[Halloween] Day Trip Nummer Drei - Mainz, Germany

Guys, I met up with someone that I met on the internet in real life. And then... we took a day trip to Mainz! First of all, if you hadn't already figured out, I live in Germany, which makes taking day trips to really cool cities a pretty easy thing to do. So imagine my excitement when I found another young/married/American/blogger living in Frankfurt (about 45 minutes away by train). Can't imagine? I'm gonna tell you - I was freaking excited. Hubby and I like having friends, and it's even better when a)Hubby can speak their language and b)They're about our age!

So. Daryl and I met up at church on Sunday (turns out we're both Mormon, too. Crazy, right?!), and immediately started making wacky plans (she's a planner). Long story short, we ended up deciding at about 10 pm last night that she, Hubby, and I should spend today in Mainz (her husband had to work - darn!). It was a blast! This girl is too fun, and absolutely adorable - I'm loving her outfit!

 Yes, I always have to have a jumping picture. It's my "thing."

 Super adorable, right?! I know. 

 Hubby, always with the "smolder."

Kissy kiss! 

So, that's how we spent our Halloween. It's just not a big deal here in Germany. 

Happy Halloweener, people! 

Sunday Confessions

It's time for my weekly confessions, and I have to be honest here - I just don't think I've got any really great ones for you, but I'll do my best.
1. I hate showering. There, I admitted it to the world. Seriously, though. I feel like it takes too much time. Don't worry, I still shower every day, I just grumble about it. I wish I could be squeaky clean without having to waste time in the shower. Besides, getting out of a steamy shower and stepping into a freezing bathroom is the. worst. 

2. I hate asking for help. I don't like asking for help when I don't understand something, because it's really frustrating to me. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and feeling incapable makes me feel weak. I also don't like asking for help when it comes to things like rides. I don't like having to depend on others, and I feel guilty that they have to take time out of their schedule to help me. I do, however, like helping other people. I love the feeling it gives me. I guess I just need to learn how to humble myself and accept help from others. 

3. I love Germany, and don't know if I can handle going back home to America for what may end up being forever. Yes, I get homesick. Yes, I miss my family. But there is something about this country that keeps bringing me back. It captured my heart at the tender age of 5, and has had a tight grip on it ever since. I love the language, the culture, the food, the people, the history, the architecture - just everything. I'm constantly thinking about the fact that someday I'll have to leave, and that breaks my heart. I know there's got to be a reason for my ridiculous love of this place, but I have yet to find it, and time is constantly leaving me. 

[credit]

So... that's it. Sorry there weren't more. These were kind of long, though, so I think it makes up for it. And to leave you.... A picture of my adorable nephew. I know, I'm biased... but isn't he cute? 

I think he was a dog? Idk. I think he looks sort of like a gremlin. Either way he's adorable. 

Happy Halloweener, friends!! 

It's a great day to....

1. Be a Husker. I mean, come on. Did you guys see that domination against Michigan State today? No? Well, go read about it here. It was great. Rex Burkhead wins MVP for today's game.

2. Lounge around. What else do people do on Saturdays? Be productive? Psh. Not us. We lounge, because that's just how awesome we are. Yes, we woke up at 1:30. No, we don't care that Germans are crazy and wake up at 6 a.m. even on Saturdays. We aren't German, we are lazy Americans. Ha!

3. Learn something new. Okay, so every day is a great day to learn something new, but today is an especially great day. What did I learn? I learned how to tell if my eggs are done being boiled (don't make fun of me, I've never boiled eggs before). It's the spinny trick! Here, I'll show you!

4. Be somewhere where it feels like fall. Okay, so I realize this just may not be possible for all of you, but it definitely feels like fall here in good ole Deutschland, and I'm lovin' it! The leaves are beautiful, the air is crisp, and every day is gorgeous!

