We're in Europe? Really?

Well I guess I won't be going to Egypt anytime soon. That's a real bummer, it was on my must see list. But no need to worry, that list is VERY long, and I think I'll have enuf other places to visit to keep me busy until Egypt settles down. But I'm telling you, I will get to take a river cruise down the Nile before we leave, I just know I will!

So I can't seem to buy the right amount of milk for my family. The J man eats cereal every morning ( I mean we could be in the middle of WWIII and he'd be eating his cereal every morning the moment his feet hit the floor!) I try to make sure the girls get a dairy serving for each meal...which sometimes includes milk but other times it's cheese, yogurt, etc. Sometimes what I'm cooking includes milk as an ingredient. But my point here is really that I'm either out of milk, or we can't drink it fast enuf for it not to spoil! I have tried to buy the same amount over and over, but it either spoils or I run out. Then I'll only buy 1 liter and it seems like I'm stopping for milk every other day! There is no easy solution, I have just resigned to the fact that I'll just have to stop and get milk more times than any other grocery item. I wish they had a milk man!

And the last thing on my mind is the Euro exchange. The J man is freaking out about buying anything on the economy because the dollar is down. Now, I might try to do more weekly grocery shopping at the commissary, but I'm not gonna kill myself in the process. I get things where I am when I happen to need them. Not to mention that there are alot of foods out there I haven't tried yet, the Eisman delivers, I need to find a milche (milk) man, and basically I want to buy European things while I'm in Europe!

I'm always saying we have to do as much as possible since we're here, and the J man always says "that's not true, we'll come back". Yeah right! I can't even get him to go on a trip in the states! He's really good at lying to himself, because he actually believes it!

Psssstt!

Pssstt...The Eismann is coming to my house Friday yeah! More to come on that subject after it happens.

F.Y.I....you can NOT leave, slightly freezer burnt, chicken drowned in Alfredo sauce in a 100C oven for 11 hours. You will come home to very shriveled and burnt pieces of something that doesn't even resemble chicken any more. Then to top it off, you will have to come up with something that cooks in 15 minutes or less so that you don't have to go out to eat.

NOT go out to eat you say!?! Need I remind you that I live in Germany where going out to eat is an event to be savored for an hour or two? Even though it's after 6:30pm when you get there, and your youngest child goes to bed at 7pm, it does not matter! No worries (said with a German accent) you will get home when you get home!

I was bummed to find out today that I missed a chance to see an old friend. He was less than 1/2 mile from me and I didn't know it. I know I'll get to see Gumby eventually though, at least I hope so! I mean, to know someone who lives 2 hrs away in a foreign land and not get a chance to connect would be crazy sad!

New German word - Bussi - German slang for a kiss - meant to make someone feel better when injured. It's mostly used to comfort children and is generally seen as a childish/immature word. "aww would you like a bussi to make it feel better?" See, childish and immature, right up my alley! It helps that I say the example sentence at least 10X's a month!

And my parting thought for you this evening? I don't know which person in the picture I'd rather be; the unshaven guy with a growth on his cheek or the elderly, older, oh crap I'm screwed, decent looking woman with bifocals having to have the creepy guy invade her personal space?

EISMANN!!!

I have found the Schwann man...German style!

"It all started one snowy day in December...."

I had a day off during the week in December once, and then mother nature decided I should not be permitted to have time alone in my own house so she created a snow day. There we were, Sweet Pea, Corn Niblet and myself cuddled together singing cumbaya (read as: I was trying to check FB, the TV was on, Sweet Pea was whining about not having pancakes for breakfast and Corn Niblet had no house shoes or robe on and had YET to respond to my 25th request for her to go get them) when the doorbell rang. Nobody moved, we looked at each other and said "was that the door bell?"

You see, no one comes to our house, our doorbell never rings unless it's the J man coming home from work or the girls have been outside playing and need back in the house. In my mind, I was quickly counting that we were all here, and then wondering why the J man would be coming home so quickly from work.

I opened the door to a teenager, asking me something (who knows what it was, I could barely register that it wasn't the J man, a wrong number, or the babysitters coming to save my day or offer to shovel snow) and then looking at me expectantly. I tried desperately to gleam on to anything I might be able to translate into some sense, but failed miserably and finally said the standard "sprechen eine English?". To which she replied the standard "a little".

Now, for some reason Germans think that saying they speak only a little English is something they have to say. Although it has been my experience that after they say this, they go on to lament in precise detail about the subject in question with perfect English and almost no accent at all. This is in stark contrast to me, when I say I speak a little (German, Spanish, French, whatever) I mean a little. As in -- I can throw in a word or two of German in my basically English sentence while I suddenly develop a European accent.

Well back to the story, she was the niece of the Eismann or something like that, and was handing out catalogues and getting the homeowner information. I jumped at the chance....a dream come true on a snow day....delivery of food! Now there is no need to go out at all when it snows, now all I have to do now is quit work!

We chatted a bit, her grandma makes this item # better but she loves this item # and can't tell her grandma that she doesn't like hers. We were very excited about the German ice cream being delivered, but of course this girl said that the ice cream store at the base (I won't mention it by name but it rhymes with Taskin Fobbins) has the best ice cream in the world! Really? Taskin Fobbins is what we're showing as our best? How embarrassing!

My cell phone rings a few days later with a number I didn't recognize. Yeah a call! Low and behold it's the Eismann asking if I have an order for him!! Well I had to say no, because what with the holidays I was a bit overwhelmed with life. He offered to call back after the new year.

