Thanksgiving 2010

This year for Thanksgiving we went to Lisa's house. We went to Lisa's house last year too because she has 2 ovens and it makes cooking a lot of food so much easier. I have talked before about my Germany family, but we've never had a picture of us all together. So, before we sat down to eat the super delicious food, we posed for a picture. In back, from left to right: me, Jer, Casey, Lisa, Lamon. On the couch: Christina, Abby, Matt. In the front: Buster the dog, who is looking the wrong way.
I am thankful for these people. They are some of my best friends.
After eating our grub, we played games. Real games. The kind that don't require a television or controller. Those are the best kind where there's always laughing, talking and fun. Include a few pies and Lisa's now famous pistachio dessert, this Thanksgiving was one of the best! Now, I know some of you can't taste Lisa's infamous pistachio dessert. I'm sorry for you. I was skeptical when I first heard about it last year before Thanksgiving. I like pistachios ok, but I'm not a big fan of nuts and will more often leave them than take them. But Lisa's pistachio dessert wins the blue ribbon! It is always a hit and everyone ALWAYS wants more than one piece. This is amazing stuff.
We had our first snow on Thanksgiving. I love snow. I can't say it enough.
So, after helping Lisa clean up the kitchen and hundreds of dishes, Jer and I headed home.
It was a nice drive home. Our mouths were still thanking us for eating such good food, and our stomachs were hoping we were done. When we got home, we found the PERFECT end to Thanksgiving/start of Christmas season. Our Secret Santa has struck again! Thank you, Secret Santa!

Thankfulness 2

In my quest to post things I'm thankful for this season, I have decided to post about my older brother, Todd.
Todd is clever and level-headed. He recently told me a story about buying his new truck. The first dealer was quite dishonest, yet Todd kept his cool and talked circles around that guy, catching the dishonest fellow in his own lies. HA! As he told me the story, I could feel myself get angry--like I wanted to yell at the idiot, but Todd calmly talked him into a trap and left, never losing his cool. And to add icing to the cake, Todd got a better deal elsewhere. Double HA!
Todd is super smart. He has knowledge of every subject you could study in school. I wish I were as smart as Todd. I have asked his opinion several times about environmental issues, and he responds with such informative opinions. I really don't know how he can know so much about everything.
Todd is a loyal and hard worker. Companies seek him out to work for them because they know of his reputation.
Todd is a really good dad. He loves his kids. He plays with them. He takes care of them. (And I SUPER love those kids!!!)! They love him too. Todd is a good husband. It is very obvious that he loves his wife, Natalie.
Todd has always looked out for me. The earliest memory of this I have is when I was in 1st grade and he was in 3rd. Todd and I didn't play together at recess, but I was being bullied and he came up and scared the pants off the guy. I was never bothered again.
These are just a few of the things I admire about my brother. I love Todd and am thankful he is in our family.

Thankfulness

At this time last year I blogged 30 Days of Thanks with pictures: I posted new pictures every day and wrote about something I'm thankful for. I thought about doing it again this year, but I haven't decided that I want to do it again this year. Quite frankly, it's a LOT of work--albeit, the kind that made me feel very venerated afterwards.
I do want to write about something I'm thankful for that I didn't include last year: my sister, Julie.
I got to go stay with Julie this past summer. I love to be with my older sister. There is a sense I feel around her that things are taken care of--sort of like a mothering-type feeling, only it's my sister, so it's a little different. There is always something to talk about with Julie. She has a lot of wise opinions about things and makes me think. She has such strong convictions about her beliefs (politically, spiritually, socially, etc.) and strives to raise her family and live how she believes. I admire such conviction.
Julie loves to sing. She taught herself how to play the organ and plays every week in church. She also teaches piano lessons. She is so musically talented!
Julie is a VERY beautiful person, inside and out!
Julie loves to read. I think she knows every word in the dictionary. She graduated with her B.S from BYU and is really smart!
Julie is a good wife. She has had the wonderful opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom almost since the beginning. She does everything you would imagine a wife from the 1950's would do (but with modern, independent flare): clean the house, bake and cook, bathe the kids, help with homework, make time for her husband, make time for herself, donate time and efforts to schools and church.
Julie is a good mom to her kids: Todd, Hannah, Joseph, and Seth. Her kids love her. They are well-rounded and know that they are loved. Julie's house always has something going on. I guess that's what happens when you have 4 kids that are all getting older. She is involved with every single one of those wonderful kids. She knows their schedules, teachers, grades, friends... She volunteers in her kids' schools . She and Steve (her husband) take the kids on fun outings, like to the pumpkin patch recently. While I was visiting, I loved EVERY SECOND with those kids!
Julie is the BEST older sister I could ever ask for. I love her so much. I am proud to say she is my sister. She is a good example and a wonderful person.

