Elusive Candles

I have been searching high and low for taper candles. Seriously. I have looked just about anywhere I can think of, and I can't seem to find them! Do candle companies just not make them anymore?

The good side to this is that I went to a beautiful new store yesterday. It's called Barkenhof, and it is a stone's throw from my house. The owners, Olaf and Elke, have a gorgeous German version of a villa, and they operate the store in the downstairs.

Olaf walked us through and gave us quite the education on some of the products - champagnes, oils, dishware, antiques. Cheeses, dates imported all the way from the Negev, delectable figs.

I was interested in the store, primarily because I heard they sold candles. Well, they do, but not the tapered version I would like.

However, getting to spend an hour with Olaf was a treat. Olaf is a self-described cook and nutritionist and he is also a great salesman. By the end of the visit, Chris and I walked out with a bottle of secht (German champagne), an Italian pannetone, cheese, dates, and a bottle of Italian lemon-flavored olive oil. We are throwing a New Year's Day brunch for some friends, so I will be using all of this then.

I am thrilled, though, that this store is so close. They have great teas and things that I will be able to cook with. They also have some great dishes and antiques that I will be interested in later on, I'm sure. The building itself is stunning. Part of the store has a kitchen where Olaf whips up treats for his guests so that you leave with an armful of products. I have my eye on some Italian Modena vinegar the next time I go.

What a great find!

Frohe Weihnachten & Prettige Kerstdagen

Or, Merry Christmas! We hope that you had a great Christmas this year. Ours was very low-key, which was nice.

We did get to go to the Aachen Christmas market on Wednesday, and had a fabulous time. It was my favorite market we attended this year.

It's been a great weekend spending time with Chris and Jackson for Jack's first Christmas. I am really glad we get to have the time together as a family.

I was planning on sending Christmas cards this year. I even ordered them from Snapfish on November 24. However, we still have not received them. So, I will send them out when we finally get them. But, I do hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and 2009.

Frohe Weihnachten (German for Merry Christmas) & Prettige kerstdagen (Dutch) from Germany!

Real German Obsession

I don't know if you would really call this a complaint. But, Germans are OBSESSED with the appearance of their homes. I guess it's more of an admiration. But, it makes me feel stressed out and guilty about the appearance of my own house.

I picture the neighbors next door and across the street making a list of the days that go by where we don't go outside and sweep or mow or pick up miniscule sticks or rake - whatever - and handing this list over to our landlord periodically.

Really, I don't know where on earth they find the time. Since we moved in almost two months ago, I have used my time to put things away, get ready for Christmas, take care of my child, and go out to enjoy Germany. Oh, and do errands. That's it.

Our next-door neighbors, on the other hand, are out as early as 6:00 a.m. taking care of their yard. I'm not kidding. Everyone is out sweeping the sidewalk and clearing the gutters all the time. I try, when I come in from an errand, to take care of something if it seems out of place, but sweeping the sidewalk loses priority to, say, feeding my child, which seems to take up approximately 50 percent of my time.

I'm assuming that the inside of their homes are just as immaculate. Where on earth do they find the time and energy?

I am feeling increasingly guilty after the snow storm we just had yesterday. Even though it snowed, we made time to go to church and still made it to the brunch reservations we had. Priorities. Today, Chris had a day off. We would much rather be at a Christmas market, but instead are cleaning the house.

Chris is off to buy a snow shovel, as we do not have one, and our neighbors shoveled right on up to our part of the sidewalk and stopped. I'm taking it as a hint. They also love to pull our garbage and recycling cans up to the middle of our driveway exactly two seconds after the garbage or recycling men empty them at 7:00 a.m. when I am still drinking coffee and am nowhere near dressed for the day. Honestly, give me a couple minutes!

I think they all hate me for my lack of obsession over the outside of my own house. But, I hope that I am just giving them more self-pride over their own homes. When Chris gets home today from buying the snow shovel, I MIGHT go out and shovel. Or, I might not. I also need to bake cookies for an outing to an orphanage tomorrow and I honestly don't have time to do both. Sheesh.

I might take some of the cookies as a peace offering to our neighbors. Seriously, if I keel over from exhaustion and stress during the next three years, you can blame it on my sense of worthlessness over my housekeeping skills.

Our First Date

Well, Chris and I finally had our first date since Jackson was born. I know, you're probably thinking, "Isn't Jackson five months old?" Yes, it has taken us that long to go out on a date without our son!

I think that if we had stayed in Aviano, I would have felt more comfortable with finding a babysitter so that we could go out. But, we moved. And, I am comfortable saying that I am incredibly overprotective regarding our new search for a babysitter.

So, I heard about Parents' Day Out, which was hosted by the childcare center at JFC Brunssum. I immediately jumped on that opportunity, as adults would be providing the childcare, and not a 12-year-old.

We bravely left Jackson and decided to go back to Valkenburg to check out the other cave Christmas market. This time, I had my ducks in a row. We found excellent parking right in the center of town, which was also right across from the Velvet Caves.

We had a nice time checking out the market, but in the end decided that the Cauberg Cave market we visited before was actually better. But, we made a nice day of it, and spent the rest of our time checking out the beautiful little center of town.

Valkenburg is packed with restaurants, so we chose one that we would ordinarily dismiss because it looked too nice to bring our infant. We relished the fact that we didn't have a stroller and could linger over food.

We also stopped in a nice home decor store, and I found an interesting clock that I decided I needed. So, the day was a success. It was also bitterly cold, although we had some beautiful sun. It has been snowing off and on during the past week, so we had a nice dusting on the ground.

And, I'm pleased to report that Jackson was not screaming or crying when we picked him up.

Battle of the Bulge: 65 Years

This December marks the 65th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. Because we are in such close proximity to Belgium, we decided that this year we would make the less than two-hour drive to Bastogne to participate in this year's commemoration. Chris and I are both avid readers of World War II history and fans of the HBO series Band of Brothers.

I was equal parts excited and filled with dread over taking this day trip. I felt so privileged to get to see Bastogne, but I didn't know how it would go with our five-month-old. Fortunately, he did so well!

We got up incredibly early to make the drive. The day started with a walk through the Bastogne countryside. There were four walks to choose from: 8 km, 12 km, 16 km, and 23 km. We chose the 12 kilometer walk.

We bundled up our son in a snowsuit, put him in a backpack carrier, and off we went. Jackson was so great during the entire walk. We walked by a few families whose babies or toddlers were screaming, and I was worried that Jack would soon follow suit. But, he was a happy baby and just looked around or slept the entire time. I was, as usual, concerned about his warmth, but he was fine.

The walk was perfect, although cold and even snowing. It was fitting since the soldiers who were fighting there in 1944 were entrenched in freezing, snowy conditions. We went through some forest areas, and there were so many battle re-enactors throughout the walk. What was really funny, though, was to see all of these young men dressed in American 101st Airborne outfits - who spoke French.

In fact, there was an incredible amount of respect for Americans on display throughout the town for this event. There were American flags everywhere - hung on the side of buildings, flown up flagpoles, draped out of windows. The people of Bastogne are remarkably still humbled and grateful for what our soldiers did for them during World War II.

While I don't believe I've seen the rampant anti-Americanism that people say is present throughout Europe (sure, there are some who don't like us, but not the vast majority as some would have you believe), it was really incredible to see Europeans who absolutely love and embrace us. It made me really proud of our countrymen who sacrificed in Bastogne.

Once the walk was over, we went to a cafe in General McAuliffe square. As we settled in for some lunch, an elderly man in his paratrooper uniform came in. I noticed that he had on his uniform the medal that indicated he had jumped over Normandy. I got really excited that a real hero was in our midst. To make it even better, there was a man in a suit that came up to this man, and since I am an eavesdropper in these situations, I overheard this man introduce himself as a McAuliffe - a descendent of some sort of General McAuliffe. Now I was really excited. I really wanted to get a picture of Jackson with these two men.

