The Wild Blue Yonder

Bernkastel-Kues

2011-06-22T01:10:00.000-07:00

Last September, when my parents were visiting, we stopped in to visit this perfectly German Mosel River town for their big annual wine festival. We really enjoyed the festival, the Rhineland-Pfalz food, and the wine (well, my family did, I was pregnant at the time). We wandered through the town, past its adorable bear fountain, beautiful half-timbered buildings and shops, watched a parade, and finally encountered a spectacular markt platz.

We fell in love with Bernkastel. So, we had a four-day weekend last weekend, and decided that it was time to revisit Bernkastel, as well as spend quality time along the Mosel. So, we rented an apartment in Bernkastel, which turned out to be a fantastic idea with our growing brood. We were right up from the river, and Bernkastel was a great base. We got there on Thursday, and got to just spend time in the town, browsing through stores. I ended up buying a pretty print of the town square, and found an excellent shop that sells Westerwaelder steinzeug (a new type of German stoneware that I didn't know was a genre I did not own; I am now a fan); a wide variety of traditional German wine glasses; and Mosel wine and liquors. I bought a zwiebeln pot (for onions), a kartoffeln pot (for potatoes), and some gluewein mugs and warmers (adorable). They apparently come from a store called Kleiraba in a town that is only two hours away from me. I must check out this pottery town in the near future.

Bernkastel Markt and its St. George Fountain:

On Friday, we packed up the kids and drove to Trier. We lucked out, because it was the first day of an annual festival, which turned out to be fun and convenient for eating purposes when you have young children. We had fun seeing all the major sights, and really just enjoyed the town. We have been blessed to see important ancient Roman and Greek ruins all over the world. But, the Porta Nigra is still impressive.

Our little Roman statue, on an ancient pillar outside the Trier Roman baths:

Saturday saw us in Cochem on a rainy day. There was a small town wine festival going on, which was great. We wandered the gorgeous old town, and hiked the kids up to the castle (really, it wasn't a difficult hike at all). We were rewarded with a stunning view over the town and the Mosel River. It was worth it, even with a cloudy day. There was a newly married couple celebrating with pictures at the top.

The hike back down was somehow more difficult (as we did have a stroller), but we explored more of the town on the way. We found a wine cellar (dating back from the 1400s, supposedly the oldest in Cochem). Chris was in awe, and told me that the inside was beautiful (I waited outside with the children). We also found a wonderful bakery on the main street that had treats that were as beautiful as they were tasty.

On our final day, we packed up the car and took the scenic route to Burg Eltz before heading home. Oh, this was spectacular! We had a sunny day and the ride closer to Burg Eltz was absolutely breathtaking. The grapevines are at their peak in terms of beauty (in terms of being cut and turned into wine, they still have a couple of months). The hills were just covered in green grapes, and the water just sparkled under the sun. It was truly beautiful. If we return to this area anytime soon, I just want to head to this area and spend the day walking along the river...and stopping by a winery or two. Simply lovely. Unfortunately, we were so in awe that we really didn't stop anywhere to snap a good picture. So, we must return.

Burg Eltz was great. I guess. It really is a beautiful fairytale castle in the woods. Very German. But, much of it is covered in construction at the moment, so we couldn't get good pictures. And, Jackson was very toddler that day, so we started the excellent English tour. But, by room two, I could tell it was time to just end it for the sake of other travelers. The end. So, we might return to try again one day. Fortunately, there is a parking lot close to the castle, where you can also get a shuttle van to and from the castle. So, we didn't waste a ridiculous hike on that outing.

Overall, we loved our lazy trip through the Mosel. Although each of these places is a day trip away, it was nice to just take our time and relax with our young children at these places. It's a part of Germany I love!

Baby Two

2011-06-22T00:11:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a painfully long time since I wrote on here. A LOT has happened during the past year. At the time of my last entry, I was just finding out that I was going to have another baby.

That news was very joyful for us. There was also slight trepidation at the thought of having another baby so close to the first, and in a totally new country. My German doctor, I would come to find out, was very sweet.

During my pregnancy, we took a few really great trips. I will try to go back and remember the details so that I can write about them here. My parents came for a great visit, and we went to a wine festival. They even graciously allowed us to spend most of their visit in Paris while they watched Jackson - our first trip of that sort. We went on a cruise to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco in October, and a nice ski trip to Garmisch in January (Chris really did the skiing). I even got to go on a girls' weekend to Delft one weekend toward the end of January!

Then, a big surprise. During my 30th week of pregnancy, some complications arose. We went very early one morning to our hospital. I was quite sure that they would tell me to go home for bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy. But, they actually told me that they were sending me to the Mönchengladbach hospital about 45 minutes away, because there was a NICU there.

They sent me by ambulance, which was eerie. When I was nine years old, my family had just moved to Germany, and went to an airshow during which three airplanes crashed into crowds of people. The sound I heard all during that night were German ambulance sirens, and the sound has been haunting to me ever since.

Once I got to the hospital, I went through a battery of tests. The nurses finally told me that I would not be leaving that hospital until my baby came. I was stunned. When I asked how long they thought that would be, they told me they didn't know. I could potentially be there for the final ten weeks of my pregnancy, but they didn't think I would last that long.

Ultimately, I was on bed rest in the hospital for a little over a week. Then, my little bundle of joy, Colleen, was born! She weighed 1570 grams, or about 3.5 pounds. She was teeny tiny, and I didn't get to see her until she was 28 hours old.

Her first week was very scary. She had lung issues, and the doctors in the Kinderklinik could not diagnose what was wrong with them. Her tests for all kinds of diseases came back negative (praise God), but that still didn't tell us what was causing the inflammation. She turned the corner, eventually, and I was finally able to hold my baby when she was one week old.

The NICU experience is devastating and stressful in the first place. But, when you toss in language and cultural barriers, it is more so. Colleen was in the hospital for ten agonizing weeks. Ten weeks of driving back and forth every day, and highs and lows. My husband had to go to Afghanistan for a trip during this time, which only contributed to the stress. Fortunately, my incredible mother was able to come for the duration. She was here for three months, and we could never have done this without her. My dad and sister were also able to come visit, and I am grateful for the time we had with all of them.

Colleen came home mid-April, and I am very grateful to the Mönchengladbach staff for the great care. It was different from a stay in an American hospital and there were good and bad differences. I think she could have come home a little sooner than she did. But, I am so appreciative of the love and care shown to the most tiny and fragile of babies.

Our baby is doing really well. She still has a few lingering health issues, but she should outgrow them. I am, strangely, grateful for the opportunity to learn about the preemie world and the ability to have gotten through the experience with patience and strength that only God could give us. We are now fully entrenched in the German healthcare system, which allows us some real opportunities for cultural immersion. The theme of this for me is: Why Does the American Public Want a Socialist Healthcare System??

Bosbessen

2010-07-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

It's blueberry season! Chris is out of town for a few weeks. Whenever this happens, I try to find other women whose husbands are also gone, so that we can get out of the house and commiserate. I found such a friend, and we set out to the blueberry patch this morning with a two-year-old, one-year-old, and two-month old. Brave? Yes!

I was not prepared for the level of organization that this operation entailed. The blueberry patch was actually quite lovely, and packed with cars when we showed up. It was in a town called Koningsbosch, about five minutes from our house on the Dutch side of the border. There were people with buckets milling about, women on walkie talkies and bikes directing people where to pick, and day laborers (people looking for fun like us) picking berries. There was also a very stressed out Dutch woman who didn't think we would be able to pick berries with the little ones. We very relaxedly told her that we would love to find a spot where we could park the strollers on the edge, and pick in that one spot. You would think we were the first people with little ones who had ever tried to pick berries!

But, the ladies there were very accommodating and found us a great location. We parked the kids there, and spent about two hours (!) picking from one bush. The weather was gorgeous - bordering between warm and cool throughout the morning, clouds in the sky threatening to burst but never doing so. By the time we left, I spent six euros on a bucket full of berries and some homemade blueberry juice. I am so excited to get to cook with these berries for the rest of the summer!

World Cup Finals

2010-07-11T23:17:00.000-07:00

With our neighbors, the Netherlands, in the World Cup Finals, Chris and I knew we absolutely needed to get to Sittard to watch the game. The Sittard Markt was set up with three big screens and a sea of fans in orange.

The Dutch flag is red, white, and blue, but their spirit is definitely Oranje. The unifying color and resulting pride date back to William I (of Orange) who successfully organized the Dutch to revolt against Spanish rule. This World Cup game against Spain was a true rivalry, and it was exciting to be in the midst of the crowd during the game.

We were disappointed in Spain's win, right along with all of our Dutch neighbors. But, we were honored to share the game with them. It was an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime kind of evening.

Uno, Ein, One!

2010-07-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

My sweet Jackson Thomas is one year old today! I can hardly believe it. It seems like only yesterday that I came out of 36 hours of labor to finally have a c-section; that I had to be talked off of a ledge every day because I really did not like nursing; that I had a teeny tiny baby to hold.

I am pleased to say that we actually made it an entire year of nursing! I really think I deserve some kind of prize for that. It really has all flown by, though, and I enjoy my son more and more each day.

During the past year, Jackson has visited eight countries. That is incredible! He is a great traveler - but not a good sleeper. He is so happy and so stubborn at the same time. I know I'm really going to be in for it later on.

Today was a great birthday for all of us. Jackson actually slept through the night. When he woke up, we had a pancake breakfast and opened some presents. We visited the Wildpark in Gangelt (Jackson loves animals and bucket swings which are both at the Wildpark), and we had dinner, cake and more presents!

Although we chose not to have a big birthday party, I still went with a theme for our small family gathering - a barnyard birthday. So, Jackson had a farm decor, farm-themed presents from his parents, and even a tractor cake (made by a friend).

He had a blast for his first birthday, and I am slightly sad knowing that the next year is going to go by just as quickly.

Garmisch

2010-07-03T11:37:00.000-07:00

We spent a whirlwind few days in southern Germany, immediately after Chris' parents touched down for a visit. Although I have had some minor complaints about Edelweiss Lodge & Resort in Garmisch, it was the easiest place for us to stay for this visit. So, away we went!

Oh, what a glorious time to be there. I am obsessed with German flowers, and have been since I was a child. The Germans manage to cover the outside of their homes with geraniums, and it is spectacular.

On our first full day in Garmisch, we decided to stay in the local area, which of course, includes the ascent to Zugspitze. You might remember that it didn't go so well for me in October. So, those of us who were too scared to do it this time (me! I mean, Jackson) decided to stay at Eibsee while the others went up the mountain. That's quite OK, though, because we got to hang out here for awhile:

We also visited Mad King Ludwig's castles, Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein, and ventured into Munich.

It was a great trip. Bavaria is really my favorite part of Germany, which makes my family laugh. When I was a snotty ten-year-old, my father went to Turkey to "fly planes" with his squadron for the summer, while the women and children were left at home. My mother decided to brave a trip with her three children, so she took us to Bavaria. This, apparently, was not to my liking, as I felt that I had wasted a summer going to "Bavaria" (imagine a really, really spoiled bored voice saying that) while other friends would have gone to places like Paris. I didn't feel that it was very fair, and Bavaria was apparently also too bucolic for my taste.

So, there is always a good laugh when I admit that I long for the mountains and beauty (and plain old stereotype) of southern Germany.

Kaiserfest

2010-06-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

The flags are flying all over the place, so the Germans must be full of national pride because of the World Cup, right? Oh, not so fast. Sore subject.

Here in our sleepy village, the jubilation abounds for the three-day Kaiserfest, during which our residents usher in a new reign of a new King. This King, selected at the last festival in May as a result of keen rifle skills, is, for the first time ever (I am gathering)...a WOMAN. She is still called a King, though.

We decided to celebrate some of Chris' first-ever Father's Day by attending Day Two of Kaiserfest. There was a parade with all the surrounding villages participating with their marching bands, local dignitaries, and princesses of some sort. All these princesses wore their finest ball gowns. Completing their lovely ensembles were very ill-suited back tattoos, which appear to be a big trend among young German ladies. As the parade marched by, and spectators got a glimpse of these examples of back art (apparently, Chinese symbols are popular no matter what your nationality), you could see the elderly men and women silently wondering what on Earth can save this generation from itself.

Once the parade wound through the village, it was time to take your station in the fest tent with traditional afternoon cake and coffee or beer, or outside the fest tent with beer. There were your typical fest candy and toy vendors, and we enjoyed a good amount of people watching.

All in all, it was a good fest. And, they already started advertising for our village Oktoberfest!

Below is a picture of our new "King". You can't completely tell from this picture, but there were lots of people wearing coats. And, it's June! And, cold!

Ich Bin Ein Berliner

2010-06-07T02:52:00.000-07:00

NATO had a four-day holiday this past weekend in honor of Corpus Christi, so we knew we had to take advantage of it. It's the last holiday weekend until the fall, and this American excitedly decided to travel along with every European on the continent, it seemed.

Before I tell you all about our lovely time in Berlin, I need to air some grievances to you about traveling, in general. I realize that what I am about to say will make me sound as curmudgeonly as the people with whom I used to share Metro space in D.C. You know, the ones who used to tap their feet impatiently at unsuspecting individuals who dared to stand on the lefthand side of the escalator instead of the right?

Anyways, here's a tip for travelers out there: If you do not have a stroller, suitcases, bicycles (clearly I'm in Europe on this one), or are in no way handicapped, the elevators are not for you. I know, you're really tired, or your child thinks it would be really fun. But, the escalators are just right over there, and they do the same thing!

Our other travel-related complaint is a result of complete confusion on my part. Apparently, sometimes when you buy tickets online (even first class tickets), you might not get a seat assignment. This is because they oversell the train at times (like holiday weekends when every European on the continent is traveling). If you realize this too late, and go to the ticket counter to clear up the issue, they actually don't care (even for first class tickets), and might actually say to you, "Gee, I hope that it all works out for you." This, even after you say that even one actual seat assignment might be helpful, as you are traveling with an infant. "I recommend that you try to get to the dining car really fast so that you can get a seat." Helpful.

Thankfully, we did get a seat in the dining car for the return trip home. Otherwise, I would have planted myself on the floor in the aisle, and I would have had to sit there the entire trip - even though I paid for first class tickets!

But, we had a wonderful time in Berlin! We saw the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, the KaDeWe department store, the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, parts of the Berlin Wall, the Pergamon Museum, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Zoo, and much more. We should have tried to go when we had longer than two or so days to see the city, but it was great to see all that we did.

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, ravaged by World War II bombs, and left destroyed as a reminder:

We had an enjoyable meal at an Eastern Berlin beer garden, the oldest in Berlin. We also really enjoyed going to the new Sony Center and having some excellent Berliner Weisse beer (in my case with cherry flavoring, like the locals do).

The Reichstag visit was really interesting. First of all, we had a stroller so we got to skip the super long line! Once you get to the dome, you get an audio guide tour as you walk up the ramp, so you can get an overview of the entire city. It is a really fantastic starting point for your trip.

As we were taking this tour, I started contemplating just how fascinating Berlin really is. Everyone flocks there because of the World War II and Cold War histories, but the fallout from those conflicts and the resulting makeup of the city is absolutely fascinating to see. When you're taking the Reichstag tour, and looking out over the Chancellory and various embassies, you realize that they have only been there in their present forms for a few years. Previously, they had fled to Bonn, after having initially been in Berlin before that. So, if you had come to Berlin in, say, 1995, you would not even be taking this same tour.

When we passed the Brandenburg Gate, and saw the new American Embassy building, it was interesting to think about all the earth-shattering events that had taken place in Pariser Platz (JFK's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech for one), and the fact that our embassy had been relocated so many times because of so many critical moments in history. And, it had all taken place right before us (including, might I add, the Michael Jackson baby-dangling incident at the Adlon Hotel in the same square).

Brandenburg Gate:

It's an interesting thing to stand in a location and try to remember whether you're standing on what used to be one side of the Wall or the other - and how that distinction at one time could have meant life or death, but no longer meant a thing.

Checkpoint Charlie sign:

Memorial crosses for those who died trying to cross the Wall:

Berlin has always been an elusive city for me, so I was happy to finally get there. My family lived in Germany when the Wall came down, and I will always remember the bells tolling and the fireworks going off. But, we never went to Berlin!

My favorite book of all time is Vienna Prelude by Bodie Theone. It's a book that is an emotional attachment at this point, as I started reading it when I was 12, and for years read it at least once a year. It takes place during pre-World War II years, and the book's main character is from Berlin. So, I felt like I was visiting with a friend seeing a lot of the same places Elisa frequents in the book. Finally, I got to see those places in person!

There was an incredible amount to see and do, and I'm impressed by the amount we accomplished. But, I know there's more to get to, so we'll have to go again.

Margraten: Where 8,301 American Heroes Lie

2010-05-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

I am incredibly blessed to live in this region of Europe this year. We have seen the 65th anniversaries of major World War II events commemorated, and we live right in the midst of it all.

Recently, the liberation of the Netherlands was celebrated. And, for this Memorial Day weekend, we decided to go to Margraten, where the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is located, to plant flags and visit the graves of American warriors who sacrificed all for freedom.

It gives me chills to see a place like this. First of all, I still can't wrap my mind around the heritage Margraten represents for us. It is because of the battles represented there that we are even stationed in this area. Geilenkirchen, which hosts the NATO base at which we are stationed, was the site of a major 1944 battle. And, some of the men who lost their lives in that battle were buried right in front of me.

