Thursday, May 30, 2013

Five fun facts about me.

Hallo meine Lieben,

how are you doing? Hope you are all having a great week! Time for another Random Thursday! You can link up here.



And here's the topic.



Fun fact #1.

I always get totally confused about the way Americans write down a date.  When they say "5/6/3013"  then I have no idea if they mean May or June. It takes me forever to figure that out. In Germany you would say. 6.5.2013. I guess there are things I will never get used to.

Fun fact #2.

The fancy white shoes I got for my Holy Communion were so uncomfortable that after church I started to wear white sneakers with purple laces under my white dress.

Fun fact #3.

I sold my saxophone to buy a bass guitar...and later I discovered that I have no talent at all to play bass. I should have kept the saxophone. Well, at least David loves my bass guitar and he is an awesome bass player.

Fun fact #4.

I have a scar on my finger because I got stuck in a fence when I wanted to crawl through it in order to follow a bunny I wanted to pet. 


Fun Fact #5.

I still remember prices of things that I bought 10 years ago. But I can't remember any phone numbers. 

And now I am curious...what are some fun facts about you?
Have a lovely Thursday!







Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Ten On Tuesday. A bunny birthday, a mean word and a watermelon.

Hallo meine Lieben,

I hope your week is going fine and is full of sunshine! It's time for another Ten On Tuesday. You can join the link up here.


1. Today is a very very very special day: It's Findus' 4th birthday! YAY! Happy happy birthday Findus! You make me so happy! I love you!


2. The first couple of months of Findus life has been pretty rough but I am endlessly thankful that he is a happy, healthy bunny now who loves to have fun with his buddy Tiffie and his cat friends. 

3. Another mean English word I try to avoid as much as I can is "laugh". My friend Celeste reminded me of it. I can't help myself, I always think it sounds wrong when I say it although David tells me that I say it right.

4. I have learned so far that Germans sound angry, are pretty cold and not very romantic. 

5. I am planning to eat a whole watermelon today.

6. Maybe I should make a watermelon sculpture first.


7. I would like to watch a really good comedy. Any suggestions? My favorites are Napoleon Dynamite, Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, Nacho Libre, Shaun of the Dead, Love Actually, High Fidelity, Darjeeling Limited, Be kind rewind, The Royal Tenenbaums. I am not up to date with any new movies.

8. I finally started to work out. But instead of running I decided to go biking. I might start running too.

9. I fell in love with this nail polish color.


10. Findus is awesome. He is so awesome that I need to mention it again.



Have a very happy Tuesday!

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Saturday Randoms. Fußball, dresses and water preferences.

Hallo meine Lieben,

hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day weekend! 

Some random thoughts.

1. Today I feel like spending the day on the couch with a good book and a cup of tea. I feel like doing this every day but today it is an extra strong feeling. I want to wear my Care Bear pants all day and be lazy.

2. I am in love with this dress from Vaute Couture. It has bears on it. As you may know, I love anything with an animal printed on it. 



3. Today is the final game of the UEFA Champions League. That's a soccer (Fußball) tournament. And for the first time ever two German teams will play in this final game which makes my German Fußball heart a little proud. 

4. Sparkling water is so much better than still water. That's a thing I don't get about America. You get still water everywhere but no sparkling water.

5. I finally bought the second Stieg Larsson book a couple of days before. So I will be busy reading the next couple of days.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Spring cleaning: organization tips.

Hallo meine Lieben,

happy Thursday! I am taking part in the Random Thursday link-up like every week. You can join here.



So, we are talking about organization tips this week. I am sure there are people who are much more organized than I am but I will try to provide some tips that work fine for me.



1.Receipts, letters, bills etc.

I tend to keep all kinds of bills and receipts and manuals and letters and what not because I think that you never know when you will need them again. So there are lots of papers flying around sometimes. Which can be annoying.
So the first step is that I put all the stuff which I think I still need in one of these boxes.



When I think that there is too much crap in the box I sort through that stuff and recycle everything that I don't need anymore. 
And the rest of that stuff comes in a folder which is sorted alphabetically so that I can find the stuff easily.
This is definitely not the best idea to handle papers but it works for me.