However, Chris and I both agreed that we did not want to interrupt their conversation or their lunch. It would be rude, so we wanted to wait for a better time. But, then, Jackson started getting really loud. He's in a phase where I think he really likes the sound of his own (loud) voice. So, we promptly left the cafe.

We watched a parade, and then went to see the annual "Walnut Festival", where dignitaries from Bastogne and, this year, some veterans from the Battle of the Bulge came out onto a hotel balcony to throw walnuts into the crowd. This is to celebrate General McAuliffe's brave response to a German surrender request: "NUTS!"

One of the men on the balcony this year was a feeble veteran who pulled himself out of his wheelchair, wearing his baseball cap marked with the word "Currahee", to gleefully launch these walnuts into the crowd. It was incredible to see, and it just made me think how Americans so need to see this kind of gumption today. With each throw, I could just picture a group of these guys proclaiming to the enemy: We. Will. Not. Surrender.

We had such an amazing time in Bastogne. We have agreed that we want to come back each year that we are here. The town is beautiful and this was one of my favorite experiences that we have had in Europe.

In fact, I would highly recommend doing this to any of you - even if you are in the United States. If you are at all interested in World War II history, have considered taking a trip to Europe, or even just appreciate our veterans, make this journey! It won't be long before there are no more veterans taking part in this annual event.

We got a picture of Jackson with a group of Battle of the Bulge veterans, even though he was fast asleep. We couldn't pass up the opportunity:

St. Nikolaus Is Coming To Town

It's December 5th, which means only one thing...OK two things in our house. Today is my 31st birthday, but something even more exciting happens each and every year on this day. St. Nikolaus comes to visit!

I have always looked forward to the month of December for numerous reasons. I love Christmas and the whole Christmas season. People always wanted to take pity on me for having a birthday in December, but I can honestly say that I never felt like I lost out. My parents really always made it special.

Once my family moved to Germany in 1988, we adopted another special December custom - St. Nikolaustag. On this night, many European children are putting out their shoes so that St. Nikolaus, or Sinterklaas in Holland, can fill them with goodies. He's similar to our Santa Claus, but clearly comes to visit children on a different day than Christmas.

Even as we got older, my mother continued to celebrate St. Nikolaustag with us. And, it's actually something I so look forward to each and every year. My mom is perhaps the best gift-giver ever. She is so generous and incredibly thoughtful. And, you just love the gifts you receive - they are always great and beautifully wrapped. She really takes extra time for each and every one of us.

So, I look extra forward to getting the big St. Nikolaus box in the mail each year. In fact, right now, at the end of my birthday, I'm more excited for waking up tomorrow so we can see what St. Nikolaus brought us than I was to wake up today. And, I'm really really excited to see what he brought for Jackson's first St. Nikolaustag. It's always a bunch of things that we can use for the Christmas season - Christmas cooking items from Williams Sonoma, linens, puzzles, music - oh, it's so fun!

In our village, there was a St. Nikolaus event tonight. I made sure to check on the way home from my hair appointment to see what time it started. The woman told me, "half past seven." So, we packed up Jackson in a cute little outfit and walked on over to the restaurant - just in time for it to be pretty much over. Man! I don't know if the woman just told me the wrong time, or if she didn't understand how to say the correct time in English.

But, Jackson got to meet St. Nikolaus, get his picture taken with him, and get a gift bag from him. Holy cow! We got home and looked through the bag. It is chock full of goodies!



I can't wait to see what St. Nikolaus brings us tomorrow morning!

Hair

Oh, it's such a difficult thing - choosing a new hair person when you move. It's actually a bit scary when you have to venture out to a new place - and aggravating to have to begin anew with someone who doesn't know where your part is, how you like your highlights, where you like your bangs to fall.

I can't even tell you how much harder it is to do this in a foreign country. My first Italian haircut was a disaster. The woman actually looked at my hair - blonde and fine - and said to me, "I have seen hair like this before." Well, I hope so - you do hair for a living!

My very last haircut in Italy was amazing. I was so sad that I found an Italian who could do a great job, and I was leaving.

It was definitely time for me to get a haircut, so I mustered up the courage and scheduled an appointment for this morning. I went to a salon that was recommended by the Living in GK website called Aphrodite in the Netherlands. If it were MY website, I would not make the recommendation. Oh wait, I have one! So, here is my NONrecommendation.

I showed up and they didn't have me written down. OK, someone's mistake. There was one really great English-speaker who was able to make total sense to me and who asked great questions and really seemed to get it. She did my color. Even though I explained that I wanted to grow my hair out, did not want layers anymore unless they were subtle and blended, and long bangs, I got the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of all those things. I don't think she managed to convey all my requests to the guy cutting and "styling" my hair.

I was also really annoyed, because I came in and was bombarded with questions the entire time about things that are usually just assumed by other hair stylists. "What color do you want out of this book?" Um, I don't know anything about color. I just don't want brassy highlights. "What is brassy?"

"Do you want us to dry your hair?" "Do you want us to style your hair?" "Do you want mousse in your hair?" I just want you to do my hair with the other requests I made taken into account! The rest is up to you as the hair person!

There was also some hair emergency with me early on where the color was, I guess, "bleeding" into my hair too fast (?) and so they rushed me to the sink to wash it out right away. Then we started over. I was weirded out by that too.

The pro here was that it was a nice place (they constantly asked me what I wanted to drink), and was pretty cheap considering I am paying in euros and it was a nicer salon.

I think I'm trying somewhere else next time. And, at this point, my hair will never grow back out.

Only in Holland

We have had a great weekend. Yesterday, we had our church Thanksgiving dinner, which was a lot of fun. We got home just in time to watch the Sooners beat the Cowboys (Boomer Sooner!) on our new TV (our not-so-older TV was injured in the move).

Today we decided that we would begin Christmas market season. Oh, how I love Christmas markets - and everything else related to Christmas, mind you. I remember a year ago, being in Montgomery, AL, and so bummed because I was missing this time of year in Europe. I had no idea we would get to stay!

Anyways, the first of the markets I wanted to visit this year was in a town about a half-hour from here called Valkenburg, in Holland. I had seen this thing advertised everywhere. You see, the town has a hilltop castle ruin dating from the 11th century. There are caves in the hilltop beneath the castle, and the Christmas market is in the caves. Very cool, right?

So, we got out the GPS, and I got out my Holland guidebook. Plugged in the address to the caves listed in my guidebook. We got there, parked WAY up at the top of a hill, hiked down, waited in line, finally got in. Had a really great time. This was, in fact, worth it.

There were not only decent Christmas decoration vendors throughout the market, but there were also great gifts to buy. There was a restaurant/bar constructed into the caves for this, and it was just a really fantastic time. We were really interested in the caves themselves, and decided that we needed to head back eventually for a tour.

So, on the way out of town, I started to look back through the advertisement I had and my guidebook and noticed something interesting. They were called different things. One (the one we went to, the "oldest and largest subterranean Christmas market in Europe") was Gemeentegrot (Cauberg Caves) and the one on the advertisement ("the most popular indoor Christmas event" in Holland) is Fluweelengrot (Velvet Caves).

So, we went to the wrong one. There are, in fact, TWO cave Christmas markets in Valkenburg, Holland. I was actually wondering, because the one I wanted to go to had been talked up in regard to their theme - Charles Dickens Christmas village. The one we went to had some Christmas trees and fake polar bears everywhere, and I was thinking, "How lame, this is not a great Charles Dickens theme" the entire time we were there. I mean, it was a nice market, but not as Christmas-y as I had been hoping for.

And, I had remembered seeing the castle ruins, but then got turned around and didn't think we were under the castle at all. And, we weren't.