Saying Goodbye

It's usually hard to say goodbye. I've done it quite a bit this year. I said goodbye to Julie and Emily on New Years. I've said goodbye to my friend, Lisa, a few times while she goes off on TDYs. I said goodbye to Jer for a few months. I said goodbye to my friends and neighbors before I left for the States. I said goodbye to my German class. I had to say goodbye to my entire family (except Matt, who I didn't get to see) when I came back (actually a couple of times since I didn't get on the first few military flights I tried).
But there is one thing I'm VERY happy to say goodbye to: excess weight. It's a blessing and a curse that Prednisone can work so well. Because of it, I can become healthy and go into remission. But the months of taking Prednisone really pack on the pounds. I've done this medicine weight roller coaster countless times. With my body getting older, I think it is harder to lose it now than it used to be. Most women my age talk about losing their pregnancy fat. I talk about losing my Prednisone fat.
Usually after I'm done with a course of Prednisone, it will take me a few months to get my strength back and feel like a normal person. In that time, my weight will level off, meaning that I quit gaining. But then once I am feeling well and healthy, it takes so much effort to work those extra pounds off. I'm not just talking about 5 or 10 lbs. I've gained as much as 70 lbs in just a couple of months!
(If you want to see the difference in weight change, check out my previous post. That video was taken at the end of July. The picture you see now was taken today, sans makeup and cute hairstyle).
Honestly, I'm growing weary of it all. The thought of ever having to do this again is daunting. It's mentally tiring. While I hope I never have to take Prednisone again, and I can hope the best for myself, I'm also realistic and know I probably will have to take it again.
I truly don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. This is my struggle. But it's not who I am. I only write this because it helps me deal with things. If I write it down, I don't have to remember. And I don't want to remember. It's sort of like setting my mind free.
This post is written to celebrate a new, healthy me! So, goodbye old prednisone body, so long, tschüss, au revoir, ciao, adios and arrivederci to you--you unwanted reminder of being sick.
I AM FREE!

Semi-surprise trip to the States

I will eventually continue blogging about our previous trip (next: Belgium!), but the blogging world stopped for me for a few months. While Jer was in Florida on TDY for a few months, I decided it was a good time to visit my family in the States. I obviously did not blog while I was there, and a crashed computer prohibited me from blogging when I got back--until Jer came to the rescue and fixed it.
I tried to get a military hop because it's free. It's pretty much a failure to try to fly as a military spouse alone in the middle of summer. Too many families are traveling, and because I'm alone, and Jer is not deployed, I am less important, i.e., I am in category 5 out of 6. This was quite frustrating because Jer was gone on official orders for a long time, but just shy of long enough to bump me up a category. This was my first time trying out the military flight system, and it was definitely a learning experience!
Let me just say that the week prior to my leaving I labeled as "Week from Hell." I was so very ready to see my family and get out of here. It took several tries and fails before I was finally called to board a flight to Maine. I really didn't want to go to Maine, but I figured it was on the other side of the Atlantic, and that's where I want to be, so...
I got on the flight.
And thankfully there was a nice couple that was also wanting to get to Virginia/D.C. area, so we split the cost of a car rental, gas and about $35 worth of tolls(!), and spent the next 12 hours driving south.
My siblings knew I was coming, but I'd asked them to keep it a secret from my nieces and nephews. I did this for two reasons: 1. I wanted to surprise them. 2. In case something happened that made me unable to get to the States, I didn't want them to be disappointed.
I arrived on a Wednesday or Thursday. With sleeping overnight in an airport, then flying the next day (over night) again, and add the time difference, I don't really remember what day it was. But I do remember it was 2am and I was SO excited when I got to see Emily!
Friday after work, Emily and I set out for the 1 hour 15 minutes drive to Julie's house. We pulled up and I asked Emily to shoot video with my camera of the surprise arrival. I'm so glad she did. I LOVE THIS VIDEO!!!
Enjoy!

Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

On Saturday, we left Germany and headed into neighboring Luxembourg. Although it's not too far away (about 1 1/2 hours), we had never ventured that way before. The natives speak French and Luxembourgish. I've found if people don't speak English, they will usually speak German, thank goodness!
Our first stop in Luxembourg was to the Bock Casemates.
After we found a place to park, we realized that we didn't have any cash. I have no idea why we always start a trip with no cash. We even say how we need to stop at the ATM, but then forget. Most places only accept cash and this place was no different. So, we walked into the city center to look for a bank. This turned out to be a great detour. From the Casemates, we couldn't tell the city center was as bustling as it was. There were so many cute, quaint shops, and we got a couple of pictures from this walk. We passed the Mexican restaurant with its silly put-your-face-here poster.
We found a souvenir shop and bought something with "Luxembourg" written on it. I like to get little steins or miniature mugs of the places we travel to.
We returned to Bock Casemates and started our winding underground maze adventure. The first casemates were built in 1644. It was expanded over time to 23 km of underground galleries. Luxembourg City was called the "Gibraltar of the North." We didn't walk all 23 km, but we did walk up and down many stairs. There were places to look out. At one hole we could see the bridge. I took a picture of the bridge, then when we went over the bridge, I took a picture of the lookout hole.
There was also a tunnel that went under the road, parallel with the bridge. We had so much fun exploring the area and laughing at the old carved-out rock stairs that were sometimes so narrow and slanted that we had to hold on to both sides of the wall so we wouldn't fall.
We had a fun time in the casemates.

On our way back to the car, we saw a large group of motorcycles that were turning around. We stopped to watch them.
Our next stop was to Cathedrale Notre-Dame. This church is nearly 400 years old. It was a nice church, but not one of the coolest we've seen in Europe. Still, it was near the city center from the opposite side of the casemates, so we took in some of that.
There is another casemates called the Petrusse Casemates. These two casemates served as protection to soldiers during WWII. Together they can hold 35,000 people.
We didn't tour the Petrusse Casemates because there was something I really wanted to do instead, before it got too late.
It took us about 10-15 minutes to drive to the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. This is a beautiful cemetery. The site was liberated on Sep 10, 1944. It was established as a temporary military burial ground in December of that year, and was since granted permanent burial ground use by the Grand Ducal government. The US did not have to pay for the land or taxes. I find it very honorable that they donated the land for our fallen soldiers.
The gate is beautiful. The laurel wreaths are an ancient award for valor. Eagles stand guard on each of the pillars.
The most famous soldier buried here is General George S. Patton, Jr. He was the commander of Third U.S. Army that served triumphantly in the European theater. His grave stands at the head of the cemetery, between two flagpoles.
The cemetery was very nice. There were enormous placard maps that showed the occupied territories and military movements during WWII. There were also two memorial pylons with the names of those whose bodies were never recovered or are in unknown graves.

