Rolling past spring straight into summer...

May has proved to be a very busy month but I'm thinking it will not compare to June! The husband and I have spent just about every free moment planning our June excursions. These begin by meeting one of the husband's best friends in Frankfurt on the 30th of May. The husband has asked me to find something fun for us to do. Ohhh how about the Museum of German Architecture, I have been dying to go to that! To which I get a blank stare and a try again sweetie. So ... still working on that one.

June kicks of with my lovely sister, nieces, and cousin coming to spend two weeks with me. We'll be traveling around Germany and France. I'm really excited about this! I also just found out that my good friend from California will be in France the same time I am! I can't wait to catch up with them.

After the family leaves the husband and I will take off to Stockholm, Sweden for a week. After viewing a few of the Stockholm websites I must admit it looks fabulous! It was also voted the greenest city in the world for 2010. Every resident lives within 300 meters of a green space. That is insane! Perhaps we should look at moving to Stockholm?! Pictures will definitely get posted after this trip.

I recently finished reading Bridges of Madison County. That is a great book. I was sad to find out that Robert Kincaid is just a character... the author made him seem so real especially with the whole "I wrote this book because this story needs to be told blah blah blah." Or maybe I just get to engrossed with characters that I always try to make them real. Who knows.

I also finished Autobiography of a Fat Bride. Oh My Gosh that book was hilarious! I am already searching for Laurie Notaro's other books. I'm pretty sure I freaked the husband out a few times when I appeared to be rolling off the couch from laughing so hard.

Because of the lack of good television broadcasted by AFN we have pretty much stopped watching TV. Not a bad thing... just a weird thing considering how much crap we used to watch. I do watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. I love that show! I wish all of America would wake up and stop feeding themselves and their children crap. The show inspired the husband and I to start eating fresh foods. I also started my own garden which luckily is still alive and actually producing really good stuff!

Well, I have ranted on enough for this week. I'm sure I'll have much more to discuss in a few days as I prepare for my company to arrive! Hope everyone has a great June - Auf Wiedersehen!

You Bad, Bad Blogger!

Well, I've been a bad blogger again... So, here goes for a massive update on what's going on. We finally had our living room furniture come in after ordering it about seven months ago. That was a major relief for me! Now I can finally have people over! I've walked in about six volksmarches which I really enjoy. I think my distance's have totaled 54 kilometers. I have a long way to go to 500 which is when you get a patch or something.

I haven't been reading that much this past month. I just joined a book club so I suppose that will change. I'm still plugging through the Watchmen. It is really good; it just furthers my assumption that I'm not really into superhero type graphic novels. The Heretic's Daughter is a great read! It's about the Salem Witch trials. I couldn't put it down. It is appalling to read about the trials and the stupidity of some people. I just finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. This is nonfiction that deals with medicine and how it drastically changed because of one woman. The intriguing part is the woman never knew because they harvested her cells without her knowledge. I'm currently reading The Husband by Dean Koontz. So far so good; pretty much like the rest of his books.

We have not been traveling much because the husband has been having to work a lot lately. My sister, two nieces, and cousin are coming to visit the first two weeks in June. This should be a great time. I'm planning two small trips with them then we'll just do day trips the rest of the time.

I'm now on the lookout for a Modern - Classic sideboard for my living area. I know those are somewhat opposing styles but Modern in Europe is REALLY modern. Not that I don't like it because I do but it doesn't really go with the rest of the room. Also looking for a really stylish catch all tray for my coffee table. Looks like some shopping is in order!

My garden is actually growing without the assistance of my Californian neighbor's green thumb. I'm hoping it keeps growing so we can have fresh veggies this summer. I've discovered some strawberry plants growing in my yard as well. My cilantro and basil plants are huge and I've already started cooking with those. Yummy! Fresh is always better!

That is all for now... I promise to be a better blogger!

The one I left behind...

Last week I read Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks. I have read all of Spark's novels and for some reason never picked this one up. I'm not sure how I missed it but somehow it got left behind. As usual Sparks cuts right to my core. I always end up crying at some point in his novels. This particular one was about finding love, appreciating the fact that it was found, and losing it. It really makes you appreciate the time you get to spend with the people you love.

So many of us forget to really appreciate those around us. I am very guilty of this. Without my husband and family I know I would not be who I am today. So, if any of them are reading this...

I love you and Thank You for Being You!!!

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Recently the husband and I decided to try our first volksmarch. We went with some friends to Rothenburg ob der Tauber and participated in their annual volksmarch through the old city. This is definitely one of my top ten places to visit!! Rothenburg ob der Tauber literally translates to "Red Fortress above the Tauber." The Tauber refers to the Tauber river that runs through the town. The medieval old town is spectacular. The fortress walls that surround the city were constructed in the early 1400s and still stand today. We were able to walk along the wall and view the city from above. The majority of the homes and businesses in the old town are original as well. We actually passed one home that was constructed in 1010!


