Ok people, I know... I haven't updated in a while... weeeeel, I've been busy! I have some things that have been going on here that I am not ready to blog about yet...so you'll have to be in suspense for about another week, until that information is made availible to all. At least it'll give ya a reason to come back!
Really, things have been pretty boring otherwise... Andrew is still gone, Abbie is still a psychotic tornado of destruction (with a really freakin' cute monkey costume for halloween!), and the dogs are well... the dogs :-).
I will be pretty busy this weekend,
but I will try to post something (although it will probably not be very interesting!)!
To hold you off, here's a really cute pic of Abbie and Aidan (her abusive boyfriend 5 months older than she is)-- they were watching Dora together on the couch, not making out or beating eachother for once!
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Most of these are so true...
You Know You're From Cincinnati When... |
Your idea of a three-way is chilli over spaghetti topped with cheddar You know what goetta is - and you've eaten it You hate Cleveland, but you don't know why, and you've never been there You think Pete Rose and Marge Schott were railroaded You say "Please?" instead of "Excuse me?" You think Northern Kentucky is part of Ohio You've been to California, Wyoming, Coney Island, and Over-the-Rhine in one day There are less than 100 murders a year, and you still think you're in Detroit You think Dayton is a Third World country What groundhog? It's the St. Patrick's Day parade leprechaun that forecasts how much longer winter will last. Losing football teams draw more fans than winning baseball teams. Indiana is about 20 miles away, but it takes about four hours to get there. It's too cold in the winter, and too hot and humid in the summer, to ever stay outside for very long. You drive to Columbus or Louisville to avoid the prices at the Cincinnati airport. City council members hold debates on whether or not they should debate in the first place. Tourists still flock downtown to catch a glimpse of cast members from "WKRP," even though the show hasn't aired on network television since 1984, and the show was filmed in LA anyway. You ask lifetime residents where the President Taft house is, but they don't know either. If you do something -- anything -- in public long enough, sooner or later it will be banned. Your low-fat diet is never low enough to exclude Graeter's ice cream. You get through winter listening to Marty and Joe's broadcasts from the grapefruit leagues. Big Red Smokies are a ballpark treat, not cause to dial 9-1-1. If necessary, the city could easily be sliced into two new cities: East and West, and it would take 20 years for anyone to notice something happened. Chocolate and cinnamon, not peppers and beans, are in your chili. You can drive 30 minutes in any direction to hear a different accent than your own. You can accurately judge people's social status by which Kroger's store they frequent. You can go to any church festival in any neighborhood on any weekend and see at least five people you either work with, went to school with, or dated. Even the slightest mention of former baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti makes your blood boil and your ears steam. If the temperature hits 45 degrees, and the sun comes out in any month between November and April, people walk around downtown wearing shades and no jackets. The top stories on the local 6 o'clock evening news look suspiciously like the articles you read in the newspaper that very morning -- and even use the same quotes. Any carbonated beverage is a "coke." Your favorite convenient store sounds like a labor union. You can't hear the words "Mike Brown" without getting angry. You honestly believe that Pete Rose should be in the Baseball Hall Fame. You have more stadiums, coliseums, and arenas than you know what to do with. It doesn't seem weird to you that everyone has an Uncle Al. Your favorite Coney Island isn't in New York. You like Nick Clooney better than George Clooney. You know how Jerry Springer got his start. You know what a pony keg is. You have friends and neighbors with names like Machenheimer, Guckenberger, Schlottman, Schoenling, and Schweitering. You know that cars (like eggs) are cheaper in the country. An all-boys or all-girls school doesn't seem that odd to you You think a mixed marriage is when an East Sider marries a West Sider. You know the difference between Hudy and "Who Dey." You know what cream ale is, and you think that cream soda should be bright red. You think Kentucky is only slightly more civilized than Afghanistan. You know in which state the Greater Cincinnati Airport is located. You actually understand the word, "CRAVE" and white castle burgers. You can almost name the seven "hills" minus one or two. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Cincinnati. |
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Why do the terrible 2's start so early?
