I am Grateful.

Though I am a day late and a dollar short on yesterday's post, I still think it is important to acknowledge Thanksgiving.

This year, and every year, I am ever grateful.

For God's love and abundant blessings,

For a loving husband to share my life with,

For the supportive, unconditional love from our families,

For our health and the health of our loved ones,

For sunrises and sunsets, howling winds, warm breezes, a hint of chimney smoke,

For kind words, quick hugs, long-distance phone calls, an envelope in the mail....

I am ever grateful.

Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all He has done.
Colossians 2:7

I can't get going on this post today! I have had it open since breakfast, but every time I sit down at the computer I feel a strange compulsion to play Solitaire. So, obviously this post is late for a good reason.

Yesterday, Ted and I had a wonderful day. We spent the morning sleeping in, drinking coffee, and watching The Office in our pajamas. I can't think of a better way to spend the morning! I went against the grain this year and had our Thanksgiving Dinner at supper time. Ted was shocked and appalled, but the truth of the matter is, I was too busy being lazy Thursday morning to have a special dinner prepared by lunch. I couldn't see any reason to rush! On the menu last night we had: turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, asparagus, corn, bread, and pumpkin pie! It was all delicious. At one point during the preparations I was starting to feel a little unsure of myself, and made the comment that I'm not sure why I don't know how to cook yet, after a year and half, and Ted said, "Have I been cooking too much? " That wonderful man was willing to sacrifice cooking dinner so I could get more practice! Haha. I thought you would get a kick out of that. The truth is he is a good cook, and I love when he makes dinner! So, no, honey...you keep on cooking. I'll figure it out some day!

Today has been nice, too. We made a trip to town to get the mail, and Ted finally got a couple birthday presents! He said next year he's going to order my birthday present on the 10th (my birthday is on the 10th) as retribution. I hope he'll forget by then. Unfortunately the item I ordered for him is still not here. Obviously priority mail doesn't apply to overseas shipping. Anyway, even though they were Ted's presents, it was fun for me, too!

Okay, Solitaire is beckoning me. Gotta wrap this up. I almost won the last six games...I think this might be the one!

Here's a few pictures of things we're loving right now (Kind of Oprah-style, only I will not be giving away 10,000 copies of each thing I love...sorry).

Oh. I guess this is a picture of me. Doesn't really fit the category. Oh well, why not. We love me!

We love drinking coffee all day long out of Grammy's Pioneer mugs.

We love getting birthday gifts and cards!

We really love cards that include letters that include lots of pictures of cattle!

We love my (our??) new hat!! Thanks, Aunt Cindy!

We love men that know how to do things to cars.

We love this candle that makes your house smell like you've been baking...even if you haven't.

We love regular Dr. Pepper, but settle for diet.

We love giant piles of laundry.

We love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

We love to keep this at the house, in case of emergencies, identity crises, and those instances when the scale lies.

Wow, did that quickly escalate to something entirely out of hand?! My apologies. Welcome to my crazy life.
All my love, as usual.

Guest Photographer

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I hope you are all happily scurrying about, cleaning the house, making dessert, and sending your men out on last-minute trips to Hy-Vee. Then Fareway, when he calls and says they are all out of mini-marshmallows at Hy-Vee. Then the gas station, because you called to say you need a candy bar really bad, so don't come home without one. Then the neighbor's house, because you need one more egg... Oh my. I should get started.

Yesterday afternoon I was helping Mom out with some of the pictures on her website, when I came across a few that I just had to have. Since I haven't taken any pictures myself lately, I think I'll share her work with you.

Everyone, I'd like you to meet Sam. Sam Boy was born on our farm a long time ago. He is just beautiful. I love this picture of him! His interests include eating, sleeping, eating, being handsome, eating....I think you get the idea. We like to call him "husky." That way nobody's feelings are hurt. He's probably the laziest...err...most mild-mannered horse in the pasture. Don't let that fool you though- many things could turn a lackadaisical ride through the field into a Wild West Show. Things like shadows, squirrels, pheasants, trickling water, a large rock, a fence post that has a threatening look to it.... Hey, we've all got issues.

This next series is worth a chuckle. Many of you know that my mom has graciously accepted my cat, Grover, into her home. I sent a Furminator in the mail to try and combat his excessive shedding. Here we see Grover, utterly humiliated.

Please stop. I hate this. Ooohh... get me out of heeere!

Poor Grover does not get to play outside, so he would probably try harder to escape if he wasn't very, very afraid.

Oh, not there..OW..not there, please stop, I'll do anything!

Sigh...I guess I'll take it like a man. Wait...is that...is that a BIRD? Am I OUTSIDE the window? Rrreoooww!

