All Around Good Time

I think our party went well last night! It was a nice gathering of friends and some family. We had delicious food, great wine, and good company. All in all a fun time. Unfortunately, some people's allergies started acting up (stupid cat). Oh, yes, we have a cat...well, it's not ours, it's Tyler's sister's, but since she lives with us, we have to deal with it. It's cute...sometimes...

I made two cheesecakes (one boysenberry and one regular with a cream cheese topping) and pineapple wrapped with bacon. All three of those thing were delicious, not that I have a bias or anything...haha. Tyler made chicken wings (a recipe he found online that consisted of soy sauce, garlic, and honey). Man, were his wings good! However, my Pyrex is still soaking...grrr. We also provided sweet potato pop chips, chips and salsa, bread, meatballs, cheese wrapped with meat, and some beer and wine. We had some friends bring food as well: yummy vanilla macaroons (I really could just keep snacking on those things), veggie pizza, fruit kebabs (such good fruit!), and blue cheese guacamole. Everything was so delicious. I really need to start taking more pictures, because everything was just so good! 

It looked great too!

Tyler and I have this thing where we hate being hungry at parties, so, we try and provide people with a lot of food and drink. That way, if you didn't have a chance to eat dinner, you can be satisfied, but if you just want a snack, you have great appetizer options to choose from and snack on.

Some of the wine for the party.

Well, I hope everyone is having a nice and relaxing Sunday. Besides the cleaning up, I know we're having a very relaxing day. :) Happy Palm Sunday everybody!

Thoughts for Tuesday

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you all had a great President's Day weekend. I know I did.
This weekend we bought a new couch, had a wonderful dinner with friends, celebrated one of my best friend's birthdays, had great wine, amazing cupcakes, got Tyler's sister all moved in...need I say more? 

This week I have some goals for myself: 

1. Start a new workout routine (new chapter = new routine)

2. Apply for more jobs (this includes temp agencies) 

3. Make delicious dinners ( I have 2 planned already :) )

4. Become better at creating blog titles (haha, this may take time)

Now, I there are some other goals, but those are more long-term. I think these 3 are very doable for this week, don't ya think? 

Now, speaking of delicious dinners, check out what my husband, Tyler, made tonight: 

That, my friends is habanero chicken, served with broccoli, garlic rice, and mango. Mmm mmm, so good! I think I have a chef on my hands! Hehe. :)

Now that I've been totally random talking about my weekend, my goals, and the delicious dinner I had, I'll leave you with an inspiring quote. I hope it will inspire all of us (yes, that includes little old me) this week. :)

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. 

It does." 

- William James 

{Via}

Magic

With so many transitions comes a lot of stress. I wish I wasn't a worrier, but alas, I am. I knew coming back that I wouldn't find a job right away, but it's stressing me out. I can hear my mom now, "Just breathe Beth. Relax. Pray." Etc. etc. I am trying, but there is still some stress. It's hard for me to totally let go, but I'm doing the best that I can.

Last night, Tyler and I went to the Magic Castle with some friends. Oh man, it was so cool! We went to a Houdini seance (haha...oh boy), some magic shows, and just walked around the "castle." And, do you know the best part was, I met NEIL PATRICK HARRIS! OMFG!

{Via}

He's amazing.

Today, Tyler and I are FINALLY looking at apartments. Hooray! I can't wait. And tomorrow, we're going wine tasting. See why I keep thinking that we're on vacation? Haha.

Hope you all are having a good weekend! :)

Back in the Good Old US of A

    Well Friends, we made it back! And boy what a journey that was! We started off Tuesday at 5am (German time, 9pm Pacific), got ready, packed up the car and made our way to the airport. After some technical problems, our plane finally left almost an hour later. Ugh. Of course. We had a direct flight to California, so we only landed 15 or 20 minutes later than we were supposed to...still trying to figure that one out. Oh the wonders of flying.
    I was both happy and sad to leave Germany. Sad to leave the new friends I made, but happy to return to old friends and family. You know what's really weird about this whole situation? We're not just visiting for a couple weeks, we're moving here! It's so hard to fathom. You know what else is crazy? Tyler's out of the Army! What?! AH! So weird.
    I'm so excited to start this new chapter in our lives. It will take some getting used to, but I bet it will be great! :)

