My day in a nutshell....

I am out running errands, you know the score. I am wearing the hoodie in the photo.

I dash into Exxon and stand in line to pay for my purchase. The nice man behind the counter says to me "Your sweatshirt says Hamburg". "That is in Germany you know". Wow! A twofer, gum AND a geography lesson. Sweet!

In the car I have an epiphany... Omigosh! I no longer have to worry about being unemployed because I have a talking hoodie! I will make millions, baby!

My thoughts on the past six months

My last hiatus is my previous post. To say that my life has been tumultuous is a vast understatement. As previously posted, I was laid off on 8/25. Am I gainfully employed yet? Uh, no.... There have been offers that I declined for various reasons, not a good fit, the salary was completely unacceptable, etc, etc.... Hindsight can be a bitch and I wonder if I was mistaken in not taking something but I go forward. I have a second and third interview next week that completely excite me. In all honesty it is the first opportunity that excites me and that I actually want! I won't go into detail; however, if you are the praying type, I would appreciate it; otherwise, positive vibes are also accepted.

My depression has run rampant. Unfortunately my lack of a decent paycheck has caused a budget short fall on the homefront. Cuts were made and my script for anti-depressants was a victim. Somehow electricity and food won. Crazy, huh? Pun DEFINITELY intended....

To say we are struggling financially is an understatement. I have barrelled through two 401k accounts to avoid foreclosure. That is not an option. But I am scraping the bottom. March's mortgage is in the bag, it is April that I dread. Plus I learned from taking out the 401k accounts we actually OWE the government close to $1k. It will work itself out somehow. I have faith in the Lord above. Even if I have to wait tables at the local IHOP to make it, I will do what I have to do. I am not too proud to keep us afloat. I will be 43 on 4/3 and the last thing I want to do is move back in with my parents. Not that they have the room for us anyway, Daddy would have to give up his computer room... And I am certain they do not want three more tenants because the kitty is a non-negotiable roomie as well.

As if there is not enough rain on my parade Mama has had a recurrence. She has a new spot on what is left of her left lung. It is resting on her pulmonary artery. She had a biopsy in January. There were complications a few days later which resulted in a four day stint at Vandy. They only told me about it because a friend of theirs convinced them to. They did not want to worry me. Like I don't worry about the beast each and every day coming back and claiming my mother. WTF? To top it off, there is a pinpoint spot on her right lung as well. She outlived her original diagnosis by almost a year now. The spot on the left is inoperable and she is not a candidate for radiation. Both are due to the scarring from the previous surgery and radiation. Three passes were attempted to accurately biopsy the spot to no avail. Since it is wrapped around the pulmonary artery it was far too risky to try further. She developed a pulmonary pneumothorax. She looked like Quasimodo. Medical students and interns alike all looked at the wonder of her fist sized hump. Sheesh. My mother lived a "Grey's Anatomy" moment without a single visit from McDreamy. The course of treatment is "wait and see". Did I ever mention that I am completely inpatient? My attention span can last anywhere from one to sixty seconds barring anything shiny being dangled in front of me.

Gentle reader, there is a positive in all of this.... on 9/7/08, Ambie and the chef welcomed their first child, my niece, Ela. She is beautiful, healthy, and completely adorable. The German is visiting them as I type this as he is traveling on business and made a short detour to meet the newest addition to the family. He has smothered her in kisses and refuses to give her to either parent. As gruff as my German can be, he is a total sucker for babies and children adore him. I would have loved to have made the trip with him but the seeking of employment is an impediment. I know the chef and Ambie understand and Ela is too young to know the difference. But I want to be part of her life and will!

So, that is all the news fit to print. I have missed you Bloggyland. I have renewed my Visa and plan to visit more often.

Same time last year....

At this time last year I had the good fortune to go to Hamburg, Germany to finally meet my husband’s parents. It is still hard for me to believe it has been a year since our adventure. I was waxing nostalgic and decided to give you a little tour of what we did while we were there. Enjoy…


This is my in-law's home. It is quaint and cozy. It is not the home my German grew up in; however, it is on the same road.