Margraten is tranquil and beautiful, just as it should be. The grounds are flawless, flowers blooming everwhere, monuments tasteful and simple, and the rows of crosses and stars are powerful and moving. Walking through to take note of when these men died and where they came from, I saw several pairs of brothers buried side by side.

An American family approached us and started talking to us. We told them that we were stationed in the area and asked if they were visiting. The man told us that they were there because his father is buried in the cemetery. He died in battle, and his son grew up without a father. Powerful. This man was at Margraten for the ceremonies this weekend - the Dutch Queen Beatrix will preside over them at the cemetery tomorrow.

There was a whole group of families walking around this morning wearing badges with their loved ones' pictures on them. Our new friends had been to visit his father's grave four times, and he felt like it was important to be here this year. He loves that his mother chose to keep his father buried here with his buddies.

He told us about the great relationship he has with the Dutch family that adopted his father's grave. It is really admirable to see what the Dutch people do for those buried at Margraten. All graves are adopted by the Dutch - there is a waiting list. However, families tend to solemnly pass down the responsibility of caring for the graves to their own family members.

A Dutch man also started talking to me later on about the grave he adopted. He excitedly told me the soldier's name, and how much it means to him to be able to care for his plot. His eyes misted, and he looked up and over the cemetery. He said, "These people did much for us." The Dutch really appreciate the sacrifices, and generations of them were out today placing flowers on the markers. I'm thankful for these people and the way they passionately care for our fallen.

It was a fitting way to mark Memorial Day. I will absolutely return, hopefully in the near future.

Monschau

2010-05-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

We went to the most charming little German town today while we have some gorgeous weather. I'm so glad that the sun is out, finally. Chris has a three-day weekend in honor of the Pentecost, so we decided to take a day of leisure and be tourists.

Monschau is located in the Eifel region, near Aachen, close to the borders of Belgium and the Netherlands. It's about an hour from us. To get there, you drive through some somewhat hilly farmland, and then all of a sudden you realize you are at the top of a steep, winding, mountainous road!

The town has your quintessential castle at the top of the mountain/hill (your view of what this is depends on where you're from), a babbling river, and so many fun restaurants and shops, making this a town to which I will bring visitors for the duration of our living in this region.

This is definitely a great place to go hiking, and we will do that soon. But, today I wanted to explore the town and we spent lots of time wandering.

We chose to sit outside at a wonderful restaurant right on the river and outside a lovely church with bells that tolled for what seemed ages at noon. The sound of bells tolling is one of my favorite things about Europe, and something I will desperately miss when we move home.

For lunch I had the best schnitzel that I have had since we moved here. It did not seem greasy and was accompanied by a sauce made from the honey-mustard that this town makes well. We also tried some white asparagus, as that is in season now. I had another seasonal favorite - fresh strawberries. Incredible food today.

The shopping was great today, too. There were all kinds of wine stores, antique shops, and - wait for it - a Christmas store!! Of course, I went in. This store was perfect, and the prices were even good! I bought a few things. For those of you rolling your eyes at me right now, yes, I realize I have a problem involving shopping and Christmas.

I also bought some of the town mustard, and Chris, naturally, bought some wine. There was an intriguing store that sold a lot of Czech crystal. I'm not entirely sure why. But, I will keep that in mind in case I ever need something, and can't get to Prague.

We had such a fantastic day in Monschau and can't wait to return.

Feature - Beware of mischief on German Labor Day

2010-05-21T01:32:00.000-07:00

When we returned from our trip to the United States, we got serious about getting our flower pots in order. We went to the garden shop, picked out all our plants, and then noticed that our beautiful printed tin window boxes from Italy were missing. Chris swears that he left them on our front porch. And, we had a mysterious baseball sitting on the back porch. Coincidence? Read the following:Feature - Beware of mischief on German Labor Day

I think we know what happened now.

Alles Gute zum Muttertag

2010-05-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

This is my first Mother's Day since having Jackson, and it has been a delightful one. I am very grateful for my little boy (although, as I write this he just crawled over and broke a Delftware tray that I have).

After church today we opted to stay in our village to enjoy a local parade and celebration for Muttertag. We walked up to the church, and started talking to a man decked out in his finest German outfit for the occasion. He told us that everything was in honor of Mother's Day - but, that the event was being held to decide the new "king" (mayor) of our village.

After the parade made its way around the village, everyone headed to a field where there was a shooting contest - to decide who the new mayor would be. Seriously.

I am one of those people who becomes very involved in different organizations wherever I live. And, many of these organizations arrive at the same crossroads year in and year out - who the heck is going to take over the various leadership positions because nobody wants to take them? I now have a solution. Everyone takes a turn at the gun to shoot at the target. Whoever gets the best score assumes the presidency! Incredible.

As is typical at any German fest, the drink tent was right near the entrance. To be a good sport, I decided that Chris and I should both drink a beer, as neither of us had to drive. I walked up to the bar, and ordered from the list. I totally ruined it, though, and accidentally ordered us some very unmanly wine coolers instead of the beer I promised. Chris wanted to die from embarrassment, as it appeared that drinking a wine cooler in Germany is just as uncool as drinking one in the United States.

We had a really wonderful time meeting some of the village neighbors, including an American and a Canadian couple who were lots of fun. And, I learned that our village has been around since 1583. Pretty amazing!

Overwhelmed

2010-05-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

It has taken a few days, but we are starting to get back into our routine in Germany. We spent a blissful couple of weeks touring our old stomping grounds in the USA.

I think the one word I continue to use each and every time I return to the States is "overwhelmed". I believe that I become more so with every visit. It's the endless number of TV channels from which to choose; the ridiculous stream of stores to shop in (and the number of items they have to buy); the countless number of restaurants we wanted to visit; the enormous cars whizzing by us on the freeway (in the right lane talking on cellphones); the limitless times to visit Starbucks and Barnes & Noble; the ability to do anything, buy anything, see anything you want at any time you want to do so. It's just too much.

When I'm overseas I miss all the choices, but I have to say it gives me anxiety to be able to have anything I want when I want it. I mean, there are definitely things I regret not having here in Germany. Just today, I went to the Commissary to buy food, and I was in a state of melancholy when I arrived in the baby aisle. When I went to Babies R Us in Texas, I had tears welling in my eyes to see that they had an entire row for pacifiers; more baby food flavors than I had any clue existed (they have green vegetables in Stage 3??); so many baby clothes and odds and ends right at my fingertips, and I had never had the pleasure of walking into a store like this since I had Jackson.

But, here I was back at the Commissary. After dining on fun-flavored organic baby food for weeks, and discovering graham crackers without honey (babies can't eat anything with honey) and other great new snacks, we were relegated to buying the Gerber sweet potatoes and squash once again. Sorry, Jackson. Back to the boring options. Bye-bye Mum-Mums. Auf wiedersehn baby yogurt.

At the end of the day, though, I desperately miss my family and friends, but surprisingly enough, can do without the "so much"ness of America. We don't need all of it, and my simplified life is much happier without all of the stuff.

We had a wonderful time visiting Oklahoma City, OK; Fort Worth, TX; Washington D.C.; and Yorktown, VA. Chris and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with a night out to Reata in Forth Worth; introduced Jack to new family members, including his cousins, Luke and George; and watched Jackson enjoy so many new experiences. I miss my country, but am enjoying the time we have here in Europe.

Keukenhof & Leiden

2010-04-11T23:41:00.000-07:00

Chris and I love to celebrate our wedding anniversary by getting each other traditional gifts. I guess I should clarify. I like to celebrate our anniversary by getting traditional gifts. Chris likes to go along with it to make me happy.

When I saw that the fourth anniversary gift is "fruit and flowers" I knew I had a winner. We live near Holland, and flowers abound in our anniversary month - April!

I have had a love of tulips since I was a child. Love really probably doesn't describe it enough. Obsession, maybe? My mother used to read me a children's story about the history of tulips, and I was hooked at that young age.

I really was not picky as a bride about my wedding details. The one thing I absolutely had to have was a tulip as our wedding flower. So, we got married in April.

This year, to celebrate the "fruit and flower" anniversary, we decided to take an entire weekend to follow the tulip in Holland. We were originally going to go toward the end of April, but decided to move it to last weekend when we booked a trip to the United States. So, off we went.

It was heavenly for me. I have decided that Heaven MUST include gardens full of tulips, along with my favorite lemon and orange trees from Italy.

First of all, we found a great kid-friendly hotel. In fact, this entire trip was child-friendly. Bonus! We stayed at the Holiday Inn Leiden. It turned out to be more expensive than we liked, but worth it. Did you know that Leiden was the city where the first tulip bulb was planted in Holland? I did!

We drove the tulip route, spent an entire day at Keukenhof, and enjoyed every minute of it.

There was a petting zoo at Keukenhof. Jackson got to see his first cow, goats, bunnies, and chickens up close!

There were also all the extra trappings of a traditional Dutch scene at Keukenhof - a man making wooden shoes and a windmill to name a couple.

On Sunday, we checked out the city of Leiden. Not a must see, but pretty. Leiden is known to Americans as the city the Pilgrims lived in for a decade before sailing to America. It's also the city where Rembrandt was born. However, trying to find the Pilgrim landmarks is not easy, as they are not well-marked. I heard once from a fellow American that if you were to ask a resident of Leiden about the Pilgrims that they would have no idea what you were talking about.

So, we spent about an hour walking in a circle until we finally found William Brewstersteeg - an alleyway apparently - where William Brewster had his printing press. I was not wanting to give up on finding this, as Jackson and I are both descendents of his. Luckily, we did find it, snapped a picture, and our weekend was complete.

Now begins our whirlwind packing and organizing to get out of here by Wednesday morning! We will travel to the United States so that Jackson can be properly introduced to his country. We can't wait!

Kinderdijk

2010-04-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

Today we drove about two hours away to Kinderdijk to a park to see nineteen working windmills in the Netherlands. I have always really appreciated the stereotypical symbols of Holland, and so I was really excited to get there.

The weather today was not the best for this outing, as it was windy and cold. But, it was still nice to get out and walk along the canals to see what was going on.

It was definitely a big tourist day. Lots of French people, particularly the elderly French in large tourist groups. It was also a big day for nine-month-olds and their tantrums. However, we stuck it out and saw what we wanted to see.

The windmills were constructed centuries ago to pump water out of the land. The canals, themselves, were dug by hand in the 1200s before people got the idea to build the windmills.

People actually live in some of the windmills today, and one has been converted into a museum of sorts. There are cafes and souvenir shops to go in too. In colder weather, when the canals are frozen, you can go skating on the ice! It is an incredible place to gaze at these structures, and we will definitely return on a nicer day. We thought about driving a further twenty minutes to the town of Gouda, but decided against it. Adding cheese to the list today just seemed a tad too touristy, and we can always return.

Child-Unfriendly

2010-04-03T04:47:00.000-07:00

We have had a really great holiday weekend so far. With Chris working for NATO, we get some pretty non-standard holidays. As an example, we will not get Independence Day off, but we do have a four-day weekend for Easter.

There were some things that we wanted to get done around the house today, and so we decided to take it easy. We started off the day at the Sittard market, just to get out this morning. The Saturday market is a smaller version of the weekly Thursday market, but there were vendors out with their Easter best today.

After looking around, we decided to get some lunch at Bagels & Beans, the most fun little coffee and bagel shop around. I have said before, and I'll say it again, it amazes me to see how child-unfriendly restaurants are in the Netherlands (really, in most of Europe).

I have really been thinking about this a lot lately, as we are planning a trip back to the States very soon, and I have started to get excited about all the ways I will enjoy carting my child around once we are home. The doors that are welcoming for strollers! The changing tables in the restrooms! The high chairs in the restaurants! The grandparents who will watch our son for a few hours! That last one has nothing to do with dragging the baby around, but I am really excited about it.

Today, I just happened to have my camera with me, so I want to point out a few things for you to illustrate what we put up with here. There are two things I want you to keep in mind. First of all, this outing to a "restaurant" is very rare for us. I have decided, generally, that Jackson is just not fun to take out anymore so we just don't eat in restaurants. A coffee shop was OK for today though. Secondly, Bagels & Beans is actually more roomy and child-friendly than most other restaurants. Just to give you an idea.

The following picture is of Jackson sitting in a "high chair". There was one standard high chair in the whole restaurant. It was taken. So, there was this other thing that you strap to a normal adult-sized chair. Not very sturdy. That was what we found for Jackson, and it was also the only of its kind in the restaurant. [This was very generous, though, as most restaurants have absolutely nothing for your children.] You can also possibly see from this picture that there is not much distance between our table and the one across the aisle. This is also typical. You can only imagine how long it took us to get our stroller to the table and then find a place to stow the stroller.

You might have no clue what you are looking at here - it's the women's restroom. No, not a stall, the whole restroom. There is a sink right behind me. Beneath the changing pad is the toilet. So, you are expected to pick up the changing pad off the ledge, and place it on top of the toilet to change your child. I must emphasize that the fact that there even is a changing pad available is incredibly generous, because there typically is nothing.

I really hope all my expectations about the United States come to pass!

St. Vith

2010-04-03T04:23:00.000-07:00

Set against the rolling hills of beautiful Belgian countryside lies a town strewn with buildings that, to me, are like precious gemstones. These buildings contain furniture for purchase.

Typically, I favor Belgian antiques, and I definitely have a style that draws me in like a moth to a flame. I love the Flemish style of pretty much any furniture, topped with Italian marble. However, we have been planning on getting a new dining room table for a long time - pretty much as long as we have been married - and I didn't want something antique.

So, we drove to St. Vith yesterday where there are several modern furniture stores from which to choose. We picked Moebel Krings Maraite. We really got the best deal with this store, too. If I had closed my eyes, I probably would have thought for a moment that we were in the United States, what with all the ease of purchasing and customer service offered there.

We ended up with a beautiful new dining room table and chairs, and also purchased a new coffee table and matching end tables for our living room.

So, here's why I really appreciated this place. I ran the saleswoman ragged looking things up for me, and she was very helpful and friendly through all of my indecisiveness. She offered us something to drink and when she came back with our very tasty cappucini, she also gave us snacks. Since we forgot our VAT forms, she supplied us with two self-addressed stamped envelopes so that we could just send them to her. And, the company is going to deliver our furniture to us an hour-and-a-half away for FREE. I am loving this company.

As I mentioned VAT forms, I do need to mention that the thought of them made me smile out of sheer irony. As Americans, we get to deduct the 30% Value Added Tax that the Europeans pay on furniture at this store. This is pretty standard across Europe. However, now that we have "health care reform" in the United States, we can start getting used to having to pay this same tax, as I am positive that it is the only way our country will be able to pay for anything from here on out. I should enjoy not paying the tax while I can.

But, it was a nice day in Belgium. And, in eight to twelve weeks, I will receive my new furniture!

Hippity Hoppity!

2010-03-27T07:57:00.000-07:00

Easter's on its way! Clearly, our March has not been all that exciting, as I have not posted anything lately. We have enjoyed the nicer weather, and Jackson has enjoyed sitting on the porch watching the birds.

This morning, we went to JFC Brunssum, which is one of the bases in our area, for their Easter egg hunt. Jackson really enjoyed picking up the eggs and putting them in his basket. He also met the Easter Bunny, and didn't cry!

The entire event was actually very nice. It was a NATO event, so there were people there from different nationalities, and it had a carnival atmosphere. So, there were lots of European fest rides for the kids and a pancake breakfast. Very nice indeed.

We are going to have a quiet Easter weekend next week. Chris will have a long weekend, so we will probably have a couple of day trips to record. Otherwise, we will just be enjoying this gorgeous Spring weather that we have here in Germany!

Wind Storm!

2010-03-01T04:22:00.000-08:00

I just came inside the house after spending too long outside picking up sticks, both miniscule and gigantic (actual tree branches). I did this right alongside my German neighbor, who was using brooms of all sizes to also clean up specks of dirt from in between the bricks on her driveway and from the gutter on the sidewalk. I was lucky to just get the branches off of the lawn.

Anyways, what prompted this desire to go outside and clean with the Germans? Don't worry, I wasn't trying to compete. Who can do that with Frau Dirt Pail living next door?

First of all, Jackson and I were pulling into the driveway after going to a music playgroup run by some British ladies (it was fun!), and as my neighbor was out clearing the clutter, I decided I might as well put in an appearance.

You see, we had a MASSIVE wind storm yesterday. It was quite scary. And, that's saying something since this area is known for being windy.

We were leaving Wiesbaden yesterday, and experienced this crazy wind for the entire two-hour trip. Signs were flying off of sign posts, trees were being uprooted, trailers were being overturned. We saw more emergency vehicles during that trip home than we did a few weeks ago when we drove through a snow storm.

The wind and rain were fierce back at our house. Our Sunday School group was cancelled for the evening, and we were just starting to figure out what we would make for dinner, when I heard what sounded like a tornado siren. Chris ran outside, verified that was what he thought it was too, and we bolted down to the basement. Living in Oklahoma will make you nothing if not prepared for a tornado.

Ultimately, we're not entirely sure what the siren was for. It might have just been a severe storm warning. But, we do know that we had lots of wind and lots of sticks in the yard. And, you can bet that the Germans were out early making sure that we Americans felt beyond incompetent in making sure the yard was back to perfect only hours later.

Wiesbaden & Easter Market

2010-03-01T04:09:00.000-08:00

As soon as I read the words "Easter Market", I knew what our plans would be for this past weekend. This particular market supposedly would feature Easter eggs, baskets, springtime decorations, and chocolate, so I was on board. The market was going to take place in Kloster Eberbach, a monastery on the Rhine River. We decided to make a little trip of it, stay in Wiesbaden, and take in the traveling Titanic exhibit.