European Getaway

Rise and Shine, everyone! It's a sunny Tuesday morning here in Bavaria, and I want to wish you all a happy morning. I'm back in business, here at my office (the couch). I wanted to kick off this week with a glimpse into a European hotel room. I thought it might interest you, and if not...too bad.

This was my hotel from last week's business trip to K-town. It's pretty cute- kind of like going back in time. Just for comparison's sake, this room cost me 79 Euro a night. So... about $119 per night with the current exchange rate. *Note to Uncle Sam- please reimburse me soon--Christmas is coming.

It looks warm and cozy. Partly because of my camera, but the room wasn't bad. Puffy down duvets, puffy down pillows... all in the lovely shade of pink.

One thing to note about European beds is that they are always TWO mattresses with two separate duvets. No fighting over the covers! No sheets or blankets either.... Call me a silly American, but I need something in between my body and the top cover. It just isn't right. I managed to sleep anyway... but there is just nothing to do between HOT and COLD. You either have on the duvet, or you don't. How do they manage?! I know, I'm a big baby.

Now, this is my personal bedside teleportation device. Getting to work was never easier.
Actually I don't have any idea what this is. Is it my alarm clock? Is it the only form of media entertainment in the room? Is it an intercom? I pushed a few buttons, and seven seconds later an ambulance arrived. Just kidding. But really, whatever it is... I'm sure it's a good one.

This was my favorite part of the hotel room. How can you not smile when you're in a room with floor-to-ceiling yellow flowers? And a yellow toilet? Even the toilet paper was printed with a yellow and orange design. It was very well coordinated. The shower was a little on the small side, but I soaped the top half of my body generously with the hopes that the soap would trickle down and do the rest of the job. I'm only kidding. Relax. There's no room for maneuvering in there. The Germans don't do washcloths either, so make sure to bring your own. Or a loofah, perhaps. In my case, a quick stop at the shoppette for absolutely everything shower related solved that little dilemma (I can never remember to pack EVERYTHING I need, so I aim for MOST) .

I just had to take a picture of the key. I don't think I have ever had a hotel key that wasn't electronic. Not in my recent memory, anyway. The thing was so ridiculous. Ladies, you won't lose this puppy in your purse!

All in all, the hotel was a good experience. Everything was clean, and I got fresh towels every day. The restaurant downstairs was DELISH, even if a little pricey. I had me the "Woodcutter's Meal." Yes, I was a little embarrassed, especially since my coworker, a much bigger man than I (if I were a man, of course), ordered a measly plate of plain schnitzel. Oh, and there was a homemade ranchy-dilly buttery spread for homemade bread as a complimentary appetizer. I wish I had some now... Anyway, that woodcutter's meal was worth it. You'll all be ready for lunch after this: A thick, juicy, tender porkchop, with some kind of reddish-brown saucy gravy-sauce, covered with fried onions, topped with bacon and more sauce. Served with fried potatoes on the side. My oh my. After that I went out to the timber and got us a winter's supply of... Okay, no I didn't. But I could have!

In other really important news:

1. I AM SICK.
2. I AM A BIG BABY.

Yep, that's right. I came home from K-town with a little souvenir. I woke up the very next morning drowning in my own snot. I sneezed so much I thought maybe my brains flew out my ears. The next day I had a massive headache/fever / cough thing going on. Now I have moved on to the headache / tired / getting better part.
BUT....
I got a fever blister out of the whole ordeal. Or cold sore, or whatever you want to call it.
Please feel sorry for me. Now I'm trapped in the house for ten days. Well, I might go out, but coooome oooonnnn..... Not fair! Why me? I would rather have snot running down my face in public (I can say that now that the snot has dried up and left me with this THING on my LIP).
If you've never had one, you're lucky. Me and Grams, we get one every year. GRANDMA, DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!?!
I still love you.

Enough of my whining. I'll move on to more interesting topics tomorrow.
Oh, and be patient while my blog is "under renovations." I'm having trouble with the layout. I wanted something new, and then it all fell apart.

Love ya all! (that's the Midwestern way to say ya'll, if you didn't know)

Oh, and P.S... While I was renovating, I came across an option that lets me open up the comments to those who DO NOT have the google account. So, anyone can comment, and you can even remain anonymous if you want to say something mean.

Out of Commission

This is a notice. Please clip and post on your bulletin board. It is of very high importance. So is having ice cream in the house. So write that on your grocery list while you're at it.

I just wanted to let you all know that starting this weekend I will be attending a class out of town, and will be put up in a German hotel. Thus, no internet access, and no blog posts. I'm sure you'll pull your hair out in desperation. Don't worry, you can still email me, because my schnazzy blackberry receives my gmail.