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

    It really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Well, that and Christmas is only 3 days away! Ahhh! Can you believe it?! Where has all the time gone? Wasn't it just the summer? Man, how time flies! It's been a busy year for us...and this week, man oh man, boy has it been busy! I've been sick, we've been packing, cleaning, and buying last minute Christmas presents. So, sorry for my lack of posting. I will try to get back on my schedule after the holidays.
    Today, we had to say bye to our first place here in Germany. It may have been old and falling apart, but it had it's own charm. I'm sad to leave it. The guy who came to clear us came at 8 this morning! It's already been a long day. Unfortunatley for us, the Army only pays for us to have 3 days in the hotel. But, God bless great neighbors/friends who let us store our stuff in her apartment and even spend the night. :)

    This year, Christmas will be a bit different for us. We're not going to be with any of our family, plus, we're going to be in a hotel room on base, oh yeah, and we're in Germany. Weird, huh? Though, Germans do Christmas very well.
    As I've said before, we are blessed to have great neighbors/friends. Several of them are also going to be around for Christmas, so we're all pitching in and having Christmas dinner together. Tyler and I are making green bean casserole and apple pie. Mmm, I'm getting hungry already!
    This would be the perfect year to start some of our own traditions, but it's a little hard since we will be in a hotel and not a home of our own. But, if we do come up with anything, I'll be sure to let you all know.
    When I am in Texas for Christmas, we go to church Christmas eve for the candlelight service. When we were younger, Santa would come while we were at church Christmas Eve, so we would get to open the presents from him after church.
    After Christmas day church, we would have brunch and open the rest of our presents. Then, later in the afternoon, we'd go over to a family friend's house for a big get together. My sister and I usually had a friend or two there, but it could still be awkward. Hey, at least we had each other! I know my parents enjoyed it, and as we got older, we would also chat with the adults, so it became more fun I think. :)
    For the past few years, I have been doing Christmas with Tyler's family. Usually the weekend before Christmas, Tyler's dad's side of the family would get together to have dinner, chat, and do a gift card swap game. You all bring $35 gift cards (from anywhere) and you wrap it up. They kind of play it like white elephant, so you all draw a number, you can pick a gift, trade, etc. I think it's a great idea so you don't have to buy a present for everyone, plus, it's fun.
    Sometimes on Christmas Eve they would go to church, but so far, we've only gone one year. On Christmas day, it's an immediate family affair (this includes grandma and possibly and aunt and uncle). Tyler and I last year served everyone mimosas in the morning with Christmas brunch. The mimosas are definitely becoming a tradition, hehe. Then, after brunch, we open presents (still in PJs of course), and after that, it's kind of a lazy day.
    Last year, since Tyler had just gotten back from Afghanistan, we decided to split our time between the two families. First, we flew to Texas for a few days (and had an early Christmas with my family), then, a few days before Christmas, we flew to California.
    People with both parents in the same state or close together are EXTREMELY lucky. I wish we didn't have to choose which family we get to spend the holidays with, but alas, we do. Since we're moving to California, that means that we will see Tyler's family for holidays more, which is fine, but I would really like to see mine as well. I do have a family afterall. Someday we will have enough money to fly all the time to see my family for holidays. Until that day, we will try to split it up the best we can, or maybe just have some on our own. Hmmm...I like that idea!

    What are some of your Christmas traditions?
    Do you have to split your holidays between families? If so, do you have any suggestions, tips,
    or advice?

Time to Move On...

    So, I've been forgetting to mention something...Tyler and I are moving soon. No more Army for us, at least, for now anyway. Moving is always stressful, but this move, well, I really don't know how I feel about it. On the one hand, I'm super excited to go back to California and be with friends and Tyler's family, but on the other hand, I know I'm going to miss Germany and the new friends I made here. Plus, I don't even get to see my family or some friends I still have in Texas :(. I feel like there is still more I could do here in Germany, but alas, my time is coming to an end. I'm also scared, well, maybe nervous is more accurate, about finding a job and going back to work.
    Now, along with deciding what things I can live without for about 3 months (that's how long it can take for them to ship our stuff to us ahhh!), I'm looking for jobs, and an apartment. Looking for an apartment is fun, but sucks because I can't go look at any yet. I absolutely hate looking for jobs. There are so many I feel I could do/am qualified for, but according to the requirements, I supposedly am not qualified for the job, sigh. Anybody have any good sites I should look for jobs on? I am using a lot, but I am always open to suggestions.
    Speaking of job hunting, I always thought I was pretty good at interviews, but, 2 or 3 years ago, I was told after one interview I did for my school I wasn't. What?! No one else had ever told me that. And trust me, if I didn't get a job that I really wanted I inquired why and what I could do better next time. Ah well, maybe it was a fluke thing, or maybe I need to prepare more. I do know one thing I struggle with is what questions to ask. Anybody have any suggestions on questions to ask and/or interview tips for me?
     Anyway, I'm excited and yet very scared for this new chapter in our lives. But, ya know what? I bet it's going to be a good one. :)

