Merry Christmas!
So far today, I have ruined the Christmas dinner salad and pecan pie.
I am an awesome cook.
Merry Christmas!
2 comments December 24, 2009
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! STOP THE SNOW!
That’s about how I felt this weekend. We set out for Garmisch early on Friday, and though it was cold (low 20s maybe?), there was very little snow on the ground and the road conditions were great.
We drove about 2 hours to Ülm, where we stopped to see the Ülmer Münster (we stopped there in 2007) and the Christmas market out in front of the church. We grabbed lunch, explored and headed back to the car about an hour and a half later. The next part of the drive was supposed to take 2.25 hours, but I think it ended up taking more like 3.5. We drove by Neuschwanstein so everyone could see it. It was extra beautiful because everything was covered in snow. (I have photos but they’re on my mom’s camera, and we haven’t uploaded them up. I will do a big photo update later!)
Part of our drive took us through narrow country roads in Austria. This is where we had a bit of a scare. We were running low on gas, and the GPS said the nearest gas station was about 30 km away! The roads were slick (covered in snow and ice) and it was about 6 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Needless to say, John and I were pretty tense during the last leg of the trip. We finally got to Garmisch just before the sun set. We got settled in our rooms and headed out to dinner to Antica Roma (our favorite pizza place, visited in 2007 and early 2009 too). It was delicious, as always. It was a bit too cold to stay out for anything else, so we came back to the hotel. John and Andrew went to the casino, my parents went to their room, and I took a LONG bath.
That night, when I went to take my contacts out, I was amazed to discover that I didn’t have a contact in my right eye. However, my right eye hurt quite a bit. I put some drops in and went to bed. All the next day, my eye hurt. Finally, while I was removing my makeup Saturday night, a contact came out of my right eye. It had been stuck under my eyelid. Ouch!!
So…back to our weekend – Saturday morning, we headed up to the Zugspitze, the highest mountain peak in Germany. We took about half the distance by train and the other half by cable car. It takes about 1.5 hours each way. Yikes! Unfortunately, the clouds were too heavy that day, and as a result, the visibility was very low. At one point, while we were walking around at the top, I thought I was going to die (or that I might lose a toe or finger). It was below O (degrees F) and very windy. I also struggled with a bit more altitude sickness than I did the last time around. Nevertheless, we still enjoyed a cup of coffee and a glass of beer up on top of the mountain – one on the Austrian side and one on the German side. (Yes, you can walk from one country to the other at the top of the mountain.)
That afternoon, we did a little shopping, relaxed at the hotel and had a steak dinner at one of the lodge restaurants. We tried to go to the hot tub that night, but the heat wasn’t working well enough and there was ice around the ledge, so it was closed. Booo.
Sunday morning, we went on a short hike in Partnach Gorge, packed up and checked out of the hotel and headed to Munich. The road conditions weren’t very good and it was 4 degrees F outside. Eek!
Once we got to Munich, we had lunch at the Hofbrauhaus. I’d wanted to make it there during our time in Germany, so I’m glad we were able to stop off. The original plan was to go to Dachau Concentration Camp after that, but we didn’t have time. I’m really glad we didn’t stop, too, because once we got about an hour from home, there was really heavy snowfall. The roads weren’t great and neither was the visibility, and I was relieved when we got home. (John did a fabulous job of driving us!)
We were really glad to get home to Béni, too. Our friends Zed and Shaunna had been watching him for the weekend. Shaunna posted a cute picture-laden post about their weekend together – you should check it out, especially since I’m so lacking in the picture department today.
To catch up to the present, here’s a few other things we’ve been up to:
- Schwetzingen Christmas market on Thursday evening
- Kaffeehaus in Schwetzingen on Thursday for dinner
- Heidelberg Hauptstrasse and Christmas market on Monday afternoon/evening
- Bierbretzel for dinner Monday night
- Baking lots of cookies last night! (3 more recipes to go, eek!)
1 comment December 23, 2009
Ten on Tuesday (vol. 7)
Wow! Chelsea picked my questions for her Ten on Tuesday post this week. I’m flattered! To see how Chelsea and everyone else answered my questions, head over to Chelsea’s blog, Roots and Rings!
Before I get to the questions, though, I want to apologize for our absence from the blog. My parents and younger brother arrived in town early Thursday morning, and I took off work on Friday so we could take a mini vacation to the Alps (German side). I will post about those adventures (including lots of snow!) tomorrow. For now, please enjoy Ten on Tuesday:
1. When do you put up and take down your Christmas decorations?
This year we put up our decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving. That’s what we always did growing up, and I think we’ll continue that in our home. Last year, we didn’t put up much decoration because we spent the two weeks prior to Christmas visiting family in the States. I guess that’s our exception to the “new” tradition. We take our decorations down right around New Year’s.
