Summer, sun, holidays and news...

Summer is here! It is getting warmer and sunnier. It is so bright outside that it feels like 5pm although it is already 8pm!! We definitely need higher temperatures though...this is not gonna cut it! ;)
School is over since June 11th for Alyssa. She had '8th grade commencement'. We met for a luncheon near the school. She was hanging out with friends and beginning of July she is going to Wisconsin for the summer. Adam is in the States (east coast) for 2 weeks in July because of work...I so wished we could go on vacation rather sooner than later! I can't believe I have to wait until August! And on top of that Adam has to stay for another 5 (!) weeks in the States for a language course...not at all happy about that!!

Big news from Adam this month...he is hired as a photographer on base!! :) He will work for MWR (they organize activities on base, have the craft shop and such) and will get paid for portrait and studio photography. It's as exciting as it is a little stressful to prepare everything until the actual 'fun' part begins with taking pictures.

On Saturday I had the first gig with my new band 'Crazy Crocodile Band' :) We played at a street festival in the town next to ours. We are a quite large band, saxophon, 2 guitars, drums, bass and 4 singers! I am one of the singers and we had a great time last weekend!! We played for 4 hours and the people were loving it! It makes it even better, that we had to replace our drummer not even 2 weeks ago. We had only 3 practices with the band as it exists right now. I think we can be proud of our first gig and I will soon post pics Adam took that day :)

Also, we are about to buy the apartment we live in :) It is a great deal and we are excited! Our own home! Woo hoo!!

VACATION!!

So, because Adam comes home later than hoped...at the end of spring break (which is only a week) instead of the beginning our vacation to Greece had to be postponed. Unfortunately...we all have been excited for weeks to go to Greece for one week!
BUT the good news is, that Alyssa and I are going to Mallorca (spanish island) on April 4th for 4 days :)) We are going to enjoy the warm sun, the sandy beach and the pool in our hotel! We are both excited!! Although we are sad too, that Adam can't be with us...I think we deserve this short vacation as we spent half a year together without bigger problems. AND it will be just a piece of cake until Adam is back :) YEAH!!
Only 8 more days of work and up, up and away we are! man, i can't wait...we had the worst weather EVER today...rain, snow, sunshine, clouds, wind...whatever you can think of! Every glance out the window gave you a different view...I can't stand it anymore! I want spring!! NOW!! ;)

Hanging in there...

Spring still doesn't seem around the corner. I heard yesterday that it snowed in WI...so I guess it could be worse. Unfortunately after one sunny day (still cold, but at least sunny) we have clouds coming up with lots of wind and probably rain/snow later.

Adam's arrival date moved back 3 days...now it seems to be the 9th of April instead of the 6th...not a huge difference, but still later. I can't stand not knowing exact dates or the changes every couple of days. It would be much easier with a planned schedule...I know, I know it is just not possible...but I can still mutter about it ;)

Here something funny from our family life that happened a few weeks ago and I just now remembered...(even 14 year old kids can put a smile on your face...besides all the teenage drama going on): Alyssa took a cashew and while putting it in her mouth she said with a smile on her face 'cashews are my favorite peanuts!'...(and she was serious btw.)
Yeah, I had a question mark on my face too...she honestly thought that nuts in general are called 'peanuts'!!! Oh my, I thought, what do they learn at school these days!! ;) I laughed for like 5 min...while she was kind of embarrassed I guess...I still can't believe it! Haha.

not so much new...

Another month passed and I hope that spring doesn't take too much longer to come to us...we have 3 Celsius (37 F), it is raining, little bits of snow laying around, it's cloudy and ...just nasty :(
I haven't seen the sun in what feels like AT LEAST a week ago and I can't see sweaters and big coats anymore...the winter season just seems to last forever this time!!

The most important thing is, that Adam is coming home soon! :D Another month and we're together again! Yeah!!! I can hardly wait...

