Friday I'm in Love

 
 Memorial Day weekend! Yeah! What are you all up to this weekend? We're headed down to Austria for some bouldering in the alps and staying at a nice apartment in a ski resort town. Super excited. On Monday though, Frank drops me off at the Munich airport where I then fly to Seattle. Sure going to miss my family, but it is just until Sunday I keep telling my self.

Last night while tickling a story on Cooper's back, he wanted to hear one about me getting in trouble as a kid.  I've told him quite a few already, and am running out, but last night, a good one came back to me. A Madame Spugies story. Doesn't that name just sound scary? Spugies. Spooky. Yeah, she was spooky alright. I was terrified of her and for good reason. She didn't like me. Seriously picked on me and this boy David all the time. I thought it was because I wasn't Canadian like the other kids, but my best friend Erin was American, and she loved her, so that debunked my theory. 

Madame Spugies was French Canadian, and my fourth grade teacher in Belgium. She had pleather skin and foul banana fish breath. Awful. I would get a whiff of it in my face daily as she scolded me in front of the other kids over things such as lazy artwork on my part. One day, Chris Urbaniak, a nasty little boy in our class who ate boogers on a regular basis, wiped a booger on my brand new pink eraser. Vomit. Repulsion. I was totally disgusted and beyond anger.

Revenge.

Yup. I grabbed out my stinky strong glue (the type in a glass jar with a paint brush) and glued his pink eraser down to his desk while he was in a different French class for an hour. When he came back, I was trying so hard to hold back the laughter. Fail. Chris instantly knew what I did and told Madame Spugies. I hid under my desk to tie my shoe at this point, and felt a hard tug on my ear, dragging me across the floor, banana and fish sprinkles spraying in my face as she shouted at me in anger. Gag.

My chin started quivering. No tears, not yet! And then I was sent to the principals office.

Felicity Sparling. Isn't that a wonderful name? And wonderful she was. Felicity was the happiest, most cheeriest curly headed, British accented principal in the whole world. With rosy pink cheeks and shiny blue watery eyes that squint with happiness wrinkles. Felicity inquired in her sweet voice "I never expected to see you in my office. Why did you glue Chris's eraser to his desk?"

In a whaling, snotty attempt to talk, "because he wiped a big snot booger on mine!".

Felicity responded, "Is that so? I'd have done the same thing!".

Ha ha! Yes! Vindication!

As I finished up my story, Cooper said "Mom... How come all your stories start out bad, but end happy? You never really get in trouble."

Oh Cooper, I love you.
 _____________________________________________________________
As always, it is Friday after all, so here are some fun finds from this week:

Another reason to NEVER use your phone while driving. 

A new mom blog I'm diggin and this one just cracks me up all the time!

I want to do this with our outdoor grill shelf. A coffee table like they posted would be awesome as well.

Anyone have a 12-15 year old that knows what they want pursue? Check this out!

Yum!

Living in Germany - Food

Recently, a friend I used to work with in Kentucky wrote me asking for my thoughts about living abroad. Since I've responded to him, I've been thinking quite hard about the differences between living here in Germany versus the United States,  and thought I'd share a few for those who might be considering a big move or simply are curious. Since there are quite a few, I'll split this into a series of "Living in Germany" posts, starting with food. Below are some of my observations/perceptions after living here for 7 years.

- Typical German breakfast includes breads, cheeses, and meats. Basically a sandwich first thing in the morning with a cup of very strong coffee. For kids, tea. Cooper gets lots of tea at his Kindergarten and at first he was coming home so thirsty because he hated it, but after a short while, he began drinking it and now loves tea.

- Lunch is usually a warm, large meal. At school, a local meztergeri (butcher) delivers the food each day to the kids. Sundays are days where the whole extended family tends to eat lunch together, and then head outside for a nice walk.

-  Eating out in Germany is a very long affair. Do not expect to sit, order and pay in under an hour. If you go to a restaurant that is reserved when you get there, it is reserved for the night. I've never seen a waiting list the entire time we've lived here.  Typical restaurants you'll find in any German town include Italian (with a wood fire oven), Greek, German, and Turkish small Gyro establishments.

- German restaurants have mostly pork and beef, cabbage, and potatoes on the menu. Hardly any chicken options, and not too many vegetarian options. Though salads here area full of really good greens (not ice berg) typically, and have pickled vegetables like carrots and kohlrabi. Beer is honestly priced the same if not cheaper than water, juice or soda, and you see many more people opting for beer or just water over here.


- Germany, has much stricter laws for chemicals, GMOs, and other dangerous issues relating to food. They simply don't allow them into the country. Organic food is mainstream and can be found in every grocery store, even out here in a tiny town of 6000. Even beer is not pasteurized and just tastes simply better over here.

