So Much To Share, So Little Time

Hi All! I have been MASSIVELY M.I.A. for over a month now. My deepest, sincerest apologies! But something tells me you didn’t even notice I was gone! 🙂

I have so much to share with you all and so much to tell about the wedding in the US and our vacation there, new hiking trip in the Alps and all that.

We have exactly 19 days until we step onto a plane to our next chapter in life. I’ve been busying myself with packing even though there is a moving company coming to do that for us on the 25th of this month. Keeps me focused though! I can’t sit around all day and look pretty now can I?!

We’ve been looking at homes to buy and researching things to do in the areas around us in Michigan. We can’t wait to start this chapter! Harley Jones has NO clue what is going on…thankfully! He will be going in to get all his shots updated and to pick up some good drugs to keep him calm during his excursion back home. I’m worried that he will remember what it was like coming over here for him and he may have a panic attack. At least, I know I will. Heck, I need drugs for this trip!

I’m going to start with throwing you a few pictures from our wedding and then the rest of the tales and stories will come later this week hopefully! Must.Find.Time.To.Blog.

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxo

Let Me Take My Bow

You know how everyone says, “I never win anything!”??? Yeah, I was definitely one of those people but may god strike me with a ball of thunder and lightening of fire if I ever say it again! Mark my words, lovelies, I have WON something! Something great! Something better than the lottery. I won the Versatile Blogger Award!!!! It’s so nice to be recognized for my blog, which I’m crazy passionate about.

And who do I have to thank?? A fellow Versatile Blogger, From Casinos to Castles. As an expat much like myself, she understands the hard work that goes behind falling in love with a European and living in a country that is not so similar to your own. She’s got a sense a humor I really dig so I STRONGLY urge you to go and check her out and stay for a bit on her side of the internet! So, THANK YOU for the award…Glad I’m no longer a “virgin” in the winning circle of life! And Happy to join such a versatile blogger such as yourself!!!

With this great honor comes a few rules that all must abide by. Kind of like a secret society…I always wanted to be in a secret club. So here it goes based on what is listed here!

1. Thank the person who gave you this award. (Thank You to: From Casinos To Castles!)
2. Include a link to their blog. (Just in case you missed the link above, go here: http://fromcasinostocstles.wordpress.com/)
3. Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly.
4. Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award
5. Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

I follow many great bloggers and discover more each week. I’m like a serial follower but I have no shame! A few of my favs at the moment in no particular order:

1. The Learning Curve
2. Wife In Captivity
3. Confuzzledom
4. My Life In Lederhosen
5. Spoonfuls of Germany
6. Germerican Denglish
7. Loving This Army Life
8. Doin’ Time On The Donau
9. Living The American Dream In Europe
10. Franglais
11. Sweet & Spicy Life
12. Ellie Moves To Deutschland
13. Small Town. Small Times.
14. Sojourning Abroad
15. Oh God, My Wife Is German

And as far as rule number 5 goes…I have to tell 7 things about myself to the person who nominated me. This is probably the hardest part!

1. My idol is Princess Diana. She held her head high with grace when put through the ringer by not only paparazzi but by the royal family as well. She was really something in her time and I would be happy to be half the woman she was!

2. I love to sing and like to think that I have a pretty good voice but I’m SO shy and don’t like to sing in front of anyone but my mom and my sister.

3. My cat, Max, died when I was about 13 years old and I must have cried for three days straight. Mariah Carey’s version of “Can’t Live” still throws me into a pit of black sadness about my long lost cat!

4. I seriously dig old school musicals. Anything to do with Judy Garland or Fred Astaire really get me excited! Favorite movie of all time is The Harvey Girls.

5. 80’s music makes me want to puke. One song here or there is ok, especialy when I’m drunk or at an 80’s themed party, but as soon as Madonna comes on, I’ll set the radio on fire.