[This photo is actually a park in Frankfurt, but... that's not far away, so it still counts. Credit]

5. Spend some quality time with family. Hubby and I spent the whole day together, with a no computer rule (except for watching the game - that's definitely allowed, and was considered part of our quality "together" time). It was great, and I'm gonna be mushy for a second and say this - I freaking love that guy. He's awesome, and I'm glad I married him and get to be with him forever. [Yes, Hubby is trying to do homework, so when I barged over there to get him to take this picture with me, he was a little annoyed at first, but then willingly complied.]

Saturdays Rock. 

Happy weekend, everyone! 

Favorite Things Friday

Phew. Made it through another week. I almost thought I wouldn't survive for a while. Anyway, it's time for a few of my favorite things.

1. The German-American Mind Meld that is currently going on in my brain. I actually have a love-hate relationship with this, because oftentimes it leaves me looking like a speechless weirdo no matter which language I'm speaking. When I'm wanting to speak English, it seems like I can only think in German and vice versa. Either way, I love that this is happening, because it's a part of being fluent, and that means I'm almost there.

 2. Teaching. Yes, this is a favorite. Even when I have a crappy day and students are a royal pain in the butt, I love it. I love that they listen when I talk, I love that I'm getting to share my knowledge with them, and provide them with valuable language skills. I love that I get to be at the front of a classroom tellin' it like it is.

3. Savage Garden. Old school, right?! But who doesn't love this song?

4. Friends. Yes. My friends are my favorite. Especially all of the new friends that I'm making on this here bloggy-blog! You guys are all awesome, and I love finding all of the new exciting blogs. Anyway, I've been kind of homesick over the past month, and this girl (mah bestest fran) has always been just a Skype call away, and she's so supportive, and the best friend a girl could have.

5. Ronan Keating. Seriously, why have I never heard of this guy. I actually came across him just a second ago and thought he was blog worthy. You're welcome. Ha. 

What are your favorite things? 

Happy FRIDAY, people!!!! 

As Per Your Request - Instructions/Tutorial

Okay, peeps! I've had a few people who were curious about the no heat headband curls that I talked about here. Because of that, I've decided to just make my own tutorial video (which is now a work in progress - I'll finish it in the morning when I wake up, and post it tomorrow) and write up some step by step instructions for those of you who want to try it tonight. [Please excuse the awful pics, they're screenshots from the video.

Instructions:
1. After showering and towel-drying your hair, gather the following: a headband, anti-frizz serum, and hairspray.
2. Part your hair where you normally do when you wear it down.
3. Put the headband on "hippy style."

4. Apply anti-frizz serum to the ends of your hair.
5. Take a section at the front of your hair, and wrap it around the headband.

6. Continue to do this with equal-sized sections of hair until you have one last section at the back of your head. Take that section and wrap it around the headband as many times as you can. [Ewww... My arm looks like someone else's! Weird.]

7. Tuck everything into the headband. No strays!

8. Spray your hair with hairspray, and get some beauty sleep!
9. When your hair is completely dry in the morning, gently pull the headband away from your head while unrolling the hair. If all is well, your curls should look like this (old pic, sorry... can't go into the future!):

Edit!!! HERE'S THE VIDEO! 

Thursday Scenery

Hokay, so. I have absolutely nothing interesting to say, so here are some random things that happened to me today:
- I sang "Fifty Nifty United States" to some 7th graders because they didn't believe me when I told them I could name all of the states in the USA. Yeah, they thought I was cool.
- I finally figured out how to [almost] completely understand "Oberhessisch" <-- Okay, so you know how the US has different dialects in different parts of the country? So does Germany, and it is generally the old people who speak said dialects, and they speak very quickly. Suffice it to say that this is quite the accomplishment.
- I won an ebay auction!!! WOOHOO!!! Wanna see my treasure? Okay, okay... here it is. It's a cute messenger bag that I can use for school when my shoulder bag is too full:

- And.... since I'm taking forever to write this post (I'm so easily distracted), I just found out that I won a new pair of boots! 7,50 EUR! Yeah, they probably won't be the best quality, but I don't care, because I probably can't take them back to the good ole US of A anyway.

