Happy Holidays!

GOD is good! We made it (the three of us!) to Germany for Christmas. It was really nice to spend the holiday week hanging out with G's parents. We even made them dinner one night. It wasn't anything special, just homemade pizzas (they are all about the Pepper Jack now!), but it felt good to have G's Mom sit back and relax for one night and enjoy a special meal that she didn't have to cook. She went above and beyond to make our Christmas perfect. She baked all of our favorite cookies and cakes and she even found vegetarian Wiener Schnitzel for me! How sweet is that? We also had an impromptu "garden party" with friends the night before we flew home. I will never get tired of the power of 'Danglish' and how the most simple translations produce pure comedy. And after a warm and fuzzy Christmas with G's parents, tomorrow, my Mom is flying in to spend the first week of 2010 with us. Yaaahh!

As 2009 comes to an end, I find myself filled with gratitude. My little family of three is happy and healthy. Our parents and siblings are well. I am grateful for Yoga and the invaluable gifts I receive every day that I teach. G and I are still discovering so many things about our marriage and about ourselves. We are planning our future - adventures in India and Africa and FINALLY, making the decision to build a life here in the USA. And who knows...maybe even the pitter patter of little white chocolate feet:) For those of you that read this blog, thank you for taking a moment out of your busy life to read about mine. And as we slide into 2010, I wish you a safe and peaceful new year. The light in me honors the light in you - Namaste and Frohes neues Jahr!

Christmas Wish

Dear Santa:

Can you please make the temperature rise above 45 degrees - so that I can get on the airplane with my Mommy and Daddy and to fly to Germany for Christmas?

Keeping my paws crossed.

Love,

Denzel

DNA Test

On Saturday, I opened my Christmas gift from G. It was a DNA test kit from African Ancestry. After years of talking about it, I am finally tracing the African ancestry of my Mother's side of the family. By analyzing my DNA, African Ancestry will pinpoint the exact country of origin of my maternal ancestors. In order to receive my results before Christmas, I had to take the test early, which was basically swabbing the inside of my cheeks. I can't help thinking - such a simple test that will produce such profound results... I am almost bursting with anticipation!

Weihnachtsgeschenke

This year, we are ahead of the game, for a change. We are done with everybody on our shopping list (woo hoo!) - except for Denzel. We want to buy all of his presents in Germany. It's kind of a tradition. Whenever we spend Christmas in Germany, on the night before Christmas Eve, G and I head to the pet store near G's parents' home, and we take our time browsing the aisles, searching for special little presents for our favorite boy. We always buy too much and we always lose all will power and give him present after present on Christmas Day! I'm really looking forward to spending the holiday in Germany this year. I haven't been to my second home :) since February. In anticipation, we've already attended one Weihnachtsmarkt, sponsored by the German Armed Forces Command of Virginia, and tonight, we are headed to a Gluewein Party. YUMMY.

Medical Update

After a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday in NYC, we returned home with tired legs from strolling around the city and full bellies from repeat trips to Lombardi's. And G finally went in to have the bothersome cyst on his back removed. Instead of just offering my verbal support during the procedure - he was awake - I decided to stand and watch it in its entirety, giving G play by play (or should I say slice by slice!) commentary. When the cyst was removed, to our surprise, it was the size of a small grape! Scary, right? Here is his post-op pic.

The Obamas' First State Dinner

FLOTUS was flawless.

Worth the Wait

After an hour and a half wait, a bottle of wine, two Mojitos, and a platter of deviled eggs, we finally sat down for dinner at Founding Farmers. In all fairness, we didn't have a reservation and it was a packed Saturday night. But after reading about the certified green restaurant specializing in farm-to-table American inspired food, we were more than ready to sample dishes made from fresh ingredients straight from local farms. The restaurant is actually owned by a group of American family farmers. The menu offers something for everyone (for real) and highlights include a mouthwatering Steak Portobello, the Show Stopper Fisherman's Pasta with tuna meatballs, and Edna's Carrot Cake. Good food. Good times.

Buttergebackenes

Ok, party people. In preparation for Christmas 09 and in response to the request of my poor husband, who has been begging me to bake Weihnachten Plaetzchen for three years now, I have finally baked my first batch of Buttergebackenes! These simple yet oh so buttery butter cookies are the result of my Mother in Law's recipe. She bakes these cookies every Christmas. My first batch tasted almost as good as hers :) but my cookies turned out thicker. I still have to find a balance in the thickness of the dough when I'm rolling it out. And I'd like to find some mini cookie cutters as opposed to the larger ones I picked up at W&S. Overall, I'm very happy with my first try. And I will definitely bake these again - this Christmas and many more to come.

Precious

The most powerful movie I have ever seen.

