Week In Review - Ten Things Of Thankful (18)

Another weekend, something to be thankful for all by itself. Time to relax, time to spend with the family, time to bake, time to sleep...

Ten more things to be thankful for this week (plus a couple extra):

1. My mom, for jumping in on really short notice when hubby and I had parallel evening engagements.

2. Having a great job where I can spontaneously decide on a Casual Wednesday, since I had a business appointment on Friday.

3. Hubby for an awesome crockpot chili.

4. Wonderful neighbors, who are more friends than just neighbors. We'll so miss them once we move!

5. Meeting fun new people at the company's cook-out.

6. Not barfing in the bus this morning. Coffee on a very empty and sensitive stomach first thing after a way too short night was not the best idea!

7. Getting to watch Violet crawl into my bed after breakfast, cuddle with her Daddy, and fall back to sleep.

8. Cuddles with Lily this morning.

9. Sleeping in this morning.

10. Family breakfast.

11. Chocolate gingerbread and hot apple punch.

12. Getting to fall asleep next to the love of my life every night, and getting to wake up next to him every morning.

 And not to forget 13: the decision not to blog on Sundays for the time being. Time with the family, preparing gifts for the holidays, doing chores around the house... I just need a day off so bad...


Thanks a lot to Lizzi for hosting!!

Of A Hubby And An Ex

This week flew by, but I am so glad it's Friday. After yesterday's company event I was left with way too little sleep, and empty stomach, and a glass of wine or two too many... It was tons of fun, but the best part of the night was being picked up by my dressed-up husband after his concert.

Tonight's prompt at Finish The Sentence Friday:

When it comes to my past relationships, my husband thinks...

... well, witness a phone call with my ex J. a couple of weeks after we got engaged (about 6 weeks into our relationship):

J: Hey baby, how's it going?
Me: Oh, fine, not doing bad at all...
J: Do you want to hang out some time?      * booty call alarm*
Me: No, don't really have time, busy, you know..
J: So, what's going on?
Me: Oh well, I'm just going to get married soon...
J *loud enough for Richard to hear from across the room*:  WHAAAAT?????
Hubby:  grins

Our philosophy is that our past is just that: the past. I am lucky enough to be married to a man who is not jealous, who trusts me. He accepts my past relationships as part of myself, as I accept his. The past is the past, and if we had wanted any of the people in our past, why would we have married?


Thanks so much for hosting, Janine!

Managing Life

Yesterday over dinner, I informed hubby that I needed the car on Thursday to get to the corporate cook-out my company is organizing for a number of customers. His response: You do remember that I have to play that concert on Thursday night..

$h!t...                                                                     (Sorry!!)

Ok, what can we do? The following options presented themselves:

1. Richard doesn't play the concert.

2. I pass on the work function.

3. We manage to organize child-care for the girls and both of us having to be in two different places at the same time with one car.

Well, Richard is the only one who knows how to play the first bassoon for a sold-out concert, and me calling off on a work event last minute would have been a really, really bad move, so option 3 it must be.

As soon as we were done with dinner, I was on the phone with my mom, who lives about an hour away, to check on her work schedule. She had to work both Thursday and Friday, but promised to check with her co-workers if she could leave earlier on Thursday or start later on Friday (love you, Mom!). At the same time, I checked with my neighbor if she'd be available to watch the girls and put them to bed, should my mom not be able to make it.

That left the issue on how to get the two of us to our destinations (and back home) with only one car.  This morning, I checked with one of my colleagues, and he offered to take me to the event. Later that day, my mom called and said she'd make it, but probably later than 5:30, when Richard had to leave.

So this is the master plan for tomorrow:
I work late and go right to the event with my co-worker.
Richard drops off the girls at our neighbor at 5:30pm before heading to the concert.
My mom comes over to our house right after work, around 7:00pm to take over the girls.
Hubby picks me up at my event after his concert.

And all that in less than 24 hours.