Source: Uploaded by user via Beth on Pinterest

Weekend Review

    Last I left you it was Friday, Veteran's Day. Tyler was recovering from CQ and we had a wine and movie night. Good times.
   Saturday, we had our good friends J and B come over for dinner. We made tri-tip with broccoli ad garlic mashed potatoes (mmm), and for dessert, I made cheesecake. This cheesecake looked A LOT prettier than the last cheesecake I made. Woohoo! Getting better! :). They were joking about how they need to come over once a week for dinner...made us feel pretty darn good about our cooking :)
    Sunday is always our day of rest. Stores in Germany are closed, and we just liked to sit, relax, and watch TV. Sometimes we go for a walk or clean, but it's mostly a day for relaxing.

   Before I leave this weekend review, how can I forget about the new game Skyrim. Tyler got it for his computer and he's been playing it sooooo much. I mean, it looks cool, but I'm just not a huge gamer. I played the Sims, Roller Coaster Tycoon and stuff like that. haha. He says it's amazing if anyone is interesting in playing it.

  Have a great day everybody!

Wedding Wednesday

    Ah, wedding Wednesday. One of my favorite blogging days of the week. hehe. Instead about posting about a certain topic, I'm going to take this time to congratulate my dear friends, Alex and Natasha ...they're getting married tomorrow!!! I'm so excited and happy for them. I just wish I could be there (in MAUI!!!!) to celebrate with them. Congrats you guys! Happy Wedding Day tomorrow!!! :D

Gotta Catch up!

    Sorry that it's been awhile friends. I was just enjoying the long weekend (Tyler had a four day) and my hubby finally being home after about a month! Now it's time to catch up...

    Friday, Tyler had the day off work, (woohoo!) and we he spent basically the whole day cooking. Cute right? He was making carne asada and carnitas for the Mexican Party we were going to that night. They were DELICIOUS! I wish we would've taken a picture. We were hoping to go home with leftovers, but no such luck. I guess that means they were good right? haha.

    Saturday was our building Halloween Costume party. I made pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and devil's food cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Of course they both had cute pumpkin wrappers and fun Halloween sprinkles. :) Oh yeah, on some of the chocolate ones I made faces haha.

A little before the party, Tyler decided to go to our local grocery store to make a meat, cheese, and bread platter and a frittata. Yes, you heard me right, a frittata. It was delicious! He's becoming quite the little cook. I mean, my cupcakes were good too of course haha. :p I'm glad he decided to make that platter and frittata though, otherwise there would have been WAY too many sweets and not enough food with substance. I though my neighbors were supposed to order pizza...oh well. All in all the party was a fun time. Our apartment was for food, socializing, and eventually sing star (haha), and our neighbor's apartment was for drinking games and the "main event."

Tyler and I as Pirates hehe

Casey and I playing sing star

      Sunday and Monday were relaxing days to clean, catch up on TV, watch movies, etc. Tyler even made us biscuits and gravy one morning! Now, Monday was Halloween. I've been told that Halloween has gotten big in Germany in the past 4 or 5 years, so yes, people do "celebrate" it. We even got trick or treaters, but we forgot to get candy...fail. Luckily, some of our neighbors had candy, so I just put a sign on the front door of our apartment building to go up to them. haha.
    Tuesday,  I finally finished cleaning all the floors in the apartment from the party. Woohoo! I also helped a neighbor move her car (it had died...ugh), did oh so many dishes (how do we even have this many to do), and just did general house work. Oh yeah, I also went to Zumba. Love me some zumba. For dinner, I made lasagna. It was my first attempt at homemade lasagna, and I have to say...it wasn't half bad! It looked not so good though haha.