6. I always said I wanted to be a house wife until I became one, lol.

7. If I was in prison and was allowed one last meal, it would be mac & cheese with hotdogs made by my mom and creamed tuna or creamed chipped beef on toast made by my dad.

So, that ends my tasks to accept the award and now that I’ve won, I’m off to hire a doorman, a maid, gardener, pool boy, and personal chef. I always knew I was a regal kind of gal… 🙂

Until next time, Readers!!!! xoxoxoxoxo

A Short Hiatus

Dear Readers,

I’m sad to report that I will be taking a short hiatus from the blog. All due to the fact that my trusty (somewhat new) laptop has died on me. Through diagnostics with my incredibly smart and tech savvy brother and friends, it seems as though the video card is fried!
So, here begins the new journey of dealing with a German repair shop! I will have lots of blogs ready for you when I return! I promise!!! I’ve got lots to tell you about and no way to add the pictures, unfortunately! And I can’t have a blog without pictures obviously!!
Please stay tuned…I’m guessing I will be back up and running in two weeks (I hope!)

Until next time, Readers!!! Xoxoxoxo

The Blog Experiment

Since I’ve been busy with my most recent visitors (sad they are gone!!! but had a BLAST!) I didn’t have time to sit down and write my blog so I read a few others here and there. I’ve also been “introduced” to a few through the Twitter world which has been great! In doing so I took notes on blogs that have a lot of traffic/comments and my findings are slightly annoying!

Here’s what I find interesting though. To me, a blog is a place where a person can write down their thoughts and other such musings about their life or whatever topic it is that they are into. HOWEVER, I’m finding that a lot of these “bloggers” aren’t doing any of that and instead filling in the spaces with ridiculous “link ups” and page fillers. For instance, there is a group of bloggers that do something different for every day of the week. For example: “Funny Fridays” or “Nail color Mondays.” So on Friday, each girl posts a funny picture/movie/etc and who ever wants to join in just simply adds their link to their blog on the main page and that’s it.

Or there are the other people who post one picture and say 2 sentences but yet they have a ton of traffic. I don’t know about you people but I love gossip and the more I know about someone’s life, the more I’m going to connect with their story and read their blog on a daily basis. Not when it’s filling the internet world with mumbo jumbo about what they buy on Taco Tuesdays. To each their own I suppose! I don’t want to pull traffic in with fancy giveaways or boring posts. I guess my posts can be boring from time to time but at least I’m not taking the easy way out!

Nothing wrong with the other ways, I just prefer the type of blogs that follow people’s lives I suppose!

What do you all prefer? A little gossip or giveaways and flash? Stick with me, kids, and you’ll continue to get the first look into my personal life for free! No gimmicks!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxo

Things Are Changing Around Here

In light of my VERY exciting journey coming up I decided that while I was doing some house cleaning to do a little blog cleaning as well. So, the blog is “under construction” at the moment. A very brilliant and dear friend of mine has put together a few banner options for me to call my own and now I’m tasked with making them work on my blog. Something I’m an idiot with, rightfully so. I am very thankful for his help and I really think you all should check out his photography work. He’s got an incredible eye for the unseen or the overlooked and gives us a new perspective through his lens. Incredible work so I urge you to please go and look at his work – ATP Photography:

His Website: http://www.atpphotos.com/

or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ATPphotos?sk=info

Now the house is clean, the bags are packed…well mine are for the most part, Toblerone packs the morning of. We are leaving around 6am tomorrow morning…so thats midnight for you East coasters 🙂 We drive an hour to the airport…check in…sit down in the airport lounge of Lufthansa and drink ourselves into an anxiety free oblivion! 9 hours later we land in the US and I’m going to hug every stranger, kiss the dudes who stamp my passport, and be nice to people. Whoa…stop yourselves, I know. I’m shocked too! Me? Being nice to someone? HA! What a dream! I’ll be in a good mood anyways. Today I received letters from the kids I met with and I’ll be busy reading those on the plane. HUGE smile on my face when I saw those in my mailbox! LOVE those kids!!

