All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth

Another fun post from the unpublished archives of Lost in translation, dun dun dun. I wrote this post Last year again while pregnant. So just for giggles here is that post and at the end I updated it with my wishlist for this holiday season

Alright, this is just intended to be a fun post. I know as kids we all loved writing out our letters to santa with our wish lists. I think it can be equally fun as adults. And it is actually not a bad idea, my husband loves when I give him ideas of what I want, and sometimes those ideas even inspire him to think of something else on his own, which is always lots of fun.

Where in the world is...

It's been awhile so I figured it to be a good time for just a fun updated about what is going on with us these days.

My favorite TV shows

Here is a fun post from the blogging challenge, a look at my favorite tv shows.

My fears

Next up in the blogging challenge a post about fears.

A photo of my friends

Continuing the blog challenge with a photo of my friends.

A place I have traveled too

Continuing on with the 30 day blogging challenge, which is more like a 45 day one for me but I digress, ha. Today's theme is a place I have traveled. So here is a look into my travels.

My favorite

movies...

Hmm, well this is a tough one. I love watching new movies I have never seen. So I am always on the lookout on netflix for something new to watch.

In general terms I love horror movies. I also love dramas, mysteries and comedies. I enjoy classics and historical dramas. Not so much into action, scifi and or war movies, but some are ok.

As far as movies I have loved over the years lets see

A photo

of something that makes you happy ....

My first

Love. Continuing with the blog challenge albeit a day late. I had to think about this one.

My personal view of love is that true love is finding your life partner. Now that is not to say that I did not care deeply for people. There are times when I thought I was in love, but being where I am now I would say that I wasn't. At the time I had not yet experienced true love. That I feel I found with my husband.

Now I did have previous relationships and there are 2 people who stick out in my mind. That at the time I cared greatly for and will always hold a special place in my heart.

My on and off relationship over 5 years with Dan, was in a sense my first love. He was a skater boy and I adored him. To this day almost 10 years later I still have contact with him and his partner, we have known each other now 15 years wow. He has a beautiful little boy. Aside from my husband he knows me best and we can talk about anything even to this day. He always has and always will be one of my best friends.

I also had a long term relationship with a guy named Jon. We lived together for a few years, in which I learned cohabitation is bad before marriage, but I degrees. We were just not meant for one another and things ended on a bitter note and I am responsible for that. I feel a lot of guilt for how I treated him  when the relationship came to an end and I wish I handled it differently.

Both of theses guys, now men, were very special to me. One knows it and I hope someday the other realizes it as well. They will always hold a special place in my heart and I have so many fond memories.

But when it comes to true love that title falls to my husband. He taught me what true love really means.

I left my heart where

Day two of the blogging challenge is talking about the meaning of your blog name.

The name of my blog is Ich liess mein Herz in Deutschland, which translates to I left my heart in Germany.   I started this blog originally as a travel blog when I came one a visit to Germany. When I thought about going home, I realized that a Germany would always hold a special place in my heart, but the core of the meaning was that I left my then boyfriend behind. And in doing so I left my heart in Germany. Luckily I came back two months later and married him. Now I left my heart in the US with my family, lol, if we could just annex Idaho and replace it with Germany so I could drive in between the two I would be set.

And just for fun here is my very first blog post.

Two weeks

It's hard to believe that I have been in this beautiful place for two weeks now. Even harder to believe that it has been 25% of my time here. I came in search of answers, I found them and found myself even more complexed by the perplexities of international love. I had wanted him before, I had even longed to be with him, but now having been here, I cannot imagine life without him. As much as I hate to admit I look now not at six weeks remaining, but rather six weeks left. Till we find ourselves in the same situation 9000km apart. I love it here, and in reality would do anything to stay. But it is easy to see that some things are just not plausible. I hope and pray that someday this beautiful land will become my home.

Introductions

Well I am trying to get my blogging groove back and I thought this would be a fun way to do so. I am gonna copy Frau from over at West family adventures and follow her 30 day blog challenge.

So lets jump right in.

Day 1
Introduce yourself

My name is Serena, ut you guys know me as Rena, a nickname I have had my whole life.

I am a 26 year old American living in a small village near Heilbronn Germany with my German Husband and 3 month old son. I have lived here since 2008. I grew up in the Portland metro area.

15 random facts about me
1. I love forums almost as much as I enjoy blogging
2. I love to give people I love dog names as a term of endearment, for instance my son is Snoopy
3. My father is a paster
4. I read magazines from the back cover to the front
5. I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, the real kind, not the OMG thats OCD fad
6. Both of my parents were in the military
7. I used to be a licensed private investigator
8. My dream job would be to be an museum curator
9. I am obsessed with Leonardo Da Vinci oh and Robert Patterson
10. My dads family is Apache
11. I named my son after a name I heard on TV
12. I love reality TV shows. but not that junk like survivor yuck
13. I heart books
14. I really want to learn to sew, I have a machine, but need to learn how to use it
15. I love kitty cats and really want to convince my husband to get me and Snoopy one

Well I hoped you learned something new about me today. And feel free to join me in this blogging challenge.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

And you thought I forgot ....

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

So here is what I am Thankful for this year:

1. The fact that I am about to be a mommy.  

It is an amazing experience that I cnnot even begin to describe. It changes you so much as a person. I am amazed at how far I have come this far and I cannot wait to see what the future holds. I am so excited to meet him.

2. My mom will be flying in 14 days.  

I have not seen her since I left home in 2008. You never really realize the sacrifices you are about to make until you live them. My family has never even met my husband. It means so much to have her here and the fact it is during the holidays makes it even more special.

3.  I am at 90 followers almost 100. 

I started this blog as a travel blog I never in a million years thought anyone would give a hoot what I had to say, you know except the people who feel morally inclined to read it like my Dad. It means the world to me that you all bring my voice to life. 

