Please Pray For This Family

I only came across this blog today, as it was mentioned on a fellow bloggers page.



Please keep this family in your prayers, I can't even imagine what they must be going through. My heart is broken for this poor family.

Dinner Downtown

Last night Jon and I went out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants downtown, Vapiano. It is an Italian restaurant that serves Pastas and Pizza. I like it because the atmosphere is laid back but the restaurant is super cute and the food is lovely.

When you order you walk up to a bar and pick out a type of pasta you would like and they cook it right there for you. Last night I had fusili with a cream sauce and sauteed mushrooms. Jon had this awesome pasta with Gorgonzola cheese and walnuts. Ya, I wish I would have eaten that instead, it's amazing. While we ate our pasta we had the Vapiano house red wine, it is sooo good. Let's just say we didn't stop at one glass.

Let me tell you a weird thing about Germany....
Jon and I are sitting at a table that has 6 stools and a booth type seat at the end of the table. We were sitting at the very end. Out of nowhere a couple sits down at our table and starts eating their food. This is a NORMAL thing here in Germany. As the night went on we continued sitting at our table, the couple that was there left, and two ladies sat in their place. Next, four individuals come to our table and ask if anyone is sitting there. Of course we say no, please sit, so now our entire table is filled with people we've never met and who speak another language!

Me being the chatty Cathy that I am started speaking to the four individuals that just sat at our table. Luckily they spoke perfect English and we talked like we knew each other for years. They left us their info and told us to come visit them in Mainz where they live, about twenty minutes from where we are.

While we were at dinner I made my way to the restroom. As I walked in I noticed there were several pictures of women on the walls. Some pictures of women in short shorts and skimpy clothing. I thought that was a little off but then headed for the bathroom stall anyway. As I was shutting the door to the stall I glanced in front of me to see a URINAL. Yes, a urinal. It took two seconds for it to trigger into my brain that I was in the men's bathroom. It took even less time for me to hall my hiney out of the men's bathroom. As I was walking out about ten people saw me leave the men's bathroom and of course we all got a chuckle!

But in Germany the men's bathroom door reads "Herren."
The women's bathroom door reads "Damen."

I got a little confused it must have been the wine ;) But come on..... wouldn't it make sense that the women's bathroom would be Herren, look at the first part of the word HER

and the men's bathroom would be Damen. Da MEN!
Come on GERMANY!!!!

Guacamole
I was asked to share my Guacamole recipe. It's really not much of a recipe, it's involves taste testing until it's right. ;)

You need:

Several Avocados
1 Small Red Onion
1 Jalapeno Pepper
1 Small tomato
Garlic Salt
Pepper

Remove the skin and the seed from the avocado. I use a potato smasher to smash the avocado once the skin and all is removed, that is so much easier. I leave it a little chunky because it's so much better that way.
I then cut up the onion, the entire pepper seeds and all, (to make it spicy) and the tomato
I mix the onion, jalapeno pepper, garlic salt, and pepper into the avocado really well. I stir in the tomato last.

Then I chow down! Hope that helps a little ;)

Hope everyone has an awesome Friday! Beware of men's bathrooms, urinals are scary!

Mexican Fiesta

Okay, we really didn't have a Mexican fiesta, because it was just the two of us.... but the food was A-mazing! Due to the LACK of Mexican food restaurants here or should I say the lack of GOOD Mexican food restaurants, we took it upon ourselves to makes a little fiesta dinner last night.
Easy as pie this dinner was. (Am I Yoda?.....)

Anyway, we made stacked enchiladas or I guess it could be considered a casserole since it was in a casserole dish. But I'm going to call them stacked enchiladas by Steph. Really we just bought everything that we like on/in a chicken enchilada and made one big enchilada.