What’s on the list of things to do? Of course drink a martini…no, correction…Drink MILLIONS of martinis. Spend time with family…obviously…squish my friends and gossip and all that since I’ve been missing out on that desperately here. I don’t even know what celebrities are pregnant or the newest fashion trend. I so can’t wait to just bask in the glory of good old USA! More so, I can’t wait to get my fix on all things I love – You know them as my good friends –  Mr. Peanut Butter, Mrs. Pumpkin Spice, and Miss Shopping Mall. 🙂

I’ll be keeping you guys up to date, I promise, while I’m on the road. I somehow don’t feel complete without a blog post. I’m addicted. More importantly, if that plane decides to blow up mid-flight, I should tell you all now… THANK YOU for following my blog and more so, thank you for being the driving factor behind my blogging! What a great feeling it is to know that people actually stop for a moment to read what I have to say. Albeit, never important and more ramblings than anything but it’s just that warm fuzzy feeling a homesick girl needs!

So with that being said… Ta Ta, Toodles, Ciao, Tschuss, Au Revoir Germany and HELLLOOOOOO AMERICA!!!! 🙂

Now…where did I put that passport of mine???

Until next time, Readers!! xoxoxoxo

The GM Diet Completion and Other Thoughts

I was able to complete the 7 day GM Diet and here are my thoughts on the matter. To review what the days’ meals included click here.

The first two days I think were the hardest. First day definitely was stressing me out. Eating only fruits all day long was not hitting the spot and the hunger towards the evening was overstaying it’s welcome. Once I got to the day where I had to eat only bananas and drink milk I thought I would be hungry again but alas, I was not. I ended up only consuming, I think, 4 bananas in total (whereas the diet allows you up to 8! Who does that?!) Anywho, I didn’t have energy to do a serious workout every day but I was active every day as much as I could be. On the first day back to eating meat…I felt SUPER sick. Was not happy about that.

Results: The diet says you can lose 10-17lbs. I lost maybe 3-4lbs. lame, I know…but here’s the incredible things I learned in the process.

1. Exercise is a must. On the days I did workout I saw the greatest results the following morning. We aren’t talking like a brisk walk…like serious movement. Burn those calories!

2. After the hormone injections I was on for my endometriosis I noticed that a lot of water was collecting around my belly of course but also in a small section on my neck (around my thyroid). Also, on day 2 and 3 I could see all the water weight leave my body and I wasn’t “bloated” looking anymore. Although the scale didn’t tell me I was any smaller, it was really noticeable and my jeans were falling off me. I’ve always been able to make a pretty serious “pregnant belly” and I think I’m on the right track to finding out what it is. I never felt sick or consistantly full during these 7 days as I do normally.

3. As mentioned above, I was constantly feeling full even when I ate very little. This has been a battle my entire life without a diagnosis. What did I notice? When I eat meat, bread, drink alcohol or fruit juices, I feel sick. Anyone know what this might be connected to? I ate mashed potatoes tonight and feel like a blimp and in pain. 😦

Now that’s finished I’m continuing to stick to it sightly. Definitely keeping the fruits and veggies in my continued daily diet but trying to eat them as meals rather than having bread or meat. Tons and Tons of water daily. Trying to stick to a plan of 2 liters a day (if I don’t get too carried away.) I think if I keep to this, I’ll continue to feel better and lose the weight I gained from the hormone therapy. GO ME! I’m gonna keep going until I’m at least back to what I was before the meds and then some! Highschool weight? Yes please!

Toblerone and I just had a nice date night (overnight) in Stuttgart (approx. an hour away). So needed to get out! We went to the mall (only my second time in 8 months!) and then got ready for dinner, drinks, and a bit of the casino. Casino felt wicked sketchy in there and started to lose my buzz. I’m pretty sure everyone was on illegal drugs and all looked totally suspicious and wacky! Is this normal for a casino? Is everyone up to no good?! And whats with the dudes playing poker with sunglasses and headphones on? Or better yet, the dudes playing blackjack with sunglasses on? WHY!? Anywho, it was a good night out! Thanks Toblerone for getting me the hell out of dodge!