I have to interject here that I love Holland. I really do. But, their language scares the heck out of me. Good thing that most speak English amazingly well. And, I love foreign languages! I'm pretty good at learning them! But, I can't decipher or understand a word that comes out of the mouth of a Dutch person, and I don't think I ever will. So, it's no small wonder that I got completely confused.

But, Valkenburg looked so great, that we are thinking about going back. To the OTHER cave Christmas market. And to walk around the town.

Just an FYI, though, if for some reason you are reading this and want to go to one of these things. Be prepared for crowds and pushy pushy people.

On the way home, we decided to stop in to the Nikolaus Markt in Geilenkirchen, as today was the last day. It was OK. It had more of a festival feel to it, and it was fun to be back at a German fest. It reminded me of my childhood - the little amusement park rides for children, the candy stalls, gluhwein, bratwurst. In the end, we decided to support the Canadian NATO booth and got caribou burgers and moose milk. Nothing says Germany like that, right?

My favorite purchases today were the pretty Advent wreath I bought in GK and the gorgeous Delftware (blue and white porcelain) ornaments I bought in Valkenburg. Good shopping today. Oh, and if you are a family member, you will be getting some sweet treats in your Christmas packages from the markets.

I love Christmas in Europe!

Happy Thanksgiving

"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100

From the Cooper house to yours - Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for God's provision during the past year. A wonderful husband who returned safely from a deployment; a beautiful baby boy who has given me joy; a smooth move from one foreign country to the next; a lovely home to call ours (scorpion-free) for the next few years; health and financial security; the ability to call myself an American; family and friends throughout the world who are amazing; and salvation I do not deserve!

Here's to another year filled with blessings! Now, I'm going to go get my turkey ready for the slow cooker (doesn't fit in the oven) and take my son on a walk on this very rare sunny northern Germany day!

Odds & Ends

Do you like my new blog design? It looks pretty much exactly like my awesome Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag. Seriously.

I have too much time on my hands.

Anyways, this week has been busy in our continuation of settling in. I joined a stroller fitness class, which is really a great group and workout. I kind of thought it would be lame, but it's not!

This weekend was the Geilenkirchen bazaar. We volunteered for a some of it. Chris played Santa Claus on Friday (I, of course, got Jackson's first picture with Santa).

The bazaar here is teeny tiny compared to the one at Aviano, but we still got some great gifts. Two of the vendors sold me out to the ladies running the event - they have already approached me about working on next year's committee! I agreed to it, but said that I do not want to be in charge of the actual event.

This week will be busy in preparation of Thanksgiving. Thursday will honestly be a normal day for us. Now that Chris works for NATO, he does not have Thanksgiving as a day off. We'll probably do a pared down version that evening. That's actually a lifesaver for me, because we have the smallest oven known to man now. If I make any turkey on Thursday (and let's be honest, I haven't been to the Commissary yet to see if there is anything left), it will have to be in the slow cooker.

So, we are doing a big Thanksgiving on Saturday with our church. That should actually be a lot of fun.

The fall is moving way too quickly!

Naarden

Today we drove about two hours away to a cool town called Naarden in Holland. It's right outside of Amsterdam, but we were just going for a quick day-trip, so no stop in that city quite yet.

I hadn't dropped the news to Chris until last night as to what we would be doing there. He assumed it was a Christmas market, but it was really an event called "La Table" something or other. It was a fair to showcase things you would put on your table, like china, silver, and decorative items! It was actually held in the town's Gothic church, which was quite beautiful.

Chris was a good sport though and went willingly. It was actually a little disappointing. They had a lot of redundant vendors - LOTS of silver and china, but few furniture vendors, as an example. They had a couple cool things, like a Portuguese vendor selling beautiful plates and wool items, but in the end I didn't buy anything except some Italian-looking furniture tassels that I will use to decorate at Christmas.

Anyway, the event was not worth returning to, but the little town of Naarden was a must-see in our opinions. It is a city that was annihilated by the Spanish in the 1500s. The town then built up a fortress around itself that is in the shape of a star. It is surrounded by water, and the buildings are so beautiful. The town is packed with fun stores - antiques, wine stores, etc. We definitely want to go back when we have time to really look around. The springtime should be nice, because there are lots of walking paths and there were even people out in paddle boats on the water today (even though it was super windy and cold). We took a short walk out to see the outside of the fortified city, but then we needed to get back on the road.

Disgusting Science

From Friday's Digest of The Patriot Post:

Achieving Youth by Exploiting It
In today's society that so highly values a youthful appearance for women, it's no surprise that cosmetics that promote their anti-aging qualities are big sellers. But one cosmetic maker is lending a new meaning to the term "baby-faced" and arousing controversy because of it.

The California-based cosmetic maker Neocutis trademarked an ingredient called Processed Skin Cell Proteins, or PSP. The secret behind PSP is the use of proteins derived from skin cells from a 14-week-old aborted male baby plus components from a postage-stamp sized skin sample from the same baby from Switzerland. This part of the formula for several Neocutis products is apparently designed to do everything from repairing burned and scarred skin to reversing the effects of aging.

While Neocutis defends their usage of fetal cells by comparing it to the development of polio vaccine from fetal kidney cells, critics charge that other cosmetic companies use proteins from postnatal placentas to create similar products, making fetal cell use unnecessary.

Regardless of the willingness of the donor's parents to allow the usage of the baby for research purposes, the exploitation of the unborn for such a trivial purpose reflects poorly on the priorities of our society and culture.

There's No Place Like Home

It is so nice to have a house. A house where I am sitting on the couch with my laptop (complete with my Internet hooked up) and a good cup of coffee. And, LOTS of boxes that still need to be unpacked.

I am sitting here waiting for the Telecom guy to show up. I'm wondering why I need to be doing this, instead of going to Bible study, when we hooked up (we meaning Chris) the phone and Internet ourselves. Oh well.

Unpacking has been going slowly but surely. On move-in day, I went to the doctor, because of an in-grown toenail. He told me it was healing itself. Several days later, when I was completely confined to the couch, completely unable to walk, I went in for the dreaded toenail removal. I had this done several times in high school, and was so not looking forward to it. I'm so glad I went though. It's on the mend.

Anyways, we are in the part of the move where we have unpacked lots of things, but have no places to put them. Our dining room table is covered in serving pieces. Chris commented to me, "Did you leave any platters in Nove?" No, dear, I tried my best not to.

It's hard to move around to different places, because nothing you had in the last house seems to work. Especially when you go from one strangely-constructed European house to the next.

So, we broke down and went to Ikea yesterday for some cheap shelves. I was told that, if I did this, I could get really nice Belgian dining room furniture. So, I was in. I really don't enjoy Ikea, but it was nice to get out and do some shopping.

I'm also obsessed with my ongoing to-buy list. Last night, when I was up with Jackson, I was sitting in the rocker looking around the room and fidgeting because I wanted pen and paper to start listing all the things we needed for his room. I'm becoming crazy over it, I tell you.

One day, though, we will finally be done with putting everything away. I can't wait!

Some Updates

On Saturday, we went to Aachen, which is the closest city to us here in Germany. I think it will be our new Venice. I had not heard much about Aachen, really ever. But, it was the seat of Charlemagne's empire, so has one of the most important cathedrals and treasuries in Europe. Who knew?

Aachen also has a great shopping and dining scene. So, we wanted to just go and check out what the city has to offer. We ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant (I know, I know, but we have lived overseas now for three years and miss it) called Sausalito's. Decent food for not having Mexican options around us much. The restaurant is in a cute little square where the gorgeous Rathaus building is. There is even a Starbucks there (WOOOHOOOO!).

We actually skipped out on Starbucks to try a really great cafe/konditorei called Cafe zum Mohren, which was incredible. They had amazing desserts there, so we decided to splurge. I got a local treat called Reisfladen, which was kind of a rice pudding cake thing with cherries on top. Chris got an Eistorte (ice cream cake) that was black forest cherry-flavored. Incredible. We can't do that every weekend.