Note to self: Coordinate better with hubby. Even though I barely ever have obligations during workday nights and hubby hardly ever has obligations during the week, it may just happen that, once in a blue moon, we both have obligations on the same night.

Hope you all have a great Thursday!

Wordless Wednesday - Time And Stuff

Why is it that a work week usually passes slower than a week of vacation?  Why is it that it takes forever until we FINALLY turn 18, and a blink of an eye later, we're 30? Why is it that our children age by at least a year overnight, every night?  The Doctor knows why!

(Source)

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Running With Support

The bronchitis is finally gone completely, and I'm able to start a moderate cold-season running routine again. The half-marathon next June suddenly seems actually feasable.

That is why I was very excited to be contacted by Shock Absorber, one of UK's leading brands of sports bras to review one of their bras. While I'm waiting for my exclusive sample to arrive, I'd like to share sme facts on the matter for my runner friends and all other active ladies out there.

Do you work out wearing a sports bra? Well, obviously, I'm not (yet!), and I'm in good company. A survey Shock Absorber had conducted with 1,000 active women all  across the UK (survey by One Poll, September 2013) showed that 35% of women have never worn a sports bra, even though a woman's breast is not supported by muscles but only held by skin and ligaments. And we all know that once skin and ligaments are stretched, there's no going back.

Can you believe that unsupported breasts can bounce up to 14 cm during excercise, and even A-cup breasts can move up to 4cm away from its resting point (University of Portsmouth 2005, Scurr et al).  If you want to see how that looks in action, visit the Bounce-O-Meter at the Shock Absorber website:

So while excercising without proper support is not only good for our girls but also uncomfortable or even painful, why do women not wear sports bras more frequently? Well, there is a misconception that only women with larger breasts need them. Or that they only do low-impact excercise and therefore don't really need one. Well, think again: even during yoga, which is generally fairly low-impact, we move our bodies all over the place, and definitely need proper support.

After going through all the information given on the webpage, I am even more excited to receive my bra. Please go to Shock Absorber's webpage to see for yourself that their bras are not only functional and supportive but also very pretty!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Today, many countries in this world remember their veterans. Even though this day is not observed here in Germany (guess why!), I couldn't be prouder of my US Army Veteran.

The soldier who fell in love heads over heel with a little 6.5 lbs blue-eyed girl, knowing that he could never leave her side again.

The soldier who took on the most inportant job in the world: raising his children.

The soldier who was screwed over by the system but never complained.

The soldier who took the scrutiny for his decisions with a patience and calmness that moved me to tears.

Today, as always, I ca whole-heartedly say, I'm a proud Veteran's wife.

Week In Review - Ten Things Of Thankful (17)

Thinking of Lizzi, the wonderful host and founder of the Ten Things Of Thankful today, as she's digging herself out of a deep dark whole and somehow still manages to find things down there to be thankful for. You are a hero, Lizzi!

Here are ten things of things I am incredible thankful for today:

1. My wonderful friend Kathrin, who listens to me, no matter how ridiculous I am.

2. People at my work willing to step in and help me out as I was working for 3.

3.  A wonderful couple's breakfast Saturday morning as the kids were happily playing at the Smalland (guess where we were!)

4. Having such a grown-up girl who, fighting back her tears, told me it was ok if we didn't make it to the church in time after waiting in front of the wrong church for 20 minutes.

5. Making it literally just in time to Lily's solo; she sang so beautiful.

6. A wonderful night nerding away with great friends.

7. The house progressing even more. The final floor layer has been put down on Thursday.

8. My doctor patiently giving me new appointmens for my allergy test as the chest cold lingers.

9. Getting to celebrate my grandma's 75th birthday.

10. A hubby who can and is happily willing to cook  ;-)


Wishing everyone a wonderful new week!









10. Violet sleeping right now. She'd been driving everyone else in the family royally crazy as she refused to take the nap she needed.