What's bothering me is all the Easter chocolate and gifts in the stores since BEFORE Valentine's Day...that's just ridiculous. I mean Easter is in April for crying out loud...I can't see the stuff anymore until Easter is actually here! That's too much I think...I don't even know what else to say to that cause it is so unbelievable. Always makes me think of that song of Shania Twain, "Ka-chin".

I have a lot of work right now at my office. I soooo need a break of all the daily responsibilities and to-do-lists. I can't wait to be at a beach, relax and enjoy the sun. :)

Fasching!!

Since November 11th, 11:11 o'clock the Germans celebrate Fasching, also called the 5th season. It is a costume festival until February. It ends with Carnival Monday, Pan Cake Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Old women Thursday...this year it ends the end of February 2009. During this time there is costume parties in a lot of places. They play 'Guggenmusik', a super loud band is playing party songs...(I personally am not a fan of that music). It is the german version of Mardi Gras. I love costume parties, but it's not as fun without Adam...Here in South Germany Fasching is mainly celebrated the last week as mentioned above. In Cologne are the biggest festivities going on and people say you have to go there to really experience Fasching. I don't know if I will go somewhere this year. Alyssa would like to go with her friend, unfortunately at this age...I m not sure I will be able to find an appropriate party. Usually there is either a lot of kids dressed up or it is adult parties. I will post pictures should we go somewhere fun! :)

The New Year has come

It is 2009...FINALLY! I was waiting for it, as it marks 'half time' of Adam being gone for 6 months! :) And now January is half way over! Wow! Time is flying sometimes. Do you know the feeling when time takes forever to go by and at the same time flies? I can't explain it, but it happens to me sometimes. It is a weird feeling, but I prefer it actually to the feeling of time going as slowly as a turtle walks...;) Our New Years was pretty laid back. Alyssa and I spend the evening at home and watched a movie. At midnight Adam called and we talked for an hour!! It was awesome!
There are no other news from us here...My cousin's wife is pregnant, that is the biggest news here! I called him for his birthday on the 13th and he told me the news. They had gotten married in September last year, so that is a pretty fast change in their lives.
Oh! Alyssa started Cheerleading a week ago and they got their uniforms today. I'm going to post pics as soon as I have the chance to take some ;) I would've loved to do Cheerleading in High School! I'm mad I never had the chance...it is not at all a sport in Germany. The last years they brought Football and Cheerleading to Germany, but there isn't a lot going on still...
Oh (again)! Ryan, Adam's brother got engaged!! He will get married in March in Utah! I wished I could come...It would be interesting to see a wedding in the States :)

Christmas and what comes afterwards...?

(photo: My parents and me)
So, I spent Christmas Eve (24th) with my parents. We ate, talked, laughed and unwrapped gifts. It was relaxed and nice. I spent the night and stayed until after lunch the next day. When I got home, I called my stepkids in WI, my new family in WA and a friend in WI :) My stepkids were not very talkative on the phone, I guess they were tired from getting up too early ;) They liked all the gifts they got and wanted to spend a relaxed day at home. I 'spread' Christmas spirit over email and will do so on myspace probably. Today I will meet my aunt and her family for lunch and tomorrow will be the ultimate family reunion for dinner! Everybody is supposed to come that lives in Germany :) it's going to be loud!
For everybody who doesn't know, Greeks are mostly orthodox. They follow a different church calender for their fests and holidays. The Greeks usually give presents on January 6th. But the way it is, I guess a lot of them start doing it on December 24th now too. I am not too familiar with the orthodox church. My parents weren't really interested and when I visited German schools here I learned more about being catholic than orthodox. Oh yeah, in German schools you have to go to either catholic or protestant class. Once you are older you can switch to "ethics" which is basically studying also other religions like Buddhism or Islam.
Anyways, Christmas had a good timing this year. The 25th and 26th are German holidays and this year a weekend follows! Because my boss gives us the 24th off too, that meant a 5-day-weekend for me! Yeah! I have to go to work on the 29th and 30th, but then again have 2 days off :) I needed vacation time anyways ;)