Thursday, November 29, 2007

Live well, laugh often, love much.

Over here in Germany, I've quickly learned how to "live well."
I didn't take much, just a trans-atlantic time difference, and some cultural things to acclimate to, but it wasn't that tough.
"Laughing often"... not so tough either, particularly when you've got friends who post photos like this for you to crack up over!


"Loving much..." hmmm...it's the one that gets me every time.
I do.
I love much, and sometimes I feel like I'm going to burst as consequence.
I love my family much.
I love my friends much.
I love my friends families much.
That's a whole lot of love.
And...with all the love of people and things, I had to post today that I just love this babyHe doesn't know me the way I'd like for him to-distance is a stink of a dictator...

He and his parents celebrated some pretty tremendous milestones last month.
They are fabulously terrific people who deserve a lifetime of loving this baby.
You know what, they get that, they get to live, love, and laugh with him.
They will get to live with him through his challenges and his triumphs.
They will get to love him when he is sleeping (no pun there La)looking and thinking "wow."
They will get to laugh in new discovery with him.
They get HIM.
And he...he gets them!

I don't know who to thank for their tremendous gift, all I can do is say thank you, and then send all my hugs and love long distance to the three of them.
Congratulations Angels!
"Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much!"

umarmen und lieben
E

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Best phone call-holy mess-answer to a prayer, maybe, yes!

Oh my heart!
I am a person who has met and made some wonderful, amazing, and simply fabulous friends.
I know how lucky I am.
Some people are fortunate enough to have one person to count on, I've got more than my fair share-I know how lucky I am.

I miss you girls...boy, do I miss you!
Our little posse of 12, we were great.

I know that getting to Rockfish was nothing short of a miracle, but what happened next...well, it was a once in a lifetime year.

This little video is for all of you...however...comma...you have pause the Crazy Dancing frog before you listen to Celine, because (like all the brainiacs in Room 13trying to turn ON the speaker phone,) I don't know how to make this work any other way!

BTW: Vaughn, Carter, PULEEZE-get your mess together and get on Skype so we can conference call with Rockfish!!

Mulvey, you can tease me for the Celine song later-remember, I've got your back WTF, OVER! And, for the record, I'm not taking the Crazy Frog off because Norah likes dancing to it, and what Norah likes, Norah gets!

(Besides, she's waking Skarie up at "o-dark-thirty" and they need something to keep the momentum going!)



umarmen und lieben,
Harrison
ps-Watkins, you are SOO SOO right...after the hour we were on the phone, Skarie's kids would have spent all that time coloring...hee hee!

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Holy Mess! We have internet!

wow-it feels like FOREVER since I was able to log on AT HOME!
Success in another area...I found my Kodak Easy Share disc!!
Pictures have been downloaded and voila! there will be photos for the whole wide world to view! (ps-remember some of us have been under the weather, so subjects may look like c.r.a.p. thank you!)
Still more success, as we have managed to purge our home of the nasty sickness that had contaminated our quarters for far too long...just in time for the Christmas Markts to begin, begin, BEGIN.

The tree is up, I'm finishing up our new stockings as we type, (the family stockings were left in the states, just in case)and I actually have some gift boxes ready to be mailed. Thanksgiving was nice, different, but pleasant. The weather cooperated and on Saturday we enjoyed a day pricing gifts for the kids on the Hauptstrasse. Merchants were putting up their holiday market cabin stalls, and roasted chestnuts were wafting through the air...it's definitely beginning to feel like Christmas.

ho ho ho,
umarmen und lieben,
essie

Friday, November 16, 2007

ugh

our internet is down.
i'm still sick.
i'm tired.
the library computer won't let me onto my flippen blog.
it's ticking me off.
ugh...

BUT

it's friday!
it's friday!
it's really, really friday!
(that's for Turnie...Rahn...Traci Cope...and a few others who i used to Happy Friday Dance my pants off with!)

umarmen und lieben
essie

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Is it just me?!

**disclaimer: I'm sick. Headache, body ache, entire face pains me when I sneeze, SICK. It's a long weekend and instead of doing anything fun, I've spent it inside, feeling like c-r-a-p! I'm grumpy and tired of my family, who can't do anything right around me. I need a 100% attitude adjustment and I know it-consider yourself warned and proceed with caution!**

Right now Team Leader and our neighbor are watching Green Street Hooligans...a movie that Elijah Woods made, I dunno why...he just did.

This movie is about British Football Gangs...the self proclaimed "Hooligans" who (for some cro-magnon reason) are SO devoted to their local football teams that they will actually KILL people over won and lost matches. While this is a fictitious account of a real situation, football gangs have been a thread woven into the fabric of hardcore sports fans for as long as I've been alive-forever for all I know. What I don't understand is why!

