So sorry for the lack of posts recently. I have really lost all inspiration and motivation to write. But I want to keep up with the blog! I have a long list of things I want to write about, so hopefully the new year will bring some inspiration for me.
Sabrina and I will be heading to a city called Erding for our New Years. We are spending tomorrow relaxing in our hotel room, drinking, eating unhealthy foods, watching movies, and not giving a damn. It will be wonderful. On the 1st we will head to this pool/water park/spa place. The goal is to relax and have fun. Not worry about anything. And on the 2nd we will head back home for our last few school-less days. It isn't a huge trip but it is exactly what the doctor ordered. And there is no wifi. So we are planning on spending our time unplugged from the wifi world. It will be a nice break.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas(or Hanukkah or whatever you do/don't celebrate). I have lots to say about my Christmas it was wonderful.
And I wish you all a happy, healthy, joyous end to this year and beginning of next year!
Already getting excited to write again!
Lots of love from Germany!
If you get lost, you can always be found. Just know you’re not alone, cause I’m going to make this place your home.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Sunday, December 16, 2012
1.11-5.11: Bad Nauheim! :)
On Thursday around 11, Sabrina and I headed back to Adelberg for the day. The plan was to leave Friday morning and drive to Bad Nauheim to see my Oma, brother, niece, SIL and dad. But by the end of the night that was no longer in the cards. Sabrina's Opa ended up being rushed to the hospital because he was in serious pain and having a hard time breathing. Overall, a very scary night for the Binder family. We decided it would best to not leave Friday morning and to wait and see what the doctors say before making any more decisions.
Friday afternoon the doctors told us that it was just pain and they needed to find a better way to manage it. It was a relief to all. Sabrina and I called my Oma to let her know we would be arriving Saturday in the early afternoon. We spent the rest of the day watching movies and trying to keep Sabrina's mind off of her Opa.
Saturday we woke up, had some breakfast, and hit the road! The drive to Bad Nauheim took a little under 4 hours, so we arrived earlier than expected. I called Oma but she didn't pick up. So the two of us drove into town to try and find something to eat. Well good thing I totally forgot how to get around the town... I couldn't remember where anything was and was totally turned around. Eventually we found our way through all of the rain and found a little bakery/cafe to eat a quick sandwich for lunch. We then headed back to Oma's. She met us at the front desk, and happily greeted us. We got our room key, and eventually found our room, or the penthouse suite as we liked to call it. This room was HUGE! We had a little entry area, a living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom! It was bigger than Oma's apartment! We honestly could have stayed there forever. We considered it a good deal ;)
Once we were settled in, we headed to Oma's room to chit chat with her. I think she really enjoyed having Sabrina there. She just kept talking and talking. Telling story after story. It was really nice to see her so excited. She was happy to have me this summer, but she wasn't nearly as chatty then. Maybe it was because this time she had just spent the past 2 weeks alone, due to having lots of dizzy spells. But regardless, she was a talking machine. We played a few rounds of rummikub, and then it was about time for Sabrina and me to get going. We had to pick up some groceries and go eat dinner. We picked a few things up from Edeka, and then headed back into town. This time I knew better, and got us around town much easier.
We had a delicious dinner at Deutsches Haus. Man, do they have some amazing food there. And of course I had a Licher beer :)
Sabrina and I headed back to our penthouse, went to the computer room, watched a movie, and passed out!
On Sunday, we got up, got ready, and headed to Oma's room for breakfast. In the middle of breakfast the phone rang. It was my dad! He had landed and was in the taxi on his way to Oma's! I was so excited to see him! He had to leave a few days before I left in October, so we never had a proper goodbye. But now he was coming to Bad Nauheim to spend some time with Oma. After finishing breakfast, we headed to the lobby to wait for dad to come. And within minutes, there he was! It made me giggle. Oma was showing off so much. When she came to the lobby on Saturday to welcome Sabrina and me, she was using a walker. Then when she went to welcome dad, she just had her cane. She was so excited for him to be there, as any mother would be. It had been almost a year since she had seen her son.
All four of us quickly headed back inside to Oma's room. Dad unpacked his bag a little, pulling out all of his goodies for me! There was some cake mix, some vanilla extract, baking chocolates, some Halloween candy, a pair of jeans, my German-English dictionary, and a rape whistle keychain. Oh my mother... Love her.
We all chatted for a bit. Dad got to know Sabrina a little. It was really nice. I was so happy to see him, and for him to meet my best friend (and hopefully newest addition to the family!).