- Farmers Markets are huge over here. Way more of them than in the states, and way easier to buy food from local farmers than I found it to be in the US.

- Eggs are brown and fresh. The yolks are a rich yellow and come from local farmers in all the stores near us.You find them on the shelves with milk, which took some getting used to. The milk is radiated and stays on the shelf until opened. Then you refrigerate it. Grocery stores in general are much smaller, with less processed food choices and cute little carts for your kids to use.

- Franchises are hard to come by, as is fast food. There are McDonalds and Burgers Kings in big cities as well as on the highway, but not near as many as the states. Plus, they just aren't the same as American establishments. They offer caprese (tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella) in Italy, they offer special National French beef in France, and over here in Germany, you can get organic milk/apples and juice for your kids, or beer with your combo meal.


- Every town has its own bakery and butcher, usually a handful actually, where you buy fresh food daily versus stocking up for the week. Fridges are about half the size as American counterparts, so you can't really keep near as much food stocked up either. Oh, and the grocery stores don't carry medicines/vitamins etc, you have to go to an Apotheke (pharmacy) for that in Germany.


Well, that at least provides a summary of the big differences with food over here. I'll move on to other areas of life for the next post in the Series. If there is something particular you're interesting in hearing about, ask away.

Bedtime Routines

When Cooper was born, I think I read every sleep habits book possible. One thing that every book did have in common was the need for setting up routines for bedtime at an early age. We started  routines with both our kids that goes something like this: dinner, bath, brush teeth, two books, lights out, and then drawing on the back with a personal or made up story, cuddles, at last sleep.  I cherish this routine and its probably my favorite time of day now that both kids are so used to it and enjoy it so much as well.

I've been super tired lately, and wondering to myself, why don't I follow these bedtime routine rituals myself! I think I would be a much happier well slept person if I would stick to a routine. Lately, I'm erratic. Bedtimes change nightly, some nights I read, sometimes a movie or a phone call with family, or sometimes I craft too late. I've noticed on nights when I'm in bed by 10, I feel so much better the next day, alert and not so moody. My patience increases and I'm just a better person all around. 

So, I'm going to try real hard to abide my bedtime routines this week for myself, and add back in reading a book or taking a nice long bath to relax. How about you all? What bedtime routines do you have in your home? What books are you reading at night these days?

PS - Next week, I'm headed to Seattle for work, and man oh man I'm worried about my sleep! The jet lag! My routine will be all whacked up, but hopefully I can get back in the groove quickly when I return. Any tips on places to eat or shop downtown in Seattle? I only have a few nights, but would love to hear your recommendations.

PS again - I 'll have to post more about our bedtime story rituals at some point. Cooper really enjoys me telling him stories of when I was naughty or got in trouble as a kid, but I'm running out of those quickly.

Monkey Bars

These delicious and healthy little snack cakes are one of my kids favorites!  My mom gave me an article of healthy kids snacks to serve as an alternative to the pre-packaged snacks, that while easy, are also loaded with sodium, high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils and other mysterious ingredients.  True, these snacks do require  a little time but not a lot.  I like to make a big batch on the weekend for the coming week or before we go on weekend excursions for our go-to snack.  These rank up there on my kids yummy meter along with the Popcorn Balls recipe I posted earlier. 

This recipe is a great way to use any bananas that are a little too ripe!  And it can easily be doubled if you have several over-ripe bananas.  If you do this, make sure to use a larger baking dish and adjust the baking time a bit.  I hope you enjoy!

Monkey Bars  (from MyRecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon apple juice (orange juice or cranapple also work)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/3 cup walnuts, optional
• powdered sugar, optional

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x9 inch baking dish.
2. Combine the raisins and apple juice in a bowl and microwave on high for one minute.  Set aside. 
3. Combine flour and next two ingredients in a small bowl.  Stir well with a wisk and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, cream together the brown sugar and melted butter with a mixer over medium speed.  Add banana and next three ingredients, mixing well.  Add the flour mixture, beating until just combined.  Stir in the raisin and walnuts.
5. Spread the batter in the greased 9x9 inch dish and bake for 30 minutes.  Cool bars completely on a wire rack.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

Friday I'm in Love

We're back to an empty house this weekend and unfortunately, the weather is cold and rainy over here in Germany right now. Been that way all week long. I still haven't been able to plant all my vegetables outside! The ones I did plant in April died when it dipped below freezing. :( Hoping to go to the garden store today and stock back up on seeds and some seedlings as well as make a trip to a bouldering gym with the kids. Cooper is getting super psyched on gym climbing now with us and I'm so happy! How about you all? Any gardening in store for the weekend?

Links I loved this week....

Seriously, apartments on an airplane!?
I so want to eat at this place!
Homemade vanilla. I truly want to make this for gifts this Christmas.
We've done dance parties with glow sticks, but with balloons, this would take the party to the next level!
YUM!
I love this game and what an easy DIY!