There were a few fountains that all looked the same. It is said that the bronze dolphins and turtles symbolize, respectively, Resurrection and Everlasting Life.
There was also a very little church that could fit 8 people uncomfortably. It was nice though.
After we left the cemetery, we got back on the freeway and headed north into Belgium. Our directions were wrong, so we took a detour to SHAPE, which is a 16-nation NATO military base. The hotel there was a dive and we were happy we were in the wrong place. It took about and extra hour to get to where we were supposed to be--the smallest US Army post I and Jer have ever seen--Cheivres Air Base. This is a little confusing to those of us in the military because it is an Air Base, but mostly Army works there.
It has the nicest, brand-spanking-new military hotel I've ever stayed in. It was a nice place to stay.
And keeping up with the cursing on my blog, this (last picture on the right) is a bus we saw while driving in Belgium. Jer says there's a reason they say, "Pardon my French."
So ends day 1 of our little driving vacation.

Bitche

About a month ago, we traveled to Bitche, France. It's a small town with a big name. There have been many discussions about how to pronounce it, but after asking many locals, I've come to the conclusion that it should be pronounced like the swear word.
We mounted our bikes (mine is the red one) and headed south, along with Jer's 1st Sergeant. The ride was nice and it was the first really warm, sunny, spring-like weekend. We rode for about 50 miles, then right as we came over a hill, we saw the amazing citadel before us (look at the first picture to the left on top of the hill, you will see the road we came over). It sits with such grandeur atop the town's hill. We rode through the streets to the parking area at the top.
The long walkway up was beautiful and offered stunning views. There was a miniature pony that I fed grass to. There was also a miniature something else that I did not feed.
We paid our fare and entered the citadel with headphones as our tour guide. They worked by proximity, so as we moved further into the citadel, the narration would change. We saw a door that was 18 inches thick with gashes where men with axes tried to forcefully enter so long ago.
We went underground and saw the biggest well I've ever seen. The buckets and rope were so large and heavy that they made a 2-man hamster wheel to bring the buckets up and down.
We watched a movie (that played in English on our headphones) that was definitely French-made; a little weird. It was a reenactment of the history of the Franco-Prussian war involving citadel. They were able to throw some nudity in there, though it didn't really fit. There was a naked lady running down a hill covered in stage-blood. It looked like a joke more than real. I think they put that in there just because they can. Really, why was this woman naked? My take on it: the bad guys stole her clothes while she was showering, she ran away but slipped on dead bodies on the ground, getting herself bloody, and ran down a hill. Despite this, the film was somewhat interesting, but mostly because I never really knew this part of French history.
There was also a church with a secret water storage beneath it. Enormous! As much volume as a small house!
It was a cool place to see and a great day trip. On our way out we stopped for some very fitting pictures. This day was Bitche'n!

Holland! (Part 2)

The second half of our Holland trip was spent at Keukenhof Gardens. This is where the famous tulips of the world are planted and raised--over 7 million bulbs every year are planted by hand! There are so many different varieties; there are so many different styles of gardens. The grounds were enormous with plenty to look at.
I must say, when we first walked in, we were all a bit disappointed. Where were the bulbs? They hadn't bloomed yet? But as we walked further in, evidence of the 7 million bulbs stared brightly at us. I am of the opinion that not all flowers bloom at the same time--even early spring flowers like tulips. Just like people, some tulips may be super-early bloomers, and others bloom a little later. If we had gone a month later, we might have missed out on the earlier bloomers. Tit-for-tat.
The gardens offered different pathways to follow as well as other varieties of early spring flowers and flowering trees. The further we walked in, the more beautiful it became.
We saw several stone figures: a frog, dancing bears, cute baby elephant, hippy hippo, hugging bunnies... Then we came across this larger-than-life wooden dog, wearing the collar of shame. It was quite random and there was nothing else like it (that we saw) in all the park. I'm not shocked by such oddities anymore, as they seem to pop up now and again, but I still find humor in them.
There was a windmill we were able to tour. We climbed up and could see the fields where tulips were cultivated for use in the annual tulip parade. I tried over and over to get a picture with the windmill's blade in it. It was turning so quickly, the best I could get is what you see.