Dad wanted to take a quick nap, so we headed back to the penthouse and created a sims mansion :)
HOURS later, Dad called us wondering if we wanted to quickly head to the cafe upstairs before getting ready for dinner. Of course we wanted to spend time with him! So off to the cafe we went! Dad and Sabrina had some kind of coffee drink, while I had some Apfelschörle (sparkling apple juice). We had a nice chat while we sipped on our drinks. But time went quickly and Sabrina and I raced back to our room to get ready for dinner!
Sunday night we had a nice dinner. Those in attendance were as follows: Dad, Oma, Sabrina, Willi Rühl (Nadine's dad), Ingrid Rühl (Nadine's mom), Mark, Nadine, Cutie Pie (my niece), baby-#2-in-utero (oh yeah, did I mention I'm going to be an aunty again in May????!!!!), and myself. Nadine and Cutie Pie only stayed about a half hour because both were feeling under the weather. Willi and Ingrid drove Dad and Oma, while Sabrina and I followed in her car. Mark and family met us there. Oma really showed off for dinner. No walker. No cane. Just herself... and my dad's arm :)
It was a very small, very nice restaurant. We were the very first people there. The menu was short, and Sabrina, Dad and I all ordered the same thing, a nice rumpsteak. Mom had sent a few presents for Cutie Pie with Dad, and he brought those to dinner. When Cutie Pie got bored with looking at her mother, father, everyone else at the table, playing with everyone's keys, playing with gloves, and anything else we could think of, we handed them the gifts. Mark helped her open one (the other they saved for home). The sparkly legging caught her attention :) Those lasted a little longer in the attention grabbing department, but not long enough. Soon she was walking (oh my goodness she's WALKING!) all around, munching on some bread, and being totally adorable. After much too short of a time, Nadine decided it was time for her and Cutie Pie to head home. Before they left we took some pictures!!
And then they were gone. Well Mark came back. To annoy me and be a big pain in the butt brother :) I can't complain though. I love him to pieces. Wish he was closer. And was a bigger part of my life.
Dad and Sabrina got along great. They sat next to each other. Super cute :)
The food was great. The company was even better. Overall, a wonderful and successful family dinner!
After dinner, we showed Dad the penthouse suite (he was very impressed), went to the computer room, watched a movie, and fell asleep.
Monday morning the plan was to have rolls for breakfast at Oma's, but she had no rolls. So Dad, Sabrina and I walked to the hospital down the road (there is a bakery inside) and picked up some rolls. Then back to Oma's for breakfast. She shooed us out fairly quickly because the cleaning lady was there. But we made sure to say good-bye first. Sabrina and I would not be coming back before heading back home.
Then Dad, Sabrina and I squeezed ourselves into Sabrina's car, and headed into town. We stopped by the apotheke; sadly Till was not there. Then we went on a nice walk. We saw the Sprudelhof.
We saw the salines. We walked through the park. We went to the post office. We (I) bought beer (Licher of course!) at the Kaufhaus. We went back to the apotheke, but Till was still not there. And then we attempted to find a place to eat lunch. All of our favorite places were closed, so we found a new favorite place :)
I had brats with mashed potatoes and a salad. Dad had pretty much the same, and Sabrina had a GIANT baked potato. It was delicious.
Then back to the car we went. We drove back to Oma's and said good-bye to Dad.
And off we were heading back home. Traffic was good. And then it was bad. Bad enough that we were at a pretty much stand still. Bad enough that we could take pictures....
Fun times. We made it safely back to Adelberg, and were there for about an hour before heading back to good old SG. On our way we ONCE AGAIN hit bad traffic. We were ONCE AGAIN at a stand still. So we ONCE AGAIN took pictures :)
Obviously we made the best of it and had some fun.
Overall it was one of the best weekends EVER. Sabrina agreed. Just what we needed. We will have to do it again soon!
Lots of love from Germany!
Friday afternoon the doctors told us that it was just pain and they needed to find a better way to manage it. It was a relief to all. Sabrina and I called my Oma to let her know we would be arriving Saturday in the early afternoon. We spent the rest of the day watching movies and trying to keep Sabrina's mind off of her Opa.
