Complicated Pics

The world of digital pics is great- but sometimes it makes itself way too complicated. Recently my wonderful husband bought me a card reader so I don't have to hunt down the cord to hook my camera up to the computer(which I was never able to find after the our cruise this last summer.) So, in theory I should be able to take the little electronic chip full of pictures, put it into this card reader and viola!- have my pictures all ready for blogging, facebooking and all the other ways I post and share them thinking you wonderful people actually want to see them.
Well, that same wonderful husband also bought me a larger picture card (apparently I need to be able to hold over 600 images and not 200 like my previous one let me.) Seems the bigger disk is too much for the card reader and will only recognize the smaller 200 picture holding disk and while I have many pictures on my camera I want to blog and share with you, guess which camera card they are saved on. Oh, come on, you know the answer, guess...
The big 600 picture one. *Sigh*. So while I would love to show you pictures of our trip to the Easter Egg Market in Michelstadt * last weekend and the pink wonder that as a friend's 3-year-old daughter's Princess birthday party- you will have to wait since I am simply too lazy to get the pictures on the computer by feeding them through our digital picture frame which is on the other side of the room right now.
Thanks for understanding. =)
* The pictures of eggs here are not necessarily from Michelstadt (or even Germany for that matter) but do show what the eggs at the market I went to looked like. The picture of the building with a bunny band below in Michelstadt is real, though.

The BBR in Poland

This past weekend I went with 5 of my good friends to Poland to do some serious pottery shopping. While I bought various things for gifts, I was the only one with a particular pattern and kept my eye out for the green speckled and flowered pattern Rob and I had picked out back in August of 2007.

We left early Friday morning in 2 large vehicles. We stopped at a few stores on our way to Elim Christian Center (yup, same place we went on the mission trip for Thanksgiving). I bought some great chips and salsa bowls with a rare chili pepper pattern on them that first day.

Saturday was Operation Polish Pottery and it was a full day of shopping. I probably bought way more than I needed to- but I am only a few key pieces away from having everything I could possibly want in our pattern. And I have gifts to last me through a few birthdays and such.

For dinner both nights we ate at the same WONDERFUL pizzeria. For all 6 of us to eat 2 giant pizzas (they have their own table that is placed next to our main table) salad and have wine was only about $30 total!

We left Sunday after a devotional (we had to forgo going to church since it started too late in the morning) and arrived back home in the evening with very weighed down cars to unpack.

While I love the pottery I bought, what really made the weekend so great was my BBR sisters. Since the Army is separating us soon we have vowed not to simply become Christmas card friends- and the passing of the Blue BeetRoot key chain every month (and facebook, of course) is going to help keep us as close as the sisters we now are. God really has blessed me with godly, goofy women to befriend along this journey called life.

My Lovely Week

Yesterday was Valentine's day. While I was originally scheduled to spend it with a wonderful group of middle schoolers on a retreat this weekend some new meds from the docs had me feeling a bit under the weather so I ended up staying home. Rob and I woke up to snow on the ground. We took a walk to rent some movies and go out to dinner to celebrate the overly pink and hearted holiday.
Last week there was a dinner fundraiser to help pay the way for some of our high schoolers to go on a mission trip over spring break to the Czech Republic. The asked for volunteers to decorate the tables and my table (pictured above with a wine theme) won first prize. Beat that Martha Stewart! My prize vase is now sparkling on my dining room table holding a new bouquet of swirl colored roses that Rob also got me for Valentine's Day. (Isn't he a sweetie?)
Oh! There was also a dessert contest (in addition to the table decorating one at the fundraiser dinner) and though this spaghetti and meatball looking cupcake didn't win first prize it was just too cute not to share with all of you:

Jibble... Jabble....

Jibbitz!

It has been awhile since I last updated you on my Jibbitz status. I now have my winter (fuzzy) crocs decorated with Care Bears and my original summer crocs have some Winnie the Pooh characters and various summer critters.

Strange enough I wasn't crazy about crocs when they first came out. The shoes do look fairly odd. I think they are in the same boat as the little, big cross-eyed dog that lives downstairs- they are so ugly that they're cute.

Well, either way I am a croc girl now.

Birthday and Age Confusion

I love birthdays. Anniversaries are cool, too, sharing in the love you have for your spouse and all- but birthdays? Man, it's my own little holiday celebrating- ME!! and it is all, all mine.