Well, Alex is gone, and I am exhausted. Currently I am being ruled by a 30-something inch (will know her real height tomorrow) version of satan, so when she is exorcised of the demon I shall return. Thank you for your support. I'm going to bed.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Bier! Bier! Bier! (oh, and Weinerschnitzel too!)
Well, we made it back from Munich! Abbie was a trooper the entire time (well, ok, most of the time!)... in fact, Alex was a whole lot whinier than she was! "My feet hurt!" "We're walking?!?" "I want to eat now!" "Are we done walking yet?" "I'm tired, I'm going to sleep" (note, this one was appx 9pm-- waaaaay before Abbie was in bed!) "Oh, she won't wake up if I slam the door!" (this was disproven soon after this statement was made). It was like travelling with 2 toddlers-- one happy one, and one with an advanced (well, better anyway) vocabulary! Eek, I'm glad the trip is over, but it was worth it!
We spent about 5 hours on trains on Thursday... a little longer than planned because Alex was "dying and starving" and had to run to McDonald's during the 15 minute train transfer-- cause it was so close to the platform. I gave him the benifit of the doubt, thinking, he's almost 20, he knows I have told him to take no more than 10 minutes, and I repeatedly told him the platform number (not to mention we got to the new platform before he left)... what happened, you ask? I talked the train guy into holding the train for an extra 2 or 3 mintues (Germans are really punctual) to give Alex a chance to show since our tickets were a special and non-transferrable to other trains. Alex didn't show. The train guy tells me that we will be able to switch the tickets to the next train, that it should be no problem. About 5 mintues after the train took off, Alex comes up to the platform, "well, ready to get on the train?"... umm... Alex, it's gone already. He claims he went to the wrong platform and was waiting there for us to meet him (Abbie and I hadn't moved from the spot he left us), and the McDonald's chick was slow. Luckily, the woman at the ticket counter bought my story of a "baby related emergency" and gave us a free transfer of ticket to the one 20 minutes later. Grrr... never again does that boy get trusted to get food and return within 10 minutes (although the 10 had a 5 minute buffer).
Abbie on the train:
Friday we went to Olympic Park and saw the Olympic stadim and tower, and the BMW museum (well, the temporary exhibition, as the museum is being renovated). That stuff was pretty cool, when Alex wasn't asking to sit down or change his shoes (yes, he made me put his other shoes in the stroller so he could change them every 1 1/2-2 hours because they hurt his feet-- not my fault he buys crappy shoes!). The park was gorgeous and the view from the tower was awesome!
Alex and Abbie picking flowers in the park:
Olympic Hall:
Part of the park:
The view from the tower(squint and you can see the Alps...aka the shadowy looking lumps in
the far background):
For the afternoon we wandered around Munich for a while (as long as Alex could stand it) and saw the Glockenspiel (aka worlds largest cookoo clock on their government hall):
Very, very pretty. The next day there was a stuffed cow (like cotton stuffed, not taxidermy stuffed) hanging in protest of animal slaughter yada yada right in front of the building... not so pretty then :-).
Random pic of downtown:
Saturday was the reason for going: Oktoberfest! The parade was definitley the best part, cause that's when the rain was lightest! The parade was awesome, and Abbie was allowed to stand up front thanks to some really nice women that let us up there even though we didn't wait for 3 hours for our street position in the cold damp misery. Abbie was allowed to stay up there until she tried to lunge out and pet the horses... then she was relocated to Alex's sholders, where she couldn't reach. She and I both got smudged on the noses with black gook by a jester in the parade though-- it took a lot of baby wipes to get those off! Here are just a bunch of pics from Saturday:
All in all, it was a good trip-- I didn't get to drink a beer at Oktoberfest though, cause you can only drink in the tents, and the tents were packed with lines longer than anything I've really seen before-- especially in the rain and cold, but, maybe next year (hint hint Jody-- and anyone else that wants to play while watching old men run around in knee socks when it's 40 degrees outside!)! I am glad we're back, although Munich is a great town, it's good to be home! I may update more tomorrow, but for now, good night!
