A muffin recipe and a quote.  That's what I've got for you today.  

After seeing the 3D image of the baby yesterday, I can't help but wonder what she's going to look like!  She has lots of time to change over the next 11 weeks and still needs to gain all her baby fat, so her looks could change quite a bit from what we saw yesterday.

Anxious to meet her!

I arrived back from San Antonio yesterday and depart again for D.C. on Friday.  So I have to be fairly productive today as I get some work done and then get ready to turn around and leave again... whew!

We're starting to get a small amount of information about our upcoming move and starting to think through all the normal move-related issues (where will we ship our car from, when can we schedule movers, where we'll fly into and out of, amongst other things).  No breaking news or hard decisions yet, but it feels good to be taking steps towards the move.  

It hit me that we don't have much time left here, and already I'm feeling like the time we do have is getting filled up too quickly!  

I just have to remember that I'll probably be bored when I get to Germany right, and embrace the craziness here now?  That's what I'll tell myself anyways :)

I'll try to post, but it may be quiet again for the next couple of days.  

Have a great weekend!

Happy Monday!  Its a quiet morning here as I am getting into work while sipping my first cup of coffee.  

I stumbled upon this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt last night while wasting time on the internet, and thought I'd share:

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”


I thought it was a good thought to start the week with.  

On another note, we went to see Argo last night at the Mayan Theater in Denver.  The movie was wonderful, but it honestly left me feeling a little uptight.  There were a lot of things in that movie that reminded me of what it could have been like if things during our time in Kuwait had gone terribly wrong. Although I would consider Kuwait a very safe place to visit, there was that "what if" thought in the back of your mind... what would we do... where would we go... what would we bring.  This movie was a glimpse into the lives of people that lived it.  You should definitely check it out, if you have not already.

I feel like we have been really busy lately, but none of it's worth posting about!  We have company arriving tomorrow and I'm trying to muster up the energy to give the house a once-over.  I've been working quite a bit along with just day to day stuff around the house.  I'm also trying to get back into the swing of running (as I sit here in my running clothes, willing myself off the computer and out the door).

I've met with several people about photography and have a couple events setup in the next couple weeks, so I'm excited and a little nervous about that!  

Other than that, I've just been laying low.  The trips to Texas wear me out a bit, it seems.  I have trouble sleeping in new places so I come back exhausted.  I don't want to complain though because I'm lucky to have this opportunity!

All that to say that things are quiet over here :)  We have quite a bit planned for next week when Jason's friend Andy is in town.  We'll head to the mountains Tuesday & Wednesday, so I'll have plenty to post after that.  

Until then, have a great week!  

Yesterday consisted of me being lazy most of the day after working late the night before, and then finding the need to get out of the house right when it started to snow fairly hard.  Not my best idea, but I made it just fine, as I shopped in the snow.  I feel like this is retribution for sort of a lame winter.  Its supposed to continue to lightly snow through noon.  I wish it would snow harder now that I'm cozy in the house!

We finally got Rosetta Stone for German yesterday! We had been holding off on ordering it because its sooo expensive.  Jason was able to find a coupon though, through Facebook of all places, and decided to just go for it.  I did lesson 1 last night.  It seems cool.  I can't remember every word it showed me, but I trust that there's a method to their madness.  

Auf Weidersehen!

I hope you had a great weekend! 

Can a day be exhausting if you barely left your house (and don't have kids)?  I felt like yesterday was mentally exhausting.

An unexpected experience to do contract work for a former employer has shaken my quiet little bubble.  In just a few hours I had a job offer, a flight booked, and meetings scheduled.

It's a good opportunity because it will allow me to work from home and still explore other interests on the side.  However, I feel a little behind the curve, as I wrap my head around these recent changes and all they entail.  My daily schedules for the next couple months will be drastically different than I had originally thought!

Bringing in money is always good though.  Wish me luck!

Its hard not to go overboard trying to research and imagine what our life will be like in Germany.  What do we bring?  What do we need?  What should we stock up on?  What will fit in our new home?  What will our new home look like?  How many transformers will I have?  Can I use my vacuum?  Are my coats warm enough?  It can begin to spiral out of control quickly!

All purchases from this point on are made with these two things in mind: (1) Will we use it up before we leave?  (2) Can we ship it or pack it?

We do have the luxury of already having one international move under our belts, but I'm worried that the lessons we learned there won't apply to Germany.  There are hardly two more strikingly different places than Kuwait and Germany! 

I've tried to keep my mental and internet wanderings on this subject on a short leash, but I have found a couple good websites.  First, I have joined the expat blogging community (although its a little early, I know).  I should have done this while we were in Kuwait because I get the sense from the sheer volume of Germany blogs by Americans that this adventure I'm about to embark on is a well traveled one.  The Kuwait adventure though, I think, is really unique. 

Anyways, there are two links on the right side of my website that represent expat blogs.  If you're interested in reading about other blogger's experiences moving and living abroad, I welcome you to explore! 

I found this site, An American in Wiesbaden, recently and its wonderful.  I love hearing about the day to day trials that this girl has experienced, and seeing candid photos around Wiesbaden is awesome.  The above picture is from her recent post: Scenes from a Snowy Sunday. 

I especially love her posts about traveling around.  The thought of getting in the car and driving a couple of hours to France, Belgium, the Czech Republic or Switzerland are what my daydreams are made of!

Check out her blog, if you're interested in getting a sneak peak into what our world could be like in the next couple of years! 

Now that the holidays are over and everything is pretty much back to normal, I have to figure what my world is going to look like in the new year.  I'm now unemployed and am not sure what I want my next move to be.  After my last job didn't turn out the way I had hoped, I find myself a little frustrated and feeling like I need something to revitalize me.

While my epiphany awaits, I've signed myself up for some photography classes and am going to start exploring other areas of interest.  I'm trying to enjoy the time off while I can and am making some headway on the little things I never have time for (I've had two successful attempts at curling my hair, I've been going on runs every other day, we joined costco and I'm avidly working on my talent for cooking on a budget, and although I haven't started organizing - I've got a great start on a to do list :)

I love and am passionate about design, but I just need to find another forum to practice it in that is more fun and rewarding!

So here's to a new year of adventures and discoveries!