Home Sweet Home

Finally it's official.  I can say it.  Out loud.  To more than just my husband.

We are moving!

Will it be Pat's or Geno's? Hmmm...

Yippee! Home!  

I should clarify.  The kids and I are moving back to Philly July 3. Notice I said the kids and I? Yeah, that's not a typo. Hubby will be staying until at the very latest February but hopefully he'll be with us by December.  He can visit once a month for a week but the rest of the time it's me and them.  Flashbacks of Domestically Challenged's posts about the axe murder are flashing through my mind. Hmmm.

The next month (a month!) is going to fly by considering I am also taking a month long class this month (naturally) and it's the end of school year and we're going to Berlin and I have to get the house ready for people to come through and...

breathe.

Ahh, better.  It's going to be so great even with the sucky part of Hubby not being with us. Costco, Target, a mall, normal people who speak my language, books stores, parking lots with big spaces.  And yes, I'm buying a mini-van (Tiara's please don't hate me!).  {If you have an opinion of which mini-vans are the best please leave it in the comments. You can do so anonymously if you don't want the world to know you're driving one.}  I am fairly sure I am happy about the mini-van thing {of course Hubby just said Hey look at this new Nissan SUV thing...}.  It'll be nice to have the stroller and the groceries co-existing in the trunk again.

I could go on and on about the things I am looking forward to.  But there are things I will miss about Germany.

*chocolate

*eating outdoors all the time when we go out

*my car (I really, really like my car)

*being able to see so much of the country

Yeah, I think that's about it.  Over all this hasn't been the best three and a half years of my life but it also hasn't been the worst.  It's been an adventure and we've experienced and seen so many things we would not have had a chance to do otherwise.  For that I am glad.  Happy even. But it's going to a super freaking happy Fourth Of July this year.  My very own independence day in one of the best places for independence.

It'll be good to be back home again.  Here's wishing you a great weekend.

Friday Fill-In's

I'm a first timer but this looked like fun.  If you want to join in just go here: Friday Fill-In's

And...here we go! 

1. It's cold and overstuffed in my freezer.

2. Fried green rotten tomatoes.

3. My favorite health and beauty product is one without too many instructions.

4. From here to Berlin is a nice long ride.

5. Well, first of all I'd have to care but second I'd have to notice.

6. Edward, Bella and Scooby Doo; those were the cast of characters in a recent dream and it was freaky. 

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to pizza, tomorrow my plans include avoidance and Sunday, I want to boogie down!

Join up and Fill-In.  It's Friday!

I said what I said (or I can't think of a title)

I'm always a day late and a euro short.  Have you ever felt like that? It's completely odd that once again I don't feel like doing Mama Kat's Writers Workshop.  Simply bizarre-o. Two weeks in a row. I'm not sure what's wrong with me. She has good topics but I can't feel any of them or something.

Maybe I'm reading too much this week. Yes, by the time this posts I will have finished all four of those books. I've got a mondo huge list of other books waiting in the wings.  The next on the To Tackle list is Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov.  I know a Russian novel. You want to run out and pick it up just for kicks don't ya? But I am really reading it starting this weekend and plan to have a weekly discussion starting a week from Monday about it over here. If your up for it please join in. I'll be dissecting the first five chapters. Probably by myself but hey that's okay. 

I got the greatest gift yesterday from kids and Hubby. Season Two of Numb3rs. Ah, heaven. Fitting since I turned this number #@. Seriously thought I'd say how old I am now didn't you? You my friends are easily fooled. 

I always say no gifts but no one ever listens to me. I thought I was just getting tickets to see Harry Potter 6 in July (as planned). Hubby also graciously offered to get me drunk. However I think that was more for his benefit than mine. Though a Warsteiner would have been nice. Quite nice actually. Very difficult for him to do since he wasn't home last night though. {For the sake of his reputation he did ask if I wanted him to cancel cycling with his weekly racing group last night. However the Berlin race is in less than a month. I would have felt sooo guilty saying yes please don't leave me here alone! After all there are gunshots to be heard.}

This has turned into a Random Tuesday post on a Thursday. Hmm, wonder if I should link up at Keely's? She invented Random she'd understand. 