Life Happens

Ok. It's obvious that this blog has fallen down my life's totem pole of priorities. It's not that I've lost interest or the desire. I still have funny stories, complaints, recipes, and adventures I want to share. There are still those moments in my life when I say to myself, "Gotta remember that for my blog." Or when I upload pictures and I see a shot that I want to immediately post, because I can't believe I've actually captured exactly what I was feeling at the time. It's just that now, instead of taking the 15 minutes to blog, I choose to do something else. Or something else just needs to be done. I started this blog to record and share the most precious and the most mundane aspects of my life. I didn't know that my blog would inadvertently bring new friends and even allow us to relive some of the most joyous and most painful events in our lives. Blogging has been a blessing. So I know that in time, I will figure out how to get my blogging grove back. Until then, please bear with my catch up posts:)

I teach an early Saturday morning class and to my surprise, G wakes up at 630am and actually takes the class. Every single Saturday. Sweet, right? Well, the other night, he says to me -

G: "So what's up with the Gays?"
S: "What?"
G: "The Gays. You know, the Gays...in your yoga class."
S: "WHAT are you talking about? The Gays?"
G: "The Gays! You always say, Take your gays to the left or up or over your shoulder."
S: "You mean GAZE? Your gaze means where you should look."
G: "Oh. Ok. I didn't know that word."

Priceless.


Recently, I had a super fun weekend with my girlfriend that I have known since I was about 12. G spent a weekend in Berlin so my girlfriend flew in to hang out. I didn't realize how much I needed some girl time. We talked for hours. It's crazy (and a little scary) how much we know about each other! And we had a fantastic dinner in Georgetown at a well known Ethiopian restaurant called Zed's. It's probably the best dinner I've had in DC so far. But I think that had a lot to do with the company.

I finally took my CPR/AED certification course. I've always wanted to take it and I'm finding that a lot of teaching positions require it. I'm happy that I took it and I feel confident with the skills that I've learned. HOWEVER. 5 hours? 5 hours for about an hour of information? Brutal.

Sitting on the Fence

Clever marketing...cool storyline...slow build up...creepy moments...but was it scary?
Not really.

1 Night in NYC

Denzel and I decided to piggyback on one of G's business trips to NYC. It was only for one night so we decided to have dinner at a well known north African restaurant near Greenwich Village, called, LeSouk. We figured, how can you go wrong with exotic food, belly dancers, and flavored hookahs? And we were right. Our recommendations - the lamb and the sheep cheese with mint and peppers.

Obsessed

I seriously can not stop singing - "He's all up in my George Foreman!"

Thanks Mariah.

Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding

If you love the taste of banana pudding but hate the inevitable soggy vanilla wafers that come with making it the old fashioned way (sorry Mama!) - I have a super duper yummy recipe for you. I found this recipe on one of my favorite cooks website, the incomparable, Ms Paula Deen. My Mom and I made it for the first time together, while she was here visiting last month. And on that rare occasion, we both agreed - it was the best banana pudding we have ever tasted. I made another batch last night, because we had a friend over for dinner. G took the rest of the banana pudding to work this morning and I have already received emails thanking me for the afternoon office treat. The recipe is extremely easy - you can not mess it up! Try it out and let me know what you think:)

Extended Vacation

That was a long vacation, huh? Not one post for the entire month of August. What can I say? Life happens. Ok. First things first. Our family vacation turned out to be the best family vacation EVER. For real. The monkeys were soooooo cool - my favorite memory of Honduras. Can you believe that the first photo is G's Dad? Love it! After the cruise, my Mom came to visit. Fun times - we laughed non stop, shopped non stop and managed to even bake together. I have some yummy From Scratch recipes to post. Since her visit, I have been totally engulfed in yoga. My website is up. Yaaaaah! And I finally found a yoga studio in my area that not only challenges me in my personal practice but also has two amazing teachers that truly inspire me - I know for a fact, I am becoming a better teacher because of them. And finally, we are in the midst of making some really important decisions regarding the next couple of years - we are thinking about finally growing some roots here in the good old USA. More to come:)

Two Years Together

Alles Gute zum Hochzeitstag, mein Schatz. Ich kann nicht glauben, dass die Zeit ist so schnell vergangen. Es ist total verrueckt, oder? Ich liebe dich so sehr. Du bist die Liebe meines Lebens. Du bist meine Familie (mit der Denzel, natuerlich!). Du bist mein Zuhause.
Und ich bin deine Frau...fuer immer...und immer...und immer....

Happy 2nd Birthday Denzel!

Wir lieben dich!

Family Vacay

Tomorrow morning, we are headed to Miami. We are meeting G's parents, flying in from Frankfurt, and from there, taking a Caribbean cruise together. I'm soooo excited to visit Belize and Honduras!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Beef Tips, Potato Pancakes, & Ribs

We started last weekend off right - on Thursday night, we met up with our friend and fellow blogger Maria, for Denzel's first Doggy Happy Hour. Cute, right? We were impressed with the spacious outdoor set up and Denzel was ecstatic to meet so many friends. He also woofed down (ha ha) his appetizer of beef tips and peas. We had such a cool time hanging out and just catching up, I know we'll be back this summer.

On Saturday, we went to a DC United match. We took the train into the city for a change, so that G could enjoy himself. And he did. It was sponsored by Volkswagen and when we walked into the company suite, it was full of German beer, wine, and food. G was in heaven. But I was in rare form - I seriously ate about 40 Kartoffelpuffer. Good times.

Sunday evening, I made a soul food dinner for our friends from Leipzig. I made Baby Back Ribs, Macaroni and Cheese, Greens, Cornbread, and Peach Cobbler. It was my first attempt at ribs - I slow baked them for 4 1/2 hours. And I didn't even taste them - I've officially taken the plunge into vegetarian life but, according to G and our friends, they came our perfect. Yaaah!