I Do...Take Two!

On Sunday, September 21, 2008, on our one year wedding anniversary, G and I will reaffirm our wedding vows. We are having a reaffirmation ceremony in my home town. I can not tell you how excited I am to introduce G to the most important people in my life in America.

When I think about the last year, so many memories come to mind....

First and always, our boy, Robbie...long walks down Leopoldstraße...summer afternoons in the Englischer Garten...my introduction to Beer Gardens...never ending German classes...those damn dance lessons...Paris with Mama...crying together on our our wedding day...watching the sunset in a jacuzzi tub full of bubbles in the Maldives...riding camels in Dubai...the Fry Guy in Amsterdam...seeing Denzel for the first time at the Frankfurt airport.....wow.

God is good.

Bis nächste Woche!

Applesauce Spice Muffins

I bought two 3 lb jars of chunky applesauce with the intention of temporarily switching my daily breakfast from egg whites to one of my childhood favorites, applesauce and cottage cheese. But when I tasted the applesauce, I was really disappointed - it wasn't sweet enough and it wasn't chunky enough - and I had just purchased 6 lbs of it! So what do you do with 6 lbs of applesauce? Make muffins. I found the perfect recipe. They are so moist and flavorful - G ate 3 last night:)

These muffins take about 15 minutes to prepare and only 20 minutes to bake.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup pecans or walnuts (3 1/2 oz), coarsely chopped*
*I don't like nuts so I used raisins.

Preparation
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Grease muffin pan.

Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together eggs and brown sugar in a large bowl until combined well, then add butter, a little at a time, whisking until mixture is creamy. Stir in applesauce, then fold in flour mixture until flour is just moistened. Stir in nuts and divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until muffins are puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then remove muffins from pan and cool slightly.

Servings: Makes 12 muffins.

Happy 1st Birthday Denzel!

Wir lieben dich!

Cold Sores

Monday morning, I woke up with that familiar itching/sore feeling on my bottom lip. I knew what was coming. By noon, I had a bump. By mid afternoon, I had a cluster of bumps. And by dinner, I had a full blown cold sore. I knew that I had been really busy last week and I've had the symptoms of the beginning of a cold as well. Stress + Cold = Cold Sore. I got it. I didn't freak out because even though our American wedding reception is just a week away, I still have time to heal. But then, yesterday, I woke up and to my shock and horror, I had another cold sore - in my nose! WTF? I've had cold sores since I was a teenager so I'm used to them but I've never had two cold sores at the same time. So now, I have a swollen, bloody lip and a sore, crusty nose. Sexy. My festering predicament got me wondering:

Why did I start getting cold sores to begin with?
Why doesn't my husband get cold sores?
Is it true that cold sores can turn into the Paris Hilton herpes?

Hmmm. For now, I'm all about the Carmex and Neosporin.

On being back...and bloody.

After my longest break from blogging to date - 11 days - I'm back.
And the theme of my blogging break was - Planning. I've been sorting out the final details of our American wedding reception with my Mom, developing an itinerary of places to see and things to do when G's parents arrive from Germany in October, planning a couple of much needed and well deserved mini vacations (Miami & San Fran), and planning Denzel's 1 year birthday party. My baby's growing up! So today, I decided I needed some girl therapy to unwind and de-stress - yup, I headed to the salon. And as I was having a manicure, for some odd reason, one of the manicurist's utensils scratched the top side of my right pointer finger, near the cuticle. I'm not sure what utensil she was using because I had my head down, looking at pictures of Brangelina's new twins for the first time in People. But the pain caught my attention. And then came the blood. She immediately started apologizing and trying to clean the cut with antiseptic. But for what seemed like 10 minutes, she was totally focused on stopping the bleeding and continuing to apologize while I was more focused on not allowing my blood to drop on her table or touch any of her utensils. It was an interesting dance between the two of us. Isn't that crazy - that I was so paranoid about my own blood? So much, that although my finger was bleeding and stinging, all I could think about was not contaminating her work area. I kept thinking, I would not want to have a manicure on a table where someone else bled all over it. Right? Eventually the cut dried up and everything was fine. My nails are very purty and I am officially caught up on all of the celebrity gossip, babies, beach bodies, and fall fashion.

Aren't the never ending supply of trashy magazines one of the best perks about the salon:)