Tuesday we went to this place in Altenahr for lunch and I had schnitzel with a brown mushroom cream type of sauce. I resisted the fries. No worries though I brought you a picture. 

(I considered making that the large size of the picture but that would have crossed the line.)

And for dinner I had Grown Up macaroni and cheese from that Italian Place by the River. Yeah, please don't rat me out to HASAY for that one. At least there was NO cake involved in the event. Just Milka Caramel.

Stay tuned for next week where I am sure I will find something to talk about. Just like I always do.

And really what's up with all my linkyness today? Weird.

Sign Language Wednesday: Barbie

It's Sign Language Wednesday. The day where I ask all of you for a word and I take a picture of something that represents that word. The word today is a fun one. It was suggested some time back by Sara at Domestically Challenged. I admit I took some serious liberty with the word this week and if you have impressionable young children you might want to avert their eyes.

The dictionary tells us this is the definition of domestic:

Domestic: adjective

Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French domestique

Date: 15th Century

1. living near or about human habitations; tame, domesticated

2. of, relating to, or originating within a country and especially one's own country, domestic policy

3. of or relating to the household or the family; domestic chores

4. devoted to home and duties and pleasures; leading a quietly domestic life

I think I'll pick number four for my picture below. Somehow I think Barbie may have taken things too far. So here's the Barbie version of Domestic

What is your version of 'domestic'? How do you define it? What would your picture look like?

Be sure to tune in next week and see what Barbie's up to next!

I'm also sharing my wisdom over at Venus vs Mars today so be sure to stop by.

Random Tuesday Thoughts : Watch This

Ahh, Random Tuesday.  The day I feel most at home.  Keely is the Woman, the Stuff, she Rocks my little world.  You know?  You don't?  Well then go to The Un-Mom and find out.  Fugly it up people.

My husband steals my web passwords.  Not to break into my stuff but to use as his own.  He just knows I think of far cooler passwords than he does.  Password Envy oh yeah.

I have 2358 messages in my email in box. 2358!  I can't deal with it anymore.  I think I'll just let them keep piling up, delete nothing and have a party when I hit 5000 sometime next week.

Did I mention my MIL is visiting this week?  I could say more but my Hubby reads this blog. {Honey, I jest! But you are so gonna owe me for this. I probably should have taken more than five minutes to think about the stressy week ahead before saying yes.}

Stay tuned mondo big things could be happening in the next s i x weeks.  Involving boxes, lots of boxes.

My daughter holds her breath when she cries until she passes out if I don't blow air on her face to force her to breathe. Neat trick, huh? Not so much since last week she passed out while standing up and fell into the door. Supposedly she will grow out of this. WHEN??

Footloose and Fancy Free (I simply felt like saying that.)

She doesn't, I didn't and you don't.  Feel free to figure it out.

A must read: One of my favoritest funny people Jeremy Clarkson on his take on the new Honda Insight Hybrid told in classic Clarkson fashion :)  Honda Insight

From JC- "In engineering terms, you really can't have "brilliant, apart from..." I mean, the Titanic was brilliant, apart from it's crappy rudder"  For more brilliantness visit And Another Thing: The World According to Clarkson (if you like to laugh anyway).

Last week I posted pictures from Chick's birthday. Don't you love the clothes stacked on the couch in the background?  Sweet. You would think we'd remember to move the laundry we were folding before we started taking pictures. But no.

Way back when I did this album cover meme where you take a random photo from Flickr and all that?  Well the owner of the photo I used left me a comment the other day.  He didn't seem mad at me thank goodness for nicking his picture (I did link his album in the post giving him credit though).

Last night at 11:30 as I sat reading a book in the living room I heard several large bangs. Hubby who was already upstairs and came down.  I could tell by the look on his face he'd heard it too and was thinking exactly the same thing.  Gunshots, about 6 of them. Lights went out and I spent quite a lot of time laying in bed wondering when the person would come through the door and kill me.  Ah, that was so much fun!

I've become seriously addicted to istockphoto.com.  I mean really do I need more things to waste time looking at?  They really do have any photo you can think up though.  Go ahead and search.  I find myself playing with different pictures. All. The. Time.