What you need for this fantastic dish:

About 12 corn tortillas
1 can refried beans
2 cans of that enchilada red sauce
two things of canned chicken
can of corn
onion powder/salt (you can use real onion, my hubs just doesn't like onion)
salt/pepper
garlic powder
love

I didn't really measure this... so just guesstimate if you plan on making it.

Spread refried beans on corn tortillas with knife and layer bottom of baking dish with the bean tortillas (bean side up). Add chicken, corn, then red sauce, and a little cheese. Spice as you like. Then add another layer starting with bean covered tortillas, chicken, corn, red sauce and cheese.

Place in oven at 350 degree for 30 minutes.

And voila, a cheesy masterpiece......



I also made fresh guacamole and we had chips and salsa!



It was the best supper! and so INCREDIBLY easy! Don't you just love those......
If anyone has a good salsa recipe I'd love for you to send it my way! I'd love to make my own because store bought salsa just isn't doing it for me! I miss Ted's!!

Boy, Oh Boy

First off.... I made a new header. First attempt at this and not too bad if I do say so myself! I just wish the pictures weren't so blurry. Like I've said in the past, I am not computer savvy... I'm slowly learning how to figure out computer software. Isn't it weird that I worked in an office for years, I can type 70 wpm but don't know how to do much else.......Patience is a virtue that I am always learning and with patience I can figure this computer stuff out ;)

Secondly, you never realize how much you miss something until you don't have it anymore. My point being.... in Germany they don't have garbage disposals. Or maybe they do and our building just doesn't have them. I just got done doing a load of dishes and was gagging at the leftover food in the sink that I had to remove with my hands and fingers. I felt like I was working in a restaurant again. It never bothered me before back home. Dishes were just something I didn't mind doing, because we had an awesome garbage disposal. Now I CAN'T STAND doing them. I think that is why I put them off for a couple of days and then when I don't have any counter space I am forced to do them. I don't have a weak stomach but doing these dishes makes me feel dirty. I wash my entire arms up to my elbow and then rub that Purel antibacterial hand gel all over my arms and hands.

I don't know how my grandmother did dishes for all of those years without a garbage disposal. I'd watch her cook three solid meals a day and then do dishes! That's a real woman ;)

Speaking of Grandmas, I feel like one today. I've done something to my lower back on the left side. I keep getting sharp pains that make me freeze in agony and make me want to cry. I don't know what I've done to myself. Where's a massage therapist when you need one!

Enough complaining for one day, jeez!
On a bright note, we're scheduled to leave for Austria on Sunday.



This is a beautiful picture I found on the internet! Oh my goodness I can't wait. For those of you who know Jon and I, we LOVE being outdoors, hiking, biking, well really anything that has to do with being outside. I can't wait to do a little hiking while we are there.

I have been really looking forward to this trip. It is such a blessing to be able to travel to all of these amazing places and see new exciting things. God has blessed Jon and I in so many ways and we are so thankful to him.

I hope the weather is nice so we can enjoy our time there. I can't wait to take a trillion pictures!

Well, off to do laundry and get this house in order.
Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Comin' Together

So........
Here is our project slowly coming together.
I forgot how hard it was to paint on a canvas. I mean, I paint on heads for a living ;) I didn't think it would be that difficult.

The only other painting I've done is a boxer (fighter) for my dad. It was two fighters in the ring. He absolutely adores it. But I tell everyone else that my 3 year old nephew painted it....... ya, it's that bad!

Here's what our map looks like so far. Jon loves it! I think it looks awesome, but should still be in an elementary school classroom, not on our wall........ Who knows, I might be surprised and it could be the best painting in the world after we're done. Maybe some famous artist will see it and want to buy it from us.... (Ha, ya right Steph, keep dreamin'.)






I'm just happy it has turned out well, so far. And it has been really fun getting to do this together. Jon is so sweet, he said "you know I really like that it is not perfect, that the lines aren't straight and the colors aren't perfect." He's so good at looking at things positively.

Also.... So excited, my Sookie Stackhouse series came in the mail today! So I will be starting another vampire series.


