Auf unserem Weg

It's that time again. We are moving to Virginia, our place of residence for the next two years. The rest of my week will consist of boxes, suitcases, inventory lists, and of course, hanging out
with the movers. I say hanging out because after you've had a couple of guys in your house for 6 hours, wrapping and securing your most precious possessions and arranging your furniture, it's inevitable that you start talking, listening to CDs, and making Lattes for the guys. Or? At least this time around, the movers will speak English. Trying to explain why Lenny Kravitz is the greatest soul/rock artist of our generation, in German, was kind of hard. By the way, did you know that there is no word for "soul" in German? Not soul as in spiritual, but soul as in Marvin Gaye. Strange, huh?

Bis bald!

Seafood Pizza

One of the best things about Michigan is PizzaPapalis.
Many, many years ago, when I used to wear french braids and friendship bracelets, I tasted my first bite of Seafood Pizza and I was forever hooked! Loads of crab meat and jumbo shrimp - I can not think of a better pizza topping. While they are known for their Chicago style pizza, the thin crust pizza is just as good and not as heavy. G tries
to say that it's just "ok" but considering the fact that we polished off a large 17 inch in record time, I kind of think he's a fan too:)

This is my life.

I am sitting in the office, working on my blog, enjoying some time for myself, when G screams my name and suddenly appears in the doorway. He is butt naked with dirty t-shirts in one hand.
With a look of pure confusion, he says,
"Mein Schatz, how do you turn on the washing machine?"

Summer in Michigan

You Gotta Love 'Em

After spending the entire day with my family,
I asked G:

"So what was your favorite part about today?"

He answered: "The ride home."

Wii Can Dig It

Our Wii system arrived on Friday night! For our first night of gaming, we invited my Mom over - she has about the same amount of video game experience as G - and I cooked a big pot of Shrimp Jambalaya for dinner. We heard so many positive things about the system, mainly that it was very realistic and easy to play, so we were excited to see if it lived up to the hype. We decided to start with bowling. I really don't like bowling because basically I suck. But to my surprise, not on the Wii. You really don't have to have any skills, you just have to know how to mimic the movements of bowling. And my Mom won every game! It was really funny and cool to watch my 59 year old mother screaming and jumping up and down when she bowled a strike:) G and I really liked the boxing game. I broke out in a sweat trying to out punch him. We've been playing every night. We call it our training for Virginia. We have friends, another newlywed couple, and they are huge Wii players. We wanna be ready to throw down!

Bridging the Gap

G and I have never agreed on TV shows.
I guess that's why, in Munich, we hardly ever watched TV together. Sometimes I would turn
on CNN in the morning but more than often,
the television would only serve as background music, with MTV Germany or VIVA playing. But now that we are back home in the US, something
really cool has happened...
A couple of weeks ago, we watched an episode of A&E's The First 48 and we were both instantly hooked. The show focuses on real life homicide investigations across the country. Every episode focuses on two different cases. It is real, in your face, emotional and sometimes aggravating television. Every Thursday night, we rush to eat dinner, load the dish washer, walk Denzel, and get back home in time for the new episodes! And another riveting real life series on A&E that we both enjoy is Intervention. It is unbelievable and shocking. It focuses on two addicts that believe they are participating in a documentary on addiction. But their families are actually planning and staging an intervention to help them enter into treatment. Almost every episode makes me cry. If you are into real life drama, tune in.

A sandwich is a sandwich.

But a Manwich is a meal.

Tonight, G will have his first Sloppy Joe ever! Lately, I have been on a mission. I want G to taste all of the foods I grew up eating. Every week, I'm giving him a little sampling of typical "American" food. He has tried and loves Macaroni and Cheese. He's sitting on the fence about Green Bean Casserole and Twice Baked Potatoes. And my all time favorite topping for toast, Apple Butter, is now his favorite. Next week, he'll try a real blast from the past, Malt-O-Meal.