I want to change this blog again. I am beyond sick of the red sides messing up the page, the loading slowly, meh.  So see random above.  I've been playing with html code, hehe. Coming soon you may arrive here and go WOAH!  WTF?  You never know. (and for the record mom if you're reading here today that stands for 'where's the fire?')

All right.  I could randomize some more but I've got to save something for next week.  Happy Tuesday, Happy Random Tuesday and Happy Week.

Monday Monday

It's Monday.  Another week starts.  Of course it's HASAY Truth Day.  Ugh.  I did okay this week. I went running yesterday (in the 75 degree temps not my most brilliant move maybe) but it felt good to get out there.  I'm getting this whole breathing while running thing down (thanks David at Dadshouse for the tips!) and that is good.  It means I'm still alive when I get back to the car. With visiting mil this week and Hubby taking days off I 'll be able to get out again. And bonus I don't have to worry so much about the bikers on the path cutting me off into the bushes or the naked children on the beach during the week. Nudity and Bonn who would have thunk it?

I think I yogaed a few times this past week and other than the chips and the dreaded cookies (whose name I promise not to ever mention again) I stuck to a healthier eating plan this week. Now that blueberries are in season mm hmm.  Okay the the ice cream under the blueberries maybe negates it a bit but I swear there were more blueberries than ice cream.  We only went to Starbucks twice I think and so okay I had a 5,829 calorie latte macchiato at brunch yesterday and all that prosciutto and lovely chorizo with the marbled fat... and lets not forget the fresh mozzarella...

Where was I?  I don't know either.  

Anyway. I hear it was Memorial Weekend.  I love this holiday because it is the kick-off of sumer and the lake.  Did I go to the lake?  No, I ran along the river and saw those naked children swimming in the filthy Rhein river though. Right alongside the commerce barges. Yuck.

My car is currently not loving moving in reverse. She coughs. That is definitely not a good thing.  Poor Lucy must have caught a cold from the kids. Probably a Not Covered By Your Lease kind of cold. No warning lights to speak of but she's been out of sorts for a few weeks now. I am thinking I will simply pretend there is nothing wrong with her until she either breaks down (please no!) or until a light pops up telling me what the heck is wrong with her. This is a great plan huh?

Other than a houseguest it's been a slow weekend (well there were the books). Not much to write and too much to read.  

How did you spend your holiday weekend? Did you do anything I wish I could have done? And yes this is a randomish post even though it's Monday.

Here's the scoop

It's Sunday.  My MIL will be here in like an hour (guess I should go clean...).  She will be here all week.  Less time for the computer and blogs and all that (have to make her think I do other stuff).  So that means little time to read and comment (but you can still comment here, cause I just like the attention). 

I also did find all the Twilight books and already finished book two last night. Is it sad and pathetic that I am reading them in a matter of hours? I haven't really decided on that one yet. But they are easy reads (though #2 kind sucked, I'm sorry Jacob is not the one I want to read about.) Don't worry everything around here is NOT becoming about Twilight.  I promise.

Blogging Mama is getting (another) make-over.  I can't deal with this red loading page stuff and it's just ticking me off.  Samantha at As Time Goes By Designs (who did my other blogs) will be working her magic around here.  If I need to I may lose all your cool buttons in the sidebar. It could be messing up the loading. I am not a computer html person, I really have no idea if that is part of the problem.

Here's the weekly rundown (because I know you are fascinated). My Hubby is home all but two days this week and Boo is in school so I don't have to do too much of the entertaining. (I like my MIL but family when not my own freaks me out). 

Monday is HASAY day (I'm going to need some serious yelling this week!)

Tuesday is Random Thoughts - I've got a whole list of random all ready

Wednesday is Sign Language Wednesday

And who knows about the rest of the week, that's about as far as I an manage. Oh and it's memorial day isn't it?  Or tomorrow right?  Seeing as we don't celebrate that here I really don't remember. What did get celebrated last night? Our neighbor's birthday.  At 2:30 in the morning they were still outside yakking. Fireworks went off after the cake and you know the strangest part? When Germans sing Happy Birthday what language do you think it's in?

Nope, English.  Weird huh?