Yay me! We're going to have leftovers of it tonight! mmmm can't wait.

How was everyone else's weekend and Halloween?

Pictures, travels and life

Well, my mom finally put the pictures up from their trip to Germany! If you'd like to read about their trip, you can do so here. There will also be a recap under the photos...enjoy :)

Bamberg. LOVED this city. :) It was a nice fun day with the parents and Tyler.

Buchenwald Concentration Camp. So cool, intense and emotional. They also had a very interesting, cool and pretty memorial. Unfortunately, Tyler had to leave earlier that day, so the rest of our travels were just my parents and I.

On Monday, we drove to Munich. First stop BMW Weld (world) and Olympic Park. Isn't this motorcycle cute? I would never ever buy one, but i couldn't resist getting on haha. Unfortunately Munich was really hot and humid. Ah well. Still a great trip.

at the Haufbrauhaus drinking some beer.

clock where the glockenspiel is

On Wednesday, after two days in Munich, we made out way to Heidelberg! Such a beautiful city. I'm standing under the Elizabeth Gate at Castle Heidelberg. Very appropriate I think :p

HUGE Wine barrel. And guess what? There's an EVEN BIGGER one. It's insane.

view of the castle from our river tour Thursday morning.

Friday we relaxed at my apartment, and then Saturday, we went to Wurzburg. I love going to Wurzburg. In this picture, my parents are standing in front of the Wurzburg Residenz. LOVE it there. 

back of the Residenz in the gardens. So pretty

The gardens :) (Yes I am wearing my Dirk Nowitzkishirt...had to...)

Sunday we had a late breakfast downtown with my neighbor and her precious little girl. :) Aren't we just a happy family haha. 

   Sunday night, we went to a German restaurant for their last meal here. I noticed my back was hurting a little but really thought nothing of it. Monday EARLY morning, my parents and I headed to Frankfurt Airport. My dad drove there, so he could get his last little bit of driving on the autobahn, and I drove back. That's the longest I've driven in Germany! woohoo! My leg kinda hurt when I got back, but again, thought nothing of it because my back wasn't bothering me anymore. Tuesday, my back was KILLING me. What?! How random. I was like, well, we did drive a lot, walk a lot, eat a lot, I wasn't doing my normal workouts (think I've also gained weight back ugh), and Wednesday night I slept on the floor of the hotel...I think my back had had enough. Wednesday it was feeling a bit better, but Thursday, it was getting worse, and in the evening my butt and legs started to tingle...uh oh. In fact, later that night I called Tyler crying. It was some of the worst pain of my life. Friday morning I got up early to call the clinic when they first opened to see if they could squeeze me in. I called a minute or two after 7, and they could see me at 8! Sweet. Thank goodness my neighbor Casey was awake and could take me...I had no idea what kind of tests they would want to do. Well, I went in and she did all sorts of poking, moving my legs around, asking questions...I had strained a lower back muscle and it was pushing on a nerve. Ugh...great. I am now on muscle relaxer and prescription strength ibuprofen. wooo? I feel all sorts of loopy and tired. But hey, I think its working!
   Unfortunately, Friday night was our neighbor get together (just the girls since our hubbies are gone), and I couldn't even drink with them. I also kept zoning out and almost fell asleep at one point...about the same as being drunk right? haha. Still had a great time though:). Today I've been such a sloth, slept in, took a nap, been on the computer....that's basically it. It was so nice and warm today too, but I could not concentrate enough to go outside or do things. Ah well. I blame the meds. haha. Oh yeah, and for dinner, I made green beans, and as I went to drain them, I burnt myself with the boiling water. Ugh, of course I did. it got the side of my palm and some of my arm. I'm ok though. Oh me.
   How's everyone else doing?? Have a great Saturday! Hopefully you're more productive, and less medicated then me! haha

Days 28-20: Time to Finish Up

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of

- The dark. Yes it's silly, but I'm terribly afraid of the dark. 
- Heights or the fear of falling. I also hate the sensation of being dropped. Roller coasters are ok, because they go back up after a drop, but like the tower of terror, can't do that anymore. High ropes courses, attempted once and I fell off (fear realized). Repelling was fun, but I've done it like once. Heck, even driving on canyons/mountains scares me.