We then went to the famous cathedral, but most of it was closed off for an event. We got to see a little of the inside, though. It has beautiful mosaics and stained glass windows. I loved the churches in Italy, but this was equally beautiful.

We skipped out on the Treasury, as Jackson was getting fussy, so Mommy was also getting fussy. But, we'll have plenty of opportunities.

I was pleased to see that there is a Kathe Wohlfahrt (awesome Christmas store) opening in Aachen near the cathedral. Bonus.

We got home just in time for Germans to start ringing our doorbell for trick-or-treating. Who knew the Germans celebrated Halloween this way?? Not us. We were not prepared, so just stopped answering the door. We learned our lesson for next year. Isn't there something though about importing horrible American culture around the world? I remember just about all nationalities complaining about that...but they're trick-or-treating?? This definitely was not something German kids were doing when I lived here 20 years ago.

We have moved into our house! I am using our last Internet opportunity in the guest house until who knows when. So, we will be unpacking for awhile, but can't wait for guests!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Last night, we went to Trunk or Treat. Obviously, as Americans who live overseas, there are not the typical trick or treat options that there are in the United States. So, we went to the Army post Schinnen, in Holland, for trick or treating on base. They did it this way in Aviano, too. People just set up booths or decorate their cars and hand out candy to the kids.

Jackson was a glow worm this year. He was a cute one, too. He passed out pretty quickly in his stroller, but we had a good time walking around and checking out the costumes. I've decided that I want Jack to be a bee next year. There was an adorable little toddler running around as a bee, and it was absolutely precious.

Spanish Night

I joined a really neat organization last night called International Women of GK. It's a social group that gets together once a month to get to know the other women, of all nationalities, across the NATO base.

It's an interesting thing to observe, actually. There are so many nations represented at Geilenkirchen, and the fact that this organization exists is intriguing. There were Americans, Canadians, Italians, Germans, Turks, and plenty of representatives from other countries too.

Last night, the women of Spain hosted the party. They were dressed in typical costume, and talked to us about different customs in Spain. They demonstrated a cider pour, and passed out samples of excellent hard cider. They made a meal of a really yummy bean and pork soup of some sort and what I think was an onion torte. It was really good either way. They also did a raffle of typical Spanish gifts. I didn't win - typical.

What was so interesting to me was to see all these women from different countries come together to socialize and conduct business - in English. We are pretty fortunate as English-speakers in the world to be able to understand so many because so many speak our language. It's pretty incredible.

I was only disappointed that I really didn't interact with women from other countries. Baby steps. My focus was just to meet some nice Americans for the moment. I sat at a table with some really great people, one of whom was new like me. I'm going to like it here!

The good ole USA is hosting next month, and I hear that the theme is going to be Fourth of July. I look forward to it!

Burg Satzvey

We went on our first family adventure in Germany on Saturday evening. There is a castle, called Burg Satzvey, about an hour from here that dates back to the 1400s. It is still inhabited by a count and countess who open up their property throughout the year for different festivals and events.

This weekend was their Family Halloween festival. What a fun time! First of all, the castle and property are beautiful. They do an excellent job of keeping it up. There were great Halloween decorations, and lots of stalls selling food and other items. We had an excellent meal of German fair food. For us, it was gulaschsuppe and hot waffles with hot cherries on top for dessert. Excellent!

The festival had lots of great live music and even a giant maze. The maze would have been fun to walk through sans baby. I thought, though, that with it being Halloween there were probably things waiting to jump out at us, and that would not be cool.

Burg Satzvey hosts medieval jousts during the spring, so we will definitely be back.

Here is Jackson looking oh-so-excited about being at the castle. What a stinker.

The Newest Casa Cooper

We move in on Nov. 1! We can't wait for visitors!

It's Cold Here

Our little Jack is adjusting well to all the new things around him. The biggest change: cold weather! It's already pretty cold here. So, yesterday, Jack got to wear a winter hat and mittens for the first time. He didn't quite know what to do with them.

On the househunting front - this is going to be difficult. Our options yesterday: a stunning incredible dreamhouse that is not in our budget; a so-so house not in our budget; and an ugly 1960s house that is in our budget. Sigh. We are broadening our options today and lowering the number of bedrooms we want so that we can look at more houses. This is one of the most frustrating parts of moving overseas (especially in October after the summer PCS season is over).

Deutschland!

We are here in Geilenkirchen! Here are some thoughts from our trip here:

1. Edelweiss Lodge & Resort in Garmish. Definitely worth going. It was beautiful (the lodge and the town). Food is vastly overpriced, however, especially considering it is a military resort. I mean, we would not have minded paying it if the food was actually any kind of quality, but it really wasn't.

2. We stopped in Ramstein Sunday night. Ah, Ramstein. I love it. My family was stationed there 1988-1991, and I was so excited to go back. We stayed at the Gruner Woog (now called Hotel Anna), which is where my family stayed when we first moved there in 1988. My friend Liz and I stayed there a couple of years ago, too. Frau Anna is just as wonderful as ever!

3. Ramstein just opened a new mall/BX on base. It is INCREDIBLE. Those of you in the United States would probably not understand the magnitude of what I am about to say, but there is a Macaroni Grill there! And, a real bookstore! And, lots of shops! And, the BX has a selection! Of everything! The baby boy clothing section alone made me want to weep tears of joy.

4. Yesterday, we left Ramstein and drove to Geilenkirchen. We are staying in an amazing guest house. Today, Chris is checking in with the new squadron, and I am...watching British satellite TV. Oh, and doing laundry. I'm assuming we are going to start househunting today as well. I can't wait! I learned some serious lessons about European homes in Italy, and am excited to apply my newfound wisdom on this hunt (ie. just because it's a quaint, picturesque, old European house doesn't mean you want to live there). Here's one thing I'm pretty sure of - I doubt there will be any scorpions anywhere around. Hallelujah!

Zugspitze

One of the biggest tourist attractions at Garmisch is the Zugspitze, which is the tallest mountain peak in Germany. It's a big deal to ascend to the top, and Chris and I don't like to turn our backs on a challenge.

From the moment we started talking about doing this, though, I had a bad feeling about it. You see, I can't stand heights. But, I wanted to conquer my fear.

I also was nervous about the baby. But, everyone we talked to kept assuring us that it was fine. So, I had my checklist: blankets, pacifiers, etc. I wanted to make sure that we didn't do anything to hurt the baby's ears, and I have a perpetual need to make sure he is warm enough.

We learned some serious lessons that I would like to pass along. First of all, there are two ways to get to the top. Both involve catching the Zugspitzbahn (train) in Garmisch. Then, you can either disembark at Eibsee station, take a look at an amazing lake, and then take a really long cable car ride up to the top OR you can take the train further to Zugspitzplatt and take a shorter cable car ride up.

My thoughts were that we should stop at the lake on the way up, and then take the longer train ride down the mountain. It was recommended that, either way, we not take the long cable car ride down the mountain, because it might hurt the baby's ears.

Bad choice. We should have taken the short cable car ride BOTH WAYS. If you are in any way at all afraid of heights, do not take the long cable car ride. In fact, you can drive to Eibsee, so you can make the lake a totally separate trip for yourself, and have time to really enjoy walking around there.

From the second we started going up the mountain on the Eibsee cable car, I wanted to fall crying on the floor with my baby. I thought it was horribly scary. I think I was the only one, though.

Also, by the time we caught the cable car, clouds had rolled in. About halfway into our scary trip up, we could not see a thing, because we were entirely surrounded by clouds. I don't know if it was worse that I couldn't see anything or not, but it wasn't a good feeling.

So, we got to the top. Jackson was doing great, Mom was not liking it at all. There is a restaurant and cafe at the top, so we thought we would stop for a drink. The service was terrible, however, and I was getting antsy at the top, so we decided to just leave and descend the mountain. Besides, we could not see anything as the clouds were entrenched at this point.