- Hubby declared it "Spoil Alyx Day," and I'm totally okay with it.
- Every day when I walk to school, I walk through a beautiful little courtyard filled with trees. Today, the grass was being mowed (I love the smell of freshly mowed grass), and the leaves were all shades of yellow, red, orange, and brown. I thought it was pretty, so I took a picture.

- Another thing that I do every day is walk up a giant freaking hill to the train station. When I say it's giant, trust me - I'm not kidding. I took a picture about 2/3 of the way up this afternoon. Look! You can see the town... through the tree!

Soo... that's some of the "scenery" from my Thursday. Thank goodness it's almost Friday.

Oh balls. I still have a lesson to prepare.

EDIT (because I'm a nerd): I just found out that each day I walk a total of 3.3 miles each day (1.05 of that is completely uphill, but that also means that 1.05 is completely downhill), just going to and from train stations. Can't imagine how much it adds up to when I add walking around the school...

Second EDIT: There's this awesome blog that I read here. This week, Casey and 3 other amazing bloggers are hosting a follower fest. So head on over there, and check out some freaking awesome bloginess.

Yeah, Hubby's cool.

Note: This is a recipe post. It's a Hubby recipe, so proceed with caution. Haha, I kid, I kid. Sometimes I think he's a better cook than me. Anyway, this is probably the easiest, most effortless recipe ever, so kids - you should definitely try this at home. 

Sausage Rolls

Preheat oven to 390 degrees. Makes 6 sausage rolls.

Ingredients

6 small sausages (you can use breakfast sausages - we use mini bratwurst. Gotta love Germany!)

1 package of pre-made rolled out pastry dough (like a pie crust - again, in Germany we use Blätterteig)

Cheese - as much as you feel like using

Recipe

1. Open your pastry dough, and cut it into 6 equal parts. 

2. Place a sausage on each part of the dough. 

3. Sprinkle as much cheese as you want about an inch away from the sausage. 

4. Roll the sausages up all nice and tight. 

5. Cut slits in the top of each of your rolls.

6. Pop those puppies in the oven and relax for 20-25 minutes while they bake right up. 

7. Once they're golden brown, take them out, and enjoy! 

And now for some shameless bragging on the Hubs: 

Hubby has a good great amazing voice. Don't take it from me - check out this YouTube video. Or any of the videos on his channel. 

Random Happening of the Day:

I almost had a heart attack when I was closing a window in our apartment and a large spider fell onto my hand. At first I just brushed it off, but then as soon as I realized what it was, I freaked out. I killed it as quickly as possible, but was pretty much in tears bc I was so freaked out. Yeah, I'm deathly afraid of bugs, especially spiders. 

Yeah, I don't really have much to talk about today. Sorry bout that! 

Happy Wednesday, people! 

Tuesday? More like a case of the Mondays...

So, the amazing-ness that is my everyday life. 

Yes, I was just so excited to get back to teaching today, I had to jump for joy.
Note: a rant follows, so if you don't want to read it... skip to the end. 
Let me just tell you this - I HATE unorganized teachers. Unorganized teachers at the wonderful Gymnasium that shall remain nameless, this is for you. It is my job to come to your class, at the time you wrote down on my schedule, on the day you picked. It's sitting there in your handwriting. That being said, I do not appreciate waking up at 5:45 a.m., walking 10 minutes in the freezing cold to get to the train, sitting on said train surrounded by obnoxious high schoolers for 15 minutes, then walking 15 more minutes to get to school 30 minutes early when I don't even have to be there. I especially do not like it when I get to your class on time and prepared to teach, and you (and your entire class) stare at me, speechless, for one whole minute (making it seem much longer), then say, "What are you doing here?" ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Well, I'm here to teach. I'm here because YOU asked me to be. I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY don't like it when you then basically kick me out of your classroom because (and I quote) you aren't prepared. You know what?! Tough luck, buddy. Your lack of preparation is not my problem. Excuses are lame for a 15 year-old, let alone a 50 year-old teacher. You made an idiot out of me today, and I don't like it. From now on, I'm not coming to your class (even though it's on my teaching schedule) unless you chase me down and ask me to. I'm so sick of people not taking their jobs (and mine) seriously. My time is valuable. I did not put in years of work to drag my happy butt all the way to Germany to be made a fool.
Wanna know what? This same scenario happened to me twice today. Two times in one day. 
I always admired the Germans for their punctuality, organization, etc. etc. Not freaking today. Today they wasted 5 hours of my time.