Have a great Tuesday everyone!!

I Got Owned!!

Today at the gym I hopped on a treadmill next to an older man, he was probably in his late 60's early 70's. I hopped on next to this man thinking, "well it won't be much of a competition if I'm running next to this older man, I will totally beat him with my jogging speed, distance and time." (Totally terrible of me I know, I'm HORRIBLE for thinking this) But, I always like some good competition and I've always been super competitive in every sport.

Anyway.... back to this older man, boy, was I wrong about him. This goes back to the saying "Never judge a book by its cover." It was terrible of me to do so.... I feel bad now, because I got completely OWNED. This man blew me away! I couldn't even keep up with him and I feel like a complete dork. How sad! It didn't even seem like he broke a sweat. When I got off, my entire face was beat red, and my shirt was soaked. Ew...

But after thinking about it for a while, I was really proud of this old man. I mean he's kicking a 25 year old girl's A**!!! He's taking care of himself and exercising. I wanted to give him a pat on the back or a high five or something. I hope to see this man again, because I think he will be the perfect competition to get me back in shape. Ha ha.....

Have a great day ;)

Another Weekend Update

Friday was my first day back to the gym, after I don't know how many months. I met a friend in the morning and we planned to attend a class, but after arriving, we found that the class had been canceled for that day. So off to the treadmills we went. After working out I headed back home and didn't really move from the couch for the rest of the day. I can't stand being this out of shape. Thursday night Jon and I lifted weights at home and my arms are still sore from that (and it's now Sunday).
COME ON! Seriously. I can't wait to get back into the swing of things.
Friday night my amazing husband surprised me with girl scout cookies!



First day back to the gym and I get girl scouts cookies brought home to me......... It wasn't his fault, he's so awesome and thoughtful for bringing me home something sweet.. but I can't help myself when it comes to those darn cookies!!!

Saturday we woke up super early and loaded our bikes into the SUV. We drove to the nearby park and did a little biking. The park leads to a wonderful trail through a wooded area, and there is a stream running along the trail. Here are some pictures of our biking adventure

You might be a redneck if you put a plastic bag over your bike seat so as not to get your booty wet.

Jonny D

Me

The lovely duck pond

The trail











And a rhino????


After biking, we made our way to Listman's, an art supply store, and bought some acrylic paint. We wanted to get started on our painting of the antique map we've drawn out.
Here's what we have so far. Still have a lot of work.............



We are still working on the colors and have some shading, etc that needs to be done. Like I said we still have a lot to do. Right now I think it looks like a map you'd find in an elementary school classroom. (That an elementary school kid painted.) Well we can't all be painters now can we.

We had flounder for dinner with rice and asparagus. I made the rice and asparagus (olive oil and season all, bake for 10/15 min) and Jon cooked the fish, because he's the pro cook in the fam. The fish was unbelievable. He made a marinade of soy sauce, honey and wasabi and baked the fish for...... well however long until it was ready.

It was like melt in your mouth awesome. You should try it sometime. Very healthy. Then I ate about 7 thin mints. Way to go Steph!

Today we headed over to the base to buy a pedometer so I would know how many miles I was jogging when I was outside. Then we headed out for a three mile jog/walk. I haven't made it up to three miles jogging yet. I'm slowly working my way up. We're taking it easy for the rest of the day. Gonna work on our awesome painting ;)
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

Check this out... Top 25 Fittest and Fattest Cities. Oklahoma City is #2 fattest city in the US.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Boo for rainy days in Germany. It's been raining since this morning when I left for the gym at 8:45. By the looks of it, there's no stopping this rain storm.