We left on Saturday during what was a gorgeous sunny day. Our GPS even took us on a route that crossed the Rhine River on a ferry! We arrived at the gorgeous monastery, and things were looking promising. Unfortunately, though, the Easter Market was pretty disappointing. I didn't even take pictures, because it was not all what I expected.

Sure, there were beautifully painted Easter eggs. But, nothing really compares to the most spectacular Easter egg store in the world, Easter in Salzburg. This store (obviously located in Salzburg, Austria) blows you away with the wide range of gorgeous eggs. I recommend buying your eggs there.

So, we decided to just head to the hotel. I had read the following from Rick Steves regarding Wiesbaden: skip it. The spa town is known for its thermal baths; its culture center, Kurhaus; and its proximity to the Rhine River wine region. I was determined to prove Rick wrong. Wiesbaden was going to be worth it! Unfortunately, I was wrong.

It was a fine city to hang out in for a few hours, but Rick was correct. Wiesbaden is lovely, don't get me wrong. And, it had not one but TWO Starbucks! There really wasn't that much to see, though.

The Titanic exhibit was great, though! I highly recommend going, if you ever get the chance to go. The whole exhibit was led by an audio guide, which I have decided is the best way to see exhibits. You get all the important information and can move as quickly or slowly as you would like.

Although it was a bummer of a location for the weekend, we decided it was nice to go out and see somewhere new.

Happy Birthday, George Washington!

2010-02-21T23:02:00.000-08:00

"Two centuries ago, King George III was told that President George Washington, who had eight years earlier turned down the opportunity to be the king of the United States, was planning to give up the presidency at the conclusion of his second term and return to his farm in Mount Vernon. The astonished monarch, who had lost a war to General Washington, said, 'If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.' Washington did, and he was. Does anything more clearly illustrate how far we have fallen in 210 years?" --columnist Burt Prelutsky

Bruges

2010-02-16T06:46:00.001-08:00

I am going to write a book. [If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you're probably thinking, "Yeah, right. You've said that for a long time."] But, seriously, I found a topic and everything. It's going to be written under the working title Europe: Don't Travel With Children.

It's not that Jackson isn't a joy as a travel companion. In fact, he's pretty good about traveling. Europe, on the other hand, is starting to be a miserable travel companion. Maybe it's just Europe in the winter.

Anyways, I saw on Chris' work schedule awhile back that there was going to be a three-day weekend, so I jumped on making travel reservations for Bruges, Belgium. A romantic place for Valentine's Day, I was thinking.

Well, it didn't occur to me at the time that this holiday weekend was not in celebration of Presidents Day - it was actually NATO's holiday for Rosenmontag, or Carnival Monday. So, strike one for us, since we missed out on the Carnival stuff all weekend in the Netherlands and Germany. Belgians apparently don't do Carnival.

Here's something else they don't do - anything travel-friendly for people with strollers. Just as one example of the non-stroller-friendly madness: we searched for a long time through the streets of Bruges on Sunday for a cafe, restaurant, fast-food place, anything, where we could change and feed Jackson. We searched high and low and could find nowhere that the stroller could make it in the doorway or around tables. Nowhere.

So, we sat outside on a freezing cold bench to feed our poor baby. We sat contemplating the situation. Would it have been better to haul Jack around in the Baby Bjorn all weekend? No, ultimately that would have also been a disaster. No restaurants that we saw had high chairs, so even if we could take him inside easily, there would have been no place to put him once we got to a table.

All that aside, though, we really had a nice trip. Bruges was beautiful, even during the winter. The canals were iced over and the swans were walking around on the ice. There were a few other high points:

1. Our bed and breakfast. Gone are the days where you hear about a really great deal that just seems impossible to be true. I think a lot of that disappeared with the arrival of the euro. But, we actually found one. We stayed in a quaint little apartment a short distance from the city center that was (you'll never believe it) 55 EUROS PER NIGHT. Seriously. And we had an awesome breakfast included in that price. We couldn't believe it. AND, the owner welcomed us with a Belgian kriek (cherry) beer that was to die for.

2. Shopping. We found great stores, including one that had lots of ornaments for different holidays. I'm a sucker for this type of place. In fact, they had something completely genius - a Carnival tree. I had always thought to buy some beautiful masks in Venice, but never knew what I would do with them. And, this store had a gorgeous tree set up, covered in Carnival masks and other ornaments. It was spectacular.

3. Meridian restaurant. Every guidebook and Belgian told us not to eat in the Markt square. It was considered touristy and gauche, overpriced without great food. If you have a child, though, disregard such advice and eat all your meals at the Meridian restaurant in the Markt square. At a certain frustrated point, we peered in the window and saw a navigable table for us. As soon as we got the stroller in, we were greeted with such hospitality. They offered us spacious seating upstairs with use of an elevator; the food was incredible and beautifully presented; and the waiters loved to come up to Jackson and talk to him. We were so mad that we found this on our last day.

Ultimately, we had a nice weekend, and were happy to visit Bruges. We just want to go back in warmer weather, and this time we'll know what we're in for.

Alaaf!

2010-02-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

This morning Jackson gave us the best surprise ever - he slept in until 8:00 a.m.! He had one minor bump in the road, waking up around 1:00, but who would have thought he would sleep so late! So, we did what most parents would do. We threw a parade in his honor:

OK, well, the parade wasn't to celebrate our sleep. We went to Sittard today for the Children's Carnaval Parade. It was pretty amazing. The town was decked out in red, yellow, and green streamers, flags, balloons, confetti, and a whole array of other things. Children were dressed in all kinds of different costumes, as were their parents and grandparents.

We made our way to the market square where there were food booths and the parade route set up. Being that we came straight from church, we got some soup from a vendor for lunch. A Dutch man came up to us, laughing, and said, "Oh, you went straight for the soup!" We stared at him quizzically, and he said, "Well, you should start with beer!"

At the children's parade?

We really had a good time watching the colorful floats and bands walking by. It's a great start to Carnaval! Alaaf! [Don't know what that means, but I'm assuming it's similar to the Greek "Opa"!]

Oil Change or Blood Money?

2010-02-02T06:24:00.000-08:00

Today I tackled a chore that I have been putting off for awhile. I took our Dodge Charger in for an oil change/12,000 mile checkup. I was avoiding this for a couple of reasons, and the situation lived up to the hype.

I was dreading the possibility of sitting there for a couple of hours with Jackson (check, it happened) and the temper tantrum that would come from being there for awhile (check and check).

In order to maintain our warranty, we are required to take the car to a dealer. This is incredibly easy to handle in the United States, but Europe isn't exactly crawling with Dodge dealers. In fact, people literally stop on the street to stare at our apparently alien looking car.

Fortunately for us, there is a Dodge dealer in Schinnen. So, that's where I went today. The people there were very friendly, but I was in a lousy mood. We were experiencing snowfall and serious wind just when I was trying to get the stroller into the non-stroller friendly stair/doorway scenario they have going on, all while trying to keep my little angel asleep after we had already gone to stroller fitness and done errands for the day. Please keep sleeping, please keep sleeping.

So, typical long wait, screaming tantrum American baby, and they finally tell me very pleasantly that the car is ready! And, I go on up to the counter to find that I owe them 233 euros! That's about $360. For what was basically an oil change, tire rotation, and a washer fluid fill-up.

Is it that expensive in the United States, or is this just crazy European price gouging?? I expected the oil to be expensive, but honestly.

Name Dropper

2010-01-31T12:14:00.000-08:00

Have I ever told you that I am a name dropper? Well, I am. And, I'm writing this blog post specifically for my mother. She is going to be really jealous that I hung out with...

ELKE this weekend. And, FRAU ANNA. In RAMSTEIN.

We decided that there were a few things that we needed that we are not able to get where we live. Just as an example, a humidifier or vaporizer for our congested son. So, we thought that we would take the opportunity to travel to Ramstein for a little BX shopping trip.

Ramstein is the largest American air base in Europe. And, truly, the whole area is Little America. So, we Americans tend to enjoy a little trip to Ramstein to experience the comforts of home (well, as close as they can get to home). As I know I've said before, when I was growing up my family was stationed there for three years, so in a lot of ways a trip there is like a trip down memory lane.

Typically, a visit to Ramstein includes but is not limited to:

1. Staying at Hotel Anna, formerly the Gruner Woog, where my family stayed in 1988 when we moved to Ramstein and were waiting for our house. I love staying there, because the same woman still runs it (Frau Anna), and she is incredibly wonderful; the breakfast is fantastic and reminds me of my childhood; and the room is only 60 euros for the night. Frau Anna is actually Italian, and as we lived in Italy, that is familiar too. In typical Italian style, we called Anna once we got into town, and she told us to just walk into the hotel and take the key for room 104. She wasn't there. She would just see us at breakfast the next morning. Domani.

2. Driving by the house my family lived in for three years, which is conveniently in the neighborhood across from Hotel Anna.

3. Pointing out all the things that are the same about our village and the things that have changed. At this point, Chris knows what I am about to say, since I have already mentioned these things a million times.

4. Driving by my school and every other building on base, so that I can do the same thing as in number 3.

5. Going to the new BX and eating at Macaroni Grill. It used to be Chili's, but now we have a big choice to make.

So, I decided to add a big activity on a whim. I saw the sign for Elke's Antiques, and knew I just had to stop. Elke's was a family favorite when we lived in Ramstein twenty years ago.

My mother was a big antique shopper. I really don't know how else to describe it other than inspirational. She and her friends were notorious for their shopping skills, and they always took the opportunity to share WIT tips with us young girls (Women In Training). Often, these WIT tips involved important lessons on hiding ENTIRE china sets in my closet so that my dad didn't know we had them. If caught, I knew to say that they belonged to Miss Jane and that we were hiding them for her. I'm really partially kidding. I was actually told this, but I know my mother wouldn't lie to my dad about her purchases. She just hoped he didn't find out about them for a long time.

Probably the piece de resistance was the time my mother bought an antique grandfather clock from Elke's and had it delivered to coincide with our moving van so that she could sneak it into our household goods shipment back to the States before my dad could find out. He messed up the plan by showing up at an inopportune moment, and ordered Elke's to take it back.

But, some of my favorite things of my mother's are from Elke's, and I just wanted to see what they had in their store.

So, when we showed up, we were greeted by Elke, her husband, and her son, Matthias, who appears to be running the show now. I immediately dropped my mom's name, her friend Mary's name (Mary was a really, really big shopper too), and told them the grandfather clock story to jog their memories. They instantly started talking to each other in really fast, excited German. YES! They knew who I was talking about!

We were enveloped into the family that day. Matthias took us into their warehouse to give us a crash course on the business and show us all of their amazing antiques. My husband is actually considering allowing me to purchase something, knowing that we will somehow have to find a way to get it to Geilenkirchen. I had such a blast.

The drive back home today was gorgeous. We had a big snowfall on Saturday throughout Germany, and the trees and fields looked spectacular. It was the most picturesque winter landscape I think I've seen in a long time. We drove through the Mosel region, and the hills and vineyards were just breathtaking covered in snow. Did I have my camera to show you a picture? No, of course not.

But, I did get to see Elke. And, Anna. That was for you, Mom.

It's a Date

2010-01-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

The sun is out today! So, I packed up my baby and decided that he and I would have a lunch date today. And, it was a great day!

I have to say, we have had a rough week as far as sleep is concerned. Jackson has had a stuffy nose, which means that we have had a serious lack of rest. But, I was not going to be deterred in going out and enjoying the day.

I told you last week that we went to the Sittard market for the first time. Since it was market day again, I decided to try braving the parking and navigating all alone, just because I'm that daring (and I have a GPS).

Not only did I get to Sittard an entirely new way without my GPS, I found an incredible parking lot. A parking lot surrounded by totally new shops to explore and very close to the market.

Being that it was lunchtime, and Jackson was getting hungry, I headed straight for Bagels and Beans, which is the best bagel and coffee shop ever (and, mind you, I love Starbucks). I had a wonderful lunch, and so did Jackson. Who wouldn't love carrots and apples/blueberries for lunch in all their pureed glory?

I was so proud of myself by the time we left. We had managed not to make a huge mess, Jackson really didn't make a scene, and he had admirers smiling at him the entire time.

I had some time to get some things in the market, and then I headed back to the shopping area near the car. Wow! First of all, I am thrilled to announce that it is officially time to start buying tulips. And, the fact that we live near Holland means that they are starting to emerge everywhere. I was so bummed that I didn't have my camera with me.

We went to a florist shop so that I could admire the tulips, and I ended up buying a pretty winter wreath for our front door, and a Carnival clown. Yes, a Carnival clown. They had a great display, and I am such a sucker for those. I am every marketing and merchandising person's dream consumer.

Well, since I did not have my camera, I took a picture of the beautiful bouquet of flowers that my husband brought home for me last night. I have a great husband who, from the beginning of our relationship, figured out that I melt when he brings me tulips. They are my favorite. So, I got some beautiful white tulips and pink roses last night, just because he loves me. He's the best! Enjoy.

Maastricht

2010-01-23T09:41:00.000-08:00

Today we went to a really cool city only a half-hour away from us called Maastricht in the Netherlands. You may recognize it as the city where d'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers lost his life. Oh, you never read it either?

For several months now, I have been annoying the heck out of Chris, because every time I see a sign for Maastricht I say, "Do you know what happened in Maastricht?" I have him trained now. The correct answer involves the signing of the Maastricht Treaty which was a major treaty establishing all the political entities of the European Union. Wow, you might be thinking, who really cares?

Well, my Master's thesis was on European Union security policy and drew heavily on the Maastricht Treaty. As I will never probably use this information professionally, my husband is doomed to listen to my ramblings on this kind of boring academic nonsense. So, I think he was relieved that we finally visited this sacred place.

Anyways, it was a fantastic city on the Maas River. We got a fantastic parking spot, and decided to find a spot for lunch first. We started looking in the picturesque Vrijthof square, but in cafe after cafe and restaurant after restaurant, we started to realize that this was going to be more difficult than we thought. We were not finding a stroller/baby-friendly place to sit.

So, we started walking. I will say that this is not unique to this particular city. I am so envious of people who have children in the United States. How exciting it must be to encounter doors that are automatic, not to mention big enough for a stroller; high chairs; changing tables in the restrooms. Must be nice.

Anyways, our walk took us through an extensive shopping area and over the St. Servatius Bridge, which dates to the year 1289. We found a chocolatier that catered to Ronald Reagan's chocolate needs and another fun candy store that was decked out for Carnival. I bought some colorful marshmallow Carnival clowns for some lucky kids I know. Check out the chocolate Carnival masks:

At a certain point, we really needed to find a spot to park Jackson so we could feed and change him. And, we did something that we would normally never do. We stopped at a McDonald's in the Markt square. Sigh. My thought was that they would have high chairs and changing tables in the bathrooms. It's McDonald's. But, no, I was wrong on both counts. They did actually have space for the stroller, though.

And, get this. This made it worth it. They had STROOPWAFFEL McFLURRIES. For those of you who know and love stroopwaffels like we do: I KNOW!!

So, anyways, I digress. We also found this really amazing baby and children's boutique right on the riverfront. It was so fun! They had so many wonderful things to buy for baby gifts. I found some really great hooded towels with this fun fabric of traditional Dutch scenes. Sounds weird, but really cute. I used to buy people Venetian lace booties for baby gifts, but now I think I have another fun, local European gift for people back home.

And, if that wasn't enough, we found an awesome store called Oil & Vinegar that sold all kinds of great culinary finds from the Mediterranean. There were some beautiful olive wood bowl sets, gorgeous servingware, Italian wines, Italian and Greek food products, and much more. This would be an awesome place to buy gifts for people.

We walked back to Vrijthof to see the big tourist attractions. There are two really beautiful cathedrals, one Catholic (St. Servatius) dating to 1000, and the other a Dutch Reformed Protestant church right next door (St. John) that is 14th century (Protestant since 1600s). Here is a picture. The red bell tower belongs to St. John's, and the cathedral to the right is St. Servatius.

We had a lovely time in Maastricht, and can't wait for a return visit! We would just love to find a good restaurant where you can have a stroller with you.

Weekday Fun

2010-01-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

I have had a kind of "I miss Aviano" week. I miss the people, the mountain, the coffee, the food, the shopping, even the base. I don't really miss my house...especially the scorpions. But, I think this is all because it's January and dreary - perfect melancholy weather.

However, I have started getting out there and having fun. I have a couple of new friends who have met up with me each Thursday for the past few weeks to chat over lunch, sew together, or, like yesterday, go to the market.

I had heard nothing but good things about the Sittard market on the Netherlands side of the border. So, we went and walked around. What a great place! It had your typical European market products. I bought some produce, bread, and treats for my nephews.

But, the square is beautiful! The architecture and stores are outstanding. This will be a great hangout place, for sure.

The Dutch people are gearing up for Carnival. So, lots of shops had their traditional Carnival colors in the windows - red, green, and yellow. I think I'll get a couple little things, but I am not into the idea of wearing a costume. All the decorations made me really excited that there is a fun holiday season approaching in the middle of what I usually consider a boring time of year.

Last night was also the International Women of GK meeting, and the theme was Turkish night. Our ladies from Turkey put on a really cool fashion show, highlighting formalwear from a designer who takes inspiration from the Ottoman Empire. There was a lot of great embroidery and fabric. The food was great, too. It made me long for another trip to Turkey. Maybe someday.