In other news, I’ll be heading home on Saturday – EXACTLY 5 DAYS!!!! I am SO excited to be in an airport again. As much as I have anxiety about flying I miss the smell of exhaust, the annoying people, and the excitement of what lies ahead! Most of all, I can’t WAIT to get into a country where I can buy all the latest gossip magazines and read up on the disgusting celebrities of America. Give me some Khardashian and Lohan nonsense!

I will do my best to blog on the road, hopefully I will have some down time! Can’t leave you in the dark for two weeks!! No no! However, I do recommend that you follow along on my facebook page to get new photos and quick updates about my daily adventures! 🙂 And pass it along to a friend! I have 77 followers which I’m SO proud of! THANK YOU GUYS!!!

Hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving holiday with your families or friends. And don’t let me forget to find something “American” and fun for the kids in my friend’s English classroom! 🙂

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxoxo

The GM Diet Completion and Other Thoughts

I was able to complete the 7 day GM Diet and here are my thoughts on the matter. To review what the days’ meals included click here.

The first two days I think were the hardest. First day definitely was stressing me out. Eating only fruits all day long was not hitting the spot and the hunger towards the evening was overstaying it’s welcome. Once I got to the day where I had to eat only bananas and drink milk I thought I would be hungry again but alas, I was not. I ended up only consuming, I think, 4 bananas in total (whereas the diet allows you up to 8! Who does that?!) Anywho, I didn’t have energy to do a serious workout every day but I was active every day as much as I could be. On the first day back to eating meat…I felt SUPER sick. Was not happy about that.

Results: The diet says you can lose 10-17lbs. I lost maybe 3-4lbs. lame, I know…but here’s the incredible things I learned in the process.

1. Exercise is a must. On the days I did workout I saw the greatest results the following morning. We aren’t talking like a brisk walk…like serious movement. Burn those calories!

2. After the hormone injections I was on for my endometriosis I noticed that a lot of water was collecting around my belly of course but also in a small section on my neck (around my thyroid). Also, on day 2 and 3 I could see all the water weight leave my body and I wasn’t “bloated” looking anymore. Although the scale didn’t tell me I was any smaller, it was really noticeable and my jeans were falling off me. I’ve always been able to make a pretty serious “pregnant belly” and I think I’m on the right track to finding out what it is. I never felt sick or consistantly full during these 7 days as I do normally.

3. As mentioned above, I was constantly feeling full even when I ate very little. This has been a battle my entire life without a diagnosis. What did I notice? When I eat meat, bread, drink alcohol or fruit juices, I feel sick. Anyone know what this might be connected to? I ate mashed potatoes tonight and feel like a blimp and in pain. 😦

Now that’s finished I’m continuing to stick to it sightly. Definitely keeping the fruits and veggies in my continues daily diet but trying to eat them as meals rather than having bread or meat. Tons and Tons of water daily. Trying to stick to a plan of 2 liters a day (if I don’t get too carried away.) I think if I keep to this, I’ll continue to feel better and lose the weight I gained from the hormone therapy. GO ME! I’m gonna keep going until I’m at least back to what I was before the meds and then some! Highschool weight? Yes please!

Toblerone and I just had a nice date night (overnight) in Stuttgart (approx. an hour away). So needed to get out! We went to the mall (only my second time in 8 months!) and then got ready for dinner, drinks, and a bit of the casino. Casino felt wicked sketchy in there and started to lose my buzz. I’m pretty sure everyone was on illegal drugs and all looked totally suspicious and wacky! Is this normal for a casino? Is everyone up to no good?! And whats with the dudes playing poker with sunglasses and headphones on? Or better yet, the dudes playing blackjack with sunglasses on? WHY!? Anywho, it was a good night out! Thanks Toblerone for getting me the hell out of dodge!