Prosit! This is my German and me toasting. We are at a nice restaurant we found on a side trip to Berlin. Excellent food, excellent bier and excellent company as Ambie and the Chef joined us on this excursion.



While in Berlin we did A LOT of walking and "touristy" things... Here I am touching part of what is left of the wall. It was electric to me to touch such a thing...



This is my favorite photo of the entire trip. It is of Brandenburger Tor otherwise known as the Brandenburg Gate.



This is my German and me. This is from St. Patty's day. We are enjoying Celtic music, wonderful food and incredible bier.



This is just a lovely building in Bergedorf. Bergedorf is a suburb of Hamburg and is the largest area near the village my German was raised in.



Here I am catching a little lip action with my German. We are about to enter a courtyard of a castle in Bergedorf. If you click here you will see a bit more about Bergedorf and the Schloss Bergedorf where the photo was taken.



This is my German and I on our last full day in Germany. Unbeknownst to us, my mother-in-law arranged for us as well as Ambie and the Chef to have our wedding vows renewed. She did this in part because she was unable to attend either of our weddings.



Two or three times a year, there is a huge carnival in Hamburg. There are rides, souvenier stands and scrumptious goodies (not to mention bier, gluhwein and many other tasty libations). The food at this is nothing like carnival food here.... No corn dogs and funnel cakes... Instead there are brats, potatoes, yummy pork, crepes, and too many other things to mention for fear of my waistline expanding.



This is a Hummel, the water carrier. These guys are all over the place and we photographed ourselves with as many as we saw. When you see him, you are supposed to say "Hummel, Hummel" and he would reply "Mors, Mors".



Here we are kicking back in an eis cafe (ice cream parlor). We are sitting in a spot where a photo was taken of the arcade style of this shopping center. The photo I am speaking of is in a book about Hamburg that my German brought with him when he moved to the U.S. eleven years ago. I would look at the photo and say "I want to go there". So he brought me



This is the inside of a beautiful church in Bergedorf. Schwester, my German's baby sister, actually got married in this place!! It was built in the 1400's... Awesome!



There was a rule about food whilst in Germany. Thank goodness I am an adventurous eater or I would have been shit outta luck.... This is me kissing the head of a smoked eel. That was the tastiest thing I had while I was there (except for bier, duh!). I am kissing it to thank it for giving the ultimate sacrifice for my dining pleasure. I won't go into detail about the couple of things I would never eat again because it will just make me gag. Suffice it to say, they were quite nasty and I would be fine to never have them again.



My trip down memory lane is complete. Thanks for tagging along!

I wish I could have....

In no particular order, here are some things I wish I could have done while being out of work with mono...

1. Pedicure
2. Hair cut & color
3. Cleaned the bathroom
4. Give Scout a bath
5. Organize the desk
6. Study my German lessons
7. Organized my DVD collection

But alas, I was too damned tired to do any of it!

What brought you over?

The latest google search that brought someone to the land of potatoes and kartoffels is "Do dogs speak German"? Maybe if they are a German Shepherd? Bwahaha...

Takes a special kind of stupid.

It's been a while...

It has been a while since I posted a German word of the day simply for its "educational purposes". Today I thought I would show you something important you need to know if you find yourself driving down the Autobahn.

Today's word is Ausfahrt. What I love about it is that it is pronounced just like you think it should be. What amuses me even more is that it means Exit. How much fun it that?? Ambie and I got the biggest kick out of it and would mutter "ausfahrt" every time we passed an exit ramp. Okay, at least it was amusing to us... Mein Deutscher and the chef were not nearly as entertained as Ambie and I but that is their loss.

Well I have done my duty of teaching you German one word at a time for today.

You're welcome...

Crazy conversations I have had about my German

The following is a real conversation I had with someone who found out my husband is from Germany... Enjoy the idiocy...

Him: So your husband is from Germany?

Me: Yep, he is from Hamburg.

Him: So does he speak German?

Me: [???] No, he usually speaks French to piss people off.

Him: Oh, I guess I just figured he would speak German.

Me: He does, I was just being a smart ass.