It was a great day, and made me realize just how happy I am to be a stay-at-home mom in Germany!

Weekend

2010-01-17T21:54:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we had another Give Parents a Break date. I know what you're thinking - you dating fools, do you ever spend time with your son, or do you farm him out to anyone and everyone on the weekends?

Well, just to give you peace of mind, our date was supposed to last from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., but Jackson wasn't having it. We got a call around 1:30 to pick him up, because they couldn't get him to stop crying. However, we did spend a nice few hours exploring the village of Gangelt.

What I loved, first of all, about this past Saturday was the ability to go into stores on a whim without having to get Jack in and out of the car. That was probably the most exciting part of the whole deal. I found a fun little grocery store, where my purchase was a package of cookies for my nephew, Luke, that had a German Cookie Monster on it. Hey, Koekiemonster, can you tell me how to get to Sesamstrasse?

We stopped into an antique shop, Antik Wichert, that I drive by all the time, and always want to check out. We ate at a great restaurant, Haus Hamacher, and checked out the best little cafe, Münchhausen Erzählkaffee. Ultimately, we had a great day, and realized that Gangelt is a fantastic little village right in our area. The restaurant itself was situated in a lake/wildpark area that will be perfect once the spring arrives.

On Sunday, Jackson went happily to childcare while we attended church, and then to a new marriage small group on the movie Fireproof and the study The Love Dare. I was thrilled that he lasted through both of those without making a scene. I guess we're in that phase where he notices Mom and Dad have left him. I, myself, was such a child, and remember going nuts whenever my Mom left me. So, it's justice, I suppose.

Well, Jackson is busy doing his favorite activity (crawling backwards), so I'd better settle in for a nice day with him. And, start planning our next date - maybe next weekend?

Snow Day

2010-01-10T06:03:00.000-08:00

Well, no trip to Tongeren this weekend. We have been living in a true winter wonderland for the past week. It has been lovely.

We had snow practically all week, and we had a nice time easing back into our usual routines.

Yesterday, we had a date to go see the movie Avatar, while our new babysitter watched Jackson. We had a fantastic time (although I could do without the preachy political messages throughout the movie). However, the snow really came down yesterday.

And, today, we woke up to an even heavier snowfall. So, we decided to stay in today and do things like make snow ice cream. We took Jackson outside to play a little in it. Here are the boys in our backyard:

I love it!

They Can't All Be Winners

2010-01-02T23:05:00.000-08:00

We decided to drive to Cologne on our beautiful sunny Saturday. We got there around noon (it's about an hour from here), and decided to try out a recommended Mexican restaurant that was not in the city center and across the bridge, which would turn out to spell doom for the rest of our day.

The Mexican restaurant was quite good. But, by the time we ate and fed Jackson, dark clouds and snow had started to swirl around the plans we had to see the city. We started driving back over the bridge toward the city center.

However, the whole rest of the city had too. We were headed toward the famous neo-Gothic Cologne cathedral and the parking garage located right beneath it. Ha ha. The bridge, drive, and search for parking took an entire hour before we finally found a space, not in the parking garage underneath the cathdral, but down the street.

Here are some pictures we took while stuck in traffic:

Anyways, by the time we got out of the car, snow was coming down a little harder. It was after 3:00, which meant that all the major sights in the cathedral, like the Shrine of the Magi, were closed for Saturday confession. So, we did what any American tourist would do. We headed to the Starbucks right around the corner.

Here's what the executives at Starbucks should know. Your business should turn a massive quarterly profit during these months based on what we have seen in Germany. When we went to Aachen last week, we headed to Starbucks, only for me to see the massive line and quit immediately. In Cologne, however, the line would not deter me. I needed some Starbucks on that cold day, if only because I could order nonfat milk in my fun-flavored latte. As much as I love European cafes, you really can't get the nonfat milk options.

Once I had my caffeine fix, I was ready for the cathedral - or, what we could see of the cathedral because of our poor timing.

I need to interject here that Olaf, from Barkenhof, told me the other day that he could "see in [my] face that [I am] a coffee drinker." I don't know if he really can or if he was just actually trying to sell me green tea. I wanted to ask him if my haggard face was due to the coffee or maybe that I have a baby. Either way, I need my caffeine.

We were pleased to see that we could still get in the cathedral, even if we couldn't see all the impressive shrines and important artwork. The sheer height of the ceilings and the stained glass windows were just amazing.

We also walked to the Roman-German museum nextdoor, and were able to peek into the window to see a Roman villa mosaic floor that was only discovered because of the massive bombing campaign by the Allies during World War II. We didn't go into the museum during the trip because of the late hour and the second tooth of Jackson's that chose to start poking through his gums right at that moment. Poor guy. He did an excellent job on that trip, only choosing to start screaming right at the end.

We decided that Cologne looks like a winner. Next time, we know exactly what we need to do to park and actually enjoy all the sights. To next time!

Next weekend we have a fun day-trip lined up. It's so exciting, I can't stand it. There is an antiques fair going on in the grand pilgrimmage city of all antique lovers: Tongeren, Belgium. Woohooo!

Happy 2010

2010-01-02T09:55:00.000-08:00

Glückliches Neues Jahr (German)! Gelukkig Nieuwjaar (Dutch)! We hope that you have had a great start to 2010. Isn't it crazy that it has been an entire decade since we partied like it was 1999, and were awaiting Y2K at midnight?

We were really surprised by the firework displays on New Year's Eve here. We stayed in for a quiet night, but knew that there would be fireworks around the area. We knew because neighbors were practicing their launches for a few days prior, and it was loud.

But we had no idea just how extensive the displays would be. Every town for miles had quite the show going on. We looked out a window on our second floor and could see them all on the horizon. It was spectacular.

It was also pretty funny, because in the United States there are such regulations involved with fireworks. People can't be within so much distance of the launch site. Here, on the other hand, you can apparently launch full fireworks shows from your backyard. I was imagining that people would just have sparklers and firecrackers at their houses. No, it was really full-blown fireworks. In their yards. In every town on the horizon. So, it was awesome. Just really loud, and just a tad scary.

We had some friends over on New Year's Day for a nice brunch, and it was a great way to welcome in the new year. Happy 2010!

Elusive Candles

2009-12-30T05:52:00.000-08:00

I have been searching high and low for taper candles. Seriously. I have looked just about anywhere I can think of, and I can't seem to find them! Do candle companies just not make them anymore?

The good side to this is that I went to a beautiful new store yesterday. It's called Barkenhof, and it is a stone's throw from my house. The owners, Olaf and Elke, have a gorgeous German version of a villa, and they operate the store in the downstairs.

Olaf walked us through and gave us quite the education on some of the products - champagnes, oils, dishware, antiques. Cheeses, dates imported all the way from the Negev, delectable figs.

I was interested in the store, primarily because I heard they sold candles. Well, they do, but not the tapered version I would like.

However, getting to spend an hour with Olaf was a treat. Olaf is a self-described cook and nutritionist and he is also a great salesman. By the end of the visit, Chris and I walked out with a bottle of secht (German champagne), an Italian pannetone, cheese, dates, and a bottle of Italian lemon-flavored olive oil. We are throwing a New Year's Day brunch for some friends, so I will be using all of this then.

I am thrilled, though, that this store is so close. They have great teas and things that I will be able to cook with. They also have some great dishes and antiques that I will be interested in later on, I'm sure. The building itself is stunning. Part of the store has a kitchen where Olaf whips up treats for his guests so that you leave with an armful of products. I have my eye on some Italian Modena vinegar the next time I go.

What a great find!

Frohe Weihnachten & Prettige Kerstdagen

2009-12-26T12:11:00.000-08:00

Or, Merry Christmas! We hope that you had a great Christmas this year. Ours was very low-key, which was nice.

We did get to go to the Aachen Christmas market on Wednesday, and had a fabulous time. It was my favorite market we attended this year.

It's been a great weekend spending time with Chris and Jackson for Jack's first Christmas. I am really glad we get to have the time together as a family.

I was planning on sending Christmas cards this year. I even ordered them from Snapfish on November 24. However, we still have not received them. So, I will send them out when we finally get them. But, I do hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and 2009.

Frohe Weihnachten (German for Merry Christmas) & Prettige kerstdagen (Dutch) from Germany!

Real German Obsession

2009-12-21T03:16:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you would really call this a complaint. But, Germans are OBSESSED with the appearance of their homes. I guess it's more of an admiration. But, it makes me feel stressed out and guilty about the appearance of my own house.

I picture the neighbors next door and across the street making a list of the days that go by where we don't go outside and sweep or mow or pick up miniscule sticks or rake - whatever - and handing this list over to our landlord periodically.

Really, I don't know where on earth they find the time. Since we moved in almost two months ago, I have used my time to put things away, get ready for Christmas, take care of my child, and go out to enjoy Germany. Oh, and do errands. That's it.

Our next-door neighbors, on the other hand, are out as early as 6:00 a.m. taking care of their yard. I'm not kidding. Everyone is out sweeping the sidewalk and clearing the gutters all the time. I try, when I come in from an errand, to take care of something if it seems out of place, but sweeping the sidewalk loses priority to, say, feeding my child, which seems to take up approximately 50 percent of my time.

I'm assuming that the inside of their homes are just as immaculate. Where on earth do they find the time and energy?

I am feeling increasingly guilty after the snow storm we just had yesterday. Even though it snowed, we made time to go to church and still made it to the brunch reservations we had. Priorities. Today, Chris had a day off. We would much rather be at a Christmas market, but instead are cleaning the house.

Chris is off to buy a snow shovel, as we do not have one, and our neighbors shoveled right on up to our part of the sidewalk and stopped. I'm taking it as a hint. They also love to pull our garbage and recycling cans up to the middle of our driveway exactly two seconds after the garbage or recycling men empty them at 7:00 a.m. when I am still drinking coffee and am nowhere near dressed for the day. Honestly, give me a couple minutes!

I think they all hate me for my lack of obsession over the outside of my own house. But, I hope that I am just giving them more self-pride over their own homes. When Chris gets home today from buying the snow shovel, I MIGHT go out and shovel. Or, I might not. I also need to bake cookies for an outing to an orphanage tomorrow and I honestly don't have time to do both. Sheesh.

I might take some of the cookies as a peace offering to our neighbors. Seriously, if I keel over from exhaustion and stress during the next three years, you can blame it on my sense of worthlessness over my housekeeping skills.

Our First Date

2009-12-19T22:34:00.000-08:00

Well, Chris and I finally had our first date since Jackson was born. I know, you're probably thinking, "Isn't Jackson five months old?" Yes, it has taken us that long to go out on a date without our son!

I think that if we had stayed in Aviano, I would have felt more comfortable with finding a babysitter so that we could go out. But, we moved. And, I am comfortable saying that I am incredibly overprotective regarding our new search for a babysitter.

So, I heard about Parents' Day Out, which was hosted by the childcare center at JFC Brunssum. I immediately jumped on that opportunity, as adults would be providing the childcare, and not a 12-year-old.

We bravely left Jackson and decided to go back to Valkenburg to check out the other cave Christmas market. This time, I had my ducks in a row. We found excellent parking right in the center of town, which was also right across from the Velvet Caves.

We had a nice time checking out the market, but in the end decided that the Cauberg Cave market we visited before was actually better. But, we made a nice day of it, and spent the rest of our time checking out the beautiful little center of town.

Valkenburg is packed with restaurants, so we chose one that we would ordinarily dismiss because it looked too nice to bring our infant. We relished the fact that we didn't have a stroller and could linger over food.

We also stopped in a nice home decor store, and I found an interesting clock that I decided I needed. So, the day was a success. It was also bitterly cold, although we had some beautiful sun. It has been snowing off and on during the past week, so we had a nice dusting on the ground.

And, I'm pleased to report that Jackson was not screaming or crying when we picked him up.

Battle of the Bulge: 65 Years

2009-12-12T23:31:00.000-08:00

This December marks the 65th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. Because we are in such close proximity to Belgium, we decided that this year we would make the less than two-hour drive to Bastogne to participate in this year's commemoration. Chris and I are both avid readers of World War II history and fans of the HBO series Band of Brothers.

I was equal parts excited and filled with dread over taking this day trip. I felt so privileged to get to see Bastogne, but I didn't know how it would go with our five-month-old. Fortunately, he did so well!

We got up incredibly early to make the drive. The day started with a walk through the Bastogne countryside. There were four walks to choose from: 8 km, 12 km, 16 km, and 23 km. We chose the 12 kilometer walk.

We bundled up our son in a snowsuit, put him in a backpack carrier, and off we went. Jackson was so great during the entire walk. We walked by a few families whose babies or toddlers were screaming, and I was worried that Jack would soon follow suit. But, he was a happy baby and just looked around or slept the entire time. I was, as usual, concerned about his warmth, but he was fine.

The walk was perfect, although cold and even snowing. It was fitting since the soldiers who were fighting there in 1944 were entrenched in freezing, snowy conditions. We went through some forest areas, and there were so many battle re-enactors throughout the walk. What was really funny, though, was to see all of these young men dressed in American 101st Airborne outfits - who spoke French.

In fact, there was an incredible amount of respect for Americans on display throughout the town for this event. There were American flags everywhere - hung on the side of buildings, flown up flagpoles, draped out of windows. The people of Bastogne are remarkably still humbled and grateful for what our soldiers did for them during World War II.

While I don't believe I've seen the rampant anti-Americanism that people say is present throughout Europe (sure, there are some who don't like us, but not the vast majority as some would have you believe), it was really incredible to see Europeans who absolutely love and embrace us. It made me really proud of our countrymen who sacrificed in Bastogne.

Once the walk was over, we went to a cafe in General McAuliffe square. As we settled in for some lunch, an elderly man in his paratrooper uniform came in. I noticed that he had on his uniform the medal that indicated he had jumped over Normandy. I got really excited that a real hero was in our midst. To make it even better, there was a man in a suit that came up to this man, and since I am an eavesdropper in these situations, I overheard this man introduce himself as a McAuliffe - a descendent of some sort of General McAuliffe. Now I was really excited. I really wanted to get a picture of Jackson with these two men.

However, Chris and I both agreed that we did not want to interrupt their conversation or their lunch. It would be rude, so we wanted to wait for a better time. But, then, Jackson started getting really loud. He's in a phase where I think he really likes the sound of his own (loud) voice. So, we promptly left the cafe.

We watched a parade, and then went to see the annual "Walnut Festival", where dignitaries from Bastogne and, this year, some veterans from the Battle of the Bulge came out onto a hotel balcony to throw walnuts into the crowd. This is to celebrate General McAuliffe's brave response to a German surrender request: "NUTS!"

One of the men on the balcony this year was a feeble veteran who pulled himself out of his wheelchair, wearing his baseball cap marked with the word "Currahee", to gleefully launch these walnuts into the crowd. It was incredible to see, and it just made me think how Americans so need to see this kind of gumption today. With each throw, I could just picture a group of these guys proclaiming to the enemy: We. Will. Not. Surrender.

We had such an amazing time in Bastogne. We have agreed that we want to come back each year that we are here. The town is beautiful and this was one of my favorite experiences that we have had in Europe.

In fact, I would highly recommend doing this to any of you - even if you are in the United States. If you are at all interested in World War II history, have considered taking a trip to Europe, or even just appreciate our veterans, make this journey! It won't be long before there are no more veterans taking part in this annual event.

We got a picture of Jackson with a group of Battle of the Bulge veterans, even though he was fast asleep. We couldn't pass up the opportunity:

St. Nikolaus Is Coming To Town

2009-12-05T11:26:00.000-08:00

It's December 5th, which means only one thing...OK two things in our house. Today is my 31st birthday, but something even more exciting happens each and every year on this day. St. Nikolaus comes to visit!

I have always looked forward to the month of December for numerous reasons. I love Christmas and the whole Christmas season. People always wanted to take pity on me for having a birthday in December, but I can honestly say that I never felt like I lost out. My parents really always made it special.

Once my family moved to Germany in 1988, we adopted another special December custom - St. Nikolaustag. On this night, many European children are putting out their shoes so that St. Nikolaus, or Sinterklaas in Holland, can fill them with goodies. He's similar to our Santa Claus, but clearly comes to visit children on a different day than Christmas.

Even as we got older, my mother continued to celebrate St. Nikolaustag with us. And, it's actually something I so look forward to each and every year. My mom is perhaps the best gift-giver ever. She is so generous and incredibly thoughtful. And, you just love the gifts you receive - they are always great and beautifully wrapped. She really takes extra time for each and every one of us.

So, I look extra forward to getting the big St. Nikolaus box in the mail each year. In fact, right now, at the end of my birthday, I'm more excited for waking up tomorrow so we can see what St. Nikolaus brought us than I was to wake up today. And, I'm really really excited to see what he brought for Jackson's first St. Nikolaustag. It's always a bunch of things that we can use for the Christmas season - Christmas cooking items from Williams Sonoma, linens, puzzles, music - oh, it's so fun!

In our village, there was a St. Nikolaus event tonight. I made sure to check on the way home from my hair appointment to see what time it started. The woman told me, "half past seven." So, we packed up Jackson in a cute little outfit and walked on over to the restaurant - just in time for it to be pretty much over. Man! I don't know if the woman just told me the wrong time, or if she didn't understand how to say the correct time in English.

But, Jackson got to meet St. Nikolaus, get his picture taken with him, and get a gift bag from him. Holy cow! We got home and looked through the bag. It is chock full of goodies!

I can't wait to see what St. Nikolaus brings us tomorrow morning!