Volksmarch in German translates to "peoples march." It is a way to enjoy the outdoors and socialize with others. We participated in an 11K walk throughout and around the old city. I would highly recommend this to anyone who really wants to see every aspect of a city such as this. We walked for about 4 hours and saw everything there is to see. We saw ruins that weren't even listed on most maps!


Now a days there are volksmarches all over the world, year around. In the book I bought it even lists the ones in the states so people from home can participate too! I'm already planning our next one - hopefully in a couple of weeks in Trier. For those of you thinking of visiting Germany, Rothenburg ob der Tauber is true Germany at it's finest!

On another note, we stayed at a beir hotel outside of the city. Beir hotels are all over Germany. They are old breweries that you can stay usually inexpensively. This particular one started brewing in the 1400s. According to my husband, the beer was excellent. He bought some to bring home with us. The rooms were all nice along with the staff. The food was phenomenal! We had dinner there and they offer a complimentary breakfast in the morning. It was all very good and over all an outstanding weekend!

sleepless nights

Monday evening I was extremely excited to bring home my latest addition to our small family. I have wanted a dog for as long as I can remember because I was raised with dogs. However, due to the lack of a proper yard and European social "laws" of keeping a dog indoors I was forced to choose a different companion.

The husband and I decided to adopt a cat; we have had one before that was not bad and actually quite easy to get along with. Randy is a completely different story. I'm not sure if it's because he is male and Zoe was female?! I could see that being a reason. Or it could be because Zoe was thought to be a much older cat and Randy is only 11 months old. Or it could be because he is the spawn of Satan... who knows!


All we do know is from the hours of 6 AM to 1AM he is a normal cat. He lounges around, wants to play, lies on your lap, etc. When the clock strikes 1, he changes to demon cat. The first night he broke two of my favorite vases (I know I should have moved them because they were on a wobbly table so that was my fault). The second night I chose to get up with him when he started his howling and head butting so that the husband could get some much needed sleep before his PT test. The third night he did a little better but I was still forced to get up with him because he wouldn't leave the husband alone and I was starting to get the feeling he was about to get more than pillows thrown at him.

Last night I decided to try the ignore his howling, head butting, biting, etc thinking this would show him who's boss. All started well; the clock struck 1 he started his crazies, husband and I tactfully ignore him. It took about an hour for the silly thing to somehow trap himself behind the husbands dresser thus making a disgruntled husband get up and move the dresser. The rest of the night was all about the same stuff. He eventually fell asleep a couple of times with us. We woke this morning and he had somehow pulled out a drawer and climbed in behind it to sleep his precious hour before we have to wake up.

As soon as day breaks he's the sweetest cat ever. He's a lot of fun and we really enjoy him. We just really need to adjust his sleep schedule if he plans on taking up residence. Needless to say this further proves the husbands and my theory that we have no business having children!!

Perspectives

I began reading graphic novels last Spring when I took a class at SJSU that dealt with graphic novels. I must admit I was skeptical at first; I had the perception that graphic novels were just fancied up comic books and I had no desire to read about super heroes. I was soon proven very wrong.

The first graphic novel I read was Pride of Baghdad. The GN describes how a zoo in Badhdad was bombed during the beginning of the war. It is told through the eyes of a lion pride. The GN is based on a true story. The story is extremely emotional and detailed. The page layout and colors used add to the overall mood of the plot. This GN changed how I felt about GN's instantly!

I have read several sense then (Maus, Maus II, Shooting Wars, etc.) all of which are very good. Particularly Maus and Maus II! Those are must reads. They are a personal description of the Holocaust. As one can only guess they are both very emotional.

Recently I have read Persepolis. Marjane Satrapi tells her story of growing up in Iran during constant war and tyrants. This GN gives a completely new perspective of Iran people. I understand that this is one persons opinions but I could not agree with her more. The idea that a woman's hair could stimulate men is preposterous! Her school teachers were absurd. With every new change of power the school system would also change to accommodate. This meant that one year she was taught something then the next year she was taught to hate it. The GN ends with Satrapi moving to Vienna and leaving her family behind.

I really enjoyed this GN. I have found that I prefer to read non-fiction in the form of Graphic Novels. The imagery adds so much to the words and really creates a page turner. I would recommend Persepolis to anyone and really encourage people to give GN's a chance. Not all are about superheros!

Destiny, Fate, & Death

I finished Skylight Confessions about a week ago and am still debating on how I felt about the book. This novel, by Alice Hoffman, was indeed a page turner and at times a tear jerker. The story is extremely emotional which is odd because the majority of the characters have/show no emotions. The lack of emotions of the characters seems to draw the reader in, enabling you to react to situations in your own way.

Death seemed to appear through out the entire novel. Once finished I was certain that I didn't enjoy the book because all but two characters died. However, now that I think back I am beginning to see the book in a different light. Fate is fate. You can create your own destiny and this destiny relies on the choices you make.

This post is pretty general because I am still debating on how I really feel about this book. Perhaps a re-read will adhere to a better analysis.