Nazi Trainer

For those of you that read my post about our horrific experience at Petsmart, the following post will either one, totally blow your mind or two, convince you that we are totally crazy. Either way, I welcome your comments. So after the Petsmart drama, we decided to enroll Denzel in another training program at Petco. Two weeks ago, we went to the first class. Our trainer was a nice girl and seemed super excited about her job. Major Chatty Kathy. She was also extremely sympathetic about Denzel and assured us that with her positive reinforcement training method, Denzel would be listening and following every command in 4 weeks. She was very confidant. After giving a description of the course, she asked all of the parents to introduce themselves and talk about their expectations from the class. Of course, when we introduced ourselves, I mentioned that my husband is German and that we just moved from Munich back to the US. I also talked about Denzel's puppy school in Munich and how pleased we were with his progress there. When I finished, the trainer said, "Okay. Well, I'm not some Nazi dog trainer who only believes in doing things my way. If you were taught a command that works for you and your dog, then you can keep doing that. Do what works. Like I said, I'm not a Nazi dog trainer!" G and I looked at each other with the Okay....???? face. The other parents sort of looked down into their laps, waiting for the uncomfortable moment to pass. What was with the Nazi talk? We didn't say anything to the trainer but as soon as we got in the car, G told me how uncomfortable he felt. He said that he found her comment unnecessary and rude and couldn't understand why she would use that phrase. I know I don't have to say this, but I believe that most people understand that just because you are German, that doesn't mean you are a Neo-Nazi or had family that was part of or believed in the Nazi movement. I thought her comment was rude but mostly ignorant. But I am not German so I could still empathize with G being a little pissed off. We let the comment slide and went to the second class. Now the first class was only for parents. This class was the first class for the puppies. We thought there were 3 puppies in the class. It turned out to be 6. We were so disappointed because Denzel would have a lot less one on one time with the trainer and the area inside the store is only a small enclosed section, so it was cramped with 6 puppies and their parents. And then you had Chatty Kathy talking most of the time instead of actually instructing the class. In an hour, Denzel only practiced one exercise. And she said Denzel would be listening and following every command in 4 weeks? Right. But instead of complaining, we listened as best as we could and tried to get the most out of the class. She sensed everyone's uneasiness about the chaos and assured us that in the next class, the puppies would be calmer. At the end of the class, she brought us all together in the middle of the space to give us our homework. She began her instructions with, "Since I'm not some Nazi dog trainer, I won't give you a lot of homework! I mean, you should be having fun with your dog most of the time, right? I want you to have fun. I am not the Nazi trainer!" I could not believe it.
We waited for her to finish and G went straight to the manager.
We pulled Denzel out of the class and received a refund.

Are we crazy?

The Blue Nile(s)

Remember the Blue Nile restaurant in Munich, where we celebrated Thanksgiving last year? Well, there is another Blue Nile restaurant in Michigan. And it knocks the one in Munich out of the park! Not the service, just the food. To be honest, I've found that in all of the Ethiopian restaurants I've visited, and I've probably been to around 6, the staff has always been incredibly friendly, with great service. I appreciate that just as much as I appreciate the flavorful food. I remember a friend and I were working in Boston and we discovered that we both loved Ethiopian food. So we looked up the address of a well known Ethiopian restaurant online and decided to just jump in a cab and head over. Well, that cab ride was the most shocking cab ride I have ever taken. We went from downtown city lights to a war zone! We were afraid to get out the cab. But like I said, we really love Ethiopian food. So made a run for the door and decided to stay. And I'm so glad we did because that dinner was the best Ethiopian food I've ever tasted. And from the inside, the restaurant was quiet and cozy and the staff was so sweet. We drank a lot of honey wine and laughed through the entire dinner. It was totally worth the risk.

This is a typical vegetarian meal.

Injera, the spongy bread you use to pick up your food.

No forks allowed!

Mmmmmmmmmmm!

Guess what I cooked for dinner last night?

Poor Baby

It's better to be safe than sorry. With this thought in mind, we took Denzel to the Vet on Monday evening, after noticing that he wasn't eating or drinking as much as he normally does. We told the Vet about the horrific training session on Sunday and guess what? She was appalled. I knew I wasn't crazy. So, she examined Denzel and found that he was resisting when she tried to move his neck to the left or up and down. She said that his neck muscles were probably sore from being choked and prescribed an anti-inflammatory/pain medication. I was so angry. So we drove directly to PetSmart. We received a full refund and they will also pay for Denzel's Vet visit, as well as his medication. And the so called dog trainer? She's looking for a new job. Hopefully in a field that does not involve animals.