Him: Does he like German food?

Me: Well since he grew up there, he just calls it food, not German food.

Him: He doesn't call it bratwurst or wienerschnitzel?

Me: Yes, he does, but he doesn't consider it "German food" like you and I do... Just like you don't say it's an "American hot dog", you know?

Him: So what do they call a hot dog in Germany?

Me: I don't know the words they use for it, they could just call it a hot dog.

Him: Does he like German chocolate cake?

Me: He tries to stay away from all foods with a nationality label, he thinks it's prejudicial...

Him: I don't understand....

Me: You know, like he won't eat French toast, Swedish meatballs, Swiss chocolates, stuff like that....

Him: Are you serious?

Me: Totally, he just thinks it's wrong...

Him: Wow, that's f'd up!!

Me: I am just kidding 'cause that would be crazy...

Him: So do they have nice cars there? I mean I know they have the Autobahn and all....

Here I must note the person asking this drives a BMW for the love of all that is good...

Me: Where do you think your car is from originally?

Him: Bavaria, why?

Me: Don't you know where Bavaria is located?

Him: Somewhere in Europe...

Me: [...]

Him: Well isn't it?

Me: Yeah, it's somewhere in Europe...

Him: So you never told me, do they have nice cars there? Like my BMW?

Me: Dude, Bavaria is in Germany... Your car is German... Does that answer your question?

Him: I thought you said Bavaria was in Europe, not Germany?

Me: [sighing] Would you please just fix my computer so I can go?

Die Eichhörnchenkönigin

Die Eichhörnchenkönigin = Squirrel Queen...

You know who you are.... And it was wonderful to meet you!!!!

The grammar police....

Okay, I know I have bitched about how difficult German is to learn; however, English has it's idiosyncrasies as well. This one really hit home. Not just because of my German, but also because of her.

Conspiracy Theory

He told me it's easy.... Anyone can do it... Even little kids can... He is so wrong, so very, very, wrong. I have tried to believe but it just isn't so. Even the book is taunting me...

NOT!!!

And now for something completely different

I intend to start a food blog at some point in time. I just have not mustered the energy to do so yet. I have it set up (sans any content) and will set up a link later.

With that being said I did not have intentions of posting my food thoughts here in the land of potatoes and kartoffels but the German and I had an extraordinary dining experience on our anniversary and I wanted to share. Also please accept my apologies in advance for the lack of photos. We forgot the real camera and neither cell phone camera did justice.

For our first anniversary we opted to go to Chappy's on Church. We went there once before for a business dinner with some of my New Orleans associates and enjoyed every morsel. To say that mein Deutscher and I are "foodies" is an understatement. We tremendously enjoy cooking together and eating. We are not snobs when it comes to food. We simply enjoy good meals. We understand that sometimes a good meal is a Greek pizza delivered to the front door. But I digress, so let me tell you about our experience...

Chappy's has these enchanting private rooms that seat four people. They are nestled along a wall and have a drapery that can be drawn for privacy. I specifically requested that and had let it be known we were celebrating our first anniversary when I made the reservation. We were greeted warmly and wished a happy anniversary as we were escorted to our seats. We were to be in the "Rex Room" For those that do not know Rex is the king of carnival for Mardi Gras in New Orleans. We were already being recognized as royalty - LOL.

We ordered our wine and listened as John, our incredibly patient and wonderful server, told us of all the specials for the night. We agreed upon the blackened grilled shrimp with crawfish tails. I have to tell you I am half Cajun. I know my Cajun and Creole cuisine. This also means I know my shrimp... Especially having grown up near the Gulf Coast... Whoa Nellie! The shrimp was outstanding! They were freakin' huge! Two-biters is what I was calling them.... They were seasoned perfectly and were not too spicy which would completely overwhelm the more delicate taste of the shrimp. Thankfully there was an even number of them so we did not have to do "rock, paper, scissors" for the odd one.

Oh! I failed to mention that they bring out a loaf of bread with four different butters... plain, strawberry, garlic and gator (yum). I limited myself to just half a slice slathered with gator butter so as not to spoil my appetite for the noshing to come.