Saturday we woke up, had some breakfast, and hit the road! The drive to Bad Nauheim took a little under 4 hours, so we arrived earlier than expected. I called Oma but she didn't pick up. So the two of us drove into town to try and find something to eat. Well good thing I totally forgot how to get around the town... I couldn't remember where anything was and was totally turned around. Eventually we found our way through all of the rain and found a little bakery/cafe to eat a quick sandwich for lunch. We then headed back to Oma's. She met us at the front desk, and happily greeted us. We got our room key, and eventually found our room, or the penthouse suite as we liked to call it. This room was HUGE! We had a little entry area, a living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom! It was bigger than Oma's apartment! We honestly could have stayed there forever. We considered it a good deal ;)
Once we were settled in, we headed to Oma's room to chit chat with her. I think she really enjoyed having Sabrina there. She just kept talking and talking. Telling story after story. It was really nice to see her so excited. She was happy to have me this summer, but she wasn't nearly as chatty then. Maybe it was because this time she had just spent the past 2 weeks alone, due to having lots of dizzy spells. But regardless, she was a talking machine. We played a few rounds of rummikub, and then it was about time for Sabrina and me to get going. We had to pick up some groceries and go eat dinner. We picked a few things up from Edeka, and then headed back into town. This time I knew better, and got us around town much easier.
We had a delicious dinner at Deutsches Haus. Man, do they have some amazing food there. And of course I had a Licher beer :)
Sabrina and I headed back to our penthouse, went to the computer room, watched a movie, and passed out!
On Sunday, we got up, got ready, and headed to Oma's room for breakfast. In the middle of breakfast the phone rang. It was my dad! He had landed and was in the taxi on his way to Oma's! I was so excited to see him! He had to leave a few days before I left in October, so we never had a proper goodbye. But now he was coming to Bad Nauheim to spend some time with Oma. After finishing breakfast, we headed to the lobby to wait for dad to come. And within minutes, there he was! It made me giggle. Oma was showing off so much. When she came to the lobby on Saturday to welcome Sabrina and me, she was using a walker. Then when she went to welcome dad, she just had her cane. She was so excited for him to be there, as any mother would be. It had been almost a year since she had seen her son.
We all chatted for a bit. Dad got to know Sabrina a little. It was really nice. I was so happy to see him, and for him to meet my best friend (and hopefully newest addition to the family!).
Dad wanted to take a quick nap, so we headed back to the penthouse and created a sims mansion :)
HOURS later, Dad called us wondering if we wanted to quickly head to the cafe upstairs before getting ready for dinner. Of course we wanted to spend time with him! So off to the cafe we went! Dad and Sabrina had some kind of coffee drink, while I had some Apfelschörle (sparkling apple juice). We had a nice chat while we sipped on our drinks. But time went quickly and Sabrina and I raced back to our room to get ready for dinner!
 |
| Favorite picture of us EVER! (so far at least) |
Sunday night we had a nice dinner. Those in attendance were as follows: Dad, Oma, Sabrina, Willi Rühl (Nadine's dad), Ingrid Rühl (Nadine's mom), Mark, Nadine, Cutie Pie (my niece), baby-#2-in-utero (oh yeah, did I mention I'm going to be an aunty again in May????!!!!), and myself. Nadine and Cutie Pie only stayed about a half hour because both were feeling under the weather. Willi and Ingrid drove Dad and Oma, while Sabrina and I followed in her car. Mark and family met us there. Oma really showed off for dinner. No walker. No cane. Just herself... and my dad's arm :)
It was a very small, very nice restaurant. We were the very first people there. The menu was short, and Sabrina, Dad and I all ordered the same thing, a nice rumpsteak. Mom had sent a few presents for Cutie Pie with Dad, and he brought those to dinner. When Cutie Pie got bored with looking at her mother, father, everyone else at the table, playing with everyone's keys, playing with gloves, and anything else we could think of, we handed them the gifts. Mark helped her open one (the other they saved for home). The sparkly legging caught her attention :) Those lasted a little longer in the attention grabbing department, but not long enough. Soon she was walking (oh my goodness she's WALKING!) all around, munching on some bread, and being totally adorable. After much too short of a time, Nadine decided it was time for her and Cutie Pie to head home. Before they left we took some pictures!!
 |
| Mark and I were laughing, which would then distract Cutie Pie, making her turn around and look at us. It was practically impossible to get a picture with her looking in the direction of the camera. Forget smiling. |
 |
| Closest thing we got to us all smiling and looking at the camera, but a good looking group none the less! |
 |
| Aunt and niece :) |
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| She's getting so big! |
Dad and Sabrina got along great. They sat next to each other. Super cute :)
 |
| I think they like each other :) |
After dinner, we showed Dad the penthouse suite (he was very impressed), went to the computer room, watched a movie, and fell asleep.
Monday morning the plan was to have rolls for breakfast at Oma's, but she had no rolls. So Dad, Sabrina and I walked to the hospital down the road (there is a bakery inside) and picked up some rolls. Then back to Oma's for breakfast. She shooed us out fairly quickly because the cleaning lady was there. But we made sure to say good-bye first. Sabrina and I would not be coming back before heading back home.
