after a day with the kids I have turned to puzzling). So, as proof I am posting a picture of it. 1000 pieces. Seriously, I'm pretty stoked- despite this probably not being a very hip accomplishment- don't judge, yo.
Santorini, Greece.
Santorini, Greece.
The Foundation of All
Once again opening with a quote. "This is the foundation of all. We are not to imagine or suppose, but to discover, what nature does or may be made to do."
-Francis Bacon
Sunday the family and I took a day trip to the botanical gardens at Kiel University, which was also hosting a butterfly exhibit. We had a lot of fun, and I thought I would post a few of the hundreds of pictures I took (not joking, I took just over 300).
Jean Anouilh, "Beauty is one of the rare things that do not lead to doubt of God."
Teach me, Father, how to go
Softly as the grasses grow;
Hush my soul to meet the shock
Of the wild world as a rock;
But my spirit, propt with power,
Make as simple as a flower.
Let the dry heart fill its cup,
Like a poppy looking up;
Let life lightly wear her crown,
Like a poppy looking down,
When its heart is filled with dew,
And its life begins anew.
-Edwin Markham
-Francis Bacon
Sunday the family and I took a day trip to the botanical gardens at Kiel University, which was also hosting a butterfly exhibit. We had a lot of fun, and I thought I would post a few of the hundreds of pictures I took (not joking, I took just over 300).
Jean Anouilh, "Beauty is one of the rare things that do not lead to doubt of God."
Teach me, Father, how to go
Softly as the grasses grow;
Hush my soul to meet the shock
Of the wild world as a rock;
But my spirit, propt with power,
Make as simple as a flower.
Let the dry heart fill its cup,
Like a poppy looking up;
Let life lightly wear her crown,
Like a poppy looking down,
When its heart is filled with dew,
And its life begins anew.
-Edwin Markham
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
