Just checking in

Hi everyone!

I know I haven't posted for awhile - but that's because Jeff and I were in Germany from the 7th to the 13th.  Now we're back.  Back in the US - back to work - back to life.

It was nice to go on vacation.  It was nice to not have to go to work for 8 days.  It was nice to see and experience Germany - but it is GREAT to be home.

I'm a homebody; admittedly.  It's hard for me to just 'do nothing', ie 'go on vacation' - so I guess I really did have to travel across the Atlantic ocean so that I literally couldn't clean my house or do laundry or organize my office for a full week.

I put some photos from our trip up on Facebook, and I'll post some here on the blog as well at a later date.  But we're still trying to get back on our regular schedule.  Today was my first day back at work; waking up at 5 AM and such.

But overall here are a few things I learned about Germany and about travelling:

Munich at Christmastime is beautiful.  Cold, windy, snowy and beautiful.

Everyone in Germany smokes.  Everyone: man, woman, old, young.  Everyone, all the time.

Soft toilet paper is hard to find.  Our hotel was a first class, nice hotel.  The toilet paper was 2-ply, quilted, and about 1 step away from sand paper.

Gustav Klimt paintings in person are everything I thought they'd be.

What you think is apple juice there is not apple juice.  It's sparkling water with a small bit of apple flavoring added.

They don't have Diet Coke, they have Light Coke.

Apparently I am a security threat.  I was pulled aside and double searched in both Munich and Atlanta - and my luggage was inspected.

Coffee in Germany comes in small cups, and it's black and bitter.  I knew our trip back home was well overdue when I nearly had a full blown temper tantrum in the Munich airport by yelling that I wanted, "Coffee ... Regular American coffee.  Not espresso, not cappuccino.  Just - COFFEE!"

I require Dramamine to travel by airplane.

It has now been proven that it is possible for me to go 9+ hours without peeing - because airplane bathrooms are gross.

Also, I just wanted to let everyone know who is waiting on Seed Cards to please be patient and I will have some more made up and sent out just as soon as I can!

Ich mache eine Ferienreise

............ that is German for: I am here on vacation.

Yes, in just 3 short weeks Jeff and I will be leaving for our trip to Germany!  I am very excited to be able to a.) take a real vacation, b.) travel on a plane and c.) go to Germany - since I've never done any of those things.  Yes, including taking a real vacation.

Christmastime in Germany is something I've wanted to experience for a long time.  Jeff got to experience it when he was working as a tour manager about 6 years ago.  And knowing that this Christmas is going to be very hard for us, and knowing that we really needed a vacation ... we started planning this trip as early as last spring.  We booked our flights and hotel super early, thus saving a ton of money.  (If we were to book the trip now, we would pay double). We have our luggage, seat cushiony things, I bought a new coat, just ordered (literally, like 20 minutes ago from Zappos) new winter boots for myself, and cat/puppy/house sitters lined up.  

So for those who are wondering exactly what Christmas in Germany looks like, it looks something like this:

And then of course there's Neuschwanstein Castle, that I've been wanting to visit since I was 6.  

See? I even buy jars of mustard just because a picture of the castle is on it:

So just imagine what I'll do in the gift shop.

But with 3 weeks remaining I have to pray that the weather stays on the 'not crazy blizzard' side (both here and in Munich), that there are no more Icelandic volcanoes, and that neither Jeff or I get sick/injured directly before or between December 6th to the 13th.  I've been having some kind of sinus/allergy thing going on all weekend and I almost want it to become a cold so I'll be recovered in time for the trip!

In other news, on the fundraiser front: my Mom and Dad came down to Maryland to visit us this weekend and my Mom and I had a major seed paper cutting session and she left here with 120 cards for her and my sister to sell at work.  So for all those who work with my Mommy or sister, please see them to pick some up!