4. I have been so blessed by the acts of kindness of people who know me as nothing more then a screen name as well some amazing friends I have made.

I can never begin to thank everyone for their generosity. It means so much and I hope and pray that I can pay it forward someday.  

5. I can finally speak enough busted German to get by. I kid I kid. 

No I don't it really is far from perfect, but I have come a long way from my Rosetta Stone 'Was ist das? Das ist eine Katze' days. Learning German has given me my life back. 

6. I have a husband who loves me unconditionally no matter how crazy I may be.

7. Things have really turned around for us, from Toni getting a permanent job contract to being blessed with wonderful treasures for our home from friends. 

8. My landlord has been leaving me in piece. 

Well for the most part, he still gardens everyday for 75% of the year, but I think we have an understanding now. And he has been much better about repairs.  

9.  I am finally getting a hang of this homemaking stuff. 

10. Now if I could just put my new sewing machine to use and get the hang of that. 

Living life to the fullest is not about the things we want or desire, it is not about having the biggest and the best, it is about valuing what is most important, treasuring what we gain, and being grateful for what we do have.

How have you been blessed this year? 

When the time comes

I hope to have a post shell that Toni will be able to just fill in the details. The length of stay in the hospitals after birth in Germans is very different then the US in one day and out the other. For a normal birth without complications the length of stay various between 3-5 days by cesarean up to 12.

I had hoped to be able to come online with UMTS but Toni said the hospital will not have a signal. So we will work out another way to update everyone. I also plan to update my facebook status as well.

That said, there will not be a bunch of calls to people back home, family aside, due to the International calling rates. Cell phones charge ,75 cents a minute, and I am sure the hospital phone (as cell phones are not allowed) is far more and that is in Euros so about a buck a minute.  They charge even for local phones, it is not a included commodity.

So only people in Germany and of course my dad back home will get the call nothing personal. I look forward to talking to people after I get back home.

If you are one of my friends in Germany and want to visit me in the hospital you need to get in contact asap to get on the call list. :)

As of next Sunday the 37 week mark, he is considered full term and can come any day :D

Left behind

I know I forgot the Sunday in my city week 35 update. No worries pictures are a coming.

I was actually inspired by another expat blogger over at I'll fly away after she posted about the kitties she left behind.

I think that is one of the hardest things about moving is leaving our small friends behind. I know that some people can bring pets and many do, but for man it is not an option. To this day I often wonder if I made the right choices because sometimes I miss them so much. So I thought I would share some of my memories with you.

The little white siamese one is Napolean. About a year before I left he went to live with a friend. She later had to give him away and I have no info on what ever happened to him. I miss him a lot he was such a little sweetheart.

But the little black one bettie, who I called poopie was my best friend. I had her with me until the day I left. She went to live with my friend Amy and she is still with her today. They bring each other so much joy and that brings great comfort. But I would be lying if I did not say that there were many a days that I wished I had brought her with me.

I saw her and fell in love. A friends cat had kittens and I had to bribe them to give me that baby kitty. She was so small she used to curl up inside my shoes.

She was so much fun she followed me everywhere. Came when I called her. She was an amazing companion and an wonderful friend. I am happy that I still get to see her in pictures and I know that she is loved by someone I love.

I have had cats since I was little. It has been a regular part of my life and they bring me so much joy. It is something that I have always felt lacking since I have been here. I keep hoping that one of these days Toni will come home with a kitten to surprise me. I am sure baby Luca would love her just as much as I do :)

If you follow me....

Alright, let me start by saying this is just a rant post, so feel free to skip it and check back for our regular programming lol.

I love blogging, I love it to death. It has become a huge part of my life. I love writing my blog, reading the blogs I follow, commenting on other blogs, joining memes, conversing with my readers, doing collaborations, and most of all building friendships out of my blog.

My blog means so much to me. I adore each and every one of my readers from those who comment religiously, to those I have developed friendships with, even just those who come only to read. But the one thing I love about each and every one of you, is the fact that you care what I have to say. You bring my voice to life. And you are what makes this whole process worth while.

This started out as a travel blog, that I never even posted on, to show my family about my travels. After I moved here it became my way to share my day to day life with family and friends and then I expanded it to include my hobbies, my trail and error learning experiences, anything that crossed my mind, and people enjoyed that.

I write my blog because it gives me purpose. Not because I want to feel popular. Or I need so many people to follow before it means something to me.

So nothing, nothing, annoys me more then this sentence:

If you follow my blog I will follow yours

or

I am following your blog now follow mine.

I have even gotten angry emails from people demanding to know why I do not follow them. I now make a point when posting on any promotional tools, that I will not do reciprocal following. I will check out anyones blog, especially my readers, but I will only follow it because I want to.

Fir me blogging is not a card game, it is not a popularity contest, you do not have to catch them all. I do not want to follow blogs that are lets say political when I hate politics so much I can't even stand the news. All it does is clog my blog feed so I lose out on the content I really enjoy reading. I would love to have hours a day to read even every homemaking blog in the world, bit even if I started today, I would not touch every blog before my end of days. I am human and I can only do so much. And I do not want to over commit myself because I think that even blog reading is an interactive experience. There are tons of blogs that I read quiet often but do not even follow.

But you know what that means, that means if I do follow your blog it is because I enjoy it. Because I care what you have to say. Reading your blog is a part of my day that brings me great joy.

That right there that is the reciprocation I want, to make others feel that their voice matters. Not the numbers of followers you have.

I think I may have said something about this before, if so sorry, blame it on the pregnancy brain. ha.

I just want to keep the integrity in blogging. And I feel like it is becoming a fad and that upsets me.