Hair

2009-12-05T05:06:00.000-08:00

Oh, it's such a difficult thing - choosing a new hair person when you move. It's actually a bit scary when you have to venture out to a new place - and aggravating to have to begin anew with someone who doesn't know where your part is, how you like your highlights, where you like your bangs to fall.

I can't even tell you how much harder it is to do this in a foreign country. My first Italian haircut was a disaster. The woman actually looked at my hair - blonde and fine - and said to me, "I have seen hair like this before." Well, I hope so - you do hair for a living!

My very last haircut in Italy was amazing. I was so sad that I found an Italian who could do a great job, and I was leaving.

It was definitely time for me to get a haircut, so I mustered up the courage and scheduled an appointment for this morning. I went to a salon that was recommended by the Living in GK website called Aphrodite in the Netherlands. If it were MY website, I would not make the recommendation. Oh wait, I have one! So, here is my NONrecommendation.

I showed up and they didn't have me written down. OK, someone's mistake. There was one really great English-speaker who was able to make total sense to me and who asked great questions and really seemed to get it. She did my color. Even though I explained that I wanted to grow my hair out, did not want layers anymore unless they were subtle and blended, and long bangs, I got the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of all those things. I don't think she managed to convey all my requests to the guy cutting and "styling" my hair.

I was also really annoyed, because I came in and was bombarded with questions the entire time about things that are usually just assumed by other hair stylists. "What color do you want out of this book?" Um, I don't know anything about color. I just don't want brassy highlights. "What is brassy?"

"Do you want us to dry your hair?" "Do you want us to style your hair?" "Do you want mousse in your hair?" I just want you to do my hair with the other requests I made taken into account! The rest is up to you as the hair person!

There was also some hair emergency with me early on where the color was, I guess, "bleeding" into my hair too fast (?) and so they rushed me to the sink to wash it out right away. Then we started over. I was weirded out by that too.

The pro here was that it was a nice place (they constantly asked me what I wanted to drink), and was pretty cheap considering I am paying in euros and it was a nicer salon.

I think I'm trying somewhere else next time. And, at this point, my hair will never grow back out.

Only in Holland

2009-11-29T09:39:00.000-08:00

We have had a great weekend. Yesterday, we had our church Thanksgiving dinner, which was a lot of fun. We got home just in time to watch the Sooners beat the Cowboys (Boomer Sooner!) on our new TV (our not-so-older TV was injured in the move).

Today we decided that we would begin Christmas market season. Oh, how I love Christmas markets - and everything else related to Christmas, mind you. I remember a year ago, being in Montgomery, AL, and so bummed because I was missing this time of year in Europe. I had no idea we would get to stay!

Anyways, the first of the markets I wanted to visit this year was in a town about a half-hour from here called Valkenburg, in Holland. I had seen this thing advertised everywhere. You see, the town has a hilltop castle ruin dating from the 11th century. There are caves in the hilltop beneath the castle, and the Christmas market is in the caves. Very cool, right?

So, we got out the GPS, and I got out my Holland guidebook. Plugged in the address to the caves listed in my guidebook. We got there, parked WAY up at the top of a hill, hiked down, waited in line, finally got in. Had a really great time. This was, in fact, worth it.

There were not only decent Christmas decoration vendors throughout the market, but there were also great gifts to buy. There was a restaurant/bar constructed into the caves for this, and it was just a really fantastic time. We were really interested in the caves themselves, and decided that we needed to head back eventually for a tour.

So, on the way out of town, I started to look back through the advertisement I had and my guidebook and noticed something interesting. They were called different things. One (the one we went to, the "oldest and largest subterranean Christmas market in Europe") was Gemeentegrot (Cauberg Caves) and the one on the advertisement ("the most popular indoor Christmas event" in Holland) is Fluweelengrot (Velvet Caves).

So, we went to the wrong one. There are, in fact, TWO cave Christmas markets in Valkenburg, Holland. I was actually wondering, because the one I wanted to go to had been talked up in regard to their theme - Charles Dickens Christmas village. The one we went to had some Christmas trees and fake polar bears everywhere, and I was thinking, "How lame, this is not a great Charles Dickens theme" the entire time we were there. I mean, it was a nice market, but not as Christmas-y as I had been hoping for.

And, I had remembered seeing the castle ruins, but then got turned around and didn't think we were under the castle at all. And, we weren't.

I have to interject here that I love Holland. I really do. But, their language scares the heck out of me. Good thing that most speak English amazingly well. And, I love foreign languages! I'm pretty good at learning them! But, I can't decipher or understand a word that comes out of the mouth of a Dutch person, and I don't think I ever will. So, it's no small wonder that I got completely confused.

But, Valkenburg looked so great, that we are thinking about going back. To the OTHER cave Christmas market. And to walk around the town.

Just an FYI, though, if for some reason you are reading this and want to go to one of these things. Be prepared for crowds and pushy pushy people.

On the way home, we decided to stop in to the Nikolaus Markt in Geilenkirchen, as today was the last day. It was OK. It had more of a festival feel to it, and it was fun to be back at a German fest. It reminded me of my childhood - the little amusement park rides for children, the candy stalls, gluhwein, bratwurst. In the end, we decided to support the Canadian NATO booth and got caribou burgers and moose milk. Nothing says Germany like that, right?

My favorite purchases today were the pretty Advent wreath I bought in GK and the gorgeous Delftware (blue and white porcelain) ornaments I bought in Valkenburg. Good shopping today. Oh, and if you are a family member, you will be getting some sweet treats in your Christmas packages from the markets.

I love Christmas in Europe!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T00:47:00.000-08:00

"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100

From the Cooper house to yours - Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for God's provision during the past year. A wonderful husband who returned safely from a deployment; a beautiful baby boy who has given me joy; a smooth move from one foreign country to the next; a lovely home to call ours (scorpion-free) for the next few years; health and financial security; the ability to call myself an American; family and friends throughout the world who are amazing; and salvation I do not deserve!

Here's to another year filled with blessings! Now, I'm going to go get my turkey ready for the slow cooker (doesn't fit in the oven) and take my son on a walk on this very rare sunny northern Germany day!

Odds & Ends

2009-11-22T10:27:00.000-08:00

Do you like my new blog design? It looks pretty much exactly like my awesome Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag. Seriously.

I have too much time on my hands.

Anyways, this week has been busy in our continuation of settling in. I joined a stroller fitness class, which is really a great group and workout. I kind of thought it would be lame, but it's not!

This weekend was the Geilenkirchen bazaar. We volunteered for a some of it. Chris played Santa Claus on Friday (I, of course, got Jackson's first picture with Santa).

The bazaar here is teeny tiny compared to the one at Aviano, but we still got some great gifts. Two of the vendors sold me out to the ladies running the event - they have already approached me about working on next year's committee! I agreed to it, but said that I do not want to be in charge of the actual event.

This week will be busy in preparation of Thanksgiving. Thursday will honestly be a normal day for us. Now that Chris works for NATO, he does not have Thanksgiving as a day off. We'll probably do a pared down version that evening. That's actually a lifesaver for me, because we have the smallest oven known to man now. If I make any turkey on Thursday (and let's be honest, I haven't been to the Commissary yet to see if there is anything left), it will have to be in the slow cooker.

So, we are doing a big Thanksgiving on Saturday with our church. That should actually be a lot of fun.

The fall is moving way too quickly!

Naarden

2009-11-14T11:51:00.000-08:00

Today we drove about two hours away to a cool town called Naarden in Holland. It's right outside of Amsterdam, but we were just going for a quick day-trip, so no stop in that city quite yet.

I hadn't dropped the news to Chris until last night as to what we would be doing there. He assumed it was a Christmas market, but it was really an event called "La Table" something or other. It was a fair to showcase things you would put on your table, like china, silver, and decorative items! It was actually held in the town's Gothic church, which was quite beautiful.

Chris was a good sport though and went willingly. It was actually a little disappointing. They had a lot of redundant vendors - LOTS of silver and china, but few furniture vendors, as an example. They had a couple cool things, like a Portuguese vendor selling beautiful plates and wool items, but in the end I didn't buy anything except some Italian-looking furniture tassels that I will use to decorate at Christmas.

Anyway, the event was not worth returning to, but the little town of Naarden was a must-see in our opinions. It is a city that was annihilated by the Spanish in the 1500s. The town then built up a fortress around itself that is in the shape of a star. It is surrounded by water, and the buildings are so beautiful. The town is packed with fun stores - antiques, wine stores, etc. We definitely want to go back when we have time to really look around. The springtime should be nice, because there are lots of walking paths and there were even people out in paddle boats on the water today (even though it was super windy and cold). We took a short walk out to see the outside of the fortified city, but then we needed to get back on the road.

Disgusting Science

2009-11-11T01:45:00.000-08:00

From Friday's Digest of The Patriot Post:

Achieving Youth by Exploiting It
In today's society that so highly values a youthful appearance for women, it's no surprise that cosmetics that promote their anti-aging qualities are big sellers. But one cosmetic maker is lending a new meaning to the term "baby-faced" and arousing controversy because of it.

The California-based cosmetic maker Neocutis trademarked an ingredient called Processed Skin Cell Proteins, or PSP. The secret behind PSP is the use of proteins derived from skin cells from a 14-week-old aborted male baby plus components from a postage-stamp sized skin sample from the same baby from Switzerland. This part of the formula for several Neocutis products is apparently designed to do everything from repairing burned and scarred skin to reversing the effects of aging.

While Neocutis defends their usage of fetal cells by comparing it to the development of polio vaccine from fetal kidney cells, critics charge that other cosmetic companies use proteins from postnatal placentas to create similar products, making fetal cell use unnecessary.

Regardless of the willingness of the donor's parents to allow the usage of the baby for research purposes, the exploitation of the unborn for such a trivial purpose reflects poorly on the priorities of our society and culture.

There's No Place Like Home

2009-11-10T23:20:00.001-08:00

It is so nice to have a house. A house where I am sitting on the couch with my laptop (complete with my Internet hooked up) and a good cup of coffee. And, LOTS of boxes that still need to be unpacked.

I am sitting here waiting for the Telecom guy to show up. I'm wondering why I need to be doing this, instead of going to Bible study, when we hooked up (we meaning Chris) the phone and Internet ourselves. Oh well.

Unpacking has been going slowly but surely. On move-in day, I went to the doctor, because of an in-grown toenail. He told me it was healing itself. Several days later, when I was completely confined to the couch, completely unable to walk, I went in for the dreaded toenail removal. I had this done several times in high school, and was so not looking forward to it. I'm so glad I went though. It's on the mend.

Anyways, we are in the part of the move where we have unpacked lots of things, but have no places to put them. Our dining room table is covered in serving pieces. Chris commented to me, "Did you leave any platters in Nove?" No, dear, I tried my best not to.

It's hard to move around to different places, because nothing you had in the last house seems to work. Especially when you go from one strangely-constructed European house to the next.

So, we broke down and went to Ikea yesterday for some cheap shelves. I was told that, if I did this, I could get really nice Belgian dining room furniture. So, I was in. I really don't enjoy Ikea, but it was nice to get out and do some shopping.

I'm also obsessed with my ongoing to-buy list. Last night, when I was up with Jackson, I was sitting in the rocker looking around the room and fidgeting because I wanted pen and paper to start listing all the things we needed for his room. I'm becoming crazy over it, I tell you.

One day, though, we will finally be done with putting everything away. I can't wait!

Some Updates

2009-11-03T00:23:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we went to Aachen, which is the closest city to us here in Germany. I think it will be our new Venice. I had not heard much about Aachen, really ever. But, it was the seat of Charlemagne's empire, so has one of the most important cathedrals and treasuries in Europe. Who knew?

Aachen also has a great shopping and dining scene. So, we wanted to just go and check out what the city has to offer. We ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant (I know, I know, but we have lived overseas now for three years and miss it) called Sausalito's. Decent food for not having Mexican options around us much. The restaurant is in a cute little square where the gorgeous Rathaus building is. There is even a Starbucks there (WOOOHOOOO!).

We actually skipped out on Starbucks to try a really great cafe/konditorei called Cafe zum Mohren, which was incredible. They had amazing desserts there, so we decided to splurge. I got a local treat called Reisfladen, which was kind of a rice pudding cake thing with cherries on top. Chris got an Eistorte (ice cream cake) that was black forest cherry-flavored. Incredible. We can't do that every weekend.

We then went to the famous cathedral, but most of it was closed off for an event. We got to see a little of the inside, though. It has beautiful mosaics and stained glass windows. I loved the churches in Italy, but this was equally beautiful.

We skipped out on the Treasury, as Jackson was getting fussy, so Mommy was also getting fussy. But, we'll have plenty of opportunities.

I was pleased to see that there is a Kathe Wohlfahrt (awesome Christmas store) opening in Aachen near the cathedral. Bonus.

We got home just in time for Germans to start ringing our doorbell for trick-or-treating. Who knew the Germans celebrated Halloween this way?? Not us. We were not prepared, so just stopped answering the door. We learned our lesson for next year. Isn't there something though about importing horrible American culture around the world? I remember just about all nationalities complaining about that...but they're trick-or-treating?? This definitely was not something German kids were doing when I lived here 20 years ago.

We have moved into our house! I am using our last Internet opportunity in the guest house until who knows when. So, we will be unpacking for awhile, but can't wait for guests!

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T00:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

Last night, we went to Trunk or Treat. Obviously, as Americans who live overseas, there are not the typical trick or treat options that there are in the United States. So, we went to the Army post Schinnen, in Holland, for trick or treating on base. They did it this way in Aviano, too. People just set up booths or decorate their cars and hand out candy to the kids.

Jackson was a glow worm this year. He was a cute one, too. He passed out pretty quickly in his stroller, but we had a good time walking around and checking out the costumes. I've decided that I want Jack to be a bee next year. There was an adorable little toddler running around as a bee, and it was absolutely precious.

Spanish Night

2009-10-30T00:07:00.000-07:00

I joined a really neat organization last night called International Women of GK. It's a social group that gets together once a month to get to know the other women, of all nationalities, across the NATO base.

It's an interesting thing to observe, actually. There are so many nations represented at Geilenkirchen, and the fact that this organization exists is intriguing. There were Americans, Canadians, Italians, Germans, Turks, and plenty of representatives from other countries too.

Last night, the women of Spain hosted the party. They were dressed in typical costume, and talked to us about different customs in Spain. They demonstrated a cider pour, and passed out samples of excellent hard cider. They made a meal of a really yummy bean and pork soup of some sort and what I think was an onion torte. It was really good either way. They also did a raffle of typical Spanish gifts. I didn't win - typical.

What was so interesting to me was to see all these women from different countries come together to socialize and conduct business - in English. We are pretty fortunate as English-speakers in the world to be able to understand so many because so many speak our language. It's pretty incredible.

I was only disappointed that I really didn't interact with women from other countries. Baby steps. My focus was just to meet some nice Americans for the moment. I sat at a table with some really great people, one of whom was new like me. I'm going to like it here!

The good ole USA is hosting next month, and I hear that the theme is going to be Fourth of July. I look forward to it!

Burg Satzvey

2009-10-26T00:53:00.000-07:00

We went on our first family adventure in Germany on Saturday evening. There is a castle, called Burg Satzvey, about an hour from here that dates back to the 1400s. It is still inhabited by a count and countess who open up their property throughout the year for different festivals and events.

This weekend was their Family Halloween festival. What a fun time! First of all, the castle and property are beautiful. They do an excellent job of keeping it up. There were great Halloween decorations, and lots of stalls selling food and other items. We had an excellent meal of German fair food. For us, it was gulaschsuppe and hot waffles with hot cherries on top for dessert. Excellent!

The festival had lots of great live music and even a giant maze. The maze would have been fun to walk through sans baby. I thought, though, that with it being Halloween there were probably things waiting to jump out at us, and that would not be cool.

Burg Satzvey hosts medieval jousts during the spring, so we will definitely be back.

Here is Jackson looking oh-so-excited about being at the castle. What a stinker.

The Newest Casa Cooper

2009-10-19T03:36:00.000-07:00

We move in on Nov. 1! We can't wait for visitors!

It's Cold Here

2009-10-15T00:39:00.000-07:00

Our little Jack is adjusting well to all the new things around him. The biggest change: cold weather! It's already pretty cold here. So, yesterday, Jack got to wear a winter hat and mittens for the first time. He didn't quite know what to do with them.

On the househunting front - this is going to be difficult. Our options yesterday: a stunning incredible dreamhouse that is not in our budget; a so-so house not in our budget; and an ugly 1960s house that is in our budget. Sigh. We are broadening our options today and lowering the number of bedrooms we want so that we can look at more houses. This is one of the most frustrating parts of moving overseas (especially in October after the summer PCS season is over).

Deutschland!

2009-10-13T01:10:00.000-07:00

We are here in Geilenkirchen! Here are some thoughts from our trip here:

1. Edelweiss Lodge & Resort in Garmish. Definitely worth going. It was beautiful (the lodge and the town). Food is vastly overpriced, however, especially considering it is a military resort. I mean, we would not have minded paying it if the food was actually any kind of quality, but it really wasn't.

2. We stopped in Ramstein Sunday night. Ah, Ramstein. I love it. My family was stationed there 1988-1991, and I was so excited to go back. We stayed at the Gruner Woog (now called Hotel Anna), which is where my family stayed when we first moved there in 1988. My friend Liz and I stayed there a couple of years ago, too. Frau Anna is just as wonderful as ever!