We took the shorter, far less scary cable car ride down to the train station at the Zugspitzplatt. Sigh of relief. There was a glacier, a little church, a wonderful cafe, and, oh yes, rain turning into snow. Sigh. This was where you could supposedly get a great view, but we were not taking the baby out in the rain, and, again, no view because of clouds.

The train ride down would have been fantastic, but this is where Jack decided he had had enough. And, where Mom started to feel like a horrible failure for ever bothering to take her child up a mountain. Jackson lost it and screamed for most of the ride down. Sorry to all those trapped on the train with us.

So, moral of the story is this. If you don't like heights, still attempt the trip, but on the much shorter cable car ride. If you have a baby, really think long and hard about it. Either way, make sure there are NO CLOUDS in the sky when you decide to go. It was 47 euros per person. Ridiculous.

Here is the view from our hotel room (Zugspitze is the peak all the way to the left):


Here is what we could see from the bottom of the short cable car platform once the clouds had rolled in:

Arrivederci, Aviano!

Wow, we are gone from Aviano! In what seemed like a whirlwind departure, we left the area and took a gorgeous drive up past Garda, Bolzano, Innsbruck, and finally arrived in Garmisch, Germany.

We are here for a few days of relaxation at the U.S. military Edelweiss Lodge & Resort before arriving at our new home in Geilenkirchen. It's been a nice day of reflection here as we have gazed at the magnificent mountains and just adjusted to being in a new (amazing) country.

Here are a couple of reflections:

1. Jackson is only three months old and he is now in his fifth country. He was born in Italy, and has been to Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, and now Germany! He is an awesome traveler (thank goodness!).

2. Just FYI for those still in Aviano: when you are PCSing, the single best thing you can do to make your move easy is to hire a cleaning lady to clean your FMO appliances and the empty house. Seriously, it is worth the money!! Don't cheat yourself out of this.

3. We had an amazing blessed three years at Aviano. I can't believe it's over. We made so many incredible friends, got to see so much, and will miss Italy tremendously.

Here is a picture of Chris and Jackson when we stopped briefly in Austria last evening. It's perfect with mountains in the background and the cows and pumpkins around them. I love it!

Shop 'Til You Drop!

We took our last trip to Venice on Sunday. You would think that my priorities would have been to gaze out over the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge, or to sip on a capuccino from Piazza San Marco while reflecting on the beautiful cathedral in front of me. We definitely did all those kinds of things.

But, my big priority was to bid arrivederci to all my favorite shops. I scored a great shopper's farewell, too. In every one of my shopping destinations, I got a free gift! My mother is proud. I did get some great Christmas shopping done. In fact, we got quite a lot of gifts for our families.

I feel like I do need to put in a plug for one of my favorite jewelry stores in Venice. If you have not been to Rialto 79 (at the foot of the Rialto Bridge), you have not received quality Murano jewelry while getting quality service too. The lovely store owners always reward me with an "Aviano discount", and on Sunday they gave me a bracelet to match a necklace I was buying. Their jewelry is just stunning, and I always receive compliments on what I wear from that store.

If you see something you like, but don't see the color you are looking for, they will do what it takes to make you something there on the spot. In fact, one time I was there, they even left the store to go get more glass beads in the color I was wanting. They are lovely people.

We will miss being able to jump on a train to go to Venice whenever we would like. I have really enjoyed that whimsical city, and hope I can return one day.

Less Than a Week To Go!

Phew! We are finally checked into lodging on base. We have handed our house back to our landlord, sold a car, and done a million other things to get out of here. Jackson is doing great with all the chaos, and we are leaving Italy on Thursday.

Last night, we had a going-away party and it is just so sad to be leaving. Tomorrow, we head to Venice for our last day-trip and, you never know, our last trip there period.

Here's our little pumpkin, just as an update for everyone:

Hilarity Ensues

With a post title like that, I could be referring to all the asinine hurdles we have encountered along the way with our move (don't even get me started on our passport woes).

However, I'm really just referring to the interview I just saw on television between former President Clinton and Matt Lauer regarding the Clinton Global Initiative. Clinton's hilarious comment was on the fact that this year's initiative was on "women and girls". That got me laughing hysterically. Republican or Democrat, that has to put a smile on your face.

Festa di Funghi

On Sunday afternoon, we ventured to Budoia, a village about fifteen minutes from us, for their annual Mushroom Festival. It was a gorgeous afternoon to just walk around and admire, well, mushrooms.

Mushrooms are a big deal in northern Italy. We live at the foot of a mountain, and around this time of year, you will constantly see people (namely, older gentlemen) pulled over to the side of the major road lining the mountain (the "mountain highway") to go walk into the woods and gather mushrooms. You see mushrooms in a lot of the dishes served in this area, too. Mushrooms are a big staple.

The festival that we went to was fun for an afternoon outing. Essentially, they had a lot of craft and food vendors set up throughout the center of town, as well as a big bar/restaurant tent. So, we just walked around, ate, and Chris drank wine.

I was most impressed by the vendor who sold homemade apple strudel loaves from the south Tirol region, as well as the vendor who came from Sicily to sell Sicilian pastries, including cannolli. Yum! I did not indulge in all this wonderful food, however. That would have been gluttonous!

The festival continues next weekend, as well, for those in the area. If you have nothing better to do, go to the festival!

September Updates

Well, it has been picking up in terms of the hectic pace around here. Our little pumpkin is officially two months old, and boy is he growing! He is 14 pounds, nine ounces, and 23 1/2 inches long as of his appointment on September 3rd. That is huge, for those who don't know. I think we have a future football player in our midst.



We took a couple more trips - one overnight to Lake Bled to bid one of our favorite destinations a fond farewell, and the other trip for three nights to Croatia.

We stayed at Valamar Diamant Hotel in Poreč, which was really a great resort. The hotel was right near a "beach", which we were surprised to see had absolutely no sand. It was not at all what I was picturing. But, it was still totally beautiful. The beach itself was actually surrounded by beautiful forests of trees and the water was stunning.

There were lots of activities at the resort, including diving, go-carting, etc. Great things to do, especially if you do not have an infant!

It didn't really matter anyway, as I got horribly sick on Saturday. I had a horrible fever and was just awfully achy. I wasn't able to leave the hotel room again until Sunday night. We left on Monday. So, our vacation was not much of a vacation.

To redeem it, though, we traveled south about 45 minutes to another Istrian town, Rovinj. I was last there in October with my friend Ginny, and we had had such a great time that I wanted to take Chris there. So, the three of us wandered the gorgeous town and took in the sights. Chris, who had wandered into Poreč twice to try to get to a pharmacy for me, said that Rovinj had a lot more to offer. So, that made up for it!



We are just home relaxing this weekend, and trying to get our move in order. We FINALLY got our orders yesterday. For those not in the military, let me just tell you that it is ridiculous that we got our orders this late. I am hoping that we get our movers here September 28 & 29. Yikes!

So, today is all about trying to get a car ready to sell and a house ready to move. I can't believe this is already here. Has it really been three years since I left my job and we moved to Italy? It is definitely bittersweet.

There is so much to do! I am going to hyperventilate! We go to Piedmont for four days next weekend. I'll report on that trip later...

Trieste

It is really sad, but it took us almost three years to drive the approximately hour and a half to Trieste, Italy, on the border of Slovenia. On Saturday, we drove to the beautiful city with our friends Erryn and Matt, who just moved here from Oklahoma.

Trieste is really interesting. First of all, it's beautiful and looks so different from other cities in the area. It is on the water, and is a port city for sure. But, it also is built up onto sloping hills and cliffs, and because of that is just breathtaking, especially on the drive down.

I had stopped in Trieste for lunch on a pouring rain March Sunday with some friends on the way back from Slovenia. But this was the first time either of us had gone to be tourists. We really just walked around the central downtown area, had lunch in the gorgeous Piazza della Unita, and then went to Miramare Castle.