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile

My dog Hushpuppy and I a few years ago. Love this dog! Miss her lots.

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss
My friends and family (and dogs) back home. Love and miss you guys.  

                                                                                                               

My dog Hushpuppy

Tyler's dog Buddy

Days 21-26: wishes, a favorite or two and love

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget
There are many things in my life I'm sure I wish I could forget, but would that make me the person I am without them? Who knows. Not really sure of one specific thing that I wish I could forget, so I'm going to move on...

Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at
I wish I was better at a lot of things...I mean, I'm decent at many things, good or even great at some, but if I had to pick just one thing to be better at, I think it would be dancing. :) 

 

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book 
As you can probably tell, I’m not very good at the “favorite” questions. I dunno, for some reason I just don’t like to pick favorites all the time. It’s hard for me to pick my favorite books, but I’ll try and pick some I enjoy :)
"The Bible"…why? Well, being a Christian woman I like it and believe in it, but from a book perspective, I just think it’s a great collection of stories.
"Twelfth Night" - why? It’s hilarious and I do love me some Shakespeare
"Pride and Prejudice" - I do love me some Jane Austen. Strong female character, great love story…need I say more?
That's just a taste... :) 

Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
See day 21...but I guess if I could change one thing it would be to not be as much of a pushover. Good news, I have been getting better...slowly. 

Day 25 - A picture of your day

Image from Google Images
 My day was full of cleaning and being lazy haha. I mean, I did just get back from a weekend trip...

Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you
I mean lots of things mean a lot to me...my life, my husband, my family and friends...Then I could go into the material stuff that means a lot to me...but eh. 
But, if I have to pick one thing, it would be love...love of my husband, friends, family...love. What is life without love? 
“Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.”
- Oscar Wilde

Image from MeHeartWeddings

Day 8: Laughter is the best medicine

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh

My dear friends Robert,  Kevin and myself. Look at our faces and the fact that it's a picture of us taking the picture...enough said. Probably not my funniest picture, but boy does it make me laugh! :)

Day 2: People I have been closest with the longest

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest

 I am close with several people, but these 5 are the ones I've been closest with the longest. Enjoy.  

 My parents and I on the day I graduated college :)

First,  I'm going to say my mom and dad. They've know me the longest and sometimes even know me better than I know myself. They've also always been supportive of me even though some of the things I do may seem crazy (i.e. getting married at 21, moving to Germany...).

(From Left to Right) My sister, Sarah, my dear friend, Elizabeth, myself and my dear friend Julia at my bridal shower in Texas

   Next, would be these 3 ladies in the picture with me. I've know my sister my whole life and somehow she still puts up with me. I've know Elizabeth since I was like 7 or 8 years old and we're still as close as ever. I met Julia in high school and we're still extremely close. None of us went to the same college, and I have not lived in Dallas for about 5 years now, yet we're all still close and I love and miss them dearly. 
  

Fasching

   It's been awhile for me! Oops. Sorry about that. Not too much to report I suppose after our one weekend of travels and the Oscars I didn't have much going on. Yes I'm still looking for a job and get the apartment together, but how exciting is that? Well, maybe I'll write a post about decorating our place sometime...hehe.
   Anyway, this post is about Fasching (Mardi Gras for those of us from the U.S.) a carnival in German speaking countries. On Tuesday, the day before ash-Wednesday, I went downtown with some girls I had met from SNAPS class to shop and celebrate Fasching. To me, Fasching feels like a mix of Mardi Gras and halloween. People dress up in all different types of crazy costumes, there's a big parade and of course, lots of drinking.
   In our lovely little town there in a parade that starts around 13:00 (1pm) and lasts for a couple hours. During the parade beer, candy, pastries, popcorn and other things are passed out...yay for free things!  :)We even got some of those things, and I'll tell you what, the beer wasn't half bad (and I'm not a beer drinker)! As for dressing up, well one girl in our group had a dress with heals and a cool mask and then I dressed up like Wendy from Peter Pan. Yes we were the only two in our group haha. Ah well. It was a lot of fun to see how other people and cultures celebrate this day.

The group! (minus me)

Here comes the parade!

one of the crazy floats 

he posed for us haha :)

I just started laughing when they came into view. Oh Germans

Got my free beer!