3. Ramstein just opened a new mall/BX on base. It is INCREDIBLE. Those of you in the United States would probably not understand the magnitude of what I am about to say, but there is a Macaroni Grill there! And, a real bookstore! And, lots of shops! And, the BX has a selection! Of everything! The baby boy clothing section alone made me want to weep tears of joy.

4. Yesterday, we left Ramstein and drove to Geilenkirchen. We are staying in an amazing guest house. Today, Chris is checking in with the new squadron, and I am...watching British satellite TV. Oh, and doing laundry. I'm assuming we are going to start househunting today as well. I can't wait! I learned some serious lessons about European homes in Italy, and am excited to apply my newfound wisdom on this hunt (ie. just because it's a quaint, picturesque, old European house doesn't mean you want to live there). Here's one thing I'm pretty sure of - I doubt there will be any scorpions anywhere around. Hallelujah!

Zugspitze

2009-10-13T00:47:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest tourist attractions at Garmisch is the Zugspitze, which is the tallest mountain peak in Germany. It's a big deal to ascend to the top, and Chris and I don't like to turn our backs on a challenge.

From the moment we started talking about doing this, though, I had a bad feeling about it. You see, I can't stand heights. But, I wanted to conquer my fear.

I also was nervous about the baby. But, everyone we talked to kept assuring us that it was fine. So, I had my checklist: blankets, pacifiers, etc. I wanted to make sure that we didn't do anything to hurt the baby's ears, and I have a perpetual need to make sure he is warm enough.

We learned some serious lessons that I would like to pass along. First of all, there are two ways to get to the top. Both involve catching the Zugspitzbahn (train) in Garmisch. Then, you can either disembark at Eibsee station, take a look at an amazing lake, and then take a really long cable car ride up to the top OR you can take the train further to Zugspitzplatt and take a shorter cable car ride up.

My thoughts were that we should stop at the lake on the way up, and then take the longer train ride down the mountain. It was recommended that, either way, we not take the long cable car ride down the mountain, because it might hurt the baby's ears.

Bad choice. We should have taken the short cable car ride BOTH WAYS. If you are in any way at all afraid of heights, do not take the long cable car ride. In fact, you can drive to Eibsee, so you can make the lake a totally separate trip for yourself, and have time to really enjoy walking around there.

From the second we started going up the mountain on the Eibsee cable car, I wanted to fall crying on the floor with my baby. I thought it was horribly scary. I think I was the only one, though.

Also, by the time we caught the cable car, clouds had rolled in. About halfway into our scary trip up, we could not see a thing, because we were entirely surrounded by clouds. I don't know if it was worse that I couldn't see anything or not, but it wasn't a good feeling.

So, we got to the top. Jackson was doing great, Mom was not liking it at all. There is a restaurant and cafe at the top, so we thought we would stop for a drink. The service was terrible, however, and I was getting antsy at the top, so we decided to just leave and descend the mountain. Besides, we could not see anything as the clouds were entrenched at this point.

We took the shorter, far less scary cable car ride down to the train station at the Zugspitzplatt. Sigh of relief. There was a glacier, a little church, a wonderful cafe, and, oh yes, rain turning into snow. Sigh. This was where you could supposedly get a great view, but we were not taking the baby out in the rain, and, again, no view because of clouds.

The train ride down would have been fantastic, but this is where Jack decided he had had enough. And, where Mom started to feel like a horrible failure for ever bothering to take her child up a mountain. Jackson lost it and screamed for most of the ride down. Sorry to all those trapped on the train with us.

So, moral of the story is this. If you don't like heights, still attempt the trip, but on the much shorter cable car ride. If you have a baby, really think long and hard about it. Either way, make sure there are NO CLOUDS in the sky when you decide to go. It was 47 euros per person. Ridiculous.

Here is the view from our hotel room (Zugspitze is the peak all the way to the left):

Here is what we could see from the bottom of the short cable car platform once the clouds had rolled in:

Arrivederci, Aviano!

2009-10-09T07:33:00.000-07:00

Wow, we are gone from Aviano! In what seemed like a whirlwind departure, we left the area and took a gorgeous drive up past Garda, Bolzano, Innsbruck, and finally arrived in Garmisch, Germany.

We are here for a few days of relaxation at the U.S. military Edelweiss Lodge & Resort before arriving at our new home in Geilenkirchen. It's been a nice day of reflection here as we have gazed at the magnificent mountains and just adjusted to being in a new (amazing) country.

Here are a couple of reflections:

1. Jackson is only three months old and he is now in his fifth country. He was born in Italy, and has been to Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, and now Germany! He is an awesome traveler (thank goodness!).

2. Just FYI for those still in Aviano: when you are PCSing, the single best thing you can do to make your move easy is to hire a cleaning lady to clean your FMO appliances and the empty house. Seriously, it is worth the money!! Don't cheat yourself out of this.

3. We had an amazing blessed three years at Aviano. I can't believe it's over. We made so many incredible friends, got to see so much, and will miss Italy tremendously.

Here is a picture of Chris and Jackson when we stopped briefly in Austria last evening. It's perfect with mountains in the background and the cows and pumpkins around them. I love it!

Shop 'Til You Drop!

2009-10-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

We took our last trip to Venice on Sunday. You would think that my priorities would have been to gaze out over the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge, or to sip on a capuccino from Piazza San Marco while reflecting on the beautiful cathedral in front of me. We definitely did all those kinds of things.

But, my big priority was to bid arrivederci to all my favorite shops. I scored a great shopper's farewell, too. In every one of my shopping destinations, I got a free gift! My mother is proud. I did get some great Christmas shopping done. In fact, we got quite a lot of gifts for our families.

I feel like I do need to put in a plug for one of my favorite jewelry stores in Venice. If you have not been to Rialto 79 (at the foot of the Rialto Bridge), you have not received quality Murano jewelry while getting quality service too. The lovely store owners always reward me with an "Aviano discount", and on Sunday they gave me a bracelet to match a necklace I was buying. Their jewelry is just stunning, and I always receive compliments on what I wear from that store.

If you see something you like, but don't see the color you are looking for, they will do what it takes to make you something there on the spot. In fact, one time I was there, they even left the store to go get more glass beads in the color I was wanting. They are lovely people.

We will miss being able to jump on a train to go to Venice whenever we would like. I have really enjoyed that whimsical city, and hope I can return one day.

Less Than a Week To Go!

2009-10-03T10:47:00.001-07:00

Phew! We are finally checked into lodging on base. We have handed our house back to our landlord, sold a car, and done a million other things to get out of here. Jackson is doing great with all the chaos, and we are leaving Italy on Thursday.

Last night, we had a going-away party and it is just so sad to be leaving. Tomorrow, we head to Venice for our last day-trip and, you never know, our last trip there period.

Here's our little pumpkin, just as an update for everyone:

Hilarity Ensues

2009-09-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

With a post title like that, I could be referring to all the asinine hurdles we have encountered along the way with our move (don't even get me started on our passport woes).

However, I'm really just referring to the interview I just saw on television between former President Clinton and Matt Lauer regarding the Clinton Global Initiative. Clinton's hilarious comment was on the fact that this year's initiative was on "women and girls". That got me laughing hysterically. Republican or Democrat, that has to put a smile on your face.

Festa di Funghi

2009-09-14T03:34:00.000-07:00

On Sunday afternoon, we ventured to Budoia, a village about fifteen minutes from us, for their annual Mushroom Festival. It was a gorgeous afternoon to just walk around and admire, well, mushrooms.

Mushrooms are a big deal in northern Italy. We live at the foot of a mountain, and around this time of year, you will constantly see people (namely, older gentlemen) pulled over to the side of the major road lining the mountain (the "mountain highway") to go walk into the woods and gather mushrooms. You see mushrooms in a lot of the dishes served in this area, too. Mushrooms are a big staple.

The festival that we went to was fun for an afternoon outing. Essentially, they had a lot of craft and food vendors set up throughout the center of town, as well as a big bar/restaurant tent. So, we just walked around, ate, and Chris drank wine.

I was most impressed by the vendor who sold homemade apple strudel loaves from the south Tirol region, as well as the vendor who came from Sicily to sell Sicilian pastries, including cannolli. Yum! I did not indulge in all this wonderful food, however. That would have been gluttonous!

The festival continues next weekend, as well, for those in the area. If you have nothing better to do, go to the festival!

September Updates

2009-09-11T23:02:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been picking up in terms of the hectic pace around here. Our little pumpkin is officially two months old, and boy is he growing! He is 14 pounds, nine ounces, and 23 1/2 inches long as of his appointment on September 3rd. That is huge, for those who don't know. I think we have a future football player in our midst.

We took a couple more trips - one overnight to Lake Bled to bid one of our favorite destinations a fond farewell, and the other trip for three nights to Croatia.

We stayed at Valamar Diamant Hotel in Poreč, which was really a great resort. The hotel was right near a "beach", which we were surprised to see had absolutely no sand. It was not at all what I was picturing. But, it was still totally beautiful. The beach itself was actually surrounded by beautiful forests of trees and the water was stunning.

There were lots of activities at the resort, including diving, go-carting, etc. Great things to do, especially if you do not have an infant!

It didn't really matter anyway, as I got horribly sick on Saturday. I had a horrible fever and was just awfully achy. I wasn't able to leave the hotel room again until Sunday night. We left on Monday. So, our vacation was not much of a vacation.

To redeem it, though, we traveled south about 45 minutes to another Istrian town, Rovinj. I was last there in October with my friend Ginny, and we had had such a great time that I wanted to take Chris there. So, the three of us wandered the gorgeous town and took in the sights. Chris, who had wandered into Poreč twice to try to get to a pharmacy for me, said that Rovinj had a lot more to offer. So, that made up for it!

We are just home relaxing this weekend, and trying to get our move in order. We FINALLY got our orders yesterday. For those not in the military, let me just tell you that it is ridiculous that we got our orders this late. I am hoping that we get our movers here September 28 & 29. Yikes!

So, today is all about trying to get a car ready to sell and a house ready to move. I can't believe this is already here. Has it really been three years since I left my job and we moved to Italy? It is definitely bittersweet.

There is so much to do! I am going to hyperventilate! We go to Piedmont for four days next weekend. I'll report on that trip later...

Trieste

2009-08-24T00:56:00.002-07:00

It is really sad, but it took us almost three years to drive the approximately hour and a half to Trieste, Italy, on the border of Slovenia. On Saturday, we drove to the beautiful city with our friends Erryn and Matt, who just moved here from Oklahoma.

Trieste is really interesting. First of all, it's beautiful and looks so different from other cities in the area. It is on the water, and is a port city for sure. But, it also is built up onto sloping hills and cliffs, and because of that is just breathtaking, especially on the drive down.

I had stopped in Trieste for lunch on a pouring rain March Sunday with some friends on the way back from Slovenia. But this was the first time either of us had gone to be tourists. We really just walked around the central downtown area, had lunch in the gorgeous Piazza della Unita, and then went to Miramare Castle.

Miramare Castle was the one really touristy thing I wanted to do, and it didn't disappoint. It was built in the nineteenth century, and has such an interesting history. The inside of the castle is really interesting, and the grounds are beautiful. You can wander the parks to see all the trees and flowers, swans, and amazing views of the water.

Like I said, Trieste is just interesting. It is a major coffee company hub for Italy (which is important, considering how important coffee is to Italians). It has been passed around to various nations for centuries. In fact, Trieste, belonging to the Austro-Hungarian empire was where the Austrian Navy was based for years. I had always wondered where Capt. Von Trapp from The Sound of Music had actually served in the Navy, since Austria is pretty landlocked.

Anyways, apparently Trieste, without any real beaches, is also a big summer getaway for people to come sun themselves. The city was packed with people walking around in bathing suits and just set up on sidewalks and things out by the water to get tans, I guess. It was actually kind of strange, but the city seems set up for this.

It's hard to believe, but we're starting to wind down our time in Italy! It's sad, really. We're starting to try to cram in little trips to places for the last time. We have a fun trip coming up to Croatia for Labor Day weekend, which should be awesome.

Then, we will hopefully start packing up and moving out! Our estimated departure date is October 8. We're going to take a few days to get to Geilenkirchen, stopping in Garmisch for a few nights. I'm so looking forward to it! In the meantime, there is a lot of work to do to get out of here.

Maniago Knives

2009-08-07T03:18:00.000-07:00

There is a town about fifteen minutes from us called Maniago. They are world-reknowned for their knife production. There are several Maniago knife companies that are typically represented at the Aviano bazaars, and because of this, I have gotten to know some of the vendors pretty well.

There is one such vendor, Martinuzzo Emilio & Co., that sells the most beautiful wooden items, such as cutting boards and kitchen islands, and all the corresponding stainless steel knives and kitchen utensils. One of the executives, Matteo, told me that I could come by the factory in Maniago to browse.

So, we took him up on that yesterday. It was particularly nice of Matteo to let us swing by the factory, because the entire company of workers is on vacation (except, apparently, for Matteo). He showed us around the factory, and was patient while we looked.

We have a knife block and knives that we registered for a few years ago for our wedding. We have been happy with them, but wanted an upgrade.

I had my eye on a cutting board that my friend Julie has, and ended up purchasing that. It has a pull-out drawer on the bottom and included some beautiful stainless steel knives. We also purchased a round wooden knife block, which also included stainless steel knives. Matteo gave me a nice deal, and threw in a knife sharpener. He also graciously gave my in-laws a stainless steel apple corer and can opener that they wanted.

Our purchases:

I'm so happy that I am leaving Italy with some beautiful quality knives! Chris and I would both love to purchase one of their islands, but we already have a marble/wrought iron one, and we just don't know what our next kitchen is going to be like. I highly recommend this company, though, for your knife needs!

Padova

2009-08-06T02:41:00.001-07:00

Our first day trip with Jackson was a success. We drove to Padova, which is about a half hour past Venice for us.

Chris and I were there over a year ago with our friend Rebecca. We thought it would be a great place to take Chris' parents.

Padova is a great day trip, because it has some fantastic sights and the city is very compact and walkable.

We started out at the Basilica of St. Anthony, who is one of the most famous saints in the Catholic Church (and probably the reason why there are so many Tonys out there). The church is a must-see, and has an important Donatello bronze statue out front in the piazza.

We walked up to Piazza Erbe where there was a market going on. We had a quick lunch, and then made it up to the Scrovegni Chapel, where we had a reservation to view the famous Giotto frescoes.

This was a really interesting process. We made reservations online to view the frescoes, and then we had to be at the museum one hour ahead of time to pick up our tickets. We then had to be outside the Chapel five minutes before our scheduled time, because the doors are automatic and will shut you out if you are not there on time.

Then, you wait and watch a quick movie about the frescoes while the room checks the humidity levels. You then get to walk into the Chapel, and have exactly fifteen minutes to view the gorgeous frescoes (about the lives of Joachim, Mary, and Jesus).

My favorite part was actually the ceiling, which was still a vibrant blue with stars. Incredible! The history is really fascinating, too. The Chapel was built by a man named Scrovegni who was basically trying to purchase salvation for his father who was a notorious usurer and was immortalized in Dante's Inferno.

We saw some other great sights, and then drove back home!

Here is our exhausted day tripper:

This Is Your Life On ObamaCare

2009-08-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

I've said time and time again that to see what your life would be like under a socialized healthcare system, just check out military healthcare. Now, I've lived with this my whole life (except for five glorious years with various civilian employee health plans), and there are times I've received fabulous care. I had wonderful care during my labor and delivery, for instance.

However, there are more times that you just want to scream in frustration. Case in point: our upcoming move.

We got our first step of paperwork to move to Germany. In order to receive the next step (our orders), Jackson and I must have medical clearance paperwork done to establish that we don't need any specialist care once we move to Germany (if we did, we would not be allowed to move there). I had to have this done to move to Italy too.

It would behoove us to get this done as soon as possible. Our orders are needed so that we can do things like schedule our movers and a whole host of other things. So, yesterday I called to schedule the appointments. While I was at it, I thought, "Hey, I can also just schedule Jackson's two-month well baby appointment."

I was greeted on the phone by a totally incompetent woman who took about five minutes to finally ask for my name. It took her about that long to also finally establish that the military hospital we go to is not taking appointments right now. She said there are only so many doctors available and they just are not scheduling anything except for same-day appointments.

"What do you mean, just in pediatrics for my son?" I asked incredulously.

"Oh, no, for the whole hospital," she replied.

"So, what am I supposed to do to get in for these appointments?"

"You can call back some other time to see if we're taking appointments."

THIS, my friends, is what you will see under our country's new exciting healthcare system (which we would be spending trillions of dollars to achieve). Nice.

Lake Barcis

2009-07-28T01:26:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we decided that we absolutely must get out of the house to enjoy the sunshine. It was a gorgeous day - sunny and not too hot!

So, we drove the twenty minutes or so into the mountains to Lake Barcis. We were rewarded with gorgeous views! The water was an amazing color that only glacier water can give you, and the sky and mountains were spectacular.

We took advantage of the great walking/biking path and walked around a portion of the lake. It was just a nice relaxing day. I would love to get to the lake more frequently to walk.

Jackson update: I probably should not say this, or I will jinx it - but we've had great stretches of sleep for the past few nights! Jack is turning his days and nights around, which is fantastic for his parents (especially his dad who had an early mission this morning!).

I feel like we are slowly getting into a routine, and I might just get to Bible study one of these days.

Chris' parents are arriving on Saturday for two weeks. I hope we will get out for some good day trips while they are here!