2. What do you do to simplify the holiday season?
We try to get our Christmas shopping done early. I like to buy gifts throughout the year as I see them and tuck them away. That also helps cut down on large spending in November and December. Also, our families have a simplified gift exchange since they’re so big. We don’t do gifts for everyone – that would be really hard!
3. What do you do to remind yourself and your family what the Christmas season is all about?
We don’t do much with the whole “Santa” side of Christmas. We try to steer clear of those Christmas songs and to not get wrapped up in materialism. In years to come, I’d like to read through the “Christmas story” in each of the gospels during advent.
4. How do you spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?
Unfortunately, I don’t get Christmas Eve off, but that evening we’ll have a big dinner and go to church. Christmas morning, we’ll wake up late (no kids yet = the big kids get to sleep late! Hurray!) and go through our stockings. Then we have a nice breakfast and everyone gets ready for the day. Once everyone is dressed, we open presents – one at a time. At my parents’ house, this can take 3+ hours. It’s nice, though, to go through each gift and see how happy people are to receive them. In the afternoon/evening, we snack and watch movies. It’s a good time!
5. What is your favorite Christmas tradition?
I really enjoy opening gifts one at a time and sharing that time with everyone. I also really like the buffet my mom puts out during the afternoon/evening of Christmas. It’s full of sandwiches, chips and dip and cookies. Yum!!
6. Did you do the whole Santa thing growing up?
What do you like/not like about continuing the tradition? Yes, we did “Santa” growing up. I like the concept of getting little gifts in your stocking, but I’m not really a fan of Santa. It detracts from the real meaning of Christmas – Jesus’ birth. I also think it’s kind of weird that there are all these Christmas songs about Santa and far less songs about Jesus. Did you know if you Google “Jesus,” you get 205 million results, which is a lot of hits. However, if you Google “Santa,” you get a whopping 1.98 trillion results? That’s almost 8 times more results than if you Google Jesus. That’s disturbing. What do you think?
7. What is your favorite Christmas cookie?
It’s a tie between what I call Hi Hos, which are white chocolate coated peanut butter filled Ritz crackers (with sprinkles on top, of course) and Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies, which are powdered sugar-covered pecan cookies.
8. How do you take your egg nog?
This year I have started taking it with a splash of Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum and a dash of nutmeg. Delicious!
9. What is your favorite Christmas carol and why?
O Holy Night is my favorite. I love the lyrics and the music is beautiful.
10. When was the last time you had a white Christmas?
In 2007 we had a white Christmas (just a powdering of snow though). Last year we were in Texas, so we didn’t see snow for Christmas. This year, I think it’s going to be too warm. We had snow up until last night, but it warmed up and rained and ruined the snow. By the way, I think White Christmas must be Al Gore’s favorite Christmas carol. Think about it “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas/just like the ones I used to know.” It seems to be all about global warming/global climate change. Hehehe
12 comments December 22, 2009
Lessons from Béni
Before I begin, I just want to note that I’m really excited – my parents and younger brother will be here in the morning!
Ok…now on to the post.
Recently, Béni’s outdoor behavior was beginning to be less cute and more rebellious, which tended to bring out a less than patient side of us. Neither of us like yelling at Béni, especially because then he only knows we’re mad at him, but he doesn’t know what to do instead.
We have been working on more positive reinforcement and trying not to yell at him when he’s being bad outside. To clarify, this “bad behavior” entails not coming when he’s called and running around like a maniac when we haven’t told him to go play. The use of more praise and far less “bad dog!” has really started to make positive changes. Generally speaking, he comes inside when he’s told (and even drops his stick at the door!) and he’s so pleased when he sees we’re happy. It makes us less stressed and happier puppy parents too.
I know this probably seems like common sense, but at least for us, it can be hard to react with positive reinforcement when you’re afraid 1) your dog might hurt himself 2) your dog might hurt someone else 3) your dog might run away or 4) your dog is embarrassing you in front of your neighbors.
The other part of training that frustrates us is when we are trying to get Béni to sit when another person approaches. Typically, the other person responds with “oh it’s ok” and pets Béni when we’re trying to get him to sit. Listen folks, we are trying to get him to sit and behave. I don’t particularly care if you think it’s ok for him to jump on you, because in our eyes, it’s completely unacceptable for our dog to behave that way. Other people have told us that “oh, he’s just a puppy” and they think it’s so cute that he wants to play, but you know what’s not cute – an adult dog who acts the same way.
All this said, I want to note that Béni’s behavior is amazing for a 10 month old. He loves his training time and can do so many tricks that it makes our heads spin. His comprehension is awesome. He knows the difference between “to bed,” “kennel up,” “to the car,” “to your room,” “outside,” and “to the couch.” They’re all locations, and he can find them once we tell him to go there.