Well, they are nearly here so I should wash the floor, shower and dress the Chick.  We are off to Roses for an nice outdoor brunch. Yum.

I've succumb to peer pressure

It's happened.  I've succumbed to the worst kind of peer pressure and done something I swore I would not do. I haven't checked blogs, I haven't emailed, I've haven't done any internet surfing. It all happened after a friend came over for dinner last week and we were talking about books.  

I said I didn't have an interest in this particular book because paranormal was not my thing. 

She said it wasn't gruesome or gory just sweet and a very good read.  She lent it to me.  It sat untouched all week until yesterday at 2 o'clock I figured I should at least read a chapter before returning it so I could honestly say I simply hadn't cared for it.

Flash forward to 1:40 am.  The last page read.  And I'm dying to run out to Bouvier and see if they carry book two in english.  In fact all of them in enlgish so I won't have to wait the five days if I order them.  Yep, I read it people and quite frankly I enjoyed it.

F3: The First Time Around

There's a new event in town boys and girls: Friday Foto Flashback FFF at Bex's place - Adventures of the Grigg Boys

It's Friday!  Yea for Friday!  Friday means it's Flashback Friday.  It's my first time playing so I hope I do it correctly.  Yesterday was Chick's birthday and being that I'm a good parent we took the kids to a biergarten for dinner.  A nice cold kolsch, cheeseburgers and eating outside. Nothing says turning three like that does it?  The picture slideshow of Chick's day is below but I also have been wanting to take this next picture for a long time.  I didn't have my big camera with me but it didn't turn out too bad.  This is a picture looking directly up the side of the Post Tower, 40 floors high.  Something about it being all glass I find kind of cool.  And seeing as it's the only skyscraper in our city, you can't miss it.

A collection of pictures from The Chick's third birthday:

If you want to play along go to The Adventures of the Grigg Boys and visit Bex.  Link up or just see who else is playing today!

Thank you to everyone who wished the Chick a happy birthday yesterday.  She truly did have a great day.  And the Barbie hasn't left her side for a second since she got it.  Barbie goes in the car, in bed and accompanies her pretty much everywhere.  Barbie did come with a purse, high heeled sandals and oddly enough a frosted drink with an umbrella.  Yes, she really did.

Happy Birthday to the Chick

She's wild, unpredictable, often loving all over you (even if you don't want her too, well unless your name is papa then you have to pass her test first).  She makes us laugh.  She makes us smile. She's smart. She's wily.

At 5 months at Chung Yi Taipei Taiwan

She's a lot of other things but mostly she's herself.  She's The Chick.

And today the Chick is THREE big years old!  Happy Birthday Chick!

Sign Language Wednesday

Okay because so many wanted the Hookers story I mentioned yesterday here you go :)

The stage: N Md, front porch of house we'd moved into maybe five days earlier.  At the front door we have Boo, 3 years old and in the driveway getting ready to go to work we have Hubby. The following conversation ensues around 8:20 am. Boo is yelling this by the way.

Boo: Hey daddy!

Hubby: Yes Boo?

Boo: We need some of those things, umm, you know some HOOKERS!

Hubby: {Trying not to laugh} Okay we'll have to go to the store.

Meanwhile Mom {me} is dying because there are neighbors {you know the people we actually haven't even MET yet outside}.  For clarification the kid was talking about hooks for his train set, you know as in hookers?

It's no wonder we never got invited to any potlucks in the two years we lived there...

Moving on: It's time for Sign Language Wednesday!  I admit I procrastinated this week and just did this yesterday.  If I could take a picture of my life 'procrastination' would be my sign of the moment. Or 'chaos'.

If you don't know what this event is go HERE for an explanation.

Today's word is from Kim at Zook Book Nook.  I love this word and I had a lot of ideas for how I would use it but yesterday dawned beautiful and sunny and I couldn't think if a better place to take a picture than here in the Ahr Wine Valley.  After all it did inspire this entire Sign Language Wednesday event.   Today's word is Zen.

Definition: noun, a Japanese sect of Mahayana Buddhism that aims at enlightenment by direct intuition through meditation

Etymology: Japanese, religious meditation

Date: 1727

I thought yesterday nothing was more zen than a drive through the winding road in the wine valley with the sun shining full force and music in my ears (and Chick sound asleep in the back!)