Being that our eyes are always bigger than our stomachs, we both opted for a cup of soup as well. The German got the seafood gumbo. It had a rich, dark roux base and was chock-full of shrimp and scallops. It too was not overly spicy. I would have thrown a few shakes of hot sauce in it but the German opted not to go that route. I had the turtle soup with sherry poured on it. I have forgotten how yummy Yertle can be when put in a rich soup... Thanks for coming out of the shell for my benefit.

We both perused the menu; however, two of the six specials of the evening stuck out and that is the route we opted for... I had a pan-seared grouper topped with gently sauteed mushrooms, lump crab meat and more shrimp. Not meager shrimp mind you, these were the size you would see in shrimp cocktail... And I got six of them - not that I was counting or anything.... Mine also came with Mardi Gras veggies (veggies in the colors of purple, green and gold, the official colors of Mardi Gras) and a twice baked kartoffel (hehe, my weak attempt at throwing in a German word today). Mein Deustcher had the blackened blue marlin. Let me tell you something, WOW!! There were two humongous filets on his plate along with Mardi Gras veggies and the rice du jour (which was almost like a jambalaya - bonus!).

After all the other food we had eaten, we powered through our entrees as best we could; however, to no avail. We could not finish them. Blackened blue marlin is still tasty as a late night snack.... Once you get over messing up the foil swan it's wrapped in that is...

Since you now know we took home a foil swan I guess it comes as no surprise that we did not have even a smidgen of room for dessert... I never even got around to looking at that portion of the menu because I was mesmerized by all the tantalizing seafood choices before me.

If you get a chance, I highly recommend you try this place out. If your experience was anything like mine you will not be disappointed.

Alles gute zum Hochzeilstag

It is hard for me to believe that one year ago today I was standing barefoot on the beach at Honeymoon Island... I was worried because it rained for the first time in 4 days that afternoon. But at 8:00, the sun was just about to set, there was a brilliant rainbow in the sky and there were dolphins putting on our own private show by jumping in and out of the water just behind us... But most importantly of all there was us.

It was almost surreal marrying him in that setting. The waning sunlight sparkled on the water and waves were practically dancing as they softly washed on the shore. We picked a spot with a single palm tree and a weathered picnic table. We sprinkled a few flower petals around on the ground to stand on for good measure although with the natural beauty of the place it was completely unnecessary. There were just five of us, the minister, Ambie, the chef, my German and me.

There was no playing of “Here Comes the Bride” or anything by Wagner. Instead we opted for the lyrical sound of the gently lapping surf and the occasional bird. Standing there about to begin I was the kind of anxious that verges on nervous and was glad for the warm, gentle breeze that would blow to take the edge off of the hot July evening. I had nothing to be scared of because I was about to marry my soul mate, my lover, my best friend. I remember trying to not choke up but doing so none the less as my emotions got the better of me and a few stray tears trickled down my cheeks. Happy tears. It was magical to be holding hands and listening to him say to me "with this ring, I thee wed”.

I remember when we were pronounced husband and wife and the first thing I did was exclaim (and loudly) "Oh my God, we're married". Thankfully I managed to shut myself up so as not to ruin the moment. Instead I concentrated on more important things like kissing my husband for the first time as his bride.

We profusely thanked the minister as he made his was to another little oasis on the beach to marry yet another couple that beautiful summer evening. So it was time for a few photos to capture the moment for not only us but for those whom we love who were not able to join us. Ambie is an excellent photographer and she had us posing up and down the beach and managed to depict what it was we wanted memorialized.

There was real champagne. And beautiful flutes to drink it with... A wedding gift from Ambie and the chef. There were more exclamations of "Oh my God, we are married". I must have said it 10 times. I heard it when I watched the video. We just set the camera down and let it roll and you can hear me pipe in every so often with my little declaration.

Back at Ambie and the chef’s home there was a celebration with their friends and neighbors. There was cake and fireworks. There were phone calls to parents, mine in Tennessee and his in Germany. There were more toasts. And even without the benefit of music, there was dancing. The sound of the water kept the beat. Perfect.