6 comments December 16, 2009
Ten on Tuesday (vol. 6)
1. If you could change anything about your physical appearance, what would it be?
I would get lasik so I wouldn’t have to wear contacts. As it is, I’m too scared to get that done, so I’ll remain a contacts/glasses wearer.
2. Is there a habit in others that you find annoying?
Yes, but they’re typically things I’m guilty of as well. For example , I do not like it when people are late, but I’m routinely late and perpetually “working on” being punctual. One thing that annoys me that I don’t think I’m guilty of, however, is the habit of not RSVPing for parties that require an RSVP. I also think it’s rather rude when people don’t write thank you notes, but I don’t let it get to me.
3. What is your favorite recipe using ground beef?
Tacos. Simple and delicious.
4. What was your favorite book as a kid?
Hmm, I don’t know if I can pick just one, but looking back, I know these were favorites:
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
- The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
- the Berenstein Bears books
- the Arthur books
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
5. Did you work as a teenager and if so, where?
Yes, I worked for a little over a year as a waitress and malt maker at a 50s-style burger joint near my parents’ house. After that, I worked for a year or more at a small retail shop that sells knick knacks. I worked on the floor as well as in the back unpacking, pricing and controlling inventory. I was mainly just working on college during my final year as a teenager, but I did work as a waitress for 3 months during the summer at my favorite restaurant in San Antonio.
6. Did you work while in college and if so, where?
See above. I also had 4 internships: as a staff photographer at the campus newspaper, as a PR intern at a non-profit radio station, as a PR intern for Edelman (an international PR agency) and as a PR intern at a film production studio. I’m still a bit bitter that PR/comm interns typically don’t get paid. That was a lot of unpaid work!!! (and it didn’t pay off in the job search)
7. When you go to sleep do you like total darkness or semi? When you go to sleep do you need quiet or is some noise ok?
Before I got married, I could deal with quite a bit of light, and I still can. However, I have taken on John’s habits and much prefer total darkness now. As for noise, I need complete quiet. I wake at the littlest sounds.
8. When doing laundry, fabric softener or not?
Normally, I would say “definitely fabric softener.” However, this question prompted me to research fabric softener a bit. From here on out, I plan to still use fabric softener on most loads, but I will omit it when washing towels.
9. Open toed or closed toed shoes?
In Texas? I’d wear open-toed shoes every day except those 2 days that are below freezing. In Germany? I’d recommend almost always wearing closed toed shoes. However, I have been known to wear flip flops when it’s 40 out. I get weird looks, though.
10. Would you rather be blind or deaf?
I really can’t decide, and I hope I never have to be deprived of beautiful sunsets, gorgeous starry nights, my family’s faces, the sounds of cicadas in the heat of a Texas summer, an orchestra playing The Planets, or my husband/future children/family’s voices.
11. Dangle or stud earrings?
I prefer dangle, but I pretty much only wear studs (because I don’t have a lot of universal dangle earrings – most are outfit-specific).
12. Bottled water or tap?
For cooking? Tap
For drinking? Only bottled water. I can tell the difference.
13. What do you put on pancakes?
It depends on my mood. I like just butter or just butter and powdered sugar. Other times, I’ll add some fruit or syrup.
14. On a long trip would you rather drive or fly?
It depends where I’m going. If there are a lot of neat places to stop off or if it’s a particularly scenic drive, I wouldn’t mind going by car, but if it’s absurdly long with a so-so route, I’d rather fly. (Cost is also an issue, of course!)
15. Do you prefer classic old movies or new?
I typically prefer older movies. Oftentimes, I don’t see anything great about newer movies. Note: I include my 80s favorites as “classics” even though they probably aren’t yet labeled as such. Or are they??
4 comments December 15, 2009
Community Noodle
Friday was our much-anticipated (by me) company Christmas party. I had been planning the party since September and was so excited and relieved for it to finally be here that I initially had to struggle to enjoy it.
As I believe I have already mentioned, the party was held in a castle about 10 minutes from our offices, but our employees came from all over Germany – even as far as from Grafenwoehr, which is a 3 hour drive from here! It was great to see everyone and to finally put faces with some people that I interact with regularly via email/phone.
We ended up sitting at a table with some folks from here as well as Stuttgart, and as it turned out, one of the Stuttgart guys used to work in John’s office (before John got that assignment). They had a lot to talk about!
