Friday, July 30, 2010

I need your advice...

I am trying to create a master list of the basic layette items I need in the various sizes for the first year.

I comprised a list from the obnoxious amount of information on the internet, but not sure if I am lacking in any way or in excess.

This does not include the season specific items (snowsuit, brim hat) or accessories (bibs, socks, hats).

If you could give me any feedback it would be greatly appreciated :)

Here is what I have so far:


4-7 One piece outfits/ rompers
5-7 Sleepers
2-3 gowns
2-3 heavy/ warm sleepers
5-10 Onsies (short and long sleeve)
1-2 Sweater/ Jacket
6 side snap shirts (short and long sleeve)
6 pairs of baby pants and 6 tops ( I am thinking mix and match style)
2- 3 normal pre matched outfit sets


Oh and most important, I forgot to announce:


It's a boy!!!!!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

The king of all castles- Part 1

Last week we went on vacation and perhaps one of the coolest things we did was visit Neuschwanstein castle, yep that is the castle known as Sleeping Beauties castle, the one the influenced Disney.

From wikipedia:

Neuschwanstein Castle (GermanSchloss Neuschwansteinpronounced [nɔʏˈʃvaːnʃtaɪn]) is a 19th-century Romanesque Revival palaceon a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest BavariaGermany. The palace was commissioned byLudwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as an homage to Richard Wagner.
The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886.[1] Since then over 60 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle.[2] More than 1.3 million people visit annually, with up to 6,000 per day in the summer.[3] The palace has appeared prominently in several movies and was the inspiration for Disneyland'sSleeping Beauty Castle.

It is perhaps the most famous castle in the world. It is the most photographed and visited. While it is striking in its appearance the interior of the castle was never finished. Out of over 240 rooms only 7 were completed those included: the kings bedroom, study, and dressing rooms, a grotto inspired aviary, servant quarters, a opera hall known as the singers hall, the throne room, and kitchen. 

The king spent less then 9 months living in the castle before he was ruled mentally unfit to rule, he died a questionable death by drowning a few days later near Munich. 

While some rooms were finished in the days immediately following King Ludwigs death, the majority of the work was halted. And many things that were commissioned but not yet started were canceled, such as the thrown comprised out of gold that never made it into the thrown room. 

Entry into the castle is now only via group tours and no photos are allowed within the castle due to the fact that everything is original. 


Carriage ride up the mountain

Entry to the castle area

Yes that is a face of terror, that was one of those overhang view points where you can look down and see a few hundred feet underneath you.

Castle tower



Side of the castle

View from one of the castle windows

Upper Courtyard

View from castle windows, gotta admit hes got impeccable taste.

Main gate

Check back tomorrow for part 2 where I will talk about what happened, the good and the bad and the lessons learned during our visit to Sleeping Beauties Castle. 

Monday, July 26, 2010

18 weeks








18 weeks in the Austrian/ German Alps.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

He wants to hurt me....

Well they do most of the time anyway. The dentist, that is. I have never been a fan of the dentist, but I can actually say after a year of pain almost every time I eat, I am excited and can't wait for my appointment next week. That is of course assuming it brings relief.

At a dentist appointment last month I was told the problem was a peridontitis pocket. However this all started back last year. I went to the first dentist explained the issues, he insisted it was my filling that needed to be redone. I had a small ache before, but never issues with a big pocket. Not until after the filling did I start having those issues. I am a firm believer that he either caused or worsened it.

So anyway, I ended up at the dentist only to find out that I need a cleaning which is not covered by health insurance, and a deep cleaning at that. Yeah and those cost extra. So I have to pay 100 euro or 130 USD. Crazy I tell you. I really wish I could go back to my normal dentist in the Us who charges 40 bucks for a cleaning.

So the plan is a deep cleaning (scaling and root planning) and then they will put an antibiotic gel into the pocket that is supposed to release over 7 days and block any foreign objects so the pocket can heal.

I hope to god that this works. Never in my life have I had such bad pain as when food gets in the pocket, and it is not easy to get out. Dental floss rarely does the trick, I have to use those brutal between the teeth brushes (I call them weapons of mass destruction). But the pain when food is in there is worse then gouging the crap out of my gums.