In other news, I’ll be heading home on Saturday – EXACTLY 5 DAYS!!!! I am SO excited to be in an airport again. As much as I have anxiety about flying I miss the smell of exhaust, the annoying people, and the excitement of what lies ahead! Most of all, I can’t WAIT to get into a country where I can buy all the latest gossip magazines and read up on the disgusting celebrities of America. Give me some Khardashian and Lohan nonsense!

I will do my best to blog on the road, hopefully I will have some down time! Can’t leave you in the dark for two weeks!! No no! However, I do recommend that you follow along on my facebook page to get new photos and quick updates about my daily adventures! 🙂 And pass it along to a friend! I have 77 followers which I’m SO proud of! THANK YOU GUYS!!!

Hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving holiday with your families or friends. And don’t let me forget to find something “American” and fun for the kids in my friend’s English classroom! 🙂

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxoxo

Together Let’s Fight For Sarah’s Life

I’m just going to come right out and say it. CANCER SUCKS! But one thing that Cancer can’t affect is the amount of love and support that comes around when the “C word” is uttered. I’ve directly been affected  with Cancer in my family and I always try to do what I can when I have the means to. One thing that is free to give…LOVE. Another thing….SUPPORT. I know all of you know someone, directly or indirectly, who has been affected by cancer. However, for me, I feel that no matter if you know the person or not your support can be healing in more ways than one. That’s why I’m joining in the fight. Sarah’s fight. Won’t you join me?

Since Sarah is from Maine I’m targeting all my Mainer friends to pull through and head out to the benefits to do your part. You wouldn’t believe the kind of love one can feel from the kindness of a stranger. For the rest of you, no excuses. I’m 3,000 miles away and supporting this girl with loads of love!

Sarah is a 26 year old mother, wife, daughter, friend, and identical twin. She was 24 when they discovered she had a brain tumor which she kicked out in the summer of 2011. Five weeks later the tumor had returned and this time it was deemed, “inoperable.” She and her family are now in the fight for her life and every bit of support will help. I know this hits home for many of you so let’s see what we can do to offer a heartfelt, ” BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF CANCER” for Sarah. Let’s let her know that the world is cheering her on and we have her back.

She’s currently receiving chemotherapy treatments at the Infusion Center of Tufts Medical Center in Boston and the traveling in itself is tiring but we know the worst of it isn’t the travel time. Six days ago she completed her second chemo treatment and a few weeks ago, her beautiful daughter just started Kindergarten. Aside from the battle she is fighting she has a life to live, memories to make, identical smiles to share with her twin sister, kisses to give her highschool sweetheart husband, and hugs to wrap around her baby girl. Someone as beautiful as her deserves this chance. She can beat this and the more support the better.

How can you help? Great question….there are many ways to help!

Help 1: Join her facebook site and send her some support. Give her a shout-out. Tell her that you care about her from miles away or from next door. For those of you in Maine, they are constantly updating with benefits and spaghetti dinners that are happening. They have a Halloween Bash coming up so dress up and go have some fun!

Sarah’s Fight On Facebook

Help 2:  A great friend set up a blog for her with all the benefits, updates, pictures, and videos. I encourage you to go check it out and learn more about Sarah and her beautiful family.

Sarah’s Fight On Blogspot

Help 3: Purchase a bracelet. You can currently do so at selected stores and places around Maine. Please go grab one! Only $2.00, skip the latte and do something better with your money!

A Support Bracelet For Sarah

She’s one of the most fabulous people in the world for many reasons but one that is quite inspiring is she has started a project to provide housing to families that are fighting this disease. As if she doesn’t have enough to think about, she continues to think for others and how she can help make it easier for those that need to travel for treatments find housing close-by to the medical facilities. Read more about her amazing work here and also on her blog.