A Weekend in Prague

Prague's Old Town Square

Have you ever visited Prague? It is definitely one of my favorite large cities in Europe. Beautiful buildings, red roofs, castles, goulash, and so much history. Over the years living over here in Germany, we've had the pleasure of showing the city to friends and family visiting since it is only a two hour drive away, staying in hostels, pensions, bed and breakfasts, apartments, to the fanciest stay yet at the Marriott this past weekend. It's about time I post some travel tips for those interested in checking out this amazing city.

Sights to See

If you have a day, I would recommend you walk all the way from Wenceslas Square to the Prague Castle, checking out the sights I list below, to get a real feel for the city.

Prague Castle - Walking around the grounds of the castle and seeing the changing of the guards at 12 is pretty entertaining in itself. You can visit the St. Vitus Cathedral and make sure you make your way to the Golden Lane, my mom's favorite part of the whole city.

Prague Castle and Saint Vitus Cathedral at night.

The Golden Lane

 Golden Lane - This quaint lane dates back to the 15th Century. It is comprised of 11 historic houses, some with period scenes to show the life of the artisans who once worked, ate, drank and slept in them. It is called the Golden Lane due to the many goldsmiths that used to live in the houses. In order to walk through this lane, you have to pay for a visitor ticket that includes admission into other parts of the castle.

Astronomical Clock - This is a must see sight when visiting Prague, located right in the old main square of Prague, close to the tourism office. The clock dates back to 1410 and every hour 12 apostles pass by the window above the astronomical dial. Legend has it that the clock was admired by many foreigners, but Hanus (the creator of the clock) refused to show construction plans to anybody. When Prague Councillors found out that he was going to make another, even better clock, they became jealous and blinded him so he could not finish it. Later he allegedly damaged the astronomical clock in revenge, and nobody was able to repair it.

 St. Charles Bridge  - A trip to Prague wouldn't be complete without checking out the St. Charles Bridge! The views are great and the statues are pretty amazing as well. 

Where to Eat

Kolkovna - We had a wonderful lunch at this typical Czech food restaurant/beer garden this past weekend and the prices were great. The traditional potato soup in a bread bowl was delicious and just over $3! Located by another nice square with a large mall only a few blocks from the Old Town Square. 

Bohemian Bagel - I love this place. Every time we visit, I make it a point to eat at one of their cafes. Bohemian Bagel serves great sandwiches and breakfast all day. Sandwiches are American style, and maybe that's why I love the place. Something that is hard to find living over here in Europe, so if you are looking for traditional Czech, this isn't really that, but I promise you'll enjoy your meal. 

Make sure you avoid eating at the Czech restaurant (aka tourist trap) in the basement of the municipal house. The food was really the worst I've ever ordered in Europe, and the prices super high.

Where to Stay

Well, Trip Advisor can really help you out, but I'll give you my two cents about the places we've personally stayed. 

B&B Pension Vetrnik - I love this B&B. The rooms are small, and the furnishing old, but the ambiance of this place is really great. Super nice/helpful owners, great food, and beautiful/peaceful surroundings. Not in the center of town, so you have to take a tram, but it was all very easy to do with the help of the owners. 

Palace Road Hotel (Apartments) - We stayed in these apartments twice over the years, when this hotel was known as The Castle Steps. The apartments we stayed in both times were so wonderful! Large rooms, neat antiques, right on the hill heading up to the castle (my favorite part of town). Prices were reasonable in the past, but looks like they have gone up quite a bit. 

Marriott Hotel Prague - Not cheap, but by far the best location we have stayed in Prague. Right in the center of all the attractions, beautiful rooms, friendly staff, and all the amenities you could ever want. Our kids loved the pool. 

Where to Play 

We found plenty of park ideas on this website, but for a short weekend, a wonderful park to check out is right under the St. Charles Bridge! 

Where to Shop

Manufaktura - I love this store. There are a few of them in Prague, and you'll probably pass one as you walk through the main sights around the Old Town Square. They have great spa gifts, but also wonderful wooden toys.

If you have visited and have other recommendations, I'd love to hear from you!

Mothers Day

 

Hello everyone! I don't even know where to start! I have been pretty absent the last month from the blog. Work has me every which way this month, and my mom is over here visiting, plus we had my aunt and cousin visit one weekend and my brother in law visit another weekend. We've visited Prague and Regensburg, Lily starting going to German Kindergarten, and I finished a Counselor Training Course to boot...


Mothers Day was wonderful, especially because I had my mom here! Frank let me sleep in, had beautiful flowers waiting for me, and made me a big breakfast. Cooper's school put on the cutest show in the world for all the moms on Friday. Complete with songs, dancing, and telling us why they love us on a little stage, and bringing us the sweetest card and paper floral bouquet. Lily was so good and stayed on the stage the whole time, the tiniest one.

