Indy: A Recap

I will not discuss my blogging hiatus guilt.

Alright, now that that's out of the way. Hello! How are yoooou? Nice to see you again. I do hope things have been just corking for you all. Thanks to everyone who posted little comments of bloggy love while I was away, and please accept my sincerest apologies for not writing back. I swear on all the snot of my prolific allergies that I wanted to, but...uh...well, now I wasn't going to mention the blogging guilt again, but...ahem...you know. Looks away and digs toe in the ground.

So Germany! GERMANY! Germany greeted me back into her loving embrace, lo one week ago, but just like a manipulating and conniving evil stepmother-country, publicly showered me with love and affection in the form of sunshine and blooming flowers and highs in the mid-70's when the rest of the family was looking, but once everyone's back was turned, cursed me with an onset of itchy, watery eyes, sinus pressure, an unholy measure of mucus and something like sandpaper in my ears and throat- the likes of which have not yet been known to man. If this doesn't stop soon I'm donating my body to science in exchange for an air conditioned room with no vegetation whatsoever. I saw our apartment caretaker approach our patch of backyard with a lawnmower yesterday and it was all I could do not to run screaming from my apartment warrior-style and bodily tackle the man before he could stir up all the innocently resting pollen and whatnot in the yard. Social niceties be damned.

That right thur is AMURICAN!

My trip back to the States was fantastic. We ate, we shopped, we ate, we saw friends, we talked and we ate and watched a bit of good old fashioned American television programming. Then I left. Absolute perfection. In between all that eating and talking we managed to get a few hearty walks in, but other than that it was sedentary American bliss. Seven pounds later, I wished I had been a little more peppy, but what's life without a few regrets, eh?

Oh greasy Chinese food, how I missed you. Dear, sweet flavorful enchiladas, it's been too long!

Ok, enough of that. I don't want to get all emotional here. Speaking of emotional, I also got my hair done, and not a moment too soon, really. I noticed a few mothers at the airport teaching their preschoolers the color wheel based on my roots. Ahem, "That one is black, there's a brown, here is yellow, and this is red. Can you say red?" I could be wrong, but I swear I heard a faint, "That's right little Sally, she should be ashamed of herself," as I walked away.

BEFORE! Oh the horror!

 My one true love, Brandi, at Texture Hair Design Studio dyed my hair so fantastically dark brown without even the faintest hint of red, that I practically weeped with joy when the final strand was blown adequately dry. I might have given her a round of applause and requested a speech. Just thinking about it now I get a little misty eyed. In truth, even an ocean can't separate a girl and her hair stylist. It was meant to be.

AFTER! Hair of undeniable dark brownness! Please disregard the gayness of the picture.

I got to bond a bit with my dad, too, while I was at home- a definite highlight. We spent late night hour upon even later night hour watching episode after episode of Season 1 of Battlestar Galactica, which I bought for him last Christmas, and he hadn't even taken the plastic wrap off. Socks for him next year then! Bah humbug. Well, at least now he knows what he was missing. I can't even count the number of times he scared the dog by exclaiming in surprise or suspense at particularly riveting points along the way. I am proud to report that we did manage to watch all 20 episodes, including the 3-hour movie that starts the whole shebang, in the span of 8 days. I implore you all to do the same. Best show ever.

And that was pretty much it. Couldn't have been more perfect.

Back to Beerland

Ah, it's nice to be home.

Well, my other home. Right now I'm sporting 3 variations of "home"- one being my actual residence with Husband in Germany, another being my parent's/family home in Indiana, and another being the Washington DC Metropolitan area where I had been living for the last 5 years prior to the Great German Adventure. Diversity is good, right? So, I should say, it's nice to be at my permanent residence.

Somehow I miraculously escaped the throes of jet lag both on my trip out to Indiana to see my family and on the return trip, and despite a real lack of energy today, think I'm back to being all German and whatnot. I'm working on a few posts right now, but couldn't resist the opportunity to mindlessly drone a bit now that I'm back.

Your welcome.

Still Alive

Hi friends!

It's me, Guten Allie. Just checking in to say that I am still alive (yay!) but still taking a tiny bit of a bloggy hiatus to spend time with my family. Oh, how the posts will flow after this- family time is good blogging fodder.

In other news, I went to the dentist today and enjoyed a clean bill of dental health. Three cheers for fluoride and floss sticks! However, during the cleaning I encountered an awkward problem, and I wonder if I'm not alone on this. Maybe the dental hygienist had abnormally large hands, or maybe my freakishly long tongue was to blame, but I kept inadvertently licking her hand. That's right, full on, how ya doin, licking her hand. I don't think I've ever done that before. For the record, she didn't seem to notice or mind, but still, that can't be normal. I just couldn't keep my tongue out of the way. It tasted like latex and regret.