We spent about 5 hours on trains on Thursday... a little longer than planned because Alex was "dying and starving" and had to run to McDonald's during the 15 minute train transfer-- cause it was so close to the platform. I gave him the benifit of the doubt, thinking, he's almost 20, he knows I have told him to take no more than 10 minutes, and I repeatedly told him the platform number (not to mention we got to the new platform before he left)... what happened, you ask? I talked the train guy into holding the train for an extra 2 or 3 mintues (Germans are really punctual) to give Alex a chance to show since our tickets were a special and non-transferrable to other trains. Alex didn't show. The train guy tells me that we will be able to switch the tickets to the next train, that it should be no problem. About 5 mintues after the train took off, Alex comes up to the platform, "well, ready to get on the train?"... umm... Alex, it's gone already. He claims he went to the wrong platform and was waiting there for us to meet him (Abbie and I hadn't moved from the spot he left us), and the McDonald's chick was slow. Luckily, the woman at the ticket counter bought my story of a "baby related emergency" and gave us a free transfer of ticket to the one 20 minutes later. Grrr... never again does that boy get trusted to get food and return within 10 minutes (although the 10 had a 5 minute buffer).
Abbie on the train:
Friday we went to Olympic Park and saw the Olympic stadim and tower, and the BMW museum (well, the temporary exhibition, as the museum is being renovated). That stuff was pretty cool, when Alex wasn't asking to sit down or change his shoes (yes, he made me put his other shoes in the stroller so he could change them every 1 1/2-2 hours because they hurt his feet-- not my fault he buys crappy shoes!). The park was gorgeous and the view from the tower was awesome!
Alex and Abbie picking flowers in the park:
Olympic Hall:
Part of the park:
The view from the tower(squint and you can see the Alps...aka the shadowy looking lumps in
the far background):
For the afternoon we wandered around Munich for a while (as long as Alex could stand it) and saw the Glockenspiel (aka worlds largest cookoo clock on their government hall):
Very, very pretty. The next day there was a stuffed cow (like cotton stuffed, not taxidermy stuffed) hanging in protest of animal slaughter yada yada right in front of the building... not so pretty then :-).
Random pic of downtown:
Saturday was the reason for going: Oktoberfest! The parade was definitley the best part, cause that's when the rain was lightest! The parade was awesome, and Abbie was allowed to stand up front thanks to some really nice women that let us up there even though we didn't wait for 3 hours for our street position in the cold damp misery. Abbie was allowed to stay up there until she tried to lunge out and pet the horses... then she was relocated to Alex's sholders, where she couldn't reach. She and I both got smudged on the noses with black gook by a jester in the parade though-- it took a lot of baby wipes to get those off! Here are just a bunch of pics from Saturday:
All in all, it was a good trip-- I didn't get to drink a beer at Oktoberfest though, cause you can only drink in the tents, and the tents were packed with lines longer than anything I've really seen before-- especially in the rain and cold, but, maybe next year (hint hint Jody-- and anyone else that wants to play while watching old men run around in knee socks when it's 40 degrees outside!)! I am glad we're back, although Munich is a great town, it's good to be home! I may update more tomorrow, but for now, good night!
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Just a test
This is just a test to see if this works (it's only the first 1:24 seconds-ish of the whole video, but I think that was the max upload when I did it in June)
Upload Video at JussPress.com
Upload Video at JussPress.com
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Leaving for Munich
Well, Alex got here in one piece, although I can't stress enough how difficult it is to clean out a carseat when a toddler with a full belly gets carsick on the way to the airport! Poor Alex had to ride in a smelly car all the way back-- and Abbie had to go through the airport naked (except diaper and shoes) to find him-- let me tell you, the little old German grandmas gave me some really nasty looks for Abbie's lack of clothing (they freak out major if a baby isn't covered head to toe, let alone a naked toddler indoors when it is 65 degrees outdoors!)! All I can say is "stuff it old lady, wanna smell her pukey clothes and tell me if you'd rather her be dressed in those?"!
Anyhoo, we are going to Munich tomorrow-- Alex thinks he wants to go to the BMW museum on Friday... typical guy. Oktoberfest opens on Saturday, so we will spend the day there and then take the train back on Sunday. I will probably update Sunday night (complete with pictures of course) if I get a chance :-).