I give you Zen:

This view is gives me a very zen feeling.  I could sit and stare at this view all day.  I also thought about taking a picture of the river but I couldn't find an easy place to pull over and take a picture!  The water is hypnotic to me though, I just love watching it.

Thank you to everyone for stopping by on Sign Language Wednesdays.  Next week I will try to be here but my MIL is coming to town for a week on this Sunday (yes, we booked this ticket last night, you know four days in advance, cause we are so cool like that {320 euros from Philly to Frankfurt, not bad}) so my blogging may be a bit sparse next week or late or something.

I want to know what is your Zen?  How would you define it?  What would your picture look like?

Keep sending words my way.  If anyone of you would want to play along I can dole out the words a week in advance and set up a Mr Linky all that other stuff.  Please just leave a comment letting me know.

Random Tuesday Thoughts: Death of an Oreo

Wahoo! It's Random Tuesday Thoughts! with Keely at the Un-Mom.  It's one of my favorite days to spew random stuff and have it actually count as being sensible.  Please join me in the craziness and then head over and visit Keely and the other random players.

I used to follow this great blogger at A Nut in a Nutshell.  But she hadn't posted in two weeks (and she used to post several times a day sometimes) and I figured she was on vacation.  When I went to her blog to see what was up it was gone!  Nicht gut.  Anyone know what happened to her? If so please leave me a comment or email me.

I posted this yesterday but it needs to be reiterated: Grocery stores are evil.  At the end cap of the frozen foods section the other day I found these:

And you seriously expect me not to buy them?  After the yelling from HASAY last week you dangle these babies in front of me?  Don't worry I wasn't stupid.  I bought them and ate them (not all on my own though...) {ahem, umm, I may have bought some more yesterday when I was at the store but I think I am going to blame it on the Chick, yeah, that's it}

Do you ever leave a comment somewhere that you then want to go back and see if the person answered your question with a comment of their own.  But you can't remember where you left the comment??  Crap, it's just me then huh?  Dang it.  Whoever I told the hookers story to leave me a comment okay? 

*Due to high demand the hooker story will be appearing tomorrow.

Why is it that even though I have a pounding headache I still sit in front of the computer?  And when it finally goes away I immediately sit down in front of it again so it comes back?  What is wrong with me?  (That's a purely rhetorical question, thanks.)

Why does my handwriting go to chicken scratch when I need it to be nice for a note or card and when I am just writing in a notebook for me it's all loopy and neat and pretty? I mean really. People must wonder which kid I let write my letters for me.

I am a dork.  I got so excited when I came across embroidery thread (or floss? I don't know which it is) the other day at Knauber.  You know the stuff you used to make friendship bracelets with back when you were about 12?  You know, the ones you made at summer camp?  You follow?  I bought four colors of thread.  It all started when my son made me a lanyard in cub scouts for mothers day which I also used to make at summer camp!  Ahh, memories.  So, who wants the next bracelet?  Anyone? {this is what happens when you no longer have tv}

My mom started radiation yesterday for breast cancer and she was kind of bothered that she would have to get a permanent tattoo where they mark you for the treatment.  I told her when the treatment was all done I'd take her to get a real tattoo to cover it up.  We could get matching ones. Surprisingly she didn't think I was all that funny.  

How do you cut your sandwich?  Rectangles or trianlges?  Do you cut toast the same way or different?  Do you like the crust? 

Chick's turning three on Thursday. (someone else is NOT turning three next week)  Where did the time go?  She will be getting The Bike, lots of her favorite Tinkerbell stuff, a pop-up tent and her first Barbie.  Look for pictures on Friday.  I'm also in charge of baking the cake.  Wish me luck.

Calling all photographers!  How do I get a picture to 300 dpi?  Is it a camera setting?  Mine are all coming out 180 and I need a 300 for printing.  Many thanks!

Anyone else have a rogue Blackberry? Am I not paying for this thing to work correctly?  Did I not get it so that it would keep an accurate calendar?  Then why won't it delete the appointments I cancelled two weeks ago?  They keep showing up on the main screen eclipsing the appointments I've added since.  Really what's the point?  Sometimes I have no idea why I love technology.