Ted will also be out of town next week (to a different town than me), but please feel free to send him a nice Happy Birthday message on the 19th (he has a schnazzy Blackberry too).

We will both be home next Saturday, so check back around that time to see if I'm back online. Please, try not to miss me too much. I just don't need that burden.

happy birthday week, with all my love.
you are my favorite.

Why I am not a Nurse

Some of you may already know that I was in nursing school at one point during my quest to decide what I really wanted to do in life.

It was an expensive little detour. Please make your donations payable to Iowa Student Loan.

It was while I was attending nursing school and working at the hospital that I started dating Ted. (Please note- this is not Love Story Part II. That is still in the works.)

Around that same time, I started to realize a few things:

1. I really don't like human blood very much.

2. There are some instances in which two pairs of gloves just aren't enough of a barrier for me.

3. I do not enjoy working the night shift. I absolutely cannot function nocturnally.

4. There are much, much worse things in this world than changing adult diapers. Much worse. If you want to know details, we'll talk privately. This is a family show.

And can I just say, you really haven't lived until you find yourself in up to your elbows in.... Never mind. I told myself I wouldn't go there on an empty stomach.

By the way, I'm thinking of writing a book titled, "You really haven't lived if..." Sounds like a best-seller, eh?

Meanwhile, Ted and I had been on several dates, and I found myself fascinated by some of the classes he was taking at Iowa State. Suddenly I realized that there were even better things in life than studying graphic photos of internal parasites and trying to escape the kisses of the old men I had to sponge-bathe.

It wasn't long before I was enrolling for my next semester at Iowa State. Sight unseen, of course, because that's how I roll. I always have been a little bit on the impulsive side. I'm still trying to decide if it's a blessing or a curse.

That Fall, I found myself in a nice little apartment that I shared with three other girls, two of whom I had never met. I learned several life lessons in that arena, too. I wasn't meant to live with other females. I need cleanliness and lots of personal space. And I don't like to share things. And some people don't like it when you pick up after them and leave it in a pile in their rooms, or write nasty notes about the piles of unwashed dishes (I'll make a very good mother some day).

Anyway, I finally found what I had been missing at ISU. That first week I convinced Ted to take me around campus on his motorcycle, because after all, I had never been there before and had no idea where any of my classes were. Also, I am directionally challenged. That first couple of weeks, when I would call and say I needed to be at Kildee in five minutes, where the flip is it, he would tell me to head towards the north side of campus. Inevitably I would get confused and head south. He always anticipated that and picked me up on the corner, and because motorcycles can go wherever they want on campus (at least that's what he told me), he got me to class on time.

Little did I know that very soon, I would find myself in elbow-length gloves again. One day my animal science professor told us to wear old clothes and boots for class the next day. We got to go out and take a tour of the school's beef teaching farm. This soon turned into my favorite class. Next thing you know, I was on my knees in the mud castrating a calf. The next week I was elbow-deep in the business end of a mama cow. I talked about it for weeks (I felt bad for the cow, though- everyone in class got a turn).
Don't get all indignant. We rotated mama cows. And the little boy cow needed to be castrated. That's just the way of things on the farm.
The week after that, I was holding an ultrasound wand and watching the screen for the tell-tale signs of a calf. Frankly, I was loving every minute of it.

In my swine class, I watched the vet put a sick piglet to sleep, perform an autopsy, and plop the heart into a ziploc that I was holding. The guy holding the bag with the liver hit the ground head first. He didn't live that down the rest of the semester. There I stood, holding a vital organ of an animal that had been breathing just minutes before, and I never had to hold back vomit or try to pinch my nose shut from the inside like I did at the hospital. In fact, I was enjoying myself.

I enjoyed myself in forage management, and I enjoyed myself in agricultural economics. Not really the economics part. Just the SimFarm part, where I got to buy, sell, and trade away all my fake assets (Actually, Ted is the real econ guru in the family). I enjoyed myself in entomology, and in agronomy 212. I didn't so much enjoy myself in my online math class. In fact, I cried. But I'm just trying to forget that part of it. I like all my memories to be golden. I enjoyed myself right up to graduation (except the homework, and early morning classes, and tests- but I'm trying to forget that part- I like all my memories to be golden).

Unfortunately, as it turns out, the government doesn't need anyone to devise a manure management plan in Germany. They don't need any soil samples, or pasture renovations. There aren't any cows to cull, or test plots to be seeded. So every now and then, I think maybe I should have stuck with it and become a nurse. It sure would pay a lot better right now!

