Sun, May 18th 2008, 21:22
Heute today
Things I did today...
Ate bacon, eggs, and pancakes for breakfast
Went shopping at the mall
Saw Iron Man in the theater
Had popcorn with butter on it
Drove a car
Went swimming
These are all things I wouldn't have been able to do in Germany.
The flight was kind of long and miserable since I had to fly on a different plane than Mike. And we had a scare in Chicago because his flight arrived late and we were worried he wouldn't catch his third flight to Phoenix, but thankfully he did.
I got kind of cranky and upset in Chicago because Mike's plane was late and because I was sleep deprived and confused. In Chicago I had to pick up my baggage (which I thought was strange), change terminals, re-check my baggage, and then go back through security.
I really, really hate security. For some reason they make me feel like I'm guilty, having all of those people looking at me like that. Because of that, I don't wear any belt and I don't carry any liquids or a laptop, because I really just want to get through the stupid thing as fast as I can.
One employee seemed to sense my distaste for the process, and he smiled at me and apologized, saying "This is the last time we will bother you!". And I thought, "Yes, until I fly back in three weeks!"
When we got to Phoenix I just passed out at about 6pm. Because it was 3am in Germany and I had been awake for 43 hours.
I woke up at 4am, so a couple of hours later, Mike and I went to IHOP.
It was kind of surreal being in IHOP. The waitress was so friendly and extremely fast. We hadn't even sat down before she was asking us what we wanted to drink, and I excitedly ordered a water. Imagine that! Free water, with no bubbles in it!
After that, Mike and I went to Super Walmart, which was also strange seeing rows and rows of products I cannot usually buy. Mike let me drive, since I haven't driven in nine months. Apparently, it is like riding a bike.
We went shopping on Sunday, which would have been impossible in Germany. And we also got to see Iron Man, which was pretty entertaining for an action/super hero movie (those usually aren't my thing), and I got to eat buttery popcorn which made me sick to my stomach and got stuck in my wisdom tooth holes.
After that, we went to some cheap Mexican fast food joint and I got taquitos, and then we went swimming in the hotel pool. It is still crazy hot outside even though it is night.
Tomorrow I plan on shopping until I drop! And lucky me, there is a Saver's store right across the street from our hotel!
It's good to be back!
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Thu, May 15th 2008, 10:24
Flugzeug airplane
As you can see, I have had a lot of time on my hands lately. I decided to try to decoupage which is basically just a fancy name for cutting and pasting.
I bought the little wooden boxes and the frame, and some floral wrapping paper. I cut out the flowers and glued them onto the boxes and then painted them with glaze. The red one, I actually painted with nail polish because I had no paint, and it has sort of a vintage looking design on it that I also found at a store here. I don't know if they are that amazing, but I think they are cute, and plan on giving some of them away to my family. I also have dreams of one day selling crafted items on Etsy, which is a website where you can buy and sell crafted items.
I also took a walk around Dresden the other day. It was really warm and nice. Unfortunately it was the wrong time of day to take pictures of the Elbe Panorama because the sun was behind the buildings. But I still crossed the bridge and took pictures because I had walked all the way. You can see the Frauenkirche and the Royal Palace, among other buildings.
Tomorrow I will pack and hopefully keep myself occupied so I don't go crazy with boredom. We are going to go pick out our kitchen for our new apartment! Fun times. Next time I post, I will be in Arizona! But first I have a really long and lonely flight ahead of me. I hope there aren't too many delays and that all of my bags arrive!
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Mon, May 12th 2008, 05:17
Kurort a resort or spa area
This weekend we went to visit Mike's family again. It is warm and beautiful in Germany right now. Everything is green and there are flowers blooming everywhere. We ate most of our meals outside, and at night I could hear the frogs at the pond across the street.
We drove quite a ways to Oybin,
which is a "Kurort" close to the Czech border. Oybin is most famous for the Oybin mountain, an exposed sandstone rock that towers above the town and on top sits the ruins of a medieval monastery.
The old church was pretty cool looking. There were several rooms you could go into. We hiked up the mountain, which was pretty steep, and then climbed these very narrow stairs to a tower of the church that had a great view.
Today I woke up with the idea in my head that I could go to the center and shop a little bit for souvenirs to take to my family and for some food. But then I remembered that it is a holiday (how many holidays do they have here, anyways?), so everything is closed.
I am terribly bored, and getting very anxious about my flight to Arizona this Saturday, so naturally, this week will be one of the longest I have had in a while. And it is really hot in our dachgeschoss bedroom (our room is in the roof, which means the ceilings are slanted and the windows are in the ceiling). There is not much of a breeze in here.
We found our new apartment in Gorbitz. It is on the first floor, so it will be easy to move into. Plus, it is slightly elevated and has a balcony that we can sit out on, and perhaps let Penny have supervised trips outside. The cool thing is that we are getting a brand new Einbaukuche (built in kitchen) that I get to pick! I also get to buy kitchen stuff and curtains, so that will be fun. We are hopefully moving in July. We just have to find some people to take our place in our current apartment.
I am going to have to start reading a book or cleaning soon so I don't go crazy with antici....pation. It will be so much fun to go shopping and eat my favorite foods and to see my family. Nathaniel is graduating high school!
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Mon, May 5th 2008, 06:23
(Going for a walk) Mike and I took a walk in the park the other day.
"Dresden - hier wurde die Schönheit erfunden. Nichts als Fluss und Wiesen - in zartesten Farben und märchenhaftem Licht."Johann Joachim Winckelmann, 1755
Dresden - here beauty was invented. Nothing but rivers and meadows - in tender colors and fairytale light.
It does look nice here in Spring, but I think Johann went a little overboard.
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Sat, May 3rd 2008, 23:49
Spring
Spring has finally arrived in Germany, and it is pretty great. It's sunny and all of the greenness looks so amazing with the backdrop of blue sky. I should have come to Germany in the Spring, and not at the beginning of winter. The sun is up until eight o'clock at night, and all the trees are blooming.
Yesterday I decided that I wanted to make some guacamole. I don't know what for, since I still can't eat chips. But I went to the store and tried to find the ingredients. I was a little stumped with the cilantro, but I looked it up in a dictionary and it said it was called Koriander in German. Well apparently, it's called coriander in English as well, but that is the wrong part of the plant. The fresh leaves are called cilantro, which is what I wanted, and the spice called coriander is made from the seeds and tastes differently. So I bought some coriander, which will probably make my guacamole taste strangely, but oh well! I am waiting for my avocados to get soft, I have no clue how to tell when they are ripe. But then I will enjoy some odd guacamole.
I started playing Lord of the Rings Online again yesterday, and it was fun. I haven't played for about a month. I really think I just don't like playing when the roommates are here. I will be so happy when we finally move out of this place.
But in two weeks I will be in Phoenix! I cannot wait. I will spend my days shopping, eating, and watching movies while Mike is at work. I really hope my mouth is healed by then. And then I will get to see a lot of my lovely family for Nathaniel's graduation.
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