I know there are many people in the world fighting a battle right now. Our hearts are with every single person battling Cancer. Let’s fight with Sarah, give it your all, she sure as hell is!

Sarah – You are not alone. People all over the world are pulling for you! We put our boxing gloves on and we’re ready to knock Cancer out! Your smile is inspiring and will continue to win over the hearts of your supporters…your own personal army! Keep up the good fight – we’ve got your back.

Pasta, Capers, and Tuna – A Dream!

Many moons ago I found a recipe on WordPress and I was hooked instantly. Anyone who can mix Pasta and Tuna and make it taste really fantastic is amazing in my book.

Rufus’ Food And Spirits is now a blog I follow constantly waiting for his latest posts on great eats and incredibly inventive drinks! AMEN! Tonight I tried to make the Pasta, Capers, and Tuna recipe and it came out great! We had a guest from America here (an old co-worker) who was looking for a good home cooked meal and this recipe definitely delivered!

I didn’t change the recipe at all and just added turkey bits since I had to use it up. Please go to the link above to check out the recipe.

Here’s how mine came out!

Try it and let me know how it works for you and/or if you add any of your favorites in!

Until next time, Readers!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

30 Day Blog Challenge – Day 27

Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge

Good question. I’m not doing this for fun. I’m doing it to keep motivated in the blog world. For the past 30 days I have been engulfed in a medical situation that did not allow me to think outside my own box. So, to have daily topics already planned for me was the best.

As I briefly spoke about why I was proud of Toblerone, this was the reason for the 30 day blog challenge. Not only did I need a distraction, but I needed something to keep me going and focused.

So Toblerone had a crazy rare GIANT cyst type situation growing and stretching out his duodenum. For those of you who are not up on your medical terminology – google it. Basically for ten years Toblerone had been limited to certain foods, over time it got worse and eventually it was down to eating only soup. If he ate anything else, he would puke it up. Then it started with the fevers of 104 degrees which would last for about 24 hours or so. Chills would set in and there we went. Up at odd hours of the night trying to warm him up. There I was with my hormones, hot as can be and trying to warm up our room. This could go on no longer. He missed out on soccer games and work functions due to this. It was not a life to live.

We decided it was time to check him into a stay at the hospital and do the necessary tests to figure out what was wrong with him. And so we did. He had this rare cysts nonsense and would require major surgery. Most of his organs were weakened and stretched out. It’s way more complicated than all of that but the whole thing took a toll on both of us and our families. For one, I traveled the many miles every day to the hospital. Some stays were longer than others but during the first week or so, he slept most of the time. Secondly, I was in a hospital with people who barely spoke English, if at all. So confusing, I didn’t even know what they were doing to him half of the time. It took me several hours after his surgery to really find out what they did! I mean I was staring at him with 8,000 tubes coming out of him and I couldn’t do a thing. I hadn’t heard his laugh in so long I almost forgot what it sounded like. More than anything I needed my mommy.

So, the surgeon told us to prepare for a recovery of 6-8 weeks. He was a jerk. I hated him. I won’t get into it but he’s good at what he does in the operating room…he’s crap with socialization. We were left thinking that Tobi would be in the hospital for 6-8 weeks…not the case. It was at this time that I knew I wanted to continue with my blog but didn’t have time to focus on anything other than him. I knew I wouldn’t be seeing anything but the stark hospital so there wasn’t much to blog about anywho.

There you have it…we’re home now, and he’s doing fantastic. He’s got a big old battle scar on his belly but it’s healing rather fast and can finally move around and he eats EVERYTHING (without puking.) His whole life has changed around and he can finally taste and see the world without fear of being sick all the time.

And that is why I chose do to the 30 day blog challenge. It’s not ideal but it’s something!!!

Until next time, Readers!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

P.S. In case you didn’t remember….my birthday is tomorrow. WOOT WOOT!!