Overreacting

Yesterday, we took Denzel to his first training lesson at PetSmart.
It was a horrible experience. First, it's important to mention that we are still grieving over the loss of our beautiful puppy, Robbie. Without getting into specifics, to say that we are overprotective of Denzel because of Robbie's death, is an understatement. And I think it is because when you experience a traumatic event, like death, one of the worst parts is the aftereffect on your daily life -knowing that at any moment, your absolute worst fear can become a reality. And when it does become a reality, it is gut wrenching, way worse than you ever could have imagined. And so for a while, you are constantly on edge, looking for every possible way to prevent it from happening again. God willing, G and I will get better. But we acknowledge that this is still a sensitive time for us. So - when we arrived at PetSmart, our instructor introduced herself, explained her method of training, and asked us about our expectations from the class. There was only one other puppy in our class so it was nice to have the time to talk in depth about Denzel's behavioral issues and to hear about the other couple's concerns for their puppy, who was also 7 months old. After that, the instructor wanted to begin an exercise on walking properly on the leash. She decided to start with Denzel. Denzel wears a harness, not a collar. She told us that she preferred to train dogs on collars and thought it would be best if we bought him a collar for the next class. We agreed. But for the first class, she would use our leash as a collar. She took his harness off and used the end of the leash, a loop handle, as a make shift collar for Denzel. She put his head through the loop and took the long end of the leash and threaded it through the loop to create slack. Denzel immediately started twisting and wiggling around. She said, "Do you see how much he hates it? He is not used to a collar so we have to break him into it." We watched as he continued to squirm and she continued to pull the leash tighter. I asked if he was okay, and she said, "He is fine. He's just mad about the collar." So we watched Denzel squirm while she continued talking. At that point, I was fine. I realized he wasn't used to the feeling around his neck and he was squirming because he wanted to get out. But then, I saw Denzel's eyes turning red. The corners of his eyes were turning bright red and he was really fighting to get out of the leash, which in turn, made her pull even tighter to try to control him. This is when I started feeling very uncomfortable. I looked at G and I saw concern in his face as well. So I interrupted her and asked if he was okay. I told her to look at his eyes. She did and said, "He is just mad. Pugs have big eyes and when they get mad, their eyes turn red and bulge out." G asked her, "Are you sure?" As she answered G, I looked at Denzel and his eye lids were starting to close. He was actually swaying a little. He was beginning to pass out. I got up, ran over and took the leash from his neck, which had no slack at all. I rubbed his neck and his sides to revive him. He did not pass out but I am positive he would have, if I would not have intervened. The other couple sat in shock. I took Denzel back to our seats and G checked him out. The instructor then said, "Maybe we should try this exercise with the other dog." She was not concerned about Denzel at all. We took a moment by ourselves to talk and try to calm down. We asked ourselves if we were overreacting? But why were his eyes turning red? That has never happened before. Why wasn't she concerned about him almost losing consciousness? Did the other couple see what we saw? G said to calm down and just finish the class. Looking back, that was wrong. We should have walked out. But at the time, again, we didn't want to overreact. We second guessed ourselves because we thought since she was a trained professional, she must have known what she was doing. We stayed for the final 30 minutes. But to be honest, those 30 minutes were a blur for me because I was so upset about what happened that I couldn't pay attention to anything else she said. And I didn't even want her to touch Denzel again. And she didn't. After the class, the instructor came over to reassure us. She told us that we were worrying too much and that she was not hurting him, he was just mad and protesting. When we got home, G said that we should both think about it, sleep on it, and make a decision about the next step. This morning, we made a decision. I called and spoke to the manager. We pulled Denzel out of the class. How can we trust the instructor to train Denzel if we think she was hurting him?

What do you think - did we overreact?

PetSmart?

In Munich, we enrolled Denzel
in puppy school when he was only 3 months old. We both agreed that we wanted Denzel to start training and learning commands as early as possible. The school was great in reinforcing the basic commands we had already taught him but more importantly, it allowed him to socialize with other puppies, off the leash. I think his personality really began to emerge in these classes - he went from being an aggressive little monster to actually developing friendships. When we found out we were moving back to the US, we decided to enroll him in an 8 week pet training course, during the two month lay over in Michigan. I found a course at PetSmart that I thought was perfect for Denzel. G immediately hated the idea because he thinks it's ridiculous that the classes are held in an enclosed area, in the middle of the store. He thinks it's better to train Denzel in a large open area and then use the exercises we've learned in class, at home. Denzel's main issues are learning to walk (not pull) on the leash and obeying commands from a distance. So I agreed with G, that learning in a big open space would be the best scenario. But after speaking to 2 managers about the benefits of their courses and trainers and getting a money back guarantee, we enrolled Denzel. To make a long story short, after going into the store the first time, and being instructed to come to his first class on Sunday at 11am, then coming in the second time and being told to come at 6pm, it turns out that the class was actually at 4pm. So because the PetSmart staff screwed up the time, twice, we missed the class. G just shook his head when we pulled up to the store to find it already closed. Not a good start, PetSmart.

Mein Geburtstag!

We made it! I am back home. Whew! What a week. Right now, we are in Michigan. We will be in here for 2 months and then we'll move to Virginia for the next 2 years. We are living in corporate housing and in the meantime, our entire house in Munich is being shipped in a container to Virginia. Next week, we'll be taking a look-see trip to figure out where we want to live. When I found out that we would be in Michigan for 2 months, I was ecstatic! Did I mention I grew up in Michigan?! So for the last week, we have been hanging out with my Mom, visiting my family, catching up with girlfriends, and of course, eating like crazy. We have been out of control. Today is my birthday and one thing is for sure - I am older and fatter. Well, 2 things. I can't help it - there are so many foods I've missed. Zum Beispiel,

All You Can Eat Crab Legs

Hungry Howie's

Sweet Potato Chips

And I also purchased the perfect accessory for my increasing body mass,

Crocs
(Yes, I am aware of the Velveeta factor.)

My favorite birthday present was this shrimp omelette G
cooked for breakfast!