Then Dad, Sabrina and I squeezed ourselves into Sabrina's car, and headed into town. We stopped by the apotheke; sadly Till was not there. Then we went on a nice walk. We saw the Sprudelhof.
I had brats with mashed potatoes and a salad. Dad had pretty much the same, and Sabrina had a GIANT baked potato. It was delicious.
Then back to the car we went. We drove back to Oma's and said good-bye to Dad.
And off we were heading back home. Traffic was good. And then it was bad. Bad enough that we were at a pretty much stand still. Bad enough that we could take pictures....
Overall it was one of the best weekends EVER. Sabrina agreed. Just what we needed. We will have to do it again soon!
Lots of love from Germany!
Sunday, December 9, 2012
30.10-31.10: Shortened week!
This week I only had class on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both days of classes were nothing special.
Tuesday night there was another school-sponsored party, the Ersti Party. If you have been reading since the summer then you might remember me going to an Ersti Party in May. Well this semester was not as much, the music wasn't as good, there weren't as many people. All in all not as good as this summer. But it was still nice to get out of the dorms and spend time with friends. It did make me miss all my friends from the summer though. Like I really missed them a lot on Tuesday night. Bert did not come with us this time because he was playing some sport. Such an athletic one that kid.
Thursday is a holiday so we don't have class, and the elementary schools have the whole week off for fall break, so nothing on Friday! Off to Adelberg we go on Thursday.
Lots of love from Germany!
Tuesday night there was another school-sponsored party, the Ersti Party. If you have been reading since the summer then you might remember me going to an Ersti Party in May. Well this semester was not as much, the music wasn't as good, there weren't as many people. All in all not as good as this summer. But it was still nice to get out of the dorms and spend time with friends. It did make me miss all my friends from the summer though. Like I really missed them a lot on Tuesday night. Bert did not come with us this time because he was playing some sport. Such an athletic one that kid.
Lots of love from Germany!
22.10-29.10: Dayna's birthday and Bert and Dayna come to Adelberg!
Monday we headed back to SG and started celebrating Dayna's 21st birthday!
We picked up some things for us to grill dinner that night. We got everything together, got all layered up, and headed out to the park to grill up some kabobs and sausages. It was quite the project. The grill thing Sabrina and I had bought wasn't lighting properly so it took way longer to get everything going. But it was fun. We ate some delicious food, spent quality time together, played on the playground, listened to music and huddled around the fire to stay warm. Around 10 (maybe?) we headed back to the Wohnheim where we had some drinks, played card and board games, and when the clock struck midnight lit the candles and sang happy birthday to Dayna in 3 different languages :)
The cake was soooooo rich and chocolatey. It was good. Just way too
much. The white frosting actually helped even out the chocolate a lot,
so it all worked out.
We were up until the wee hours of the morning having lots of laughs :) It really was a great time. We discussed Bert and mine's birthdays and how we will celebrate those. Bert turns 22 the day after I turn 21! :) So it will be a fun few days of celebrating as the semester winds down.
On Tuesday Dayna and I decided to go to the lower level language class, which turned out to be perfect for us! The teacher evaluated us and said she will run the class at a B1/B2 level which is perfect! English class was pretty much the same. Kornetta is an interesting teacher and really likes to talk about his shoes.... and show them off by using the tables as a runway.... Enough said.
Wednesday I had my first session of my Familiensozialation class. The professor is really nice. Dayna and I are both taking that class and another international, Bernadette, is in the class too. He told us all we have to do for the class is a presentation in a group, which we already had found (a group that is). So that shouldn't be too difficult.
Wednesday night there was a karaoke party at the school. Sabrina, Dayna and I went and stayed for about 20 minutes before leaving. It wasn't very exciting. Apparently it got better a few hours later, but we were all already asleep by then :)
Thursday, my morning class was cancelled, which we didn't find out until we got there. Oh well. Afterwards Dayna, Sabrina and I went to Lidl (a grocery store) because they had Halloween/American food for sale! There were Halloween shaped chicken nuggets and french fries! It was so fun! We went back to the Wohnheim (dorms) and ate them :) It was delicious! It's amazing how something as simple as an "American meal" of chicken nuggets and french fries can make you so happy when you are far away from home.
Friday I was hoping to start my Praktikum at the other school but the teacher at the other school hadn't contacted Frau Kimmel yet, so back to Hardt Grundschul it was. I had a good (last) day there and almost felt bad for leaving the kiddos there. But I know that the other school will be better for me... or at least I hope so.
Friday afternoon Sabrina and I headed back to Adelberg (as we do every week) and shopped big time! Dayna and Bert were planning on coming Saturday/Sunday so we had to get lots of food. Plus we were having raclette for dinner on Sunday so we had to get all the ingredients for that.