Why is a won or lost match worth beating someone into a pulp?
Why does society condone the behavior?
If it isn't being condoned, then why is it accepted?

And why do people need to make movies about this stuff, and sound over the beatings with beautiful local music, is it to make a dramatic point, or is it creative license?

Why do guys like watching this?! Honestly!!
It's shit. I HATE IT.
I hate thinking that people are so simple that they will live and DIE over a sporting match. Literally.

WTF!!!

No one can change my mind in thinking that if more women were in charge that the world mightn't be as violent...You can call me naive, but women make hard decisions every day, and if I hear ONE MORE TIME that a woman couldn't be president or hold high political office because she couldn't make the "hard calls" I WILL SCREAM!
It's a weak excuse that feeble minded pundits have declared to justify the political machines that send young soldiers into war again and again and again.

Yup. This is what happens when Team Leader puts a movie on that pisses me off.
I start out with a rant about the movie and suddenly I'm furious about the state of the world, and ready to imply that the state of the world rests squarely on the shoulders of all the dummies currently in charge (that would be the guys).

BTW, speaking of young soldiers, in our local newspaper there was a campaign for wounded soldiers and their haircuts. Specifically, if we (patrons at the commissary) purchased a brand name of products, the product company would donate a percentage of the product price to WOUNDED SOLDIERS WHO HAVE TO PAY FOR THEIR HAIRCUTS!
WHAT?!
Read this again: these soldiers have come back from war...they are wounded (any type of wounded, mind you)...and adding insult to injury HAVE TO PAY FOR HAIRCUTS!

Some of these kids are missing arms, legs, BOTH, some have traumatic brain injury-WHATEVER! The military is making them pay for their own haircuts?! Don't you think they have bigger things to worry about...like rehabilitation, perhaps? And how much would it cost the country to bone up for these required haircuts? (They are required, that was also mentioned in the campaign.) Honestly.

That, in my opinion, is more shit...so folks, I guess it is just me tonight...crazy, pissed off, annoyed, sick as a DOG, ME.

Next time, I'M picking the movie.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

It's a rainy day Wednesday in Heidelberg

just thought I'd post a little post...no startling insights today.
I spent a gaggle of geese sending two boxes to florida.
I really wish I could just send a gift card, but I can't...no, I can't.
I'm definitely a "presents are fabulous" kind of girl.
I love shopping for fun things that will make folks smile.
At least, I hope they smile, no one has ever told me they didn't like my gift choice-maybe people are too polite.
hmmm...
anyhoo, it's been fun "window" shopping, "actual" shopping, and "internet" shopping!
I got these http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=15897 for our dining room wall-a big boring wall that is about to be painted a soft shade of chocolate brown (oh yes it is!) that I hope will highlight the cards when they go up!


I'm DYING for all the Christmas Markts to start up...my ornament fetish is starting to show...and while I don't want to rush the holidays, (I really do want to linger and enjoy, really I do) there is something very familiar about the hustle and bustle holiday shopping creates.
hmmm...
looks like I did have something to say afterall :)

umarmen und lieben,
essie

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Happy 5th Birthday to the greatest Niece IN THE WORLD! We love you Ellie-Belle!


It feels like we've hardly been in Germany at all, but when I write it down "from August to November" I realize that we've actually been here now for 12 weeks!

WOW!

Halloween was fun; interesting and different, but fun nonetheless. We did miss our "usual crew" of partners in crime, be them in NC or VA, we thought and spoke of you all and hoped your night was fun-filled as well.
In Germany, we had: One MIA (missing in action) teenager, one CB (chasing boys) jester, and one Harry Potter from Task 1 of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. We also had two country-bumpkins and a candy passing Momma involved in our Halloween Adventure. Due to construction no one could door-to-door trick or treat at our house, so I brought our "Scarrisons" candy pail with us and gave candy out to all the little kiddos we saw. There was a Halloween Fest (Germans LOVE their fests, folks!)on Post which was nice, and WARM!

(Yup, it was chilly, no foolin'!)

At one point Team Leader looked at me and said
"Um...we're actually trick or treating in GERMANY!"

Crazy, and true, yes we are, honey!
Happy Fall, Ya'll!
umarmen und lieben!!
essie

ps-Biggest Hugs and payment help go to Vaughn who called me on my GERMAN CELL PHONE last night and had me crying happy friendship tears in the Rewe! (local grocery store, where Germans were staring at me like a crazy person!)This is SO not the cutest snap of us, but it is all I have! xoxoxoxox