My mother-in-law wanted nothing more than a group photo of the whole family for Mothers Day, something I planned on doing monthly way back in January, and FINALLY, we sat down together and set the timer for a family photo. While I had it out, it was the perfect time to capture some photos of my mom with her grand kids. Something I wish I had with my grandmas. I don't have a single picture I realized of me with my mom's mom. She died when I was only 6 from Leukemia. While looking at photos of grandma with my mom on Sunday, she was asking me if I remembered her. Somehow, I really do. Just a few precious memories, but they are there.

I wish there were more memories.  I wish I knew her better and oh how I wish I had those pictures of us.

I am also sitting here wishing my kids had more time with their foo foo. She leaves tonight, and the thought has me homesick already. Germany is a long long way from Kentucky.

So happy and thankful we've had this time together. For planes that make visits feasible, and for cameras that captures these fleeting, but oh so precious moments.

Books & Food



Does anyone else get cravings for food mentioned in books?  I just finished The Lady by Judy Higgins, a grandparent at my daughter's school.  It is a novel about a teenage girl growing up in Georgia during the 1950's.  Woven throughout the book are references to typical southern weather, beautiful plants & especially southern food.  I made ham and butterbeans for the first time last week.  They were hearty, filling & yummy.  But my biggest craving has been for Lemon Icebox Pie which I found a wonderful recipe for on Saving Room for Desserts. 

I made this delicious pie for our Derby party this past weekend.  It was perfect and just as I imagined Quincy Bruce eating it, in the waning heat of a summer evening on the back porch of her aunt's home in Wilson, Georgia.  Next on my list is divinity!  Turns out it's not just a Christmas treat in the South.

Flank Steak with Arugula & Mushrooms

Flank steak is one of my favorite cuts of beef.  It has the highest amount of protein & is the lowest in fat compared to most other steaks.  And it tends to be pretty cheap.  The most important thing to remember about flank steak is it has to be cooked hot and fast or it will turn out tough.  You can cook it under the broiler or, my favorite, on the grill.  I also have a wonderful beef marinade that works great with grilled flank steak.  But that is for another day.

Ingredients
1-2 pounds flank steak
olive oil
salt & pepper
1 pound button mushrooms, washed, dried & quartered
2 bunches fresh arugula, thick stems removed & washed
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 scallions, sliced

1. Heat the grill over medium-high heat.  Prepare the steak by brushing with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper.  Repeat on other side.  Grill steak over medium to medium-high heat.  Cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side for a medium-rare steak or 7-8 minutes per side for a medium steak.  Any longer than 10 minutes and the steak will be tough.  Remove steak from the grill and allow it 'rest' for 10 minutes to seal in the juices.  After resting, slice the steak against the grain as thin as possible.  I usually use an electric knife or a very sharp serrated knife.

2. While the steak is resting, heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet.  Add the mushrooms with a pinch of salt & pepper and sauté for 4 minutes or until brown, stirring occasionally.  The mushrooms will instantly soak up the oil and begin to cook. Once you see the juices coming back out of the mushrooms, they are done.  Quickly add half the arugula, then the balsamic vinegar.  Stir until the arugula wilts.  Turn off the heat under the skillet and add the cream.  Stir until the cream is warm, about a minute.

3. On a platter, arrange the other half of the arugula.  Top with the sliced steak then the mushroom cream.  Sprinkle the sliced scallions on top.  Serve immediately. 

Mothers Day Gift Ideas

Mothers Day is truly just around the corner! May 11th to be exact. Here are some gift ideas you just might enjoy. Scroll down to see larger images and click on the links to find the items. So happy May is here!

1. Lovely Esty prints from the shop The Wheatfield by Katie Daisy. Add a frame, and you have the perfect gift.

2. A custom made photo locket by elmharris on etsy. Add a photo of you two together and she'll never want to take it off.

3. A photo gift from Shutterfly like this stainless steel mug for the coffee lover, or a photo book.

4. A cute card like this one from esty shop moglea with a gift card from her favorite store inside.

 5.  Her favorite moisturizer cream (this Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Cream is my new fave). 

6. Some truly decadent chocolate truffles  by Vosges.

7. Paint Pottery together or create a work of art for mom at a place like Mad Potter.

8. Take her for a family picnic with her favorite picnic foods!

9. Pamper her with breakfast in bed and flowers. These lemon poppyseed crepes with a blueberry cream cheese filling are AMAZING!

10. If you live close by, give her a surprise visit and bring her a cup of tea, lots of hugs, and tell her how much you love her. If you are far away, send her a list of all your favorite memories together and make sure she knows just how much you appreciate her.