2. Jewelry

I always had my jewelry in boxes which was a huge mess because I always had to search forever for the piece I wanted to wear. Then I decided to get something like this:


And since then I don't have to search for my jewelry anymore.

3. Shoes.

I own lots of shoes and I never knew how to organize them. This little thing here was a big help:


The only downside is that it does not work for boots. But it is great to organize sneakers, ballerinas etc. 

What are your organization tips?
Have a lovely Thursday!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Ten On Tuesday. Hitchcock, Schadenfreude and Benjamin Blümchen.

Hallo meine Lieben,

I hope you are all doing well and have a great week. I also hope you are all safe and happy! 
It's time for another Ten On Tuesday. You can link up with Lin here.



1. On Sunday I watched the first episode of "Bates Motel" and I can't believe that I did not discover this show earlier. I mean, it is a prequel to "Psycho" which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and I am a huge admirer of his work. So I had to check out this show. The first episode was really promising and I hope it will stay like that. The mother is so creepy...



2. My favorite Hitchcock movie is "Rear Window" ("Das Fenster zum Hof" in German) by the way.

3. I always wondered why the English language uses German words like "Schadenfreude", "Doppelgänger" or "Kindergarten". Is there a lexical gap or what is the reason for this? 

4. Here is another English word that always sounds wrong when I say it: "questions". It sounds like something is wrong with my tongue. I can't help myself. Another word that I try to avoid as much as I can.

5. Germany got a solid 21st place (out of 26) at the Eurovision Song Contest. I really wonder why they don't just give up. I loved to watch this event when I was a child but now it is just a good reason for some "Fremdschämen".  Vicarious embarrassment.

6. I was surprised to hear that Bonnie Tyler is not famous in America. David has never heard about her. I have always assumed that she is world-famous. 

7.  I am having the theme song of Benjamin Blümchen in my head for four days now and I can't  get rid of it. At least it reminds me of my childhood and that makes me happy. 





8. Sometimes I really can't believe all the stupidity in this world. People try to raise 200.000$ to get a video of a Canadian mayor smoking crack from a crack dealer. Yeah, it is a great idea to raise money to give it to a crack dealer! And no, there are no people or animals in need to give lots of money too. Just waste it.

9.  Pretty much.



10.  At some point in my life I need to watch all 331 episodes of ER again. 

Have a lovely Tuesday!

Sunday, May 19, 2013

The happy-list.

Hallo meine Lieben,

happy Sunday to everybody! I hope your weekend is fabulous!
Life can be hard sometimes. or very often...there seem to be so many bad things, you get frustrated and just want to hide under the blanket the whole day. At least that's how I feel sometimes. And on days like that I try to concentrate on the good things in life. I try to see the positive side of things that happens. I know, it isn't always easy but at least you can try. And there are always some things in life that can make you at least smile a little bit. And to remind myself of these things in life, I thought it would be good to create my own "happy-list". Things that make me smile, even when I feel depressed.



- spending time with animals. No matter if it is a cat or a cow,
   It even makes me happy to carry      a rain worm over the street.
- David.
- my own pets make me happy of course. 
- watching bunnies yawning. It is the most adorable thing to look at. Trust me.
- the smell after a rain shower.
- listening to David's music.
- drinking a great cup of tea.
- reading a book. Especially crime novels. Yeah, reading crime novels makes me happy. 
- petting an animal.
- spending a relaxed evening on the couch with David.
- traveling.
- going to the movie theater. Even when I freeze to death there.
- being in the nature.
- helping somebody.
- blogs.
- window shopping.
- cooking books.
- spending a Sunday at a flea market. 
- watching an episode of one of my favorite shows.
- pasta.
- ice-cream.
- David's smile.
- my friends and family (which includes my pets). 
- smelling my favorite Lush body lotion. 
- laughing out loud.
- Grumpy Cat. 
- seeing a rainbow.
- beautiful flowers, plants, trees.
- looking at old pictures.
- memories of my Mama. 
- when David tries to tickle me.
- taking a bath. 
- looking at my bookshelves.
- hot water bottles. 
- pancakes. Even when the first one I make always looks really terrible.
- dreaming.
- crafting.
- learning something new.
- cuddling with animals.
- doing something good. 
- making a difference.
- playing a board game.
- singing. Even when it sounds horrible. 
- being silly. 