So boys and girls, your German lesson for the day is what I want to say to my German, my husband, my love...

Alles gute zum Hochzeilstag, mein Schatz! Ich liebe dich!

German lesson for today...

1. Bist du immer schon so doof gewessen?

2. Ist da spinat zwischen neinen Zehnen?

3. Ich habe cheezeburger?

The answers to the first is: Have you always been so stupid? And the second one is: Is there spinach between my teeth. I think the third one answers itself. At least I hope it does...

Useful information for any future trip to Deutschland...

I tag, you tag, FLUGTAG!!

You know since it's a German word that me and mein Deutscher HAD to go... If were not so "fluggin" heiss (hot auf Deutsch), we would have stayed longer. How hot you might ask? Well so hot that it actually felt good when someone spilled their beer on me....

Those daring young men and their flying machines... I'll tell you one thing, they have big 'uns that's for sure!

All the German you need to know..

Eine beer, bitte. = One beer, please.

Nuff said....

'coma, this one's for you...

Prost!

PS: I know I posted this photo before, get over it.

Holy hell....

I am sorry to all my students eager to learn German "one word at a time"; however, sometimes life gets in the way. We are awaiting test results from Mama's latest tests and I am nervous.

So I share with you the word(s) of the day.... Ich konnte nicht einschlafen = I could not go to sleep. I know I should. I have told all the important people in my life "guten nacht" and all the other razzmatazz that goes along with it...

Her tests are not back yet. CT scan on 6/11, results on 6/18... Scarring on the lungs... Not 100% typical of IIIB lung cancer. Some fluid on the lungs... Again, not typical of IIIB lung cancer. If you knew Mama you would say she is anything but typical and that's a good thing.

Potassium is not right... Guess what? Not typical. Other problems? Also not typical. Appointments being set up with other docs? Yep.

Freaking out?? You betcha. Can you sleep?

Not without mother's little helper.

This would be of the suck.

God invented Xanax for a reason.

die Stiefmutter

die Stiefmutter = Step mother

Let's set the record straight regarding the Bubbie.... He is not mine by birth... He is mine by marriage... He is six. He will be seven next month. He is by all accounts, beautiful, brilliant and quite mature for his age. That is if there is such a thing as a mature six year old...

Not being physcially able to have my own offspring increases my love for the Bubbie even more so. He is a smaller replica of mein Deutscher. Not much smaller mind you as the kid is about 4'3" (or less than a foot shorter than me if you must know).

I am sorry we do not get to see him very often; however, he lives in New Jersey so visits are hard to come by since it involves flights and possibly hotels and rental cars if we just go to see him. Gets pricey quickly... Especially if you would actually like to do something with him or (gasp) eat...

I think I am taking on the role of "Stiefmutter" quite well. I treat him with honesty, integrity and respect. I cheer his successes and kiss away the boo-boo's. It's a given that I love the Bubbie. I have known him since the day he was born. Used to baby sit for him when the German was married to his ex-wife. My whole family has embraced him as well. With my being an only child, he is the only grandchild Mama and Daddy will know. The Bubbie refers to them as Memere and Pepere, the Cajun nicknames for grandparents. The Bubbie delights in the Nana having lost his last biological great-grandparent 4 or 5 years ago. Mama, Daddy and Nana love having him around and are utterly exhausted upon his departure having played, cuddled and loved on him the entire time he visits.

With the notable exception of the cat being totally petrified of him, there is no problem in the world with the Bubbie. Wherein the problem lies is the mother of the Bubbie... She and I were never close. I was always the German's friend, not her's. I had known him for almost four years before they even met. She expects us to take the Bubbie according to what fits her schedule. She expects my German to be the one who has to take a full day off from work to pick him up while she is the one that can conveniently retrieve him on a Sunday. Do not get me wrong, mein Deutscher has no problem taking a day off from work to retrieve his son - that is not the issue. The problem is the expectation on her behalf that my German make the sacrifice of doing so to bring him for a visit because she, in her own words, "does not want to waste a vacation day". Selbstsuchtig = selfish anyone?

