Favorite Memories of 2010 Trip to Germany

It has only taken me 5 months to post this trip, but you would not believe how many pictures I took on this trip. I cut down to the bare minimum of this trip. My Iphone was even more pictures on it. It was an amazing experience to go and spend the time with my sister and her cute family. My four nephews were a blast to be with. It was cold, it was dark some days and the sun came out only for moments, but with it being one of the worst winters in 20 years it was still worth making the trip. I am so glad I went and so thankful for the time.

Water tower of Mannheim -is water tower, the town's landmark, is completed in 1889.

I just plain love these decorations people had outside and had to take pictures so I could make similar ones this Christmas.

I was able to spend some time with a mission companion who was living in Heidelberg.

Holocaust Memorial -it's a see-through cube with the names of Jewish citizens of Mannheim in the 1930s.

I love a good farmers market and of course we went all the time. This one was in downtown Mannheim.

This is the Witches prison. Still standing in between the houses.

I just fell in love with this yellow house and it's doorway.

The Cathedrals have the most amazing stain glass windows.

We were able to go to France and do some shopping, I love the pastry shops and I picked up some french pottery as well.

T is loving his homework.

Don't you just love the Disco Lion. He is awesome.

So Chris and I were able to take a half day just the two of us and we went to the Bath house in Baden Baden. What an experience it will be a memory that I would only do with Chris.

It was a wonderful trip 7 weeks in Germany with my family. Thank you Adam for the opportunity. Thank you American Airlines for the miles.

Rice Bag Foot Warmer

I just had to blog my project today. The crafty bug has hit me once again and my creative insides are flowing. If feels good to be back and feeling it again. So I have been finding some awesome blogs out there to help me get my ideas of projects to work on. This one has been in the back of my mind since my trip to Utah in March. I stayed with my friend Julie for a week and one night to my surprise I found the foot of my bed warm and cozy. I reached down by my feet and pulled out a pillow that was heated. I slept really well those nights and thought to myself I need to get one of these. So after doing some research I decided to try and make one myself. So I went to the fabric store, picked up some muslin and made a bag of rice. Then I found this cute material in the scrape section to make the slip cover. I really like the idea that my slip cover is washable. Well here you have it, if I can make one of these, anyone can do it. I had more trouble trying to remember how to thread the bobbin then making this.

Lunch Cruise on the Potomac River

What a great adventure on Saturday June 5, 2010 Adam and I went for a lunch cruise on the Potomac River. His company had a employee appreciation lunch and rented out the whole boat. It was a blast.

We are at the dock getting ready to board the Spirit of Washington.

You can see the Washington Monument from our boat.

What a perfect day!

Trip to Germany

Better late then never. It took awhile as there was a problem downloading all my pictures from my fantastic trip to Mannheim, Germany. I flew out on December 30, 2009 and was planed to return six weeks later but luck had it that my trip was extended due to a storm that hit the east coast and so my trip was for seven weeks. Lucky for me I was able to use miles that we had on American Airlines to make the trip.

I arrivedin Frankfurt, Germany where I found my sister in her mini van outside of baggage claim waiting for me. There inside the mini van I was able to meet my nephew Oliver for the first time. He looked at me with his big blue eyes not too sure if I was OK or not? He looked at his brother Foster and then at his Mommy wondering why they were so happy to see me and who I was. Soon after when Oli was feed with chicken nuggets his heart melted and he became my buddy from then on. I found the way to Oli's heart is through his stomach. He has the true "Palmer" in him.
So our adventures begins. Being able to be with my sister and her family was a wonderful experience. I had not seen them in almost two years. It was a treat to be able to go visit them in Germany and live with them while being a local and a tourist. After a few days of jet lag I was finally able to get out and feel human again. Our first adventure was with my nephew Talbert and his school class. Chris and I went with the class to go see an exhibit of Alexander the Great at a museum in Mannheim. It was a fanstactic exhibit.
This is a picture of the kids in our group. After the museum we went to a all you can eat Chinese restaurant. Which was a great idea with all these kids. They had some of the best gelato that I have ever eaten here. We almost didn't see it. But the kids made sure we found it.

My sister and I, we are so happy to be together.