What's on your happy-list? Have a wonderful week!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

My dream home.

Hallo meine Lieben,

it's time for this fun link-up again. I hope you are all having a wonderful week so far! 



you're meaghan me crazy

I am absolutely in love with this week's topic. I love to build and decorate my perfect house in my dreams. And I can't wait to see yours!


First of all, my dream house is totally unrealistic but that is how I would want to live if I could choose. You are allowed to dream, aren't you?
My house should look like this from the outside.


So basically. I want to live in an old castle with lots of space and nature around it for all the animals I want to rescue. I need space so I don't want any neighbors or roads around. The castle needs to have at least one huge tower because that is where I want to have my library. A ghost would be nice too. I mean, no old castle without a ghost.

This could be my dining room. 



It is hard to find pictures of room that look exactly how I want them too but you can't have everything. I would decorate my house with a mixture of new and antique things.

I also like how this room looks.


The most important room would be my library, located in the tower.


It needs a fireplace with an old and cozy armchair in front of it. And a globe bar is important. I have always dreamed of a bar like this.


My kitchen can be a little more modern. Something like the following one. But I would decorate it a little more. Maybe with some old coffee mills...stuff like that.


And I want a bath tub like this one. In the middle of the bathroom.


I would like to have a living room with wooden floors which I would decorate with some colorful rugs. I need to have a huge couch where I can relax in the evening. A wooden table would be great. And more book shelves. And of course a fireplace like the  one in the next picture. 


This looks nice. 


I would also like to find an antique sideboard like this one. 


And here is my office space.


I also need lots of space for animals, a room for David's music studio, maybe a home cinema. 
And last but not least, a bedroom like this one would be nice. I couldn't find anything that looks exactly what I want but I think I would be comfortable in this one.


I am a huge fan of these 50's tables.


Oh, and a wall like this would be awesome.


As I said, I need lots of space for the animals, indoor and outdoor. I want my cute little friend here to be able to live with me.


I could go on like this forever. It is so much fun to browse the internet and find some inspiration. I really hope that I can have something similar to this one day. As I said, you can dream.
I am sorry about the picture overload, I got a little obsessed.
I would also like to have a little creek that runs through my garden. I want lots of cozy pillows and beautiful colors in my house. I love wooden floors so that is a must. 
How does your dream house look like?
You can link up here.

Have a lovely Thursday!



Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Ten On Tuesday. Mean English expressions, chips for lunch and cancelled shows.

Hallo meine Lieben,

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and are doing fine! I am linking up with lovely Lin from  Linny's Vault for another Ten On Tuesday.



1. I hate the fact that they cancelled "Go On". I really really liked that show and I have no idea why they did not give it a chance. Seems like I have to start to watch Friends again. You can never get enough of that.



2. It sucks when funny Mother's Day videos make you cry in the end because you are not able to show them to your own Mom.

3. I tend to stress out really easily. So I think I should make a list of things that make me happy. And every time I stress out, I will look at that list, pick something from this list to do, look at, smell, think of, whatever. And hopefully it will make me feel better.

4. My mean English expression of the day is "grocery shopping". I hate to say the word "groceries" so I try to avoid it as much as I can. Instead I say that I need to go to the supermarket. Some words are just not made for Germans. 

5. I think it is a very German thing to end English sentences with "right?". Like "We will go grocery shopping later, right?". I am pretty sure nobody else does that, only Germans. I catch myself doing that a lot.  I think people will always be able to hear my German roots. 

6. It is so funny to see that so many people eat chips for lunch. I have never seen that in Germany.  It is totally normal for Americans but it always makes me laugh when David eats chips with his burger. For me, chips are an evening snack which I eat on my couch while watching a movie.