"Population Control" & the American Government

2009-07-18T02:59:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've heard rumblings, both on television and print news, about the U.S. government funding ways to infuse birth control hormones into genetically-modified foods. This is scary - both in contemplating what we are ingesting ourselves and what we are shipping to developing nations, as well as the implications that this has on government control of our lives.

Go to patriotpost.us to read a great related article from July 16th.

I Might Look Innocent...

2009-07-18T02:05:00.000-07:00

...but I have been keeping my parents up all night! Everyone who meets Jackson (during the day) comments on how good he is since he seems to be sleeping all the time. Let me tell you, he is wide awake at night! But, we'll keep him. He's really cute. And, I must say, he is a sweet baby.

I am slightly terrified of Chris going back to work on Monday. But, I've gone without sleep before, and I can do it now!

Just wanted to give a two-week-old update!

Gelato Cake

2009-07-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

I quickly wanted to let all the Aviano-area people know about a great find. My dad's birthday was last week while he was here, and before the baby was born, my mom and I went out in search of a cake we could order. We pretty much knew that we would be unable to do much on my dad's birthday, but we still wanted to do something special for him.

So, we were able to order a fabulous cake from Il Gelateria in Aviano (the one at the gray mall). It was tasty (two flavors of gelato) and absolutely beautiful. You can see in the picture all the work they did with meringues and chocolate to make it a work of art. It was also inexpensive! They also were able to customize it with my dad's name. Molto buono!

I highly recommend this place for any cake orders you might have in the future!

P.S.

2009-07-06T09:30:00.001-07:00

I forgot to give the details that everyone seems to want to know! Jackson was 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 21 inches long. And, no, he was definitely not named after Michael Jackson.

Baby Cooper is Here!

2009-07-06T02:13:00.000-07:00

Jackson Thomas Cooper has arrived! He was born at 1:33 a.m. on Friday, July 3. We checked into the hospital on Wednesday at around 2:30 p.m., and late Thursday the doctor decided to perform a Cesarean section. So, it was quite a long birth, but it was worth the wait.

We are all at home now, along with my parents. Today is my dad's birthday, and I think he's just thrilled to have a third happy healthy grandson to add to the family!

We are excited to introduce you to Jackson, just as soon as we are all recovered.

Living in Aviano?

2009-06-23T03:15:00.001-07:00

Our friend, Dani, sent us an excellent link to a blog for the Geilenkirchen area - livingingk.blogspot.com. It has such a great wealth of information! I only wish that someone would do something similar for the Aviano area. This really would help people.

I would totally write one, except that we are moving soon. So, someone who will be here for the next couple of years should consider doing it!

Welcome, Baby George!

2009-06-16T00:03:00.000-07:00

My newest little nephew, George, was born early Monday morning! My sister went into labor on their wedding anniversary, about a month earlier than the due date. Everyone is doing well, and I can't wait to see the newest baby!

My baby boy is still about a couple weeks away from his due date. Unlike his cousin, he appears content on staying with Mom for a bit.

This weekend, we were honored with a beautiful baby shower thrown by some good friends here. It was a tea party-themed shower (don't worry, plenty of masculine blue accents), and my friends did an amazing job putting it together. We had a lot of great people there, and were spoiled beyond belief with way too many presents.

Thanks, girls, for the fun day!

Busy, Busy!

2009-06-09T01:09:00.000-07:00

We have actually been pretty busy lately! Today is the last day of Chris' reintegration break before he heads back to work, and we've really tried to take advantage of the time.

On May 31, we celebrated Cantine Aperte with some friends from the squadron. Cantine Aperte is a day where most of the wineries in the Friuli region open their doors for wine tasting. I was Chris' designated driver, and we traveled around sampling wines. Our group started with a nice lunch in San Daniele (famous for its prosciutto), and then we hit Bulfon, which we agreed was our favorite stop of the day.

In total, we stopped at three wineries, and Chris bought 54 bottles of wine to add to our collection! The nice lady at Bulfon even gave me a free bottle of their delicious Moscato Roso, just for being enormous and pregnant, and clearly a good sport.

Chris and I spent the following night at CastelBrando, which is a gorgeous clifftop castle near Vittorio Veneto. Just for fun and to say we spent the night at the castle. The next day, we hit up some prosecco wineries (since we were in the prosecco region), and had a lovely lunch in beautiful Vittorio Veneto at a great find - Leon D'Oro. I had only a plate of pasta for lunch (Italians typically have more than one course for a meal), and for this, the woman serving us kept making reference to the fact that I was not eating enough, and NEEDED to have dessert. This kind of remark only makes you fast friends with me.

We rounded out last week with a nice day at the Caorle beach, which is only an hour away. I love this beach. It's clean and gorgeous, not too crowded (especially the day we went), and you get your pick of nice chairs with umbrellas for free.

It's been a nice break to have Chris around so much over the past couple of weeks. Now, it's back to work and waiting for the baby to arrive! It can happen any time now. I'm 36 weeks, and ready to go!

Slovenia

2009-05-28T02:46:00.000-07:00

We had an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend in Slovenia. On Friday, after Chris was done with his reintegration stuff, we drove to Ljubljana, the capital city. We checked into Hotel Lev, which is supposedly the nicest hotel in the city. Being Americans, the two biggest items on our agenda were to find the Mexican restaurant downtown, and to go see the movie Wolverine in English.

Check, and check!

The Mexican restaurant, Cantina Messicana, was excellent in our opinions. It is just nice sometimes to have non-Italian food. And, we did get to go see Wolverine in English with Slovenian subtitles the next day at the BTC City kino. Awesome!

We also did typical touristy stuff and just walked around and shopped in beautiful downtown Ljubljana. We even found a great wine bar called Movia that stocked great Slovenian wines (according to Chris). He had fun tasting and shopping.

On Saturday, we drove to Lake Bled. This was my fifth time visiting Lake Bled, and it never disappoints. The food there is always spectacular, so we hit up our favorite places all weekend, and even made it up to the castle, which is a favorite destination at Bled. I have gotten huge and slow lately, so I gave myself a pat on the back for all the walking and climbing I did at almost nine months pregnant (admittedly with lots of breaks in between).

We spent lots of valuable time in the Hotel Golf pool (which is Heaven for pregnant women), and Chris treated me to a pregnancy massage.

So, all in all, it was an excellent relaxing weekend in Slovenia! My only complaint is that our hotel in Bled (Hotel Savica) did not have air conditioning. Whenever we opened the windows, the cigarette smoke from other visitors would invade our space. So, it was kind of miserable whenever we were in the room. But, lessons learned for staying there in the heat.

He's Back!

2009-05-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

Ah, the sweet familiarity of Chris coming back from deployment - it's happened again! I'm glad to say that Chris got home safely on Wednesday from Qatar, and is settling back in at home. Except for the pesky reintegration stuff at work. But, he got to feel the baby moving around and eat chicken enchiladas, so he's a happy guy. We're going to go see Star Trek tonight, and then head out for Slovenia for the weekend. I'm excited to have my husband back home!

Living In Italy Can Be Lots of Fun

2009-05-08T02:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I just have those weeks...and this is one of them. I am getting really excited to move away from Italy.

Just yesterday, I was with my friend Julie, and we were on a two-lane road (each lane going in the opposite direction). We were slowing down to turn left, with the signal on, and the Italian behind me was following too closely, so he had to slam on his brakes, and the Italian behind him hit him. Not badly, mind you, but enough to be annoying.

Well, we were simply using the lefthand turn to turn around, so I stopped to ask that everyone was OK and not hurt. He was furious with me (for, I guess, turning legally), and tried to blame the accident on me. He was actually kind of aggressive about the whole thing. Well, since he was calling the police, we called our friend Tony, who speaks Italian (thank goodness for Tony), and the whole ridiculous thing finally got sorted out. I was told by the guy I assumed was an insurance man to just go, as it was clear that nothing was my fault (my car wasn't even hit!).

But, the summary of why it was supposedly my fault: (keep in mind there was only one lane we were supposed to be using) I was "too far over to the right" even though I was turning left. WHAT?? Fortunately, some Italians (not the one involved in the accident) had the sense to let me go.

Today, a totally different annoying Italian situation. My soggiorno (Italian bureaucratic piece of paper letting me live here) expired. They need my Codice Fiscale (Italian bureaucratic piece of paper with number on it similar to an SSN) to process the renewal. I bring it in. They tell me that it is not good. Why, do you ask?

Because, my maiden name (McRoberts) has a space between the Mc and the Roberts. My passport does not have this same space. So, I am told that I have to go to Pordenone to get a new Codice Fiscale so that I can continue my request for a new Soggiorno.

I flat-out told them I would not. I mean, we are moving in October. To Germany. Where they don't have this nonsense. So, I am risking being told to leave. Oh well, I say! I do have a receipt saying that they are working on it, so on the off chance that someone hunts me down for this, at least I have legal proof that I am supposed to be here.

When are we leaving this country????

We're Moving!

2009-05-01T05:16:00.000-07:00

I know, I have been horrible about this blog. We have had a virus on our laptop, so I've been doing Internet stuff on base.

It's been a great few weeks here though. We just found out, officially, that we are moving to Germany in October! We are both really excited, although a little sad to not be returning home as quickly as we thought we would be. But, Germany will be amazing.

We are moving to a NATO base called Geilenkirchen, where Chris will be back flying on the AWACS. We are both really excited about the opportunity to interact with people from so many European countries.

Geilenkirchen is located in the middle of Germany on the border of the Netherlands and Belgium, near a town called Aachen.

As usual, our doors will be open for visitors!

You Must Be Kidding Me

2009-04-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

I was feeling sorry for my husband, being deployed and all. Until he told me that, on his day off, he went off base at his location to a mall that had a Tiffany's and a Coldstone Creamery. These are things that we don't even have in Italy. Tough deployment! Oh well, he's definitely done his time in other, much less nice locations. And, he's still making me proud, serving his country and working really long days.

Rogaska

2009-03-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

I went with a group of ladies from our squadron this past weekend to Rogaska Slatina, Slovenia for crystal shopping and spa treatments. All in all, it was a great place to go for a quick weekend trip.

We drove up on Saturday and hit the stores right away. We found two good ones, and I ended up buying a set of water glasses, some dessert bowls, candlesticks, and even a glass beer boot for Chris. For the amount of crystal I bought, I got an amazing deal.

The town of Rogaska is tiny. There was really not much to it aside from the crystal factories and the resort hotels that are all there because of the magnesium-rich waters. This has been a spa destination for about a century.

So, the remainder of our time was spent relaxing and hitting the spa. It was a nice weekend, and I had a fantastic time!

Trips Aplenty

2009-03-23T00:52:00.000-07:00

The past couple of weeks were super busy! My parents came for an all-too-brief visit. We had a great time, traveling to Rome and Venice, and even making a stop in Nove. Just for the record, I bought a really cute piggybank that is really an elephant for the baby's room. I also bought a beautiful spring platter, and a cute gingerbread cookie plate and matching mugs for Christmas. My mom went crazy with her own purchases.

A few days after saying goodbye to them, I went on a Protestant Women of the Chapel (PWOC) retreat in Gaeta, Italy, near Naples. It was incredible! It was a retreat for all the PWOC's in the Mediterranean area, and was a great refreshing weekend.

The weather was gorgeous, the hotel was on the beach, we had a huge chunk of free-time on that Saturday, and my favorite lemon and orange trees were bursting with fruit in that whole region. It made for a beautiful drive and a perfect location!

It also felt great to put my swollen pregnancy ankles in the Mediterranean and then just sit on the beach for awhile.

Go figure, my camera batteries are dead. So, I will try to post some pictures later on.

Prosecco Road

2009-03-01T23:58:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, I went with a group of people to the area surrounding Vittorio Veneto for a really fun afternoon and evening. Vittorio Veneto is a town about 45 minutes from here, and it is absolutely beautiful.

Our first stop was in the village of Follino, where we visited an old monastery. It was beautifully decorated with frescoes. Also, we learned that the monastery had been bombed during World War I, so there had been a lot of restoration.

From there, we drove up to the prosecco area, which was stunning. Prosecco is my favorite Italian wine, and is a fantastic substitute for champagne. This particular wine is cultivated in the beautiful rolling hills of the pre-Alps, so we had great views during the drive. We ended up at Ca' Salina, where we were given a tour and wine tasting. I couldn't indulge, naturally, but I still bought a case of prosecco for our collection.

After the wine tasting, we went to Castel Brando, which was probably the largest castle I have been to! By the time we got there, it was dark, and the castle was lit up. This particular castle has several restaurants, a hotel, and a spa inside. We ate dinner in one of the restaurants, and had a fantastic time. I definitely want to go back to spend the night, and hit up more prosecco wineries once the baby is born!

Hunting Season

2009-02-27T23:24:00.001-08:00

One of my least favorite seasons has just commenced - hunting season. I don't go hunting for anything you would normally associate with hunting, though. I hunt something tiny and sinister, something that lurks in corners and under furniture around my house for a fraction of the year. I hunt the dreaded scorpion, or le scorpione, as they would say in Italian.

Hunting season began this morning. I was minding my own business and about to leave my kitchen when I noticed one medium-sized black scorpion poking out from under the kitchen radiator. There are no pictures of him, because I did what I have to do. I flattened him with a shoe, swept up his body, and flushed him down the toilet. I have a pretty good rhythm going after a couple of years of this.

What is distressing, though, is that this seems really early to be finding scorpions in my house. They definitely tend to hibernate during the winter and come out during the warm weather months, and they make several showings a day sometimes during the summer. So, it being February still (albeit the last day), it is upsetting to see one in my house already!

It's a Boy!

2009-02-26T22:52:00.001-08:00

Last week I went in for my ultrasound, and found out that our baby is a boy! We are both thrilled, and are looking forward to his birth. What is difficult for us is finding a name. We had a whole list of girl names, but the boy name is proving difficult.

He is healthy and looks great! And, his cousin who will be born around the same time will also be a boy! So, we have lots of boys on my side of the family. My mom is desperate for a granddaughter, but is still excited for the new baby boys coming this summer.

Bingo!

2009-02-12T23:03:00.000-08:00

Last night was our annual Officers Spouses Club Crystal Bingo! I actually do get really excited for this each year. It is one of the best events that we have.

I know it sounds a little weird, but it turns out to be quite a blast. The one bad thing was that I brought my camera and forgot to take pictures (as usual). I even had a conversation with my friend Patty about that, and still forgot to take them.

Anyways, I was, of course, the designated driver for a couple of people. It turned out to be the most entertaining designated driving I had done in quite some time! The prosecco was definitely flowing at this event.

And, everyone at our table won! I won a pretty crystal bowl. I'm not sure what I am going to do with it, but it'll look beautiful somewhere in my house.

So, now Crystal Bingo is over, and it was probably my last one. It's definitely sad, but some of the ladies from my squadron decided that we should take a trip to Rogaska, Slovenia (where much of the crystal was purchased), for a shopping and spa trip sometime soon. So, that's something to look forward to!

You Call This "Hope"?

2009-02-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

This is the point when I am truly expecting Jesus to make his Glorious Appearing. We have reached a new low in emerging further away from any kind of culture of life.

The British government's chair of the Sustainable Development Commission, or "green adviser", Jonathon Porritt, is publishing a disturbing report next month regarding the role family planning has on global warming. It is Porritt's view that families with more than two children are creating an "unbearable burden" on the environment.

I wonder what his views are of the declining European population and its implications in sustaining a socialist government and resulting laughable programs? But, that is beside the point.

Porritt recommends in this report that governments must take action - by implementing programs to increase family planning methods to include ABORTION.

It will be interesting to see what European governments do with this hideous recommendation.

And, my American friends, we are truly not that far behind in this strange Orwellian scenario. Our own President Obama, in one of his first acts as President of the United States, lifted a ban on federal funding of abortions in other countries. His reasoning: The ban would "undermine family planning in developing countries."

So, now our tax dollars will be spent performing abortions all over the world. I'm so glad that we're in a new era of hope and change and diplomacy for all! This will make the Muslims like us!

So much for swearing to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Protecting life is clearly not in our new President's interests. And now we have crazy people around the world who think that, by aborting our way down to two children per family, we will somehow save our planet. What have we come to?

New in 2009

2009-01-13T10:40:00.000-08:00

A very belated Happy New Year to everyone! We have been busy around here. Chris left this week for another deployment (for those of you counting, this is indeed number three in under two years). This one seems particularly rough for us. We both agree that we didn't get much reintegration time from the last one, and what we did have was mostly spent in Montgomery at SOS. Oh well. I'm just praying that this one moves quickly.

Today I began a cooking class with a bunch of ladies at an Italian chef school. It's five weeks long, and is a lot of fun! It's just my speed. We watch the chef (and the students he likes to boss around), take notes, and then eat the food he prepares. Molto buono!

Today we learned how to make homemade gnocchi with a bolognese sauce, a spinach quiche that was to die for, scaloppine (pork) cooked in white wine sauce, and duchess potatoes. Yum! The best part is that I can definitely make everything on my own.

I also had our OB Orientation Class today at the hospital which actually turned out to be a socialist medicine propaganda fest. I'm pretty sure that my answer on a questionnaire regarding spanking will earn me a call from someone on the base (I am all for using non-abusive spanking in the arsenal of discipline, whereas the military is strictly against spanking). The military has really become Big Brother, for those who did not know.

Well, those are the big updates for now.

Buon Natale!

2008-12-24T00:15:00.001-08:00

I know, it has been a really long time. I promise that it has been equal parts laziness and craziness!

