YUM!

Today, I discovered that Smart Dogs are the bomb. Seriously. The booooomb!

I haven't eaten a real hot dog in 15 years so you can empathize with my excitement, right?

Monday Thoughts

On impulse, I bought 10 cans of Campbell's tomato soup because out of the blue, I remembered my Grandmother cooking tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for me when I was about 7. I remembered dipping the grilled cheese squares in the soup and how that was the perfect combination to warm me up on a cold winter day. I wanted to capture that memory again. When I got home and tasted the soup, I hated it. Did they change the formula? Totally weird. Now, what am I supposed to do with the remaining 9 cans?


I must be really excited about spending Christmas in America. I started wrapping G's presents today. Then I decided to organize my closet, so that it will be easier to pack this weekend. WTF? I got rid of a lot of old clothes, mostly t-shirts - G calls them my uniform. I also threw away a really nice handbag. Even though I liked the style and brand, I never wore it because it was a gift from someone I really didn't care for. Every time I looked at that purse, I thought of bad memories. But over the years, I never threw it away because I'm...superficial. Today I finally tossed it. It was very cathartic for me. Afterwards, I felt great.

I'm developing an addiction to Wakame.

We went to Josephine's on Saturday and after all the hype - it sucked.

G's company Christmas party is this week.
I asked him what I should wear and he replied, "Maybe leggings?"

Onesies for Adults

How cool are these footed pajamas? (G...hint, hint)

I feel old.

The new Monopoly has electronic banking with credit cards (wrong on so many levels) and new game tokens. Remember the thimble, iron, shoe, and top hat? Well, they have been "modernized" with a Segway, an Altoids tin, flat screen tv, and a dog in a handbag.

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:)

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!

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!

Vintage Mickey D's

Well, after the 2nd day of Spring shoe shopping and coming home empty handed,
I broke down and ate a Filet-O-Fish for lunch. Man, it's been a long time. Why do the worst foods taste so damn good? And why do all of the fabulous shoes in Munich only come in sizes up to 40?

I found...

Sweet Potatoes!

Aren't they Smurfarrific?

Growing up, everybody loved The Smurfs. I'm not exaggerating. Every kid from my generation in America can at least sing the melody of the theme song! I remember waking up really early on Saturday mornings, just to watch cartoons. The Smurfs were my favorite. I know it may sound lame, but looking back, The Smurfs taught us a lot about teamwork, about sticking together. The story lines were great. In order to get out of trouble or outsmart Gargamel and Azrael, they had to work together and use their individual strengths collectively, to their advantage. Remember these guys? I was always on pins and needles, waiting to see the outcome. Anyway, believe it or not, The Smurfs or Die Schlümpfe, are still on TV every morning at 6:30am and they are still very popular in Germany. G and I have a Smurf figurine collection. For real. Ok, stop laughing. So when we found these anti-slip decals for the bathtub, we were ecstatic!

Sweet Dreams

When I saw this box of cereal, my first thought was, "Mmmmm. I would love to lie in bed and eat those little pillows straight from the box." Don't they look yummy? I decided to take a picture and of course, G protested and said people would think I was strange. When I insisted, he simply walked to another isle and pretended we weren't together. Anyway, then I wondered how can a breakfast cereal have so much sugar, almost like a dessert. When I was kid, my Mom didn't allow us to have sweet cereal. We were stuck with Chex, Kix, and Wheaties, the breakfast of champions. More like the breakfast of the bland. Her favorite was Cheerios. And we almost drooled at the table if were allowed to have...brace yourself......Honey Nut Cheerios. Party time! Don't get me wrong, as an adult, I appreciate my Mom giving us nutritonal breakfast cereals rather than cereal that would have rotted our teeth and made us fat. But when I was a kid, I would have traded my Cabbage Patch Doll for one box of Fruit Loops or Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I wanted to be cookoo for Cocoa Puffs. Remember Fruity Pebbles? And Lucky Charms? Those magical marshmallows.......pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, purple horseshoes, and green clovers. And don't get me started on the king of all cereals, Captain Crunch! Oh well, that time has passed. Now I'm a Special K and Shredded Wheat kind of girl. Thanks Mom.