7. Well I guess it was weird for David when I told him to eat fried potato patties (in German Reibekuchen, in my dialect Grumperküchelcha) with apple sauce. 


8. I never check my Facebook feed. 

9. I am absolutely in the mood for some rhubarb pie. Rhabarberkuchen in German. I think I haven't eaten it for over 10 years. 

10. Grumpy Cat must have heard a really awful story. Kidney stones are horrible.



Monday, May 13, 2013

Evil Germans. A frogmunk and cute bunnies. Oh. And Happy Skunk Day!

Meine Lieben,

Happy National Skunk Day!!! Yay! How do you celebrate it? I think it is pretty funny that there is a skunk day. I have never heard about that before but I think that there should be a day for every animal! But in general I think that we should celebrate animals every day of the year. And I mean every animal. Not just the cute ones. Animals make me smile, they make me happy and they are such an important part of my life. So celebrate them!

                                                                    source.


A couple of days ago I went for a hike and I saw so many animals, it was awesome. First I saw a chipmunk and chipmunks are definitely under the top 10 of my favorite animals. I have never seen a chipmunk in Germany, I guess they don't live there. I need to do some research. But I see them all the time in America and I am so in love with them.

And then I saw a monster. I swear. Do you remember the weird animal Lilly and Marshall from How I Met Your Mother had in their apartment? The cockamouse?


And I swear I saw a frogmunk. It was a mix between a frog and a chipmunk. It had the shape of a chipmunk but no fur. It had the skin of a frog and a frog head. But it was fast like a chipmunk. I only saw it for a second, then it hid behind a tree, jumped and then it was gone. But it was a frogmunk. I discovered a new species and I could not be any prouder. 

I also saw a normal toad. And the best thing was that I saw a mother bunny with 3 baby bunnies. So cute. They just sat there but when I came closer they run away. I tried to convince them that I am a friend but they were too scared and I can understand them. 

The bad thing was that I forgot my camera at home. I was so mad at myself. And I am sure that David thought I was completely stupid and crazy but that's okay.


I guess they fell in love and had babies.  That's my only explanation.


I want to talk about a stereotype today.

My husband recently told me that he thinks that all Germans sound angry and evil. Nobody ever told me that before but it made me think. A lot. I mean, I live with that person and he thinks that I always sound mean and evil. That's terrible. 

So, am I really like that? How do I talk? How do Germans talk? Do Germans talk in a different way when they are in other countries? I was a little helpless because that was a little bit of a shock to me. 

I have to say that I do have a loud voice. I am not a quiet person at all. But I don't think that every German is like that. But I guess you can still be angry even when you don't talk in a loud voice. I don't know. I am so confused at the moment. 

I have thought about Germans in general. I have never felt like they sound mean, angry, evil or anything like that. What do you think? I mean, I have watched Germans on American television and they always sound nice. Michael Ballack for example. He is a former German soccer player and now the soccer expert at ESPN. His English is awful but he talks in a very calm voice and sounds like a nice person. A couple of weeks ago I have seen a documentary about people at death row in Texas. It was from a German guy and he interviewed inmates. And he sounds nice. Very nice. I mean, he talks to killers but sounds like the sweetest person on earth. So are there any Germans in America that sound mean? I really don't know. I can't think of anyone.

So is it me? It must be me. I mean, there must be a reason that my husband thinks that Germans sound mean. At least when they speak English. My voice is loud. And  yes, I am a very emotional person. I get even louder when something bothers me or when I am excited. Maybe that sounds mean? 

I admit that I scream at the TV when I watch soccer. Because I am excited. Or angry. But that doesn't mean that I always sound like that. 