**Oh, and Jody, I was wearing fuschia underwear when I took the quiz... but I do seem to recall an incident involving your fuschia underwear and some snap pants in the AHS courtyard :-)**
Anyhoo, we are going to Munich tomorrow-- Alex thinks he wants to go to the BMW museum on Friday... typical guy. Oktoberfest opens on Saturday, so we will spend the day there and then take the train back on Sunday. I will probably update Sunday night (complete with pictures of course) if I get a chance :-).
**Oh, and Jody, I was wearing fuschia underwear when I took the quiz... but I do seem to recall an incident involving your fuschia underwear and some snap pants in the AHS courtyard :-)**
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Fat puppy on a diet? Nawww... just the camera angle on her pin-head!
Haha! This photo makes Maddie look skinny!
Monday, September 12, 2005
Update on status of International travel...
Well, I just called Alex, and it will be ready for him at 1:30 (CST)! Sorry if I got anyone's hopes up about being able to take his place :-(.
My brother better be takin' care of buisness!
So, Alex is in Chicago today supposudly getting his passport taken care of. He put in his application on time, and it was ready to be sent back to him, but guess where it was being processed...
New Orleans.
It is under sewage water now.
He found out last Thursday.
He is supposed to be on a flight tomorrow.
So now, he has a letter from (I think) the Governer of Ohio, telling the Chicago office to take care of him, pronto!
He better be given a passport today, because last night I booked our non-refundable train tickets and hotel room for Munich this weekend-- cause guess what is this weekend...
Oktoberfest!
Opening day is Saturday!
If he doesn't get his passport, anyone wanna go with me?
New Orleans.
It is under sewage water now.
He found out last Thursday.
He is supposed to be on a flight tomorrow.
So now, he has a letter from (I think) the Governer of Ohio, telling the Chicago office to take care of him, pronto!
He better be given a passport today, because last night I booked our non-refundable train tickets and hotel room for Munich this weekend-- cause guess what is this weekend...
Oktoberfest!
Opening day is Saturday!
If he doesn't get his passport, anyone wanna go with me?
More of that beautiful child (compliments of my new toy, of course!)!
Saturday, September 10, 2005
I love new toys
Well, surprise of all surprises, Giessen's little itty bitty Px had the camera I fell in love with! I had planned to have to drive an hour + to find it, but it wasn't necessary, just a little 30 second drive around the block (or 5 minute walk, but not in the rain!)! Here is a picture of the pretty little thang:
Cameras are my porn.
I love cameras.
I am a self proclaimed junkie (although this is my first digital SLR, joining the family of dig point'n'shoot, 2 film SLRs, 3 medium formats, and a Nikon *shudder* digital that is the devil incarnated as a mass of plastic-like material and media hype, which really should take much better pictures than it actually does-- not to mention the lack of interchangable lenses.).
Did I mention I love cameras?
Abbie got a lot of practice helping me test out the camera today-- oh the colors! Oh the texture!
Did I mention I love cameras?
Oh, and tonight was spaghetti night :-).
Cameras are my porn.
I love cameras.
I am a self proclaimed junkie (although this is my first digital SLR, joining the family of dig point'n'shoot, 2 film SLRs, 3 medium formats, and a Nikon *shudder* digital that is the devil incarnated as a mass of plastic-like material and media hype, which really should take much better pictures than it actually does-- not to mention the lack of interchangable lenses.).
Did I mention I love cameras?
Abbie got a lot of practice helping me test out the camera today-- oh the colors! Oh the texture!
Did I mention I love cameras?
Oh, and tonight was spaghetti night :-).
Finding myself in a sea of camoflage (and yes, I know I rambled)
I have come to the realization lately, that I have lost a great deal of the me I used to know in the last 2 years thanks to the Army. I have almost nothing left from my life before the Army and that is really scary once reality comes to the surface. I have very little ability due to time zones and such to stay in contact wiht friends that have always been a huge part of my life and I miss dearly. I have lost my passion for so many things because the last two years have been a blur (and unavailible), and they have just slipped away-- with me to busy to notice. I have let the Army take control, and I want some of it back.