Then the food was served. Oh my goodness! I had cream of broccoli soup with almonds, and it was delicious! Others had mixed salads, but I was happy with my soup choice considering the chilly evening. For the main course, people had a choice of roasted chicken breast, rump steak or a veggie mushroom dish. John and I had steak, and it was very yummy. People loved their chicken too. When we were finishing up, the wait staff came by and offered us “refills” on our meat. It was reminiscent of Le Relais de l’Entrecôte in Paris. Yum! We also were served sides family style, including potatoes, carrots/peas, and noodles. When the noodle dish was put down, we somehow started referring to it as the “community noodle,” which remained a table joke for the rest of the night.
Later on in the evening, we gave away some door prizes, and my boss generously gave me a gift for planning the party. I wasn’t expecting that at all – it was a nice little thank you!
After all of that, we did a white elephant gift exchange, complete with edible underwear and lots of M&Ms. I work with fun people. John and I ended up with a Chinese “version” of Serendipity, which was only too perfect considering that’s one of the first movies (if not the very first) we watched together, and its two main characters are named John and Sarah (played by John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale).
The night ended close to midnight – it was a late night (especially considering I was in bed before 9 last night)! I spent all night dreaming about things that could have gone wrong with the party. I’m glad I had those dreams after and not before. I would have been even more nervous about how it was going to go!
2 comments December 14, 2009
Seven Quick Takes (vol. 8)
It’s been a full week since I updated last. My apologies! I seldom get on the computer at home anymore, which leads to a neglected blog and email inbox. Eep!
I figured Friday would be the “easiest” day to jump back into blogging since I have several short things to share, which fit in well with the normal Seven Quick Takes Friday blog post. Without further ado…
- I have been putting together our company Christmas party since September/October. It’s finally taking place tonight. It’s being held at a castle in one of the small towns nearby! I really hope it goes well. We have 88-90 people scheduled to attend.
- It has gotten much colder lately. I sit right by the front door at work, and every time someone comes in or out, I get blasted with cold air. Brr!
- I can now purl (a knitting stitch) rather well. Practice makes perfect! I will post pictures when I have a finished product.
- My parents and younger brother arrive here a week from yesterday. Hurray! My mom might have bronchitis, so please pray that she is feeling better before their flight.
- We did a heavy clean of our living/dining area last night and ended up rearranging the room. I like it so much better now. It’s set much more for a family area rather than just two people.
part of our living area (sorry I only took 2 pictures) - click to enlarge image
our tree!
- Our swim gear finally arrived in the mail yesterday. We ordered it at the beginning of November – it took 6 weeks to get here!!
- When my family visits, we had planned to go to a couple small towns in France. I don’t know where I wrote the names of the towns down, but I can’t find it. I keep staring at a map of northeastern France in hopes that the names of the towns will jump out at me. So far, no such luck. Ideally, we would like to take my family to Paris, but it’s just so expensive to stay in a hotel in Paris.
6 comments December 11, 2009
Seven Quick Takes (vol. 7)
I think I need to come up with a Friday happy dance. There is nothing like waking up on Friday morning with the knowledge that I can sleep in the next two days, I get to wear jeans to work and I (usually) get off from work 30-45 minutes “early” – I typically get my 40 hours in before 5 PM on Friday and don’t work overtime. Something else I always look forward to is Seven Quick Takes. Head to Conversion Diary to see what Jennifer and others have to share today.
1. It is forecast to snow in Austin and San Antonio today. It is actually colder there than it is in Germany right now. We haven’t even had snow here yet this year, and it might snow in south Texas before Germany. Crazy! If it does snow/ice down there and you live in the area, please stay safe. Unfortunately, as we all know, Texas isn’t well equipped to deal with snow and ice on the roads.
2. This morning I started battling a sore throat. I’m losing. Coffee didn’t soothe it. Ricolas aren’t helping either. Bummer.
3. I keep forgetting to mention that we updated our blog name. We’re no longer SoJo Blog. We’re SoJo & Co now.
4. We booked a cruise! Once we go (this summer), this will take care of #2 on our 101 in 1001 list. It will also be my first cruise. We’ll be visiting Spain, Monte Carlo and Italy.
5. My younger brother is going to his last college class today. He graduates tomorrow morning. Congratulations, Drewbers! I wish we could be there to celebrate with you, and we can’t wait to see you here in a couple weeks!!
6. Last night we looked at airfare for our trip home in April. American had some of the higher prices, and even though we’re AAdvantage gold members, they refused to price match. We’re becoming members of Delta’s SkyMiles program now. Hopefully their customer service is better than American’s. We have been loyal to American for a while now, but the last several times we have flown, we have encountered downright rude employees and have had poor experiences on the phone with their customer service.
7. We bought new swim gear on November 2nd. It’s December 5th and it still hasn’t arrived. The USPS says we can’t file a claim until it has been 60 days. Grr!! I want my one-piece swimsuit so I can stop swimming in my bikini.
4 comments December 4, 2009
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