So maybe the problem is that I always say what I think. I guess that's a German thing. I am always open about things and I tell people when something bothers me. Is that the problem here? Does that make me sound angry and evil? It's possible. I am used to behavior like that. My Dad and my friends always tell me when I do something stupid. Or when I say something that doesn't make sense. They tell me to shut up when I talk to much. They are always open and tell me how they feel about me. Even when it hurts. And I appreciate that. Because I always know what they think and that they don't tell me things just to make me happy. I know that Americans are always friendly and polite. So maybe it hurts them when you always say your honest opinion and don't care what people think about you. I really don't know. Do you guys have any ideas? Do you think Germans sound angry? I am thinking a lot about this topic and that's the only explanation I have. But it's possible that I am the problem. 



Sunday, May 12, 2013

Remembering my Mama.

Hallo meine Lieben,

I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday and a happy Mother's Day! I can barely believe that this is the 12th Mother's Day without my Mama. I really wish I could be with her right now. I miss her so much. 



She was the most wonderful person I could ever imagine. So loving and caring and funny and wonderful and beautiful. She was always there for me. And still is. Every time I need some advice I think of her. I wonder what she would do in my position. And that helps me a lot. 
She always helped other, no matter if human being or animal. She offered our house to so many animals in need. She helped people when they had problems. 
She definitely is my hero and will always be. 

I love you, Mama!

Please give your Mom's an extra huge hug today! Every day should be a Mother's Day. I think of my Mom every day and I wish I could tell her what she means to me. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Confessional - Tell a secret.

Hallo meine Lieben!
Happy Thursday!  Please link up here for another Random Thursday post with a fantastic topic.



It is time for some revelations. I am pretty excited to read the other girls' posts.



Secret #1.

When I was a kid I totally looked like a boy.
Must have been at the age of 7 or 8. I did not care for girly stuff like Barbie dolls etc. I played soccer, I loved to play in the mud and get dirty and I had a huge collection of toy cars.
Need proof? 
You can have proof. See here.




This picture was taken at a vacation to the North Sea. There was a group of boys that played soccer together every day. Only boys were allowed to play with them. So I told them that my name was Daniel (that was my parents' choice of a male baby name) and joined their team. They believed me. Even when I was wearing a pink shirt and red pants. My parents had to call me Daniel for the rest of the vacation.
True story. My Dad still loves to tell it and embarrass me. 

Secret #2.

It took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out what this sign exactly means. 



I mean, I knew what it stands for but I had no idea that "ped" means
"pedestrians" and how I am supposed to know that 'xing" means "crossing"? I am German! Come on!

Please, tell me your secret!
Have a wonderful day!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Ten On Tuesday. A happy bunny birthday, a guilty pleasure and some wise words.

Hallo meine Lieben,

happy Tuesday, everybody! I hope you are enjoying the day because it is a special one! But we will get to that. 
I am linking up with Lin for another Ten On Tuesday.



1. Happy bunny birthday! Today is Tiffie's fourth birthday! Yay! He is such a lovely little bunny and he and his buddy Findus (together with the cats for sure) make me happy every day! Tiffie, you rock! Alles Liebe zum Ehrentag! Ich lieb' Dich!


Love this picture of him! He is a very laid-back, sweet, cuddly, awesome bunny! 

2. This story of the rescue of a baby goose really warms my heart. It is good to hear some positive stories once in a while. There are too many horrible ones. 

3. I can't find my favorite pair of sunglasses anymore. And that drives me crazy. I know I did not lose them so they must be somewhere. I hate it when I can't find things. So I guess I will have to buy some new sunglasses because my eyes are very sensitive and always hurt when the sun shines (yeah, I know I sound like a wussy but it is how it is). 

4. I want  those.



5. Do you celebrate your pet's birthdays like human birthdays? I do. 

6. I feel the need to do a puzzle. I even downloaded a puzzle app for my iPad but it is not the same. I need at least 1500 pieces.

7. Tolstoy really was a smart man. Examples?




8. It is his birthday so I think Tiffie deserves another spot in my Ten On Tuesday. Also I think that it would be a crime not to share his cuteness. 
Can you find the cat in the picture?



9. My guilty pleasure "True Blood" will start again next month. I am a little excited but I already get annoyed when I think about Bill.

10.  I adore Grumpy Cat's wisdom.



Have a lovely Tuesday!