She does not adhere to a phone schedule with him. Mein Deutscher calls almost everyday. Usually with no joy as both the house and cell phone go unanswered. Two or three days later she will call and leave a message about how the Bubbie "did not feel like talking on the phone" for one reason or another. I get a bit huffy on that one... He is six, tell him he needs to talk to his Papa before he can watch Nick Jr or before he gets to go play outside. Even if it is just 60 seconds, I love the way my German's face lights up just hearing that little voice pipe up with "hi, Papa". Not being a full time mom or step mom, I am not sure if he is always that way; however, if it were me, my mother would tell me I needed to talk to my father before moving on to another thing... Oh wait a minute, that really did happen! Daddy traveled extensively when I was younger and that was the rule....

She approaches me with issues, questions, travel plans; however, when I breach the subject of travel first I am told I "am not his parent". True; however, fair's fair. If you approach me allow me the same courtesy to approach you. I am not trying to be his mother. He has a mother and when I married the German, I sent her a very heartfelt note telling her that I know my role is to cherish and encourage and love the Bubbie and watch out for his well being.

I am blessed to not be a product of divorce. The German is as well. None of my closest friends are the children of divorced parents nor are they step parents. Same thing with my boat-load of aunt and uncles. It is a slippery slope and I have no frame of reference for it. Never do I want to be compared to what seems to be the negatives of being a step mom. It is far too Cinderalla-esque for my tastes.

So I am calling all mom's and step mom's for advice as to how to handle the situation. Thoughts? Suggestions? All are welcome.

die Blumen

I love me some flowers... A.k.a. die Blumen... Love what is in our backyard!!

P.S. Guess you now realize I figured out a word for the day... Lynnster, we will be speaking German... Some day....

Reverse-Angle Monday

The thing is that I am worried about what the word of the day should be.... No ideas really stick out and it is not like I do not have a dictionary to pour over to glean some insight into what random word to select... Usually my choice is based on how I am feeling at the moment I begin to post; however, there are a few words I wanted to pick just because there are far too many consonants in them and they are over 20+ letters long. For some unknown reason, those amuse me. The German does not see the humor in them but hey, that's his problem.

Now this whole reverse-angle Monday thing came into play because someone just sent me an email about English as a second language (ESL). It's a bit too risque to link to because, quite frankly, Mama does not like the "F" word and I told her that I would not use it in here although my normal days usually has it fly on occasion. Anywho, back to what I was getting to... With English being mein Deutscher's second language, he occasionally makes some errors that make me howl (and, on occasion, snort). My favorite is "that would be suck". I tried to explain to him that something can suck; however, it can not actually be suck... That was after I spit my beer on him, but that's another story....

Stop and think about it.... "that would be suck" is such a great phrase. I actually have other people who use it (with the German's permission of course, NOT!). "Oh, this meeting has lasted over three hours... that would be suck". See? It's actually kinda handy! I wanted to title my blog that but after googling it discovered you get lots of porn that way... If Mama does not like the "F" word, she certainly was not going to like my blog hanging out with XXX sites...

I guess you could say my lack of inspiration for a word of the day, well, to quote mein Deutscher, "that would be suck"...

Count your gesegnets...

Gesegnet = blessing...

Count 'em, folks. They are plentiful even in your darkest moments.

Even when Mama was diagnosed with cancer, I was counting the blessings in my life. My faith and my family are amongst two of the largest. I am a fortunate person inasmuch that I not only love, but I also actually like my parents. I dig spending time with them. Unfortunately I can not right now because the German has the lingering effects of a cold he brought home last weekend and I still may be an incubator.

Can't be around the parents and the Nana if there is a chance I could get any of them sick. No germs from the German are to be shared in such a fashion.

So today I thought I would share funf (5) Gesegnets with you:

1. Being a complete bum all day was decadent and refreshing.
2. The mango margarita I had a lunch was quite the tasty treat.
3. Being rolled onto NiT today made me very happy!
4. The German and I have decided to quit smoking. Now we just have to pick our quit day.
5. I am almost ready for bed....