In front of the windmill was a dance performance by the cutest little 4- and 5-year-olds in pink tutus and tights, and many parents. You could sort out the parents from the rest of the audience by their enthused faces. Also, they were the ones sitting in the chairs.
Around the bend, we found Fred Flintstone's car. We had fun getting pictures, then playing the part of photographer for others.
We stopped for some hot chocolate. It wasn't cold, but the weather was cool enough that the leisurely walking around outside did not generate enough heat to keep us completely warm. The hot chocolate was quite rich and I couldn't finish it, but it did warm me up.
The next sections of the gardens were my favorite. Hundred-year-old trees lined the walkways. I could almost feel their wisdom as they looked down upon me. I tried to soak some of it up. But we soon got distracted by stepping stones that took us out onto a little lake. There were no handles here, so a tiny slip would mean a very wet, cold, uncomfortable ride home. Nonetheless, we did enjoy feeding the ducks (I had Teddy Grahams in my bag) and trying to get them to come closer. There was no sign to prohibit feeding them, so I didn't feel guilty.
The time was drawing nearer to meeting back at the bus. We didn't get to meander the rest of the way through the gardens, but still enjoyed the beauty as we walked with purpose. I insisted I stop (arguing with myself that the bus could wait 10 extra seconds) to get a couple of pictures. I'm glad I did as two of my favorite pictures came from this walk (the last two pictures of this post).

At the entrance/exit there was a water fountain that was cool looking; so I took a picture. Jer pointed out that it looked like a dandelion. I had missed that, but can see it clear as day now. I guess I was still trying to sort out all the wisdom imparted me from the trees.
We weren't late for the bus, but made it right on time. All in all, it was a fabulous trip. I hope to do it again some day.

Holland! (Part 1)

It has been a couple of weeks since we took our trip to Holland. I had so many pictures, thinking about blogging and sifting through them was slightly overwhelming. So, I've decided to break the trip up into two parts.
Matt & Christina, Lisa, and Jer & I all boarded the bus at 1:30am Saturday morning. These first 3 pictures are of us on the bus after "sleeping" for a few hours. Not the best of any of us, but we are real people and don't have a makeup and costume department. I personally love the pictures (even though I look like a corpse!).
It started out a very foggy morning but as the sun rose higher, the fog burned off.
Our first stop was to a hotel in Holland for breakfast. Upper class! I have blogged about food before, and I'm sure I will blog about it again. I don't believe anyone has experienced truly deliciously wonderful food until he has been to Europe. Wonderful all-you-can eat buffet. Yes, I did try the salmon and cheeses on a roll. Much better than I ever thought it could be--and even for breakfast! They also served a mean breakfast omelet! Christina and I were the only ones to try this out. They are made to order right in front of us. So delish!
After breakfast we boarded the bus again. I took a lot of random pictures from inside the bus while we were driving. The countryside is so interesting!
Next, we visited a cheese factory. We learned how cheese is made and aged. The lady was funny and had a quick wit. There is a picture of cheese taking a salt bath. Then the cheese sits on the shelves to age. They are moved up and down according to their age. We got to taste lots of different cheeses. I LOVE CHEESE!

We then went over to the wooden shoe factory. The guy giving the demonstration didn't have the same knack for holding my attention as the cheese lady. Maybe because his demonstration wasn't edible. But it was still interesting to see how the shoes were made. Wood chips were flying everywhere! There was a plexiglass window that separated most of the room. After the demonstration, we went into the shop. I tried on some wooden shoes in my size. I was surprised that they were more comfortable than I thought they would be! They even had arches!
The only thing negative I really have to say about them is that they squished my pinky toes a bit. I'm sure if I wore them for any considerable length of time my toes would hurt.

We had fun.
We all boarded the bus again, with our newly-bought treasures. We headed to a great photo-op spot. A windmill! I think no trip to Holland would be complete without seeing a windmill up close.
Next stop: Volendam, Holland.
This little town is charming, fun, and beautiful! I want to go back! We had free time to wander and explore. We first headed out to the water and the dike. It was quite windy and cold near the water.
We went in a lot of different shops. I love the delft!
It was soon time to meet back at the bus for the last part of our trip. It had already proven to be fun, but more was to come!