For a while now, I have felt like something has been missing and I hope I have found the solution. I am going to indulge myself again in a passion I promised would never leave my life-- so I can feel like I am participating more than watching from the sidelines as the days and weeks pass me by. Tomorrow Andrew, Abbie and I are going on a hunt for a Canon Rebel XT-- the prettiest digital camera I have seen in a long time that costs less than a month's salary. Made posslible by the sale of Andrew's Sunfire (regressing us to 1 car again for the whopping 6 weeks he'll be home in the next 16 months-- and the 4 months after the deployment) today-- giving us enough to buy the camera, pay off the credit card (current balance courtesy of our trip to the US), and have some left to go into savings.
I just really don't know how I let the photography in my life drift away without me noticing. In the last 6 months things have finally started to settle down for the first time since the wedding, and a lot came to the surface for me. I love my husband and baby with all my heart, and I have no regrets about the direction we took in life, but I have temporarily lost my spark. I have felt like Abbie and I just go through the motions every day waiting as we count down to Andrew getting home from work. I need to find something I can do that is for me, and I know it may seem selfish, but it's really the only thing that I can do that will nurture my soul in the way it is longing. I feel like once I begin to work on lighting my fire again, I will be a better wife to Andrew and a better mom to Abbie. I can't let my baby grow up watching her mom live life without passion and an opportunity for self expression. That wouldn't be fair to either of us.
I don't want to be that mom/wife that has been drained to the point that life is monotonous and confines the revolution of her world within very limited bounderies. I can involve Abbie in my passions in hopes that hers will flourish and know no bounderies. I can show her that there is so much out there to dream and strive for; and I can do it one frame at a time.
For a while now, I have felt like something has been missing and I hope I have found the solution. I am going to indulge myself again in a passion I promised would never leave my life-- so I can feel like I am participating more than watching from the sidelines as the days and weeks pass me by. Tomorrow Andrew, Abbie and I are going on a hunt for a Canon Rebel XT-- the prettiest digital camera I have seen in a long time that costs less than a month's salary. Made posslible by the sale of Andrew's Sunfire (regressing us to 1 car again for the whopping 6 weeks he'll be home in the next 16 months-- and the 4 months after the deployment) today-- giving us enough to buy the camera, pay off the credit card (current balance courtesy of our trip to the US), and have some left to go into savings.
I just really don't know how I let the photography in my life drift away without me noticing. In the last 6 months things have finally started to settle down for the first time since the wedding, and a lot came to the surface for me. I love my husband and baby with all my heart, and I have no regrets about the direction we took in life, but I have temporarily lost my spark. I have felt like Abbie and I just go through the motions every day waiting as we count down to Andrew getting home from work. I need to find something I can do that is for me, and I know it may seem selfish, but it's really the only thing that I can do that will nurture my soul in the way it is longing. I feel like once I begin to work on lighting my fire again, I will be a better wife to Andrew and a better mom to Abbie. I can't let my baby grow up watching her mom live life without passion and an opportunity for self expression. That wouldn't be fair to either of us.
I don't want to be that mom/wife that has been drained to the point that life is monotonous and confines the revolution of her world within very limited bounderies. I can involve Abbie in my passions in hopes that hers will flourish and know no bounderies. I can show her that there is so much out there to dream and strive for; and I can do it one frame at a time.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
My baby is a year and a half old now... where have the last 18 months gone?
Well, Little Miss Abbie is all grown up now... so she thinks. She did have a major breakthrough today though! The child that will find any veggie you hide in her food, dig it out (or spit it out) and throw it to the dogs ate... are you ready for this... vegetable soup for lunch! She even asked for "mo?", Abbie speak for more! MAJOR ACOMPLISHMENT! Anyhoo, I may post more later, but I have to go and make our living room passable and wade through the river of toys left behind by el destructo. Here are some pics from today to get you through my absence :-)!