Miramare Castle was the one really touristy thing I wanted to do, and it didn't disappoint. It was built in the nineteenth century, and has such an interesting history. The inside of the castle is really interesting, and the grounds are beautiful. You can wander the parks to see all the trees and flowers, swans, and amazing views of the water.

Like I said, Trieste is just interesting. It is a major coffee company hub for Italy (which is important, considering how important coffee is to Italians). It has been passed around to various nations for centuries. In fact, Trieste, belonging to the Austro-Hungarian empire was where the Austrian Navy was based for years. I had always wondered where Capt. Von Trapp from The Sound of Music had actually served in the Navy, since Austria is pretty landlocked.

Anyways, apparently Trieste, without any real beaches, is also a big summer getaway for people to come sun themselves. The city was packed with people walking around in bathing suits and just set up on sidewalks and things out by the water to get tans, I guess. It was actually kind of strange, but the city seems set up for this.

It's hard to believe, but we're starting to wind down our time in Italy! It's sad, really. We're starting to try to cram in little trips to places for the last time. We have a fun trip coming up to Croatia for Labor Day weekend, which should be awesome.

Then, we will hopefully start packing up and moving out! Our estimated departure date is October 8. We're going to take a few days to get to Geilenkirchen, stopping in Garmisch for a few nights. I'm so looking forward to it! In the meantime, there is a lot of work to do to get out of here.

Maniago Knives

There is a town about fifteen minutes from us called Maniago. They are world-reknowned for their knife production. There are several Maniago knife companies that are typically represented at the Aviano bazaars, and because of this, I have gotten to know some of the vendors pretty well.

There is one such vendor, Martinuzzo Emilio & Co., that sells the most beautiful wooden items, such as cutting boards and kitchen islands, and all the corresponding stainless steel knives and kitchen utensils. One of the executives, Matteo, told me that I could come by the factory in Maniago to browse.

So, we took him up on that yesterday. It was particularly nice of Matteo to let us swing by the factory, because the entire company of workers is on vacation (except, apparently, for Matteo). He showed us around the factory, and was patient while we looked.

We have a knife block and knives that we registered for a few years ago for our wedding. We have been happy with them, but wanted an upgrade.

I had my eye on a cutting board that my friend Julie has, and ended up purchasing that. It has a pull-out drawer on the bottom and included some beautiful stainless steel knives. We also purchased a round wooden knife block, which also included stainless steel knives. Matteo gave me a nice deal, and threw in a knife sharpener. He also graciously gave my in-laws a stainless steel apple corer and can opener that they wanted.

Our purchases:



I'm so happy that I am leaving Italy with some beautiful quality knives! Chris and I would both love to purchase one of their islands, but we already have a marble/wrought iron one, and we just don't know what our next kitchen is going to be like. I highly recommend this company, though, for your knife needs!

Padova

Our first day trip with Jackson was a success. We drove to Padova, which is about a half hour past Venice for us.

Chris and I were there over a year ago with our friend Rebecca. We thought it would be a great place to take Chris' parents.

Padova is a great day trip, because it has some fantastic sights and the city is very compact and walkable.

We started out at the Basilica of St. Anthony, who is one of the most famous saints in the Catholic Church (and probably the reason why there are so many Tonys out there). The church is a must-see, and has an important Donatello bronze statue out front in the piazza.

We walked up to Piazza Erbe where there was a market going on. We had a quick lunch, and then made it up to the Scrovegni Chapel, where we had a reservation to view the famous Giotto frescoes.

This was a really interesting process. We made reservations online to view the frescoes, and then we had to be at the museum one hour ahead of time to pick up our tickets. We then had to be outside the Chapel five minutes before our scheduled time, because the doors are automatic and will shut you out if you are not there on time.

Then, you wait and watch a quick movie about the frescoes while the room checks the humidity levels. You then get to walk into the Chapel, and have exactly fifteen minutes to view the gorgeous frescoes (about the lives of Joachim, Mary, and Jesus).

My favorite part was actually the ceiling, which was still a vibrant blue with stars. Incredible! The history is really fascinating, too. The Chapel was built by a man named Scrovegni who was basically trying to purchase salvation for his father who was a notorious usurer and was immortalized in Dante's Inferno.

We saw some other great sights, and then drove back home!

Here is our exhausted day tripper:

This Is Your Life On ObamaCare

I've said time and time again that to see what your life would be like under a socialized healthcare system, just check out military healthcare. Now, I've lived with this my whole life (except for five glorious years with various civilian employee health plans), and there are times I've received fabulous care. I had wonderful care during my labor and delivery, for instance.

However, there are more times that you just want to scream in frustration. Case in point: our upcoming move.

We got our first step of paperwork to move to Germany. In order to receive the next step (our orders), Jackson and I must have medical clearance paperwork done to establish that we don't need any specialist care once we move to Germany (if we did, we would not be allowed to move there). I had to have this done to move to Italy too.

It would behoove us to get this done as soon as possible. Our orders are needed so that we can do things like schedule our movers and a whole host of other things. So, yesterday I called to schedule the appointments. While I was at it, I thought, "Hey, I can also just schedule Jackson's two-month well baby appointment."

I was greeted on the phone by a totally incompetent woman who took about five minutes to finally ask for my name. It took her about that long to also finally establish that the military hospital we go to is not taking appointments right now. She said there are only so many doctors available and they just are not scheduling anything except for same-day appointments.

"What do you mean, just in pediatrics for my son?" I asked incredulously.

"Oh, no, for the whole hospital," she replied.

"So, what am I supposed to do to get in for these appointments?"

"You can call back some other time to see if we're taking appointments."

THIS, my friends, is what you will see under our country's new exciting healthcare system (which we would be spending trillions of dollars to achieve). Nice.

Lake Barcis

On Saturday, we decided that we absolutely must get out of the house to enjoy the sunshine. It was a gorgeous day - sunny and not too hot!

So, we drove the twenty minutes or so into the mountains to Lake Barcis. We were rewarded with gorgeous views! The water was an amazing color that only glacier water can give you, and the sky and mountains were spectacular.

We took advantage of the great walking/biking path and walked around a portion of the lake. It was just a nice relaxing day. I would love to get to the lake more frequently to walk.

Jackson update: I probably should not say this, or I will jinx it - but we've had great stretches of sleep for the past few nights! Jack is turning his days and nights around, which is fantastic for his parents (especially his dad who had an early mission this morning!).

I feel like we are slowly getting into a routine, and I might just get to Bible study one of these days.

Chris' parents are arriving on Saturday for two weeks. I hope we will get out for some good day trips while they are here!

"Population Control" & the American Government

Lately, I've heard rumblings, both on television and print news, about the U.S. government funding ways to infuse birth control hormones into genetically-modified foods. This is scary - both in contemplating what we are ingesting ourselves and what we are shipping to developing nations, as well as the implications that this has on government control of our lives.

Go to patriotpost.us to read a great related article from July 16th.

I Might Look Innocent...

...but I have been keeping my parents up all night! Everyone who meets Jackson (during the day) comments on how good he is since he seems to be sleeping all the time. Let me tell you, he is wide awake at night! But, we'll keep him. He's really cute. And, I must say, he is a sweet baby.

I am slightly terrified of Chris going back to work on Monday. But, I've gone without sleep before, and I can do it now!

Just wanted to give a two-week-old update!

Gelato Cake

I quickly wanted to let all the Aviano-area people know about a great find. My dad's birthday was last week while he was here, and before the baby was born, my mom and I went out in search of a cake we could order. We pretty much knew that we would be unable to do much on my dad's birthday, but we still wanted to do something special for him.

So, we were able to order a fabulous cake from Il Gelateria in Aviano (the one at the gray mall). It was tasty (two flavors of gelato) and absolutely beautiful. You can see in the picture all the work they did with meringues and chocolate to make it a work of art. It was also inexpensive! They also were able to customize it with my dad's name. Molto buono!