That's all the random fit for this edition.  Be sure to go to Keely's and say hi and post your own random thoughts.  (And I apologize in advance for the Oreo picture.  If I have to suffer with looking at them, so do you.)

And I just noticed I forget to link to Ms HASAY creator yesterday.  I'm sorry!  So Casey here you go VISIT CASEY MS HASAY!!

Triple Play Monday

It's Monday and I've got a lot going on today.  I'm reporting here on 

 

about my progress in Club HASAY. Leave some love here today.

I'm also talking Men, Women and Shopping over here today:  

Stop over at Venus vs Mars to give your opinion on the differences.

And I am guest posting over at   

At Zook Book Nook I'm posting about what it's like to be a mom and a writer and how to juggle the two.  I hope you stop over and say hello.

Okay Club HASAY.  After last week's heckling and yelling (that I asked for, thank you everyone!) I did much better.  I did this several times this week:

standing side stretch my favorite, shame that's not the background I get to do yoga in though

The weather did not cooperate enough for me to run this week (again).  It's a new week and there's new hope.

I did slack and ate some of these however:

I also ate a double helping of meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner last night.  Then we went to the movies (Angels and Demons) where thankfully they don't sell salt and butter popcorn only sweet popcorn (retch).  That is one thing I can say I didn't succumb to.

But I did make my husband take my picture with his cell with this famous guy (this is for you Crash):

The movie was great.  Love Tom Hanks!  Excellent movie, I would recommend seeing it. But then I like action flicks.  Of course the book provided so much more detail and they couldn't work it all in but still, thumbs up from me. * For my German readers, have you ever gone to a movie in original language and had the German subtitles at the bottom?  They did that for this movie and it was really distracting.  All the others I've seen in original language they haven't had subtitles.  I am wondering if this is a new thing or what.

So while I progressed in some area's I fell again in others.  I think HASAY should make some motivational tapes you could listen to while sleeping.  We'd all do really well then.  

Are you HASAYing?  Did you meet your goals this week?  Either way keep at it!

And please, go say hello over at my other postings today!

I didn't want to...

Leave such a sad whiney post up through the weekend.  So heres the rest of the Friday, both good and bad.

The shower broke Thursday night.  The landlord came by on Friday and via my Kleine Deutsche and his nonexistent English he'll bring back the bar that actually keeps the shower head in place sometime next week.  Stellar!

We received a 667 euro refund from our landlord for overpayment from Dec to March of city services (water and something else I can't remember). Very cool. We thought about hopping a plane to my ancestral homeland of Scotland or popping down to Milan for some gelato but then figured hey, why not save it?  It sucks to be boring.

We did decided to splurge and ordered Hallo Pizza.  I love pizza delivered by a Smart car.  That an a very nice Cabernet and the night was set.

Baby Chick didn't sleep at. all. last night.  I logged a total of 45 minutes on an egg crate mattress in her room.  When hubby came down at 8 this morning I went back to bed for a few hours.  Chick spent the entire three hours between driving to Toys R Us and back crying.  She even cried all through the store while holding her Birthday Barbie.  I put her in her room and I am pretty sure she's passed out now.  She not making any noise at least.

Alright, it's 4:25, I'm due for my nap and maybe suckering Hubby into making dinner.  It shouldn't be too hard to do.  I wouldn't trust me near the stove in a million years right now.

Friday and more Friday and more sucky Friday

It's Friday.  Oh. Yea.  I am not feling all Fridaylicious today.  Baby Chick didn't even let me think about sleep until three am and then she got up again three more times until we finally got up at seven.  So yea, I'm not feeling the Friday love today.  What I am feeling is tired.  

In need of a coffee drip asap.  Anyone know where I can get one of those?  

I took the night off last night from the computer and work and watched Sneakers.  I love that movie (as I said in the meme CK Lunchbox tagged me for last weekend).  Such a great movie.  We only have it on vhs so the quality was not so good but it's still a great classic pre-big brotherish flick.  I didn't get around to saying hi to those who stopped over yesterday so if I get a chance today I will.  I've been slacking in this department again lately.