But that brings me to my little dilemma- is today really my birthday? See I was born in Seattle- at 3:25pm Pacific Standard Time. Well, being here in Germany where there is a 9 hour jump into the future from Seattle, that would make it after mid-night. So is my birthday technically tomorrow by German standards? Or is it today, being a Washingtonian and all according to the tax people I will be seeing once all that W-2, 10-99 stuff comes in the mail? I guess I better embrace both my legal and technical place (and time) of residence and celebrate both, huh?

Whew, glad that's figured out.

Anyhoo... birthday happenings:

Went out for Greek food last night with "the girls". Having dinner with more friends tonight. (Should be a lot of fun.) Going to see the play "Thoroughly Modern Millie" in Heidelberg tomorrow night.

Oh, funny story: So the middle schoolers I volunteer with were trying to guess how old I would be turning this birthday. One of the girls had seen some of my friends shopping earlier in the day for my b-day gift (and these friends shall remain nameless since I've already been getting the evil eye whenever I tell this story.) Well, this girl said something to the effect of "Oh, I think I saw your mom at the PX today." How old did she think I am? Or how old did she think my friends are? Anyhoo... this made for great laughs last night at dinner and I now have another "mom". hehe.

Garmisch Time

I know I told you I would only be away 10 days and I've been home a whole week and haven't blogged.
So, anyway....
My friend Tiffany and I went to help watch kids during two different conferences at the Edelwiess Lodge in Garmisch- room and meals included. We decided to stay over and pay for our own room over the weekend linking the two different conferences. (Actually we stayed in a heated rustic cabin over the weekend-- at $30 less a night than a hotel room-- and rented "The Great Outdoors" from the library to watch since it was so fitting-- Great idea, Tiffany!)

While there:

Tiffany and I became friends (we had never gotten together before this trip- boy am I glad we got along so well!), I tried skiing for the first time (not my sport it turned out since the ski boots were killing me), we got hot stone massages and facials, banged my knee while doing cartwheels... in the snow... in flipflops ( I know, I know. But it was SNOWing!) , went shopping downtown, had an 80's night!, watched the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Jazz Band preform, walked along a frozen river gorge, watched "Valley Girl", and drove to Vaduz, Lichtenstein and through St. Gallen, Switzerland with a stop at the Bodensee and Starbucks for a city/country mug from there. (We even went through a tunnel over 10 miles long-- GPS was out for that long at least!)

Anyhoo... enjoy the pictures. (Tiffany took most of them, so I may have more once we get around to swapping images.)

First Post of '09

Our New Year came in quietly- just the two of us at home. We got off on a productive foot and organized the closets, our storage room in the basement and labeled all our cables, cords and random wires for various electronics and computer items. (Thanks to the wonderful, new labeler my folks got us for Christmas.)

Today we went to Speyer where they have the only Christmas Market still going (unitl Jan. 6th.) Here you can see a slideshow of some of the things we saw there. It is a cute place and we need to go back and see: The Technology Museum with all the aircraft we saw people going into, the History Museum which is currently featuring a Viking exhibit, the SeaLife Aquarium (they have a smashed coin- yes, I collect these things like crazy!) and simply walk the parks and see all the churches.

On Monday I will be going to Garmsich for 10 days to babysit during some conferences- but then the rest of the time I get a free paid vacation and might even try skiing for the first time. So though I won't be back to blog for a bit- I'm sure once I do there will be plenty to share with y'all!

Happy Naughty Week!

Yes, you read that right- it is now Naughty Week. (Just wait, the idea will catch on. We all need to contribute a new movement or idea into the world and, oddly enough, this is mine... well, one of them.)

Anyway... HAPPY NAUGHTY WEEK!

See, Santa bribes us into being good all year to get gifts, right? Remember how he asks if you've been a good boy or girl this year? Well, on December 25th we all get our payoff from Santa for being so good. Now do we need to keep on being good right away to ensure us goodies for next year?- NO! I found the loophole as it were, next year is a whole week away. So come next December when the jolly man asks if you've been good all year- technically he is asking about the year 2009. I say if we have to be good 51 weeks of the year we should live it up like Fat Tuesday during Mardi Gras (just before the Ash Wednesday of Lent.)

So, give in to that 2nd (or 3rd) brownie.

Call in sick to work and play hookie.

Let the laundry and dishes pile up some.

It is our chance to be a little naughty!! (Yes, a little- I don't really need to go streaking in my underwear like the Santa pictured here.)

And let me be the first to officially wish you a Very Merry Naughty Week!

Have Yourself a Groovy Lil' Christmas

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Holt Clan Christmas

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