I highly recommend this place for any cake orders you might have in the future!

P.S.

I forgot to give the details that everyone seems to want to know! Jackson was 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 21 inches long. And, no, he was definitely not named after Michael Jackson.

Baby Cooper is Here!

Jackson Thomas Cooper has arrived! He was born at 1:33 a.m. on Friday, July 3. We checked into the hospital on Wednesday at around 2:30 p.m., and late Thursday the doctor decided to perform a Cesarean section. So, it was quite a long birth, but it was worth the wait.

We are all at home now, along with my parents. Today is my dad's birthday, and I think he's just thrilled to have a third happy healthy grandson to add to the family!

We are excited to introduce you to Jackson, just as soon as we are all recovered.

Living in Aviano?

Our friend, Dani, sent us an excellent link to a blog for the Geilenkirchen area - livingingk.blogspot.com. It has such a great wealth of information! I only wish that someone would do something similar for the Aviano area. This really would help people.

I would totally write one, except that we are moving soon. So, someone who will be here for the next couple of years should consider doing it!

Welcome, Baby George!

My newest little nephew, George, was born early Monday morning! My sister went into labor on their wedding anniversary, about a month earlier than the due date. Everyone is doing well, and I can't wait to see the newest baby!

My baby boy is still about a couple weeks away from his due date. Unlike his cousin, he appears content on staying with Mom for a bit.

This weekend, we were honored with a beautiful baby shower thrown by some good friends here. It was a tea party-themed shower (don't worry, plenty of masculine blue accents), and my friends did an amazing job putting it together. We had a lot of great people there, and were spoiled beyond belief with way too many presents.

Thanks, girls, for the fun day!

Busy, Busy!

We have actually been pretty busy lately! Today is the last day of Chris' reintegration break before he heads back to work, and we've really tried to take advantage of the time.

On May 31, we celebrated Cantine Aperte with some friends from the squadron. Cantine Aperte is a day where most of the wineries in the Friuli region open their doors for wine tasting. I was Chris' designated driver, and we traveled around sampling wines. Our group started with a nice lunch in San Daniele (famous for its prosciutto), and then we hit Bulfon, which we agreed was our favorite stop of the day.

In total, we stopped at three wineries, and Chris bought 54 bottles of wine to add to our collection! The nice lady at Bulfon even gave me a free bottle of their delicious Moscato Roso, just for being enormous and pregnant, and clearly a good sport.

Chris and I spent the following night at CastelBrando, which is a gorgeous clifftop castle near Vittorio Veneto. Just for fun and to say we spent the night at the castle. The next day, we hit up some prosecco wineries (since we were in the prosecco region), and had a lovely lunch in beautiful Vittorio Veneto at a great find - Leon D'Oro. I had only a plate of pasta for lunch (Italians typically have more than one course for a meal), and for this, the woman serving us kept making reference to the fact that I was not eating enough, and NEEDED to have dessert. This kind of remark only makes you fast friends with me.

We rounded out last week with a nice day at the Caorle beach, which is only an hour away. I love this beach. It's clean and gorgeous, not too crowded (especially the day we went), and you get your pick of nice chairs with umbrellas for free.

It's been a nice break to have Chris around so much over the past couple of weeks. Now, it's back to work and waiting for the baby to arrive! It can happen any time now. I'm 36 weeks, and ready to go!

Slovenia

We had an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend in Slovenia. On Friday, after Chris was done with his reintegration stuff, we drove to Ljubljana, the capital city. We checked into Hotel Lev, which is supposedly the nicest hotel in the city. Being Americans, the two biggest items on our agenda were to find the Mexican restaurant downtown, and to go see the movie Wolverine in English.

Check, and check!

The Mexican restaurant, Cantina Messicana, was excellent in our opinions. It is just nice sometimes to have non-Italian food. And, we did get to go see Wolverine in English with Slovenian subtitles the next day at the BTC City kino. Awesome!

We also did typical touristy stuff and just walked around and shopped in beautiful downtown Ljubljana. We even found a great wine bar called Movia that stocked great Slovenian wines (according to Chris). He had fun tasting and shopping.

On Saturday, we drove to Lake Bled. This was my fifth time visiting Lake Bled, and it never disappoints. The food there is always spectacular, so we hit up our favorite places all weekend, and even made it up to the castle, which is a favorite destination at Bled. I have gotten huge and slow lately, so I gave myself a pat on the back for all the walking and climbing I did at almost nine months pregnant (admittedly with lots of breaks in between).

We spent lots of valuable time in the Hotel Golf pool (which is Heaven for pregnant women), and Chris treated me to a pregnancy massage.

So, all in all, it was an excellent relaxing weekend in Slovenia! My only complaint is that our hotel in Bled (Hotel Savica) did not have air conditioning. Whenever we opened the windows, the cigarette smoke from other visitors would invade our space. So, it was kind of miserable whenever we were in the room. But, lessons learned for staying there in the heat.

He's Back!

Ah, the sweet familiarity of Chris coming back from deployment - it's happened again! I'm glad to say that Chris got home safely on Wednesday from Qatar, and is settling back in at home. Except for the pesky reintegration stuff at work. But, he got to feel the baby moving around and eat chicken enchiladas, so he's a happy guy. We're going to go see Star Trek tonight, and then head out for Slovenia for the weekend. I'm excited to have my husband back home!

Living In Italy Can Be Lots of Fun

Sometimes I just have those weeks...and this is one of them. I am getting really excited to move away from Italy.

Just yesterday, I was with my friend Julie, and we were on a two-lane road (each lane going in the opposite direction). We were slowing down to turn left, with the signal on, and the Italian behind me was following too closely, so he had to slam on his brakes, and the Italian behind him hit him. Not badly, mind you, but enough to be annoying.

Well, we were simply using the lefthand turn to turn around, so I stopped to ask that everyone was OK and not hurt. He was furious with me (for, I guess, turning legally), and tried to blame the accident on me. He was actually kind of aggressive about the whole thing. Well, since he was calling the police, we called our friend Tony, who speaks Italian (thank goodness for Tony), and the whole ridiculous thing finally got sorted out. I was told by the guy I assumed was an insurance man to just go, as it was clear that nothing was my fault (my car wasn't even hit!).

But, the summary of why it was supposedly my fault: (keep in mind there was only one lane we were supposed to be using) I was "too far over to the right" even though I was turning left. WHAT?? Fortunately, some Italians (not the one involved in the accident) had the sense to let me go.

Today, a totally different annoying Italian situation. My soggiorno (Italian bureaucratic piece of paper letting me live here) expired. They need my Codice Fiscale (Italian bureaucratic piece of paper with number on it similar to an SSN) to process the renewal. I bring it in. They tell me that it is not good. Why, do you ask?

Because, my maiden name (McRoberts) has a space between the Mc and the Roberts. My passport does not have this same space. So, I am told that I have to go to Pordenone to get a new Codice Fiscale so that I can continue my request for a new Soggiorno.

I flat-out told them I would not. I mean, we are moving in October. To Germany. Where they don't have this nonsense. So, I am risking being told to leave. Oh well, I say! I do have a receipt saying that they are working on it, so on the off chance that someone hunts me down for this, at least I have legal proof that I am supposed to be here.

When are we leaving this country????

We're Moving!

I know, I have been horrible about this blog. We have had a virus on our laptop, so I've been doing Internet stuff on base.

It's been a great few weeks here though. We just found out, officially, that we are moving to Germany in October! We are both really excited, although a little sad to not be returning home as quickly as we thought we would be. But, Germany will be amazing.

We are moving to a NATO base called Geilenkirchen, where Chris will be back flying on the AWACS. We are both really excited about the opportunity to interact with people from so many European countries.