A lot has gone on during the past month or so. Chris finished up Squadron Officer School, and we made it back to Italy. I turned 30! And, we have slowly started telling people about the baby we are expecting around July 3!

That's right, we are having a baby. We are also really excited, because my sister, Laura, is expecting her second baby around July 12! So, it will be a busy 2009 for us.

We are just relaxing for Christmas. Tonight, I'm making Chris a Mexican feast and then we'll go to the candlelight service at church. Tomorrow, we're having our friend Heather and her children over for a nice Christmas dinner while her husband is busy being deployed.

We don't have any big travel plans as of now. Chris will take leave next week so that we can get some major things done around the house before he takes off on his next deployment. So, everything will be a quiet celebration around here this year.

I hope that you have a very Merry Christmas! We are certainly grateful for all that God has done for us in 2008, and the birth of Jesus that we celebrate today and tomorrow.

From Montgomery

2008-11-20T09:20:00.000-08:00

Hello from Montgomery, Alabama! It's...nice. I've been here for almost a week. Almost a week of American food, Starbucks, Target, and real movie theaters. It's so awesome.

I might just never go back. My friend Heather happens to be here, because she and her husband are moving here in December. So, she just got a great job and a fantastic house. I got to tour it yesterday, and it has great conveniences like an air filtration system, dishwasher, and closets. I am so envious!

We are having a good time, though, and Chris is doing well in class.

Just Say No to Bailouts!

2008-11-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

I am so aggravated that I can't keep silent on this. On the verge of Speaker Pelosi's lame duck session to bail out the automakers, I want to speak out!

If I were a Member of Congress or the President, I would put together an emergency package that would do some real long-term good. Instead of throwing billions of dollars at companies that will, inevitably, need more to support their habit in a few years, let's take a look at what got them here in the first place.

Our interventionist (read: increasingly socialist) government has, over the decades, tried to stifle private enterprise in a number of ways. First and foremost, our congressional leaders decided to institute ever-increasing stiff CAFE standards that have only created what the environmentalist lobby wanted in the first place: a dying auto industry. After decades of this, it is time to ask an important question to our Democrat Congress: Would you prefer a healthy automotive industry or a "green" environment? Because, clearly, you will not have both.

The problem for these Democrats is that Michigan is their state, and they have to pretend that they want both, when it is not feasible to achieve this kind of utopia.

The other problem, of course, is the stranglehold that unions have on the Big 3 automakers, and the resulting inability of the industry to be agile like they need to be to head off costs.

We also can blame the leaders of these companies. I mean, really, it is your job to be profitable. The job I had in Oklahoma was a result of the previous guy being fired for not making money in our division. After all, that is the point of the company! Stressful, yes. But, if you can't handle it, you find another line of work.

So, let's tell our Congress "NO" to anymore bailouts. If they do bail these companies out, they need to attach a long list of reversals on interfering policies over the decades that have put these companies in an uncompetitive, deathlike state. If we just give them money, they will come begging for more.

Write to your congressmen to tell them not to give your money away in bailouts! After all, the Big 3 all are headquartered in Michigan, which is led by Governor Granholm, who is such an economic brain that she is on President-Elect Obama's economic team. She should be able to figure out this mess (even though her state is in a dismal way, economically), since she is smart enough to steer our country's economic policy.

Cooper Updates

2008-11-07T09:19:00.000-08:00

Things have been in complete upheaval around here lately! Chris and I spent about a week in Germany before he left for six weeks to Montgomery, Alabama for some training. I had intended to catch the rotator this past week to meet him, but, alas, nobody got on to Baltimore this week. So, I will wait until the next one.

Our trip to Germany was fantastic. We went to Munich, Rothenburg, and then spent one more night in Bavaria to see Neuschwanstein Castle.

Our favorite stop, by far, was the medieval city of Rothenburg. If you are someone who appreciates German culture, medieval history, or even just the celebration of Christmas, Rothenburg is for you. One evening, we went to a small restaurant that looked like it was straight out of the Lord of the Rings movies. It was lit only by candles, and seemed really as if the 600-year-old building had been built for hobbits.

Well, as I am very interested in politics, and that subject used to pay the bills for me, I must opine on this election. I am, naturally, not satisfied. I will leave Obama supporters with this question: For someone who campaigned solely on the unsubstantive idea of "change", why did Obama's first presidential act consist of appointing a former Clinton aide as his Chief of Staff? That is not the stuff change is made of.

Festa della Zucca

2008-10-26T23:41:00.000-07:00

On Saturday evening Chris and I went to Venzone in our own Friuli region for their annual Festa della Zucca - Pumpkin Festival. I had heard nothing but great things for two years, and am obsessed with all things pumpkin in fall motifs, so we decided to check it out this year.

Venzone is a medieval walled-in town, and the whole place is decked out for the festival. Everyone is dressed up in medieval clothing, and there are pumpkins crammed in everywhere. There is also lots of food to try with pumpkin - we tasted pumpkin soup, pumpkin gnocchi, pumpkin strudel, and even pumpkin grappa.

I don't know if this festival quite lived up to the hype, but it was good as far as festivals go.

The Fabulous Euro-Adventures of Ginny and Mere

2008-10-25T00:07:00.000-07:00

Well, my fun visit with Ginny ended this week. I was sad to see her go, but we had an absolute blast here! Ginny has been a friend of mine for about ten years. We are sorority sisters from JMU, and any time we get together we entertain each other by being the funniest, goofiest people in the world (or so we think).

Case in point: we drove to Lake Como and stayed a couple of days in Bellagio. It was completely beautiful, and we enjoyed walking around a couple of the towns (best passarellas ever), shopping,...and taking our senior class pictures. Only Ginny and I would take something as ridiculous as your goofy senior class pictures and imitate them all over Europe. But, we did. And, it was fun. Ginny even took pictures of other people taking the same types of pictures (although, they were all serious about it).

After Como, we followed my GPS on the strangest yet most beautiful drive I have taken up through the mountains to Asiago and Nove. It was truly like driving through a movie scene in some places.

We went to Lake Bled, in Slovenia, and saw all the major sights there. We went on to Rovinj, Croatia on the coast in Istria. I had been there for a couple of hours with my parents on a whirlwind trip through Istria a year or so ago, and I hadn't been too impressed. But, October seemed to be the right time of year. We had gorgeous weather with virtually no other tourists.

The town of Rovinj has been handed back and forth between different empires and countries for so long that the city seemed to escape many of the Communist trappings of other former Yugoslavian nations. One thing that surprised us was at dinner the night we stayed. We found this wonderful little restaurant that served a huge portion of food that neither of us could finish. When the cook came out to clear our places, she was visibly upset that we had not finished our meals. We explained that it was wonderful and that we were just full, but she almost scolded us for wasting food. And, this was in a nice restaurant!

We walked through the city the next morning, hitting all the major sights, tasting Croatian wine, and wandering through a street lined with artists' shops to the top of the hill where the cathedral of St. Euphemia waited. The most adventurous thing we did was climb up to the bell tower on a long series of creaky, thin wooden steps. The view from the top was worth it.

We ended our trip with the requisite visit to Venice, and then I had to say goodbye to Ginny. It was a marvelous week with an old friend!

As usual, my Internet connection is not behaving, and pictures are not uploading. Maybe I can get some on here later.

Why NOT To Vote For an Obama/Biden Ticket

2008-10-22T09:47:00.001-07:00

If you have not heard about the following statement, I would do your research. I know I don't want my husband fighting on behalf of these imbeciles. I will not be standing with them.

“It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy... Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy. I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate... And he’s gonna need help. And the kind of help he’s gonna need is, he’s gonna need you—not financially to help him—we’re gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it’s not gonna be apparent initially, it’s not gonna be apparent that we’re right.” —Joe Biden

Bella Befana Bazaar 2008

2008-10-10T06:34:00.000-07:00

Phew, it is finally winding down! The Bazaar was a great success, and today was my first day to be able to actually do things other than the Bazaar wrap-up. Don't worry, I am still confirming numbers with vendors, and I just received the following e-mail from one vendor. Should I be jealous?

"I agree with the totals.thanks for your hard work.come see me when you can.Your husband is a doll,so refined,what a pleasure."

I love it! My husband is definitely a refined person when it comes to what this vendor was selling - wine.

Anyways, the weekend, as well as the preceding week, was super stressful, but we made lots of money, and it was great fun.

AND, my friend Michelle and I discovered a new DG in our midst - one who has been there since last year! It's so fun to see DGs come out of the woodwork. We all agreed that we need to do something very Delta Gamma soon.

Well, I have been procrastinating. I need to do housework that has been neglected for awhile. After all, my friend Heather is coming over tomorrow to see Texas stomped on by Oklahoma. Well, that's my take, not hers.

And then, my friend Ginny is getting here Tuesday! We're planning on going to see where George Clooney's house is in Lake Como, and then on to Slovenia and Croatia. I can't wait!

Election Fever

2008-09-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

I got my absentee ballot today. And, yes, I have voted. McCain/Palin, OF COURSE! I love voting.

Torino & the Pedemonte

2008-09-25T23:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's only 8:00 a.m., and I already need a break from the Bazaar. The base changed our location officially yesterday morning. Sigh. We are now partially in one location that has neither electricity nor communication lines to run, say, credit card machines. But, miracles happen. Hopefully by Tuesday.

Anyway, to take a break, I will reflect on the trip that Chris and I took last weekend to Torino and the Piedmont wine region. It was one of our favorite trips that we have taken in all of Italy!

We were actually facing a traveling dilemma. I wanted Chris to be able to take a trip during his re-integration, but didn't want to be too far from Bazaar stuff. So, we drove the five hours or so to northern Italy's western region!

The whole trip was definitely for food and wine lovers. We are currently on what my mother would call "food detox".

So, we left here on a Wednesday afternoon and drove to Torino, which is the home of the 2006 winter Olympics, the Fiat, and the modern history of Italy! Really, if you live in Italy and appreciate history, you must visit Torino. The first king of Italy lived here, and the city is just so rich in important Italian events.

Our first night, we went to a restaurant called C'era una Volta, Once Upon a Time, and had the "tasting menu" which turned out to be a seven course meal. It was really fun experimental Italian food. This has definitely become the season of pumpkin in Italy. One of our courses had little pumpkins that were stuffed with ricotta cheese and then boiled or something. Not the kind of restaurant for children, definitely, but fun for adults. I passed along my course of what was essentially steak tartar to Chris. I can't handle raw beef.

The next day, we visited lots of great museums. We saw the Shroud of Turin cathedral (supposedly the shroud that Christ was buried in after the resurrection - really neat), the Royal Armory (Chris was really into this), and the Egyptian Museum, which I must say was even better than the one in Cairo.

We partook in a Torinese pasttime of just walking and hanging out in cafes, tasting the official cafe drink of the city - Bicerin, a blend of hot chocolate, coffee, and cream. The Torinese are also supposedly the original European patrons of chocolate and merely passed on the tradition to the neighboring Swiss. So, there were lots of beautiful chocolate displays everywhere.

The next morning, we drove deep into the heart of Piedmont wine country. Most Americans come to Italy and go straight to Tuscany for wine, and this is a mistake! We felt like Piedmont was more beautiful and even had better wine! I don't like red wine, really at all, but I found some that I enjoyed here.

We stayed in Villa Meridiana in Alba - yes, a villa. We spent the next couple of days driving the wine route through the various villages and tasting wines in castles and wine shops in the gorgeous Langhe hills.

Last Saturday, we stopped along the way to Asti, which is famous for their Spumanti. We got there the day before their Palio (horse races dating back to medieval times). So there were festivals for the Palio going on while the enormous Douja D'Or (an annual two-week wine festival) was going on in the same city. We had been tasting red wines for what felt like days, so I was thrilled to get to the counter to taste some sweet white wines. Once you get through the tasting room, you filter out through the shopping section - rows and rows of wines to buy. We had fun stocking our wine cellar that weekend.

Our favorite meal of the weekend (and, we must highlight this, because the other thing you do in wine country is eat), was at Enoclub in Alba. It was in this cool wine cellar, lit by candles, and I had ravioli suffed with pumpkin and ricotta (heavenly) and beef braised in Barolo wine (incredible). It was really bad, in a way, because the restaurants around here don't serve food this good.

We have already decided to try to return next year in September. It will be pushing it with our move, but we must!

I am trying to post pictures, but it seems as if the batteries on my camera are totally dead. So, once I get to that, I'll post some!

Bazaar Thoughts

2008-09-23T06:49:00.000-07:00

I feel like a crazy person right now. The Bazaar is making me an insane woman (again, I actually do enjoy working on this thing). We are now about one week away until the real chaos begins, and the Bazaar really starts coming together. The Hangars are cleared out, the spaces are marked, electricity is created where there previously was none, vendors start arriving, and then people miraculously come to start shopping. It is great to see in action, but so much work to put together.

I have been working full-time hours on this thing now for at least a month. I think people would be shocked to see what I do on any given day.

Chris and I dared to take a few days away so that he got to enjoy some of his reintegration time (more on that later), and we were plagued by phone calls the entire time.

I arrived back in town to find out that the base wanted to change our location around for a third time (TWO WEEKS before the date of the Bazaar), which affects everything from floor plans to telecom lines being put in where there are none. Fortunately, I think I have talked the base out of this latest change.

I also arrived back in time to hear that two of our vendors were denied access to the base by the Italian police. For no reason. Actually, I am thinking it was a mistake, and that it might be cleared, but, seriously, these little details affect a whole lot, and tend to then take up lots of my time.

Both of these issues I was dealing with by 7:00 a.m. on a Monday morning, I might add. And, I don't get paid. But, this hectic pace is what I deal with day in and day out at this point in time.

I'm at the point where I'm dreaming about the Bazaar, and freaking out over whether or not I told our Treasurer that a vendor needs to pay for 10 extra tables. Little things like that all day.

By the grace of God, we are going to have 90 vendors show up next Thursday, and everything will go smoothly, because I have the best team in the whole entire world to work with. I am really excited! And, we have a candy vendor! (This is actually a really huge deal to me for some reason.)

I had someone from the base tell me yesterday that our Bazaar has had the worst year in terms of bureaucratic nightmares that she has ever seen. I would have to agree, even though I've only been a party to two of them.

But, in the end, we will rake in over half a million dollars in three short days, and our community will be the better for it. And, my amazing husband has been doing all the cleaning around the house for the past two days. He's the best helper in the world! Fun reintegration for him.

Patriot Day

2008-09-11T11:05:00.001-07:00

Today is Patriot Day, and for a perfect commemoration, my Patriot is home! He arrived today, safe and sound, and all is well with world. I hope that you, like me, never forget September 11, 2001, and all the 2,996 reasons we still fight on today.

Motta di Livenza

2008-09-09T10:29:00.000-07:00

I think I found my new favorite town around here. My friend Julie and I set out this morning to Motta di Livenza, which is a town between Pordenone and Treviso.

We were on a Bazaar mission. We have a new vendor coming to the Bazaar called Art&craft, which is a European antiques/home decor store. It's a rarity, actually, in Italy. We both really wanted to go tell the owner exactly what he should bring to sell in October.

He is one to look for at the Bazaar. He had such beautiful furniture pieces, and fun things like linens for the home. I bought a decorative pillow, because I just couldn't wait for the Bazaar. I will definitely be buying more later.

In typical Italian hospitality, he ran to the bar next door for some drinks to toast our new friendships.

His town, Motta di Livenza, was a typical beautiful Italian village, complete with market day today. They had some other great stores, including the best pasticceria I've seen yet in Italy. Julie and I were in agreement - we need to make return visits just to hang out there if nothing else. Or, buy a villa.

Chivalry Is Dead

2008-09-07T04:25:00.000-07:00

Friday was a frustrating day. I was running my usual Bazaar errands (less than month away!), and I went out to my car to find it totally dead. My brain shut down. It is one thing to have this happen in a place where you can call AAA, or even 411 to find a tow truck.

But, here I have no great options. On top of that, I can't even call my husband. So, I called my friend Heather. She was fantastic! She drove right on over, and with written instructions in hand, helped me jumpstart my car.

Long story short, we ended up that day having to jump the car twice, push it, and roped our friend Julie in to help me go back and forth to an Italian mechanic and to buy a new battery. My friends are truly perfect helpers in the face of confusion.

However, my complaint is that there were LOTS of men out there who stood by and just watched us do all of this, or get huffy that we were in the way. In fact, there was one guy who drove by and flashed us an inappropriate gesture (as Julie said, he had nerve to do that in front of a Chapel, clearly with no concern for his soul).

So, chivalry is dead. I was so irate that I just lost it at one point and melted down. Who ignores two or three women trying to fix a car?? There was one very gracious man who stopped and did help us for a time. He was incredibly patient and nice.

Heather and I needed time to recuperate from frustration, so we went to Venice last night for dinner and a chamber orchestra performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It was in a beautiful building in Piazza San Marco, and the orchestra was stunningly perfect. Venice was Vivaldi's hometown, so this was the best setting to see this performance. I highly recommend it for those in the area.

Lizard Update

2008-09-02T05:55:00.000-07:00

I noticed my mother's comment about the lizard (and, yes, of course the best option would be what you proposed).

I just wanted to update that I was an adult and took care of it myself. He was trapped for about two days before our friend Peter offered to come over and take care of it. I felt funny not being adult enough to just take care of it, so I took his suggestion of cutting up a cereal box, sliding it under the bowl, and just throwing it outside.

It was easy, but I started freaking out when the tail started slithering out of the box. Yuck. I wanted to update you all since I got a lot of flack for potentially killing an "innocent" lizard from many people.