So pleasepleaseplease let this 100 euro be well spent.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

With arms wide open


Well I just heard the news today
It seems my life is going to change
I closed my eyes, begin to pray
Then tears of joy stream down my face

With arms wide open
Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open
With arms wide open

Well I don't know if I'm ready
To be the man I have to be
I'll take a breath, I'll take her by my side
We stand in awe, we've created life

With arms wide open
Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open
Now everything has changed
I'll show you love
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open
With arms wide open
I'll show you everything ...oh yeah
With arms wide open..wide open

If I had just one wish
Only one demand
I hope he's not like me
I hope he understands
That he can take this life
And hold it by the hand
And he can greet the world
With arms wide open...

With arms wide open
Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open
Now everything has changed
I'll show you love
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open
With arms wide open
I'll show you everything..oh yeah
With arms wide open....wide open 

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

One dish dinner- Spatzle and rindfleisch

I tried to take pics of this meal. But no matter what I did it came out looking like baked beans every time. I am working with a point in click after all. Someday I will save up and buy one of those fancy cameras its a small dream:)

Any way this is a quick and easy one dish dinner.

You will need:
Cooking oil of your choice- I normally use olive
Rindfleish/ cubed beef or pork- this is the same cut you would buy for gulash
salt
pepper
paprika
Jager sauce/ or a brown gravy
Spatzle (German egg noodles)- I do not buy the dry kind, I use the refrigerated kind- if you use dry you will need to cook those in advance

1. Start by cutting the cubed beef or pork into even smaller bite sized pieces.

2. Brown that in a frying pan and season with salt, pepper, and parprika (or seasonings of your choice)

3. After the meat is cooked, add the spatzle noodles and some oil. You are going to continue to fry them until they are golden brown

At the same time, mix up your jager sauce. I use my water cooker and mix it in a cup, I do not precook it on the stove in a seperate pan but the water will need to be hot or the sauce will just clump.

4. Dump the sauce over the meat and noodles. Let this simmer until you have a nice thick consistency and it should have a nice coating on the noodles

You can serve this with a veggie on the side

Makes a super quick and easy one dish dinner and only costs about 3 euro.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Interview

Well this is long overdue. But this was an activity from Tammy's recipes. She left me a few questions to answer on my blog.


1. What are some of the interesting/amusing aspects of an inter-national marriage?

Well I think the biggest thing will be cultural differences. And that can be amusing and challenging at the same time. I mean we have had times when we laughed until we cried, but there are also plenty of times where you just do not understand why the other person does don't respond/do/or say certain things while they strive to understand why they are perceived as being in the wrong.

Some of our funniest moment have been language related. My husband speaks great english, but that does not mean he knows every word there is too know or the connotations of common idioms and metaphors. We have had everything from switching word intestines to testicles o_O, to totally wrong translations master tape for ligaments, ha. The fun never ends.

But at the same time in a international marriage, no matter what you decide to do, or where you end up. One of you has to sacrifice the world you have grown up in and are accustomed to. I realize that I am so lucky to have the chance to live in Europe and I have so many amazing opportunities I may never have had otherwise. But that does not come without a cost. I sacrificed my education, my family, and my everyday life the simple things such as foods we are accustomed to. You ever truly realize how much you will miss home until you are so far away. But I would do it again in a heartbeat. And for everyone thing I sacrificed I also gained a new opportunity or experience here.

2. Are you hoping for a baby boy or baby girl -- or do you not have a preference?
Yes and No.In my heart like most women I want a girl. My husband also wants a girl. When people ask I usually just say I think its a boy. I would be happy either way. But also do not want to attach myself to one idea or the other and then feel let down or disappointed. In the end I am blessed either way.