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Berlin
Well, we made it to Berlin and back in one piece... not to mention poorer, but that was to be expected. We went despite not really having the money to go since Andrew goes to the field for 2 months again this weekend-- it was really our last chance to get away as a family before he deploys after Christmas. Abbie was a trooper and a half. She was very very good on the trains (4 hours total each way) and let us drag her all over the city with very little complaining. We went and saw Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie-- and of course the main reason for going was the zoo. Brandenburg Gate was pretty cool, but Checkpoint Charlie is way overhyped. It was just a replica of the shack that used to be there, sitting on a median in the middle of the road. Oh, and we can't forget the picture of some actor there. That was it. We trekked all the way down there, and all we can do is say we've seen it, in all of it's completely exaggerated glory. The zoo was fantastic though-- Abbie loved seeing the animals, and their zoo is much more open than zoos in the US. I can tell you that anyone who has seen the baboons in Cincinnati-- you aren't missing much by being that far away. Their day-glow red butts are seriously hideous if you're any closer that American zoos allow!
We didn't do the typical thing and seek out real German food for our meals-- we stuck with American-esque chains that we don't have in our little tiny town; Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks, and Hard Rock... and if we like Schlotzky's we would have stopped there too. Abbie loves eating at Hard Rock though, with all the lights and shiny stuff on the walls... and of course the sugar packets! She looks like such an addict!
It is amazing though, to see the differences in the city between east and west Berlin. Once you left the main downtown area and headed east, things got really shabby. I can only imagine how incredible the difference was when the wall was still up. There is a major graffitti problem on the east side-- Abbie kept pointing it out becasue she knows that coloring on the wall is not allowed. Trash everywhere, places smell like day old pee, and scruffy hobos loitering in doorways. Not the most pleasant place to live. Even though the sun was out while we were there, the city had a dreary aura. Everyone was always in a rush (especially by European standards), the people were way ruder than the French are said to be (although I didn't find that was the case in France), and it seemed like everything had a cloud of despair over it. There were many places that were never restored after WWII, like a church that was missing most of it's steeple, had a huge hole blown in the side, no more stained glass, and dents everywhere from various things that go boom.
It really isn't a place I think I would like to visit again, but I am glad we went. We have now seen all the major places in Germany we would like to, the only thing left is Oktoberfest in Munich-- which I may have to do next year with the girls while all the men are in Iraq (unless anyone wants to come out and go with me... Jody...?). It is good that we have been given the chance to live overseas and visit all of these places that cost thousands and weeks for people in the US on whims and weekends (and for much cheaper since most are daytrips!). While I am glad we moved here, I'm ready to go back... there are so many things we took for granted until they were unavailible here, and while I will miss some things about Germany I am perfectly ok with them just being fond memories. This is the longest we have lived in one place for a long time, and now I find myself just looking for the movers...
We didn't do the typical thing and seek out real German food for our meals-- we stuck with American-esque chains that we don't have in our little tiny town; Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks, and Hard Rock... and if we like Schlotzky's we would have stopped there too. Abbie loves eating at Hard Rock though, with all the lights and shiny stuff on the walls... and of course the sugar packets! She looks like such an addict!
It is amazing though, to see the differences in the city between east and west Berlin. Once you left the main downtown area and headed east, things got really shabby. I can only imagine how incredible the difference was when the wall was still up. There is a major graffitti problem on the east side-- Abbie kept pointing it out becasue she knows that coloring on the wall is not allowed. Trash everywhere, places smell like day old pee, and scruffy hobos loitering in doorways. Not the most pleasant place to live. Even though the sun was out while we were there, the city had a dreary aura. Everyone was always in a rush (especially by European standards), the people were way ruder than the French are said to be (although I didn't find that was the case in France), and it seemed like everything had a cloud of despair over it. There were many places that were never restored after WWII, like a church that was missing most of it's steeple, had a huge hole blown in the side, no more stained glass, and dents everywhere from various things that go boom.
It really isn't a place I think I would like to visit again, but I am glad we went. We have now seen all the major places in Germany we would like to, the only thing left is Oktoberfest in Munich-- which I may have to do next year with the girls while all the men are in Iraq (unless anyone wants to come out and go with me... Jody...?). It is good that we have been given the chance to live overseas and visit all of these places that cost thousands and weeks for people in the US on whims and weekends (and for much cheaper since most are daytrips!). While I am glad we moved here, I'm ready to go back... there are so many things we took for granted until they were unavailible here, and while I will miss some things about Germany I am perfectly ok with them just being fond memories. This is the longest we have lived in one place for a long time, and now I find myself just looking for the movers...
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