Geilenkirchen is located in the middle of Germany on the border of the Netherlands and Belgium, near a town called Aachen.

As usual, our doors will be open for visitors!

You Must Be Kidding Me

I was feeling sorry for my husband, being deployed and all. Until he told me that, on his day off, he went off base at his location to a mall that had a Tiffany's and a Coldstone Creamery. These are things that we don't even have in Italy. Tough deployment! Oh well, he's definitely done his time in other, much less nice locations. And, he's still making me proud, serving his country and working really long days.

Rogaska

I went with a group of ladies from our squadron this past weekend to Rogaska Slatina, Slovenia for crystal shopping and spa treatments. All in all, it was a great place to go for a quick weekend trip.

We drove up on Saturday and hit the stores right away. We found two good ones, and I ended up buying a set of water glasses, some dessert bowls, candlesticks, and even a glass beer boot for Chris. For the amount of crystal I bought, I got an amazing deal.

The town of Rogaska is tiny. There was really not much to it aside from the crystal factories and the resort hotels that are all there because of the magnesium-rich waters. This has been a spa destination for about a century.

So, the remainder of our time was spent relaxing and hitting the spa. It was a nice weekend, and I had a fantastic time!

Trips Aplenty

The past couple of weeks were super busy! My parents came for an all-too-brief visit. We had a great time, traveling to Rome and Venice, and even making a stop in Nove. Just for the record, I bought a really cute piggybank that is really an elephant for the baby's room. I also bought a beautiful spring platter, and a cute gingerbread cookie plate and matching mugs for Christmas. My mom went crazy with her own purchases.

A few days after saying goodbye to them, I went on a Protestant Women of the Chapel (PWOC) retreat in Gaeta, Italy, near Naples. It was incredible! It was a retreat for all the PWOC's in the Mediterranean area, and was a great refreshing weekend.

The weather was gorgeous, the hotel was on the beach, we had a huge chunk of free-time on that Saturday, and my favorite lemon and orange trees were bursting with fruit in that whole region. It made for a beautiful drive and a perfect location!

It also felt great to put my swollen pregnancy ankles in the Mediterranean and then just sit on the beach for awhile.

Go figure, my camera batteries are dead. So, I will try to post some pictures later on.

Prosecco Road

On Saturday, I went with a group of people to the area surrounding Vittorio Veneto for a really fun afternoon and evening. Vittorio Veneto is a town about 45 minutes from here, and it is absolutely beautiful.

Our first stop was in the village of Follino, where we visited an old monastery. It was beautifully decorated with frescoes. Also, we learned that the monastery had been bombed during World War I, so there had been a lot of restoration.

From there, we drove up to the prosecco area, which was stunning. Prosecco is my favorite Italian wine, and is a fantastic substitute for champagne. This particular wine is cultivated in the beautiful rolling hills of the pre-Alps, so we had great views during the drive. We ended up at Ca' Salina, where we were given a tour and wine tasting. I couldn't indulge, naturally, but I still bought a case of prosecco for our collection.

After the wine tasting, we went to Castel Brando, which was probably the largest castle I have been to! By the time we got there, it was dark, and the castle was lit up. This particular castle has several restaurants, a hotel, and a spa inside. We ate dinner in one of the restaurants, and had a fantastic time. I definitely want to go back to spend the night, and hit up more prosecco wineries once the baby is born!

Hunting Season

One of my least favorite seasons has just commenced - hunting season. I don't go hunting for anything you would normally associate with hunting, though. I hunt something tiny and sinister, something that lurks in corners and under furniture around my house for a fraction of the year. I hunt the dreaded scorpion, or le scorpione, as they would say in Italian.

Hunting season began this morning. I was minding my own business and about to leave my kitchen when I noticed one medium-sized black scorpion poking out from under the kitchen radiator. There are no pictures of him, because I did what I have to do. I flattened him with a shoe, swept up his body, and flushed him down the toilet. I have a pretty good rhythm going after a couple of years of this.

What is distressing, though, is that this seems really early to be finding scorpions in my house. They definitely tend to hibernate during the winter and come out during the warm weather months, and they make several showings a day sometimes during the summer. So, it being February still (albeit the last day), it is upsetting to see one in my house already!

It's a Boy!

Last week I went in for my ultrasound, and found out that our baby is a boy! We are both thrilled, and are looking forward to his birth. What is difficult for us is finding a name. We had a whole list of girl names, but the boy name is proving difficult.

He is healthy and looks great! And, his cousin who will be born around the same time will also be a boy! So, we have lots of boys on my side of the family. My mom is desperate for a granddaughter, but is still excited for the new baby boys coming this summer.

Bingo!

Last night was our annual Officers Spouses Club Crystal Bingo! I actually do get really excited for this each year. It is one of the best events that we have.

I know it sounds a little weird, but it turns out to be quite a blast. The one bad thing was that I brought my camera and forgot to take pictures (as usual). I even had a conversation with my friend Patty about that, and still forgot to take them.

Anyways, I was, of course, the designated driver for a couple of people. It turned out to be the most entertaining designated driving I had done in quite some time! The prosecco was definitely flowing at this event.

And, everyone at our table won! I won a pretty crystal bowl. I'm not sure what I am going to do with it, but it'll look beautiful somewhere in my house.

So, now Crystal Bingo is over, and it was probably my last one. It's definitely sad, but some of the ladies from my squadron decided that we should take a trip to Rogaska, Slovenia (where much of the crystal was purchased), for a shopping and spa trip sometime soon. So, that's something to look forward to!

You Call This "Hope"?

This is the point when I am truly expecting Jesus to make his Glorious Appearing. We have reached a new low in emerging further away from any kind of culture of life.

The British government's chair of the Sustainable Development Commission, or "green adviser", Jonathon Porritt, is publishing a disturbing report next month regarding the role family planning has on global warming. It is Porritt's view that families with more than two children are creating an "unbearable burden" on the environment.

I wonder what his views are of the declining European population and its implications in sustaining a socialist government and resulting laughable programs? But, that is beside the point.

Porritt recommends in this report that governments must take action - by implementing programs to increase family planning methods to include ABORTION.

It will be interesting to see what European governments do with this hideous recommendation.

And, my American friends, we are truly not that far behind in this strange Orwellian scenario. Our own President Obama, in one of his first acts as President of the United States, lifted a ban on federal funding of abortions in other countries. His reasoning: The ban would "undermine family planning in developing countries."

So, now our tax dollars will be spent performing abortions all over the world. I'm so glad that we're in a new era of hope and change and diplomacy for all! This will make the Muslims like us!

So much for swearing to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Protecting life is clearly not in our new President's interests. And now we have crazy people around the world who think that, by aborting our way down to two children per family, we will somehow save our planet. What have we come to?

New in 2009

A very belated Happy New Year to everyone! We have been busy around here. Chris left this week for another deployment (for those of you counting, this is indeed number three in under two years). This one seems particularly rough for us. We both agree that we didn't get much reintegration time from the last one, and what we did have was mostly spent in Montgomery at SOS. Oh well. I'm just praying that this one moves quickly.

Today I began a cooking class with a bunch of ladies at an Italian chef school. It's five weeks long, and is a lot of fun! It's just my speed. We watch the chef (and the students he likes to boss around), take notes, and then eat the food he prepares. Molto buono!

Today we learned how to make homemade gnocchi with a bolognese sauce, a spinach quiche that was to die for, scaloppine (pork) cooked in white wine sauce, and duchess potatoes. Yum! The best part is that I can definitely make everything on my own.

I also had our OB Orientation Class today at the hospital which actually turned out to be a socialist medicine propaganda fest. I'm pretty sure that my answer on a questionnaire regarding spanking will earn me a call from someone on the base (I am all for using non-abusive spanking in the arsenal of discipline, whereas the military is strictly against spanking). The military has really become Big Brother, for those who did not know.

Well, those are the big updates for now.