To add to the gloomy day, Jon's Vienna trip got moved back to next Sunday, so we won't be leaving for another week. I'm not bummed because it was moved back, I'm bummed because I was putting the gym off by telling myself, "I am about to leave for Vienna so I don't have time." Now I definitely have time............. so there is no excuse. But I am sure I can come up with several excuses to talk myself out of going. Like, I cut my finger while doing hair the other day, so I won't be able to push the buttons on the treadmill, because it hurts too bad. Or, I haven't found good insoles for my running shoes and I don't want to hurt my feet. Or, I can't find any good songs to put on my ipod to treadmill to. (I could go on for days!)

On a happy note, some very exciting news, my little brother called me yesterday to tell me he bought his plane ticket to Germany! He will be arriving on February 18 and is staying until the 26th! I am so happy that he is coming, I've missed him so darn much. He's worked so hard for the last month saving his own money so he can fly down here to spend time with us. I am so proud of him for that! We are going to have a blast with him. Jon and Sean get a long so well and I love that. We're planning to take a weekend adventure somewhere, but can't decide. Maybe Amsterdam or Bruges? Any ideas????

I found this picture of Sean and I when we were little. It must have been Independence Day, at least I hope I didn't wear matching American flag shirt and short outfits on non holiday occasions.
Sporting the flat top and the infamous perm!

Never a dull moment when Sean is around ;) Jon and I are so looking forward to his visit!

Oh...... and totally off subject. I ordered Jon's Valentines Day gift online the other day. Last night I jump on my computer and am checking my email while Jon was sitting next to me. I didn't even think twice about it, but as I pull my email up, there's an email from Patagonia............UGH! So now he knows where I got his V-day present and it's obvious what it is! Hiking gear. I hate when I blow surprises! He's been wanting goodies from Patagonia for a while now and now he knows he's getting it.

Hope everyone has a great Friday!
And a wonderful weekend

Wa..Wa..What???

Joaquin Phoenix





Retired Actor turns Rapper!!!
He is one of my favorite actors, and he's totally given up his acting career to become a rapper. I'm so confused. What has gotten into poor Joaquin??
Have I missed something, I mean I do live in another country now, I wouldn't be surprised?!

This is full article I found today: you can read it here.

Wacky Wednesday People!
Hope ya'll have a good one ;)

Weekend Update

Lazy.... Lazy..... Lazy, is all I can say for this weekend. Jon and I were extremely sedentary! I feel terrible, especially for my body which probably gained a couple of pounds from not moving off the couch. I guess this is what we needed because our bodies wouldn't do otherwise.
We've made a promise to each other that we are going to start going to the gym after Jon gets off work at night. We are starting first thing tomorrow evening, no backing out.

Saturday we went to Ikea to grab some necessities. Curtains, curtain rods, light bulbs, etc.
We then came home and hung some of those curtains.

Kitchen curtains (mind the dishes)


The Salon curtains


And lastly MUCH needed bedroom curtains ;)

No more scaring the neighbors, for me!

Randomly, Jon is a really great artist. He can draw so well, but doesn't draw because he thinks he's terrible at it....... I don't get it. I think he is amazing. We have a ginormous canvas that we bought back in the states and have yet to do anything with. Saturday we found an awesome antique map,

and decided we should paint this map to put on our wall in the dining room.
We drew the map on the canvas.
It's a terrible picture and extremely hard to see. Click to enlarge.


Later that day we went to the PX, the craft store on base, and even the hardware store and had no luck finding acrylic paint. So we will be ordering some paint online soon in attempt to finish this exciting project.

That evening we cooked barbecue chicken on the grill and had baked beans as a side. Yummy! It took me back to memories of family cookouts. We played the Wii, did some Wii bowling, tennis, and played a little Guitar Hero. (I killed my pinky rocking out so hard)

Sunday we spent the entire day watching the second season of Arrested Development.


We're completely obsessed with this show. I absolutely love it, LOVE IT! It's hilarious!
I can't wait to watch the third season.
Sunday night we cooked steaks on the grill and had a little "surf n' turf." I've never eaten so much in one weekend, but it was completely worth the couple extra pounds. Jon said he wanted some good home cooked meals for his birthday and just for the heck of it since he's been eating fast food for the last two weeks. We definitely had some good food.

