Food cravings....

have become an everyday thing for me! I'm one of those people that thinks of the next meal while I am eating the current one. After going home, my food cravings have only gotten worse! Today was the height of the torture when I was at work and printing resteraunt menu's for my english students so they can practice ordering food. In case you didn't know all of their sites have pictures all over them and its pure torment!!! Here are my top ten cravings...

10.

This is a Chipotle Burrito. Ahh!

9.

Cheesecake Factory Avocado Egg Rolls...yummmm

8.

Fuddruckers Hamburger...I also love their fries and cookies- which brings me to my next one...

7.

Warm chocolate chip cookies...need I say more...
Oh yeah- My mom's are the best!

6.

Enchiladas verdes from ANYWHERE!

5.

I can't explain it...

4.

yes, they have to be cool ranch flavor...

3.

Yup...still got it bad for these.

2.

Oh Downy, where for art thou???

1.

Has to be the lavender/vanilla scent!

Ok, I know the last two are not foods, but is wrong to crave them?! I'm sure it is all part of their plan- the big companies that produce them- to get us hooked on it and then we justify paying a fortune for it!

Ok, off to eat some of my new found peanut butter with an American flag on it! I paid more b/c its 'American' food!

Dublin, Ireland

We finally made it to Dublin, Ireland. To be quite honest, Dublin was great, but not near as beautiful as the countryside. It was to be expected...it is the capital of Ireland.

We stayed in the middle of the city and this was the view from our hotel...


We went on the Guiness tour...



We saw a political demonstration...


And of course- more ruins!


One thing we did not expect to see was a celebrity. We found ourselves in the middle of a red carpet thing because Ryan was sweet and took me to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic". It is my favorite book and they were playing it in ENGLISH! So when we came out we saw people waiting and so we waited! Here is who we were waiting for...

Liam Neeson! If you don't know he was in Schindlers List and the new movie Taken.

So we had a great time and got to explore quite a bit. Finally Ryan had a day off!!

Here is the scrapbook pages I did over it.

Carlow, Ireland

The next city we went to was Carlow, Ireland. While Ryan worked, I explored the town...here are a few pics. This was a smaller town, but I thought it was a little more "city" like then Kilkenny. I spent a few hours at the mall too, but we wont share that with Ryan... ;)



This is the old castle. There are a lot of pics of ruins like this. It is funny to see a starbucks, then ruins later down the road. The perfect fusion of new and old!

Kilkenny, Ireland

EH-Low you ole blokes!

haha... We loved Ireland. Of course, when have you heard me say that we haven't loved a place?


Our first stop was Kilkenny, a small town 2 hours outside of Dublin. It was just what you imagined...rolling green hills with sheep wandering around in the roads. A little bit of fog in the air...

I loved it! Of course, the food was perhaps the most tastiest food in Europe, along with the generosity and general willingness to help of the people didn't hurt anything either. I wandered around alone for the entire day (Poor Ryan- work always gets in the way!) and ran into some of the most wonderful people. They would stop and ask if I was lost- of course I had a map on me at all times- and then point me in the right direction. Some of them I ended up befriending, and I swear if I would have stayed longer, they would have invited me to their houses!

It was definitly a breath of fresh air, literally as it didn't snow or rain the whole time- YIPEEE!

Here are some churches and then the castle... the first church was pretty creepy, especially being that I was the only one there and then a man came out in a black hoodie and a cane and then a black cat was running through the graves...AH!





Of course the top selling beer in Ireland is the one they produce- Guiness. We drank one the first night...





I bet you will never guess which one of us liked it better...


ME!


Next to come, the rest of our trip :)

Some more photoshop fun....

So, I've been having fun with photoshop. It is one of those programs that you have to take a class to even make a dent in all the things it can do...but who has time for that?!

Luckily I stumbled across some pretty awesome websites that help you figure it out. I have only scratched the surface, so hopefully in the coming months I'll figure more out!

Ok, I know you are tired of hearing about my love affair, but I finally found a program to help me with getting around to scrapbooking. People have told me to make a scrapbook of our time over here and I think,"yeah yeah"... I don't even know where to buy Downy and I'm supposed to outfit myself in scrapbook essentials? Well, fear no more- you can do it all online!! Can you believe it?

Anyway, I was inspired by a pic I took of Ryan's brother

when he and my brother came to visit us in California. I thought, man, I need a scrapbook...

This pic was cute too...but thats neither here nor there...


So, here are the first 3 pages I have so far. I'm starting with 2008 because I know if I go back further than that, then I'll never get done.