IN OTHER NEWS: 
I taught a 5th grade class all about Thanksgiving today, and they loved it. Probably because they loved making fun of my drawings. Thanksgiving dinner - eat it up, people [pun intended].

Explaining the 7up and Cranberry Juice was interesting... Do most people drink wine on Thanksgiving? Since we're Mormon, we always just mixed pop with cranberry juice. Sometimes we drink sparkling cider with dinner, but it's usually the mixture, so when the teacher asked what people normally drink, I was clueless! Haha, me and my little bubble. 

The "map" of the US was trying to explain how far away things are. The kids asked why my entire family doesn't get together if it's a family holiday. Well, children, because most of my family lives in UT, ID, and CA, and driving to those places takes more than a day.

It's pretty obvious that I'm an awesome artist.

PS In case anyone is wondering, the headband curls worked wonderfully!!! Here is a picture of my results:

I think that's definitely something I will be doing again, especially since it took me a total of like, 5 minutes. 

A few tips: First, put some anti-frizz stuff in your hair while it's still damp. I did not do that because I'm an idiot. I live in a pretty humid climate, so the frizziness was kind of guaranteed. Anyway, if I were you... I'd put the anti-frizz product in. Make sure you don't get it on your roots, though. That makes for one greasy head of hair, and it looks ICK. Second, I highly recommend spraying your hair with hair spray once you have it all tucked up into the headband. I did this and my curls held all day, and folks, my hair does not hold curl when I use a curling iron unless it's coated in the stuff. Today I used barely any hair spray, and I'm going on 12 hours with perfect curls. Finally, I would recommend putting the headband kind of high up on your head. The lower you put it, the lower the curls start, and I personally like all of my hair to be curly, not just half of it. 

Pinterest in Real Life...

All right. Before you ask me what in the world I was thinking when I did my hair, let me explain a few things. 1. It is night-time where I am right now. 10:20 p.m. to be exact. Needless to say, I'm not leaving the house with this do. 2. There's this little thing called Pinterest, and I'm kinda, sorta, extremely addicted. If you aren't a member, go request an invite (unless you'd like to spend your life being productive).
That being said, I was wasting time  on Pinterest earlier this week, and saw a super cool tutorial on how to get curls without any heat. Awesome, right? I thought so. Anyway, I decided that I would give it a try, and that is why my hair looks slightly ridiculous. I'll post pictures tomorrow if it turns out looking half-way decent. Until then, you can go here to find the tutorial that I used. If you're too lazy to go there, here's a picture with the basics.

So. That's that. It worked on her, so why wouldn't it work on me?! I guess I'll find out tomorrow if my hair is too short for such loveliness. Hopefully it isn't! 

Happy Monday!! 

Sunday Confessions

I got this idea from Kristan over at adelynSTONE, and I think I'm going to make it a regular on Bloggy Blog. I have lots of things that are aching to be confessed, and I've got a nice warm cup of tea keeping me company, so... here goes.

1. I have a totally addictive personality. I find something I like - I quite easily get addicted. Current addictions: photography, Haribo Tropigummis (best. candy. ever.), pinterest, and rooibos tea.
(Photo credits: camera, Haribo, tea)
2. I am a chicken when it comes to trying something new fashion-wise. Today, I got crazy and did stripes. And not just any stripes, folks... vertical stripes and horizontal stripes. Crazy, right? I know.