Today Jon had the day off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day which was a nice treat. We ran a couple of errands but hurried home because the weather was just icky. It's been raining all weekend. (No wonder we were so lazy, who wants to go out in the gunky rain?)
Jon, my wonderful hairstylist, did my hair today and I gave him a haircut as well.
While Jon was slapping the color on my head I asked
"Are you sure you don't mind doing my hair?"
Jon: "No it's actually fun."
Me: "Really, you enjoy it?"
Jon: "Are you kidding, Dude..... I get to paint my wife's head!"
end of story lol.

Again, he made me look like Cindy Lou Who from Whoville
Before:

After:


I feel like a new person ;) And my hair feels so much better thanks to Jonny D.
We had a great weekend!

Have a great week guys!

A Few Things...

My wonderful friend Lisha has finally started a blog. She is a massage therapist and has started this blog to promote her business. Gals.... she is amazing! My mom and I have been getting massages from her for years. My mom still sees her regularly for chronic back pain. Please take a minute to check out her site. All of you Oklahoma ladies should definitely consider contacting her and having one of her many fabulous massages. And you ladies in other states should consider driving to OK to see her! You won't regret it ;) You can find her here at Loosen Up.

Next, I've been tagged by my favorite lady Valerie.

Here's the deal:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.
3) Explain the picture.
4) Tag 4 people to do the same.

Here is my pic.


This picture was taken at my brother, Sean's, graduation from Bishop McGuinness High school in 2007. I was being my classic goofy self. I took Sean's hat off to wear it, and he was giving the "that's my sister" look. He and I have been best friends since we were kids. Yes, of course we got into fights but our family went through a lot when we were kids and we've become such great friends because of everything. When we're together we always have a blast and constantly laugh at each other and other people. He is visiting in February and I can't explain how excited I am! Jon and Sean get along like two peas in a pod. Maybe it's because their names rhyme?
I really look forward to his visit! I miss him everyday!

Now I am tagging these ladies:
Jenny Lee
Abbie at Satisfy My Soul
April at 2nicolsongirls
Tara at Altman Euro-Trip

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! And a Happy MLK Day!

Here's Jonny.......

Well, Jonny is back! And as you all know, I've been looking forward to this for two weeks ;)
He was so exhausted from his flight back that we both wanted to just relax and spend some "QT" together. I made his favorite chili and we ate the entire pot! yikes.............

He opened his present and was super super excited to find these:



We desperately needed some new kitchen knives, and they are his favorite, Henckels. Isn't it weird as you get older you want things like a Kitchen Aide Mixer or new dishes. But when you were a kid you wanted video games or Doc Martins and pogs lol. Well I still want video games! (Guitar Hero World Tour, I can't wait.)

Jon and I are avid movie watchers. We absolutely love a relaxing evening at home with a couple of new movies. Last night we watched three!!!



All of these were great; Pineapple Express made us laugh til we hurt. Righteous Kill was action packed and had some major twists. My Best Friend's Girl was lewd, crude, rude and........very funny. (As the front of the dvd case states.)

Today we are going to take another exciting and adventerous trip to Ikea! My mother sent us a package from the states. We had some Christmas money in the box from my grandparents and my mom and some more birthday money for Jon. Off to Ikea we got to buy some much needed household goodies.

One thing we need desperately is curtains. We have white sheer blinds in our bedroom at the moment. The other night while I was doing dishes, I glanced into our bedroom window through our kitchen window. I realized, that with the light on, you can see every bit of our bedroom through those blinds. I then remembered how most of the times I am not fully dressed when I go to bed at night and came to the conclusion that I might actually be giving the entire neighborhood a peep show every night since we've moved in! So today we are going to take care of that problem. I'm not in the business of terrifying small children!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I'll be back in a couple days with a weekend update.