3. Do you cook for fun/as a hobby, or because you have to?
I would say a combination of both. After moving overseas you quickly realize that many items you were accustomed too back home, are not widely available if at all. One of the biggest realizations for me, was the lack of easy to prepare or packaged foods, which in all honesty I now feel we rely to heavily on in the US. Ok in all fairness I was a young college student, so I am not saying there are not fabulous cooks in the US, but I think we are taught from a young age to seek out the convenient.
In addition many food varieties that I enjoyed back home were not available, and while there are naturally many items that one cannot make themselves, or exceeds ones cooking abilities, there are many dup recipes that really do help bring a sense of home back. 
When I was first married we lived of convenience foods- pizza, fishsticks, sandwiches. Heck I don't think I even served a side with that. lol. I do not recall the time at which I started exploring cooking other things. I imagine it was after we moved into a new home and I had a lovely new kitchen and plenty of free time. But I started with the simple things, things like sloppy joe mix (from my family back home), or simple things like pasta. Over times I started recipies that were very basic only a handful of ingredients. And then now I try a recipie once, if it works out and I am comfortable with it, its a keeper. 
While I do enjoy cooking and providing in that means for my family, I also have the days where I just want to throw my hands up and scream (as my german husband would say) I don't want! I am hoping with time it becomes more routine and easier. Hopefully I will learn some tips and tricks along the way.

4. Tell me about your favorite German food!

Oh goodness, there are tons. The funny thing is I always say, if I am in Germany I miss the US, but if I was in the US I would miss Germany (hence the name of my blog it translates to: I left my heart in Germany). So my solution we annex California or maybe Idaho who needs them right and glue germany in their place :)

There are a lot of food that are commonly associated with germany- pretzels (the kind made from the dark dough not the soft mall kind), beer, bratwurst, and schnitzel. All are great. Germany is known for thousands of beers and sausages, personally in my opinion Thuringen bratwurst are the best.

But the Germans also make some killer salads- carrot cucumber, potato, noodle. They also made amazing pastries and cakes. They are very different from the US style of cakes more like a tart in my opinion and often made with fresh fruit. But they are great.


5. What's one of your favorite things about your husband?

I love the fact that he is silly, he loves to laugh and make other people laugh. And no matter how angry he is he can never stay mad more then a few minutes. Hes opinionated as hell, but at the same time the most compassionate and caring guy you could meet. He's shy and insecure, but I love that about him. He never places himself above anyone else.


1 - Leave a comment with your blog URL, saying you want to be interviewed.
2 - I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
3 - You'll update your blog with my five questions, and your five answers.
4 - You'll include this explanation.
5 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

16 weeks

These photos are from July 10th at 16 weeks 6 days.





Saturday, July 10, 2010

15 weeks




Not our usual location. I had a bad few weeks with the picture taking but we are back in action. The first pics I was so confused about what week I was in now I am using a pregnancy calendar. The others were actually right the first time around, so I will go back and change the dates back lol. I blame the momentary lapse on pregnancy brain. These photos are from July 4th that was week 15 day 7 technically exactly 16 weeks, but we are counting it for week 15, so I don't feel like such a monster for missing a few weeks photos. 

These pics were taken by my friend Sommer up in Heidelberg, hence the new surroundings. I will post more from our 4th of July celebrations in a separate post. 

Friday, July 9, 2010

Meal plan

Yes it is Friday. I am well aware. I never claimed to be of sound mind, ha. Well anyway. Rather then trying to conform to the norm of what everyone else is doing and stress myself out, I will just do it my way. Love me or hate me.

So here is our meal plan Friday- Wednesday

Friday:
Dinner- Pizza

Saturday:
Breakfast- Pancakes with bacon and eggs
Lunch- Tuna Salad (as in green salad with tuna, not the mayo kind, but that does sound good too,hmmm)
Dinner- Spatzle with cubed beef and jager sauce

Sunday:
Breakfast: Warm rolls and wurschten
Lunch: Soup and salad
Dinner: Bourbon chicken and fried rice

Monday:
Breakfast- Yogurt with fruit
Lunch- minestrone soup with a baguette
Dinner: BBQ Pork chops, roasted broccoli and peppers, and potatoes

Tuesday:
Breakfast- yogurt with fruit
Lunch- curry noodles
Dinner- Lettuce wraps with asian noodles

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Yogurt with fruit
Lunch: Grilled cheese with a side salad
Dinner- Tortellini with marinara sauce, baguette and salad

:)

Thursday, July 1, 2010

A moment of silence for Cohen



Moment of silence in memory of baby Cohen.  
Consider joining the moment of silence in support of Cohen's family.

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