3. I could NEVER go on a diet (no, I don't think I'm fat, I'm just saying - if I was, I couldn't lose weight that way). I like food way too much. Plus, I have no self control. It's bad. I see something in the kitchen that I want, and then BAM! It's in my belly. Mmmm.
4. I read lots of blogs, and as I read them... I correct their grammar. I know, I'm a horrible person. This isn't to say that I don't love all the blogs I read, because I do - I wouldn't read them if I didn't. It's just a bad habit, and it's one that will probably never leave me. I blame my mother. I even saw one blog that said the writer was a "grammar Natzi." If you don't see the mistake there, we can't be friends. [Hint: Hitler was a "Nazi."]

[source]
Yes, I am perfectly aware that while I'm in Germany I need to watch myself. You have no idea how many times I have almost used this phrase while at school. Bad idea, Alyx.
5. I have a super, super vivid imagination. While people are telling me stories, I visualize everything they say. While reading, I visualize everything. That being said, I am incredibly uncreative. I wish creativity came along with a vivid imagination, but alas, it does not.

So. Those are my Sunday confessions. Hopefully you found them mildly interesting. If not, you better come up with some more exciting ones! :)

Happy Sunday!

College Football Saturday

I am a die-hard Husker fan, and live for football season. Being in Germany makes watching college football a little difficult. Fortunately, though, I found a little website that lets me watch my Huskers [usually] dominate the field. Sometimes I have to stay up until 2 am to watch my team play, but not today. which is nice.
In honor of the Huskers playing today, I wore my Nebraska t-shirt, and Hubby and I played Huskers farkle (it was a stocking stuffer from "Santa" my freshman year of college).

Hubby insists that it was not a tie, and that he won. I disagree. I think you can tie in Farkle. If anybody knows... let us know, unless Hubby won. Then I don't want to know. 

In other news, we found some copycat Ramen Noodles at the grocery store. They're kind of weird, though...

I think that last packet is a "fat packet." Or something like that. All I know is that they do not include that in American Ramen Noodles, so I'm hesitant to eat it. Hubby says they're delicious, though. 

Happy Football Day!!!! 

PS TOUCHDOWN, NEBRASKA!!!! 

Favorite Things Friday

It's Friday - one of my favorite days of the week. Since it's a favorite day, I figured I would share some of my favorite things right now.
1. The smell of freshly baked bread.

2. The crisp cool air, and the changing leaves (the photo below is Nidda, the town where I teach - photo credit).

3. A nice, warm cup of tea (I know I say this all the time, but seriously, it's the greatest).

4. Spending the entire day with Hubby.

5. Getting pictures of our kitty with opposable thumbs from my MIL and seeing how much he's grown since we had to leave him behind.

6. My nephew. Isn't he the cutest thing in the world?

7. Good books. Reading this one, need an English one to keep my brain from frying. Speaking of which, I've been looking for something to read. Any ideas?

photo credit

So there you have it. Those are a few of my favorite things today. 

Funny conversation with Hubby last night: 

Me: Honey, I feel really overwhelmed with love for you. Do you ever feel that way? 

Hubby: Yeah, sometimes I look at you and I'm like, yeah I really love that girl.

Me: Me too, except I'm like, I really love that boy. But sometimes I wanna punch you in the face - but then I remember how much I love you and how sad I would be if I gave you a black eye or a bloody nose... 

Hubby: (totally nonchalantly) Yeah... sometimes I want to rip your eyeballs out of their sockets and strangle you with your eyeball tendrils... 

Me: (completely flabbergasted, trying not to laugh) Honey? I think we should sign you up for therapy. 

Us: HAHAHAHAHAHA (<---- that's us bursting into laughter)

*Yes, after this conversation took place I typed it into my iPhone so I could remember it and post it.

*No, Hubby is not violent, and neither am I. Nor are we psychopaths. We just have a really weird sense of humor, which would be why we both laughed ourselves to tears after this encounter.

*This conversation happened after staying awake for almost 36 hours straight (we did have a 2 hour nap), so we were extremely sleep-deprived and a little loopy.