Vienna, Austria

We had a wonderful Valentines Day! We went to Vienna, Austria one of the most gorgeous, romantic cities in all of Europe! We took a night train there and a night train back, so after three nights, we only got one good night of sleep. It wasn't a bad train ride, but it's definitly easier sleeping on a plane because they don't stop every hour! But, there were no babies crying on the train, so maybe they even out.

Vienna was FREEZING cold. I say this, coming from Stuttgart where it has not stopped snowing since November! Well, not exactly, it stops and starts, etc. So anyway, that shows you how very cold it was there. We could barely stand it outside so we stopped in every Starbucks we saw!

Vienna is a beatiful city full of great architecture. They have a billzion churches there and I swear it was like each one was prettier than the last.

This is St.Peter's church. Its said to be the most beautiful church in all of Europe. I had to agree. The pictures don't do it justice. Plus, for it being the most beautiful church, it was pretty hidden. We literally stumbled on it.



Also, we rode their famous ferris wheel. It is the oldest ferris wheel in the world-or so the Austrians say! It is made of old train cars. Very cool...


Also the ferris wheel thing was extra cool because since we met (in '03) if ever we saw a ferris wheel, I would always act my shoe size and beg to go on it. For some reason, Ryan would never give in!?! So, this monumental occasion served its purpose- Our first ferris wheel ride!



Another beautiful church...I could go on and on....



Did I mention it was freezing and we were tired?



Anyway, it couldn't have been a sweeter stop for our Vday! When we got to the hotel room Ryan had somehow smuggled a few of my favorite things into Austria with him...


and whole bunch of stuff from one of my favorite stores...


Anyway, it was great and I'll never forget it!

6 Months in Deutschland!

Well, we made it! We finally hit the 6 month point- TODAY! It has flown by...I know everybody says that...maybe its true that the older you get the faster life goes by. It just goes by so fast you want to rewind it or to slow it down.

Here is what we have accomplished in 6 months...
- finally getting the public transportation sysytem figured out
- knowing "enough" German to get around (what is ever enough?)
- meeting some really cool and sincere people
- figuring out where to get laundry detergent vs. where to get sheets
- finally enjoying the taste of coffee
- letting ourselves relax a little
- definitly we both have lost around 10 lbs here with all of the walking
- not letting a single moment go to waste
- no more processed foods
- travel- we have been and done a LOT as this blog lives to testify
- what we need vs what we want (we have to carry it all home so that will really make you think about it!)
- Lots of mental and emotional growth as a couple and individuals

Thats all I can think of right now. I'm sure Ryan will want to add more...

Ok, I wanted to give a shout out to my Valentine. I know he is planning some cool stuff this weekend, so I had to beat him to it. Here is what he met me at the airport with.


My favorite flower is the pink tulip. So sweet...He also had the entire house filled with them along with the whole place being spotless. It was so sweet. He ate lunch with me then had to go back to work, but it was still a wonderful homecoming. I don't know how he juggles everything, but I am so glad he is MINE!!!

Happy Valentines everyone! I'll update on Sunday with our weekend!

No Place Like Home Part 2

I had such a blast at home, and now I'm back in Germany, enjoying the very COLD weather! You just couldn't beat the weather in Texas the past two weeks. It was in the mid 70's and not a cloud in the sky.

I got to see family and friends and catch up on all of the things I've missed the past 6 months. I ate a lot and shopped a lot more! I loved getting ice in my drinks again!!


While I was home I went to the beach with my friends Lori and Tamara and our moms. I've known them both for a long time and was nice to hang with them a while. They gave me the sweetest gift of all- a visit to come to Europe to visit me this summer!! I CAN'T wait!




We also went camping. This was my first time and I had a blast! I've never been, so my mom organized a trip with some of my friends. It was sooo much fun! We ate hot dogs and smores. Can you beat that?!

But, we did have a weird 'blair witch' kind of thing happening...
We were sitting by the campfire we heard a drum beating. We didn't pay much attention to it, but then we heard voices from deep in the woods. Some of our group went to check it out then came back and got all of us to go. We defintily ran into something crazy out there. We tip-toed through the woods (yes, it was as awkward as it sounds) and ran into a big circle with lit torches. Everyone there was wearing white robes. No-it was not what you are thinking- they were WITHCES! We heard them conjuring up their spirits and singing creepy songs...it definitly didn't sit well when we ran into them later in the public bathrooms. They looked like normal people....haha

Here are my mom and I


It was very hard to leave everybody behind again- it feels like I'm always saying goodbye- but its ok because I know that everyone supports what we are doing and hopefully will come visit us soon!!!

On a very exciting side note- I got photoshop while I was home! It is an awesome program. I'm hooked! Here is my first photo...



I have been waiting to do the whole black and white and make one thing in color thing!

More to come soon...we have some very cool Valentines plans!