Friday night Sabrina and I made another pinterest recipe! The cheesy, pesto, pull-apart bread you are always seeing floating around the internet? We made it! And it was pretty delicious. Really filling and gave us awful breath, but it was tasty.
When we woke up on Saturday there was snow!!!!!!!
Lots of time was spent in front of the fireplace keeping snug and warm :)
Plus I made nutella fudge (another pinterest recipe! call us butter because we are on a roll!) and my famous brownies! In the later afternoon we went and picked up Dayna from the train station. The three of us had dinner together and headed to bed.
Sunday morning the three of us went out and played in the snowwwwwwww! It was fun :) and kind of cold....
In the afternoon Bert arrived, and not too long after that we started getting everything ready for the raclette dinner. Lots of cheese, meat, and bread. It was yummy.
That night we watched Despicable Me, Jeff Dunham and Gabriel Iglesias.
Monday morning we had breakfast, played board/card games, had lunch and headed back to SG.
It was a really fun weekend together :)
Lots of love from Germany!
We picked up some things for us to grill dinner that night. We got everything together, got all layered up, and headed out to the park to grill up some kabobs and sausages. It was quite the project. The grill thing Sabrina and I had bought wasn't lighting properly so it took way longer to get everything going. But it was fun. We ate some delicious food, spent quality time together, played on the playground, listened to music and huddled around the fire to stay warm. Around 10 (maybe?) we headed back to the Wohnheim where we had some drinks, played card and board games, and when the clock struck midnight lit the candles and sang happy birthday to Dayna in 3 different languages :)
We were up until the wee hours of the morning having lots of laughs :) It really was a great time. We discussed Bert and mine's birthdays and how we will celebrate those. Bert turns 22 the day after I turn 21! :) So it will be a fun few days of celebrating as the semester winds down.
On Tuesday Dayna and I decided to go to the lower level language class, which turned out to be perfect for us! The teacher evaluated us and said she will run the class at a B1/B2 level which is perfect! English class was pretty much the same. Kornetta is an interesting teacher and really likes to talk about his shoes.... and show them off by using the tables as a runway.... Enough said.
Wednesday I had my first session of my Familiensozialation class. The professor is really nice. Dayna and I are both taking that class and another international, Bernadette, is in the class too. He told us all we have to do for the class is a presentation in a group, which we already had found (a group that is). So that shouldn't be too difficult.
Wednesday night there was a karaoke party at the school. Sabrina, Dayna and I went and stayed for about 20 minutes before leaving. It wasn't very exciting. Apparently it got better a few hours later, but we were all already asleep by then :)
Thursday, my morning class was cancelled, which we didn't find out until we got there. Oh well. Afterwards Dayna, Sabrina and I went to Lidl (a grocery store) because they had Halloween/American food for sale! There were Halloween shaped chicken nuggets and french fries! It was so fun! We went back to the Wohnheim (dorms) and ate them :) It was delicious! It's amazing how something as simple as an "American meal" of chicken nuggets and french fries can make you so happy when you are far away from home.
Friday I was hoping to start my Praktikum at the other school but the teacher at the other school hadn't contacted Frau Kimmel yet, so back to Hardt Grundschul it was. I had a good (last) day there and almost felt bad for leaving the kiddos there. But I know that the other school will be better for me... or at least I hope so.
Friday afternoon Sabrina and I headed back to Adelberg (as we do every week) and shopped big time! Dayna and Bert were planning on coming Saturday/Sunday so we had to get lots of food. Plus we were having raclette for dinner on Sunday so we had to get all the ingredients for that.
Friday night Sabrina and I made another pinterest recipe! The cheesy, pesto, pull-apart bread you are always seeing floating around the internet? We made it! And it was pretty delicious. Really filling and gave us awful breath, but it was tasty.
 |
| playing in the snow :) |
 |
| Fireplace keeping us warm and toasty! |
Plus I made nutella fudge (another pinterest recipe! call us butter because we are on a roll!) and my famous brownies! In the later afternoon we went and picked up Dayna from the train station. The three of us had dinner together and headed to bed.
Sunday morning the three of us went out and played in the snowwwwwwww! It was fun :) and kind of cold....
In the afternoon Bert arrived, and not too long after that we started getting everything ready for the raclette dinner. Lots of cheese, meat, and bread. It was yummy.
 |
| hehehehe gotcha :) |
 |
| goof :) |
Monday morning we had breakfast, played board/card games, had lunch and headed back to SG.
It was a really fun weekend together :)
Lots of love from Germany!
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