Recap of the end of 2009

I think Adam and I are adjusting quite nicely in our new place and in our new state. The nice part about living back east is being closer to Adam's side of the family. We have been taking advantage of that the past few holidays. For Thanksgiving, Adam and I packed up the car with the dogs and headed to Diana's place in the state of New York. Diana just bought her first home this past spring and it was so nice to go and visit her and our nephew. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with them and took a quick day trip of to Niagara Falls. Unfortunately we didn't bring our passports so we were only able to stay on the US side of the falls. We did however catch a bite to eat at Hard Rock cafe. We are defiantly going back to the falls and visiting our family there.

Christmas has come and gone and with that was our family traditions. I ordered my supplies and had them delivered to our new place. I did attempt to make the Palmer traditional chocolates. One batch went to sugar and the rest turned into a creamy wonder. It was my first time making these at sea level and I have to say I did learn allot about doing it. The weather did affect the process of making them. But we did what we do, box them up and give them to friends. Being new to the area I was surprised how long our list was. As we had to give to all those people who welcomed us into the area. I could not afford to ship them this year as with all our friend back in CO, UT, CA so the only thing I can say about that. You need to come visit us during the holidays to get a box.

Before I knew it my house was full of people. It was great to have Diana, Alex and Adam's parents come for the week of Christmas. But before they arrived we had a huge snow storm that shut down the city a few days. We got 20 inches of snow. That may not sound like allot, but for where we are living, it is. There is just no where to put it and the city just can't keep up with that kind of snow. The week with family allowed us to go see some fun things in Downtown DC, and allowed us to learn the Metro system more.

As for New Years, I said goodbye to my sweetheart and got on a plane a few days before and flew to Germany. I rang in the new year with my sister's family. I am loving being here with her and her family. I miss my nephews and now have the joy of them for a little while. I have already enjoyed lots of yummy things here that I have been missing over the years. My german is very rusty and it will take some time to get used to hearing it when we are out on the economy.

Happy New Year

It's official 2010 has arrived. I would like to welcome the new year and all that it will bring.

I love thinking about the possibilities of a new year. It feels like a fresh start, full of hope and opportunity to make changes. But then a smart friend of mine posted this on Facebook and it got me thinking about her wise words.

"Every day is the start of a new year. There is no sense in waiting til midnight tonight to make positive changes when every day is an opportunity."

So why do I feel like January 1st is a fresh start. I guess it is because I look forward to the unknown. A full year of things that will happen unexpectedly in my life, the twist and turns that build who I am and make me stronger. I think 2010 will be a year of hope and miracles. I think no matter what comes our way, we will be where we need to be and doing what we are suppose to be doing.

2010 Bring it on!

Cake Decorating in August 2009

Better late then never to get these pictures up. I am still obsessed with cupcakes and with cake decorating. I took a class with some friend this past August. With the move across country and all the craziness that has been going on I am just getting these pictures up of the class I took. It was allot of fun and a very entertaining class with my buddies Julie and Britney in the class with me. This is from our very first class together. Our project was to make a round cake and bring to class frosted blue. Then we were to learn how to put the rainbow on the cake. It was pure craziness trying to get the cakes completed in the allotted time. We did it and our results are below. Next year when things settle down, I plan to continue through the rest of the courses.

A Wonderful Surprise!

I have a super husband and wanted to share how great he is. A few weeks ago I sat down with him and expressed my feelings about not working. I love not working, that is not the issue, but the first time in my married life I am not working, which means I am not bringing in any money for me to play with. Let me explain. I work, I pay bills and then I pull some money away and put it into a nest egg is what I like to call it.
Years ago my mother told me that every woman should have money set aside for an emergency a "nest egg". For who knows what life will bring. After that I decided I would have money put away and it would be there for those moments like, tires, a trip or just because I wanted a massage or my hair done. Since the move my little nest egg was exhausted for moving. I am not working so where will the money come to put back into my nest egg?
I expressed my feelings to Adam and he listened and we talked about options. Later that week he shows up one night with a dozen red roses and a card. Oh what a surprise to see him with roses. I read the card and it is very special and probably one of the best cards he has picked out. I open the card and money falls out. Yes he did hear me and there was a little money to put back into my nest egg. I had tears in my eyes as I thanked him and kissed him for listening to my feelings and understanding me. I am so glad that I married my best friend, and so thankful for his kind heart.

Tonight he surprised me with a box of See's chocolates. I was shocked, I asked him what the occasion was? He just smiled and said "I love you." I saw the store and thought of you and knew you would love these. So I just stopped and picked them up.

Thank you sweetheart!