Pictures from Mannheim Germany Friday September 4, 2009

Wurzberg, Germany Slideshow!

Wurzberg Germany and the flight over...

I recently had the opporunity to travel to Germany to visit my younger brother. I flew out of Salt Lake City on Wednesday September 2nd. The flight from SLC to NYC (JFK) was smooth and relaxing, I had the time to read a Mary Higgins Clark book. On the flight from NYC to Frankfurt was a different story. I had taken some dramamine, the drowsy kind, with me so that I could sleep on the 8 hour flight, knowing that I would not sleep when I arrived in Germany. So after dinner on the flight I took my dramamine and put the headphones to sleep. Not ever 20 minutes later we hit turbulance, and not minor turbulance. The plane all of a sudden took about a 45 degree dive to the left. Had I not had my seatbelt on I would have been ended up in another seat. The pilot immediately came on the intercom and told everyone to sit down and buckle up. I honestly thought we were going down. I began the "death bed" repentance and began being very grateful that I knew how to swim and that my seat cushion was a floatation device because we were over the Atlantic. The turbulance went on for about an hour and half...so much for sleeping. I arrived in Frankfurt at 9:00 AM, after 18 hours spent in airports and in the air! It was all worth it. After picking up my luggage, and meeting my brother, we were off to Wurzberg (I didn't even get to shower, oh well. My brother took me to see the Bishops Residenz, what a gorgeous building. We took a tour of it and then walked around the gardens. We also walked thru the town and ate at an absolutely darling and tasty cafe. I learned that a Diet Coke is a cola light... ina cola light grosse is a large diet coke... That phrase came in handy. It was strange to me because I would hear the german and not understand, but I would think in spanish... It was great going out for meals there, because you were never rushed thru a meal. I loved that. We headed back to Mannheim that evening, just in time for a bit of rush hour. I was exhausted but so glad to be visiting my brother. It was great and smart for my brother to not let me sleep. It helped with the jet lag and sleeping amazingly well that first night.

My brother's apartment is great. I was amazed to learn that when you move into an apartment there it is an empty shell. When my brother moved in he had to put in all of the light fixtures, the kitchen cupboards and everything. There was nothing there. Literally when you move out you take everything with you including the kitchen sink...

Emjoy the picutures... more stories to come...

What a weekend, Friday First...

So this is going to be a multiple post, the weekend was jammed pack with fun that must be shared!

I had to opportunity to spend some time with my dear friend Katie Cooper Christensen this weekend. Katie and I have known each other for 13 years now. Her sister and I were college roomies and she would come and hang with us on the weekends! Ahh the memeories of the 90's... :)

So Katie came up this weekend and I had the opportunity to meet her little one, Cooper, who will be 3 in a few months. What an absolute doll. Katie, Cooper and I met up with Jill and Lucy at the Aquarium in Sandy. It was great, none of us had ever been there. So Cooper was a bit shy at first, he didn't understand that the fish were behind glass and not able to 'get' him. Finally he starts to feel safe and he gets down by the Sting Ray's, where you can pet them. He is doing great, until the shark tank... dun dun dun... I am holding him and a shark swims past the glass and he is fine, all of a sudden a shark swims right up against the glass with it's mouth right there by Cooper's sweet little face. That starts it all, the scream and the tears.. The 3 adults think it is so cute and funny, so Katie pulls out the camera and starts taking pictures... He eventually calms down, but will no longer walk nor let go of Katie... Too cute.

After we dropped Cooper off with his dad, Katie and I headed to the apartment, then off to dinner at TGI Friday's, the steak was fantastic!!! Then home to watch a movie, you know it was a musical! Mamma Mia! I must admit it was nice to not watch the musical by myself! Someone else was there to sing with me! Wahoo, Thanks Katie!

While deciding where to eat, I sent a text to my dear friend Kevin, who works at a restaurant, to see if he was working... He wasn't :(, but in the conversation he asked if I would be interested in taking a ballroom class with him... Hello, of course I would, I have been trying to take a ballroom class for several years, but couldn't ever comvince anyone to be my partner to take it with me... problem solved, Kevie and I are going to take a class! Wahoo. I haven't taken a ballroom class since my sophomore year of college. Can't wait to work and improve the skills!

Been awhile

The count down has started. I am just about to head to Europe in 3 and a half weeks! I am beyond excited to see a continent I have never been to and to spend time with my brother. So I will post after the trip with los of pictures.

On top of going to Europe, I recently received great news from my dear friend Katie Cooper Christensen! Katie is coming to visit me next weekend. I am so excited to have company.

I also had the opportunity to be reminded how amazing my friends are. So to my dear Friends, Thank you so much for your love and support over this last week and especically these last 2 days! I truly appreciate you and all you do for me.

I also had a nice experience last Sunday Morning... I woke up, headed out to my kitchen, only to step into a puddle of water. I first thought is was my dishwasher leaking, until I opened the door to my laundry room, which also had a bit of water on the floor. So I found the leak, got the hot water shut off, as that is where the leak was, dried off the floor, pulled the washer out and there it was... Mold growing on my wall. Apparently the leak had been leaking for quite some time. I assume for about 3 months as that is when I got my washer and dryer. However Saturday evening was the first time I had ever washed anything in HOT, hence the larger leak. I placed a call to my apartment office to cleam up the mold. After all, before we can use our washer the maintenence staff must check all connections.. Apparently they didn't check them well enough. At least they have now taken care of it. Ironically over the last little while I had noticed a smell in my apartment, so I would take out the garbage, put orange peels down my garbage disposal, trying to decide what the smell was. Well now I know...it was mold. I am glad that I knew how to shut off the water and glad I have tools to do so...

So that is the adventure of the week. I am looking forward to a quiet weekend.

A Carrot, An Egg and a Cup of Coffee

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil;without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl . Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft.. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak The egg had been fragile.Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the neat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity?

Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

Nails in the Fence

NAIL IN THE FENCE

Make sure you read all the way down to the last sentence.

(Most importantly the last sentence)

There once was a little boy who had a bad
temper . His Father gave him a bag of nails
and told him that every time he lost his
temper , he must hammer a nail into the back
of the fence. The first day the boy had
driven 37 nails into the fence Over the next
next few weeks, as he learned to control his
anger, the number of nails hammered daily
gradually dwindled down. He discovered
it was easier to hold his temper than to
drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't
lose his temper at all. He told his father
about it and the father suggested that the
boy now pull out one nail for each day that
he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally
able to tell his father that all the nails
were gone. The father took his son by the
hand and led him to the fence He said, 'You
have done well, my son, but look at the
holes in the fence. The fence will never be
the same. When you say things in anger,
they leave a scar just like this one. You
can put a knife in a man and draw it out.
It won't matter how many times you say I'm
sorry , the wound is still there. ' A verbal
wound is as bad as a physical one.

Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They
make you smile and encourage you to succeed.
They lend an ear, they share words of praise
and they always want to open their hearts to us.'

YOU ARE MY FRIEND AND I AM HONORED!

Please forgive me if I have ever left a hole in your fence.