Sometime soon I'll be appearing over at Zook Book Nook where Kimberly has asked me to guest post.  I was incredibly flattered for the invite.  Kimberly is a writer-mama like me and always has something interesting posted.  Be sure to stop by Zook Book Nook and have a look around. 

If I was feeling Fridaylicious could I link to three different carnivals on the same day if DO all three of them?  I don't really know about that.  That is one of those grey areas I think.  If I was willing to show you what I was wearing it would be four carnivals.  See this is another one of my 'issues'.  If I don't participate in something that I said I'd do or I like to do (even if I'm not feeling it) or an event I'd like others to know about, I feel guilty.  I was going to do this great art carnival yesterday but did Mama Kat's and then didn't feel like posting something else too.  The guilt is like 'they will think I don't like them' kind of guilt.  Maybe I'm still upset about the lady at the post office from  yesterday (see PS at bottom of this post for details).

I'm going to give you all the links to all the great events today and participate in none of them. I am just in that great of a mood.

Today we have Candid Carrie's Photo Friday

Friday's Feast F2 with CaJoh

What Are You Wearing? with Tiara's & Tantrums 

and a new event:

Thank Goodness IFs (TGIFs)!! at Zook Book Nook

Click the links and have fun.

Both my kids are home today because of a nightmare four hour bus ride (ridiculous 36 euro field trip) to some zoo in the Netherlands.  Boo gets carsick (bus sick whatever) and if we paid for this trip that would have made 200 euros we've shelled out this year thus far for field trips. So two kids with nothing to do and me with lots to do.  Good times.

I have no idea why blogger spaced out this paragraph and the one above.  I didn't do it though. This has turned into a rather whiny post instead of the blog carnival festival.  Sorry about that.

I got this award yesterday from a brand-new-to-me blogger.  Aww, thank you!  Design It Chic has such a fun website and she's in Germany just like me!  Yea!  She knows the joys of a impossibly small fridge, speed trap cameras and no closets!  I sincerely hope she doesn't know what it 's like to be discriminated against for not being German (like I do).  Cause it sucks.

I think that's plenty of b*tching from me today.  I hope the weekend refuels my happy cells and yours as well.

P.S. Thank you Deutsche Post lady from yesterday in the city.  I really appreciated your non-existent smile while I was mailing my packages.  I'd also like to commend you for barking at me when I asked you, politely and in GERMAN I might add which for me is no easy task, if you could please repeat the amount. I wasn't sure if you said 42 euros or 44 since Germans say numbers ackbasswards and I have trouble remembering that sometimes.  You didn't have to yell at me.  I thought about that all tamn day and it nearly sent me to tears.  There's a lot of things I can put up with but someone being mean to me for no reason isn't one of them.  So thanks!

Writers Workshop with MamaKat

It's Thursday and that means it's Writers Workshop with Mama Kat!  Yea! I love Thursdays. They are so fun.  Never heard of this before?  (What planet are you living on??)  Go to the link for Mama Kat to see the other prompts and check out who else is writing today.  It's lots of fun and therapeutic to boot.

3.)Describe a 'sound' from your childhood. What was it? When did you hear it? What does it bring to mind?

I liked this one a lot.  I recently read a blog post about boats which made me think about boats and how I was born to be on one.  Ever since I was a little itty bitty girl my parents have had a boat.  From the 19 ft open bow Bayliner of my young days to the 32 Maxum they have now we've always been a boating family.  Many a happy summer has been spent on the shores of a lake.  

Decorated for the Fourth of July Boat Parade with the Mavericks Yacht Club

The sound I associate with would be that of a boat's engine.  The puttering as we move away from the marina and the roar as we take off down the lake for a day of fun.  I don't really know how to describe the actual sound it makes but when I hear it it makes me think of this:

Sunshine, water, happiness

I've been hearing that sound for so long its truly engrained in my brain.  I love going to visit my parents at the lake in the summer.  It's my favorite time of year anyway so being there with my own kids on the lake I grew up on in beautiful Northern Idaho is wonderful.  I like that I can share what I experienced as a child with my own kids.  The pictures from Tuesday's post are from the lake two years ago.