More to come later, including the thrilling tale of my trans-Atlantic never ending flight and the benefits of a good run in with karma, but alas my friends these are for another day.

I will leave you all with this: if you haven't already, please make haste to your favorite DVD rental facility and immediately start watching Battlestar Galactica. Check your reservations over SciFi at the door- this show is so much more than that. Husband and I just wrapped up the last season, and I can say without any hesitation that it has been my absolute favorite TV show of all time. Not only is the story line riveting and rich and the characters robust and beautifully developed, but the acting is simply phenomenal. There were times I actually lost track of the plot because I just so mezmorized by the quality of acting- unlike anything I've ever seen- especially Edward James Olmos as Admiral Adama. The show is quite dark, and pretty intense, but it is truly a beautiful thing to behold. So go on, waste no time. Get to beholding! 

She works hard for her money

I'm a working woman.

I started my job this week, and I gotta tell ya, this waking up at 6:45 am business is certainly no fun. Or if I'm being trendy, phun. Regardless, I don't like it. But I do like the job (what I know of it so far) and my coworkers seem friendly, so I guess I'm set.

Unfortunately an unintended byproduct of the new job is complete lack of interest in blogging. Well, I shouldn't say interest...it's more like energy. With the sharp decline of sleep (it's hard to transition from a 2:00 am to 10:00 am sleep schedule to a more traditional 11:00 to 7:00) and the focus on learning a new job, I don't have much mental...uh...uh. I can't think of the word. See. See what I mean!?!

So here's to a wonderful fun change! And here's to a new schedule to get used to! And here's to coworkers and office gossip and timesheets and TPS reports! And here's to the blog that will not be ignored, but may have to suffer the embarrassment of poor writing and uninspired posts while I adjust.

Oh yeah, and next week I'll be in the U.S. for 10 days to visit my family. Shopping, eating, shopping, eating. What could be better?

A Bad Case of Flea...Markets

We went shopping.

I've never been one to spend much time territorially vying for other people's used homegoods at the crack of dawn. I have no need for musty placemats or chipped trinkets or pre-worn shoes. Urgh. Especially the pre-worn shoes. My skin just crawls thinking of it. But flea markets seem to be a bit of a thing here in our corner of Deustchland, so one fine Saturday morning not too long ago Husband and I merrily, if skeptically, found our way to a haven of gently used baubles and whatnots.

At first I was tempted to slink right back out the doors of the community center and make haste to the nearest mall and/or hand sanitizing station, but upon the gentle urgings of Husband (who convienently had the keys), I found myself halfheartedly pawing through a veritable sea of pilling matronly cardigans and scuffed porcelain figurines.  Had I been in the market for tiny statuettes of shepherds or stained lace doilies or straight to VHS movies I would have been set for life. 

As it was, I was not.

But, the more I looked, the more I found. And I'm not talking about broken kitchen appliances or sun bleached curtains. We actually came across some (gasp!) desirable goods, and in the end I'm glad I went. 

A for-realsies coffee grinder.

As soon as I spotted the coffee grinder, I fell in love. Which was really embarrassing considering Husband was there. After an awkward conversation wherein I basically made clear that my loyalties now lie with an old timey kitchen appliance, Husband agreed to purchase the item in exchange for our continued matrimony. A good decision. The lady we bought it from, who appeared to be an antique herself, delighted us with stories of this, her mothers coffee grinder, and the various places she lived and used it. I was charmed. Eventually we'll hang it in the kitchen, maybe even use it. The lady assured us it works and she actually used it the week prior- as evidence by the still-aromatic bean residue in the glass bowl at the bottom.

The same lady had this stunning copper planter. I don't think it is particularly antique or special in any way besides the sheer coolness of it. And really, what more can you ask of a copper planter? We haven't quite figured out what to do with it yet- I want to put it inside and find some decorative use for it. Husband, however, expected us to actually grow a plant inside it. Psh. Ridiculous idea.

This is just a basket for our formerly bare-boned powder room. Obviously. I guess given that I've included a picture, the description is completely unnecessary. There you have it.

We bought a few more things- a hair straightening iron with a proper German plug so I don't go blowing up the house trying to use mine on a transformer, a ridiculous beer stein with a duck bill as a lid (Husbands pick, not mine, and I couldn't really argue after having just broken his heart over a coffee grinder), a board game and a modern decorative bowl for the living room. I actually had to take the bowl to the car and hide it in the trunk as every few feet a different lady would approach me with some kind of snarky, "I was going to buy that bowl" comment (many of the people at the flea market spoke English) and I began to fear for the safety of my decor. Vicious, these flea market hens.

And finally, the very highlight of the excursion, the pièce de résistance, the very thing husband opposed the inclusion of on our wedding gift registry...

A WAFFLE MAKER! 

Bonus points that the waffles come out shaped as hearts. Maybe I'll make one for the coffee grinder.