Cut to Friday evening.........ring loud generic music,,,,

Yeah a Call!

Him: "blah blah blah"
Me: "scusa?" (because when I don't know the German word I substitute any Europeanlanguage I DO know. I use the Italian scusa for excuse ALL the time here! I also will use the french accented pardon depending on what comes out automatically)
Him: "is blah blah there?"
Me: "nine" (see here I do use German for no! I must sound BRILLIANT to people that call me!)
Him: "this is not Mrs. Siville?"
Me: "OOOooohhhhh! Yeah, ah Ja!" (once again I must sound BRILLIANT to people that call me here!)
Him: "blah blah Eismann. Do you have any order tonite?"
Me: really embarrassed sounding "OH, I haven't had a chance to look at the catalogue yet really, I can get it now, just a min...opps...(crash)...oh darn it...wait, yes, yes here it is!"
Him: "I can call you another time. Monday maybe? Is 6 a good time?"
Me: "Yes, yes, that is good. I promise I will look at it now, and I will be ready for your next call"
Him: "no problem, it is my job. I will call you Monday then. Thank you, bye"
Me: "Danke, Tschüs" (Now this part of the conversation I am sure of!)

So, I sat down and circled an ice cream choice, a fish choice, a potato (hopefully a good tater tot substitute for the J man) choice, and an apple dessert choice. There is alot Sweet Pea and I wanted to try - although she was pointing to everything we already knew what it was; like chicken wings, and chicken strips while I was trying to figure out what gooey stuff they could have put into some kind of meat lump?- But I only have 4 tiny drawers in my freezer so I have to try it all slowly.

Any way, I get the feeling he's gonna be calling me alot and I have to know what to say this time! I plan on getting to that gooey filled meat lump, but I need to start with things my family will like. Begin on a successful note, and then slowly deteriorate into the gooey meat lumps and the soup that looks like an eyeball may float up anytime.

I AM NOT WHINING! WWHHHYYYYEEEE ME?

New Year's Eve, my children had a party to go to....their parents? Nope, Nada, Nothing, no place to go! But I felt very nauseated, and didn't eat very much at dinner. Then the J man and I came home and I crawled up on the couch to veg in front of the movies I rented. We ended up going to bed at 11pm, I know, it is so completely sad that it's embarrassing to even type!

But there was something cool....an hour later we woke to the church bells going off and fireworks. Not the little measily Californians are rather idiotic and will burn the whole entire dry state up illegal type either. These were the go to a 4th of July city celebration type of fireworks! We live on the top of a little hill and we were surrounded by them. Every window we looked out had fireworks everywhere! The J man felt like he was in Bagdad, he was ready to duck and cover at a moments notice! It was really neet. They went on for a good 30minutes, accompanied by the church bells the whole time! It was really neet. Next year we're having a party so I can set them off! Nothing excites me like playing with dangerous things that are fire related!! So if ur in Germany, come ring in 2012 with me!


But anyway...it was all my fault we didn't do anything exciting on New Year's Eve and New Year's day. But then the J man and Corn Niblet got my semi-flu symptoms too and they understood. But alas....I came home last night to get hit by the same thing!! So tonite I still have a headache and am trying to fight off the Nyquil sleepiness long enuf to finish the post.

zzzzz

Must call people...really want to talk...in 5 minZZZzzzzz

The time difference!!! I tell you, it's killing me. Have you ever tried to connect with people, on a regular basis, who are living 9 hours behind you? It sucks, and I don't do it very well. GASP! I KNOW! Something I don't do very well and have the courage to broadcast it over the net for millions... hundreds... lots... four people to read!

I always have great intentions, I wake up wishing I had time to talk to people in Calif., Illinois, Ohio in the morning. But alas, I barely have time to get myself and the kids together to make it to the bus and work on time. Unfortunately there are many more days than I care to admit when we don't make either of those very important time requirements. (I mean really, who decided the day should start so damned early anyway?? Crazy. I protested but no one -besides Hawaii- listened to me.)

I think about so many people and so many things I want to tell them. All throughout the day I wish I could pick up my cell phone and ring you all. I could do that, if we had gotten the 'free calls to the USA plan' on the cell phone for an additional 25€. But the J man and myself, in our infinate wisdom, waited to get that plan on our home phone at no additional cost. We also were incrediblly zuper (because we're in Germany it's zuper not super) smart and chose not to add internet to the cell phone. Which we quickly found the error of our ways when we were looking for houses without any kind of satalite intervention at all..that's a completely seperate post, in fact I think it is somewhere near the begining of my blog! But of couse we still don't pay for internet availability on my phone. Psst...we're slow learners, and I use the term "we" loosely here!

Then the evening routine kicks in....all you out there with children know this by heart:

come home from school (and/or after school activities),
do homework and review it while making dinner,
eat, drink and be merry
then supervise bath time and dessert comsuption,
get 15 minutes of free time (if ur lucky) after cleaning up from dinner,
and then do the bedtime up down and sideways dance.

By 9pm I am thinking of calling people but I still have hope to get in a little laundry, facebook, picking up and next day prep work. By 10 or 10:30 I try to will myself to get up and go to the phone.

But, here it is, the last hurdle, the one I so rarely get over. The only phone in the house is a small corded phone, teethered 12" from the wall in a corner of the kitchen 2 feet from the nearest chair.

See????? So now you can plainly see that it's not that I don't love you.

.....it's that I don't love you enough to stand in the corner of the kitchen for 30 minutes or so at 11pm at night!

There, now don't you feel better??