The happiest times in childhood are encompassed in the lakes where we went boating as kids. Lake Roosevelt, Lake Couer d'Alene, Couer d'Alene River.  Sis remember the rope swing over the river?  Long sandy beaches lining the river, the anticipation of the twenty minute boat ride until we rounded the bend in the river that signaled Our Beach.  The Rope Swing Beach.  There were several other families in our little group we went to this beach with and finding them there would always be a wonderful surprise as we beached the boat and all the kids clamored to the rope swing to be the first to swing out over the river and let go.

We went up the river a few years ago and the beach and rope are still there.  We didn't stop this time continuing on our way but looking at the beach the sound came back to me.  The boat, the laughter, the creak of the rope as I swung out over the river.  

The future wide open and waiting.

Sign Language Wednesday: Video Edition

It's Wednesday and that means it's time for another round of Sign Language Wednesday.  Sign Language Wednesday is where you leave me a word in the comments and the following week I take one of those words and find a background that may or may not relate to the word (which I write on a sign) and photograph it.  Simple yes?  I do need more word suggestions so please be sure to leave yours in the comments.

The word today has been suggested several times by the same person.  I believe she in fact said she'd keep telling me to use this word until I did.  We have Natasha from Exile on Mom Street to thank for today's word, ennui.  Go ahead, you try finding a place to use that one.

Webster's Online has this to say:

en·nui

Pronunciation: \ˌän-ˈwē\

Function: noun

Etymology: French, from Old French enui annoyance, from enuier to vex, from Late Latin inodiare to make loathsome — more at annoy

Date: 1732

: a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction : boredom

Well the Chick was more than happy to cooperate for the word this week (for which I took the definition of vexation).  Just have a look:

It's very sad when mommy will only give you four pieces of paper (which you crumble up and destroy) instead of five. Very sad, very ennui inducing indeed. Ten minutes worth of ennui in fact.

How would you use ennui? Have you or your kids used it recently? Be sure to stop by Natasha and thank her for today's (most challenging) word. Please also leave me some suggestions for next week's word.

Random Tuesday Thoughts: Swimsuit Edition

Ah, Random Tuesday Thoughts.  Goody.  I like Random and I like Tuesday.  This is brought to you by everyone's favorite Zombie leader Keely at The Un-Mom  Hook up your blog or head over to her place so you can see who else is playing along today.

First Swimsuit edition.  Made you come over here now didn't I?  Sucker.

It's an absolutely gorgeous blue sky out this morning.  Just wait, five minutes will do.  It'll change.  Forecast says rain all week and unfortunately the weather people are only wrong when they say it won't rain.

For those who wondered, I am still trying (in vain) to get deported.  But my FBI files bound to be getting longer.  So look on the bright side!

They say a picture's worth a thousand words.  Turns out my pictures worth 30 euros.  Yep got a speeding ticket on the autobahn.  It's always a lovely mail day when one of those envelopes arrive.

Have you ever removed the clothes from a stroller to wash it?  Good Golly Maclaren!  For $250 you could make the strap holes bigger you know.  The stroller may just have to stay naked.

Interesting news story: Switched at Birth.  This isn't the first time something so delightful has happened.  I remember watching a show about another baby switch story as a kid.  So that kid doesn't display any of my traits...hmm.

My fridge, no joke.  Small isn't it?

My mom discovered my blog.  I accidentally forgot to remove the signature from my email. Oops.  Hi Mom, I promise to keep it clean for you okay?

I messed with the picture style but yes that is a real place. I didn't go in but it sounds like fun doesn't it?

My somewhat inaccurate (as in only counts about 3/4 of the people) blog counter thing told me yesterday I had 2200 hits for April. WTH! Am I really that interesting? Cool. Keep coming around all right? And de-lurk, I love those who de-lurk.

My daughter won't stop bugging me for this for her birthday. She whines points at the picture in the brochure and then at her butt (as in her butt needs to be on the seat). I think she's getting one just so she'll stop whining about it.

That brings this edition of Random Tuesday Thoughts: Swimsuit Edition to a close. Please stop by Keely and leave some Random Love.

What you're disappointed there weren't any swimsuits? Okay okay here then:

Happy now?