Then I recall that God did not equip me to handle humans in various stages of pain, agony, and broken-heartedness. It was more than just my dislike for blood, guts, and unnatural bodily fluids. It would, quite literally, have broken my heart too. That, my friends, is why I'm not a nurse (besides, to love a Soldier, you need your whole heart. Intact).

I graciously decided to leave that noble profession to the more emotionally stable people of the world, and traded it for animals, crops, and fresh air. Fresh air with the exception of the swine farm, where it was decidedly hard to breathe. Ted calls it the "smell of money", and is excited to incorporate it into our lives at the earliest possible convenience. Please promise you will still come over to visit.

Thank you for reading this "barely passes as entertainment" version of my blog. I struggled to come up with a topic today. Now, after thinking about my college years (all five of them) it has become obvious to me that I prefer to learn my lessons the more difficult, most expensive way.

It, um, builds character.

Before I sign off, here's my advice to the younger folks: State schools rock. Stay away from the private schools at all costs, unless of course someone else is paying your entire tuition. You can trust me on this. I tried two private schools before I saw the light. A degree is a degree is a degree, and if you run off and marry a soldier and move to another country, it won't do you any good anyway. I never attended a community college, but if I realized then how much fun it would be to pay off student loans now, I would have given it a shot. Tell all your friends. That's what I'm here for. To educate.



Please note: This photo is courtesy of pioneerwoman.com. I haven't yet figured out how to get inside one of these German cattle barns to get a photo of a calf. Rarely do they let cattle graze outside around here.

Zen and the Art of Car Maintenance

Well, folks, I'm tired. I'm just not sure if I can whip out a witty, interesting post right now.
But I am fully capable of writing jibberish. Gotta start somewhere!

This all transpired on Saturday morning. I had been really busy making the bed, ironing all Ted's socks and t-shirts, and serving up a whopper of a home-cooked breakfast.

Okay, I can't lie to you. Ted had corn pops. I made him get them himself. I had oatmeal, because I've lost five pounds again. Thank you. Thank you very much.

But the rest of that, it's all true.

Lunch time rolled around, and Ted decided the green car needed an oil change. Then, since I primarily drive the red car, he asks:

"Hey honey, how many miles has it been since I changed the oil in the red car?"

I didn't even miss a beat. "Oh....about three hundred."

Silence.

"You have no idea, do you?"

".......no."

"Have you checked the oil lately?"

".....no."

At this point, I'm sitting on the couch...er...standing at the ironing board... in my pajamas.

"Put some pants on. You're going to go check the oil."

"But...but...you're the man of the house, and you're still here! I'm really quite busy."

Next thing you know, I'm wearing a winter coat, Ted's sweatpants, and my flip flops, and I'm standing in the driveway staring at the hood of the car. I had already popped the button, but I couldn't find the latch under the hood (it's hidden, I swear it is).

"Can't you just show me where it is? It's cold out here, and the neighbors are staring!"

"Get down, like this (he crouches at eye level), and look." He's always trying to teach me something. And boy, do I love to learn. Especially on Saturdays.

I see the lever, and the next thing you know, I'm checking the oil like an expert. Ha! I showed him! This ain't my first rodeo. I used to drive a Neon that liked to play a little trick on me. The "disappearing oil trick."

"Yep, oil's good," I say confidently.

"Now, check the power steering fluid."

And because I don't like to be bossed around, I turned on my heel and marched back up the stairs.

And by that I mean, I checked the power steering fluid.

"Now, what would you do if you needed washer fluid?"

I bent over and started eye-balling a plastic reservoir.

"Don't you dare put washer fluid in there!"

I shifted a little to the left. "I'd put it right in here!"

"Okay. Good job. Be back in a while."

Thus ended my ten millionth lesson on how to be a man. I'm coming along quite nicely.

He likes to be sure I won't break all his favorite things while he's gone.


Author's note:
I realize that my life is starting to seem like one big blonde moment.
It's true that my life is comprised of several small blonde moments.
But most of the time I'm just your average relatively smart person, just trying to get a laugh.
When I say it like that, it doesn't sound very smart.
I just felt the need to reassure you that I haven't lost ALL my wits.
*cue the desperate whine*
You have to believe me! I'm not crazy! I'm not!

I'm going to bed now. I trust you'll keep this between the two of us. Right?

By the way, if you need your oil changed, I'm only charging 30 bucks. Look me up. I'm in the book.

Dear Matt,

Author's note: Before reading this post, you must read yesterday's post if you haven't. Because I said so.

Just in case any of you are wondering, Matt failed the test yesterday. I sat at the window for thirty minutes, waiting for that darn messenger pigeon. I thought I saw him once, but it turned out to be....nothing. I don't wear glasses on Sundays. Even my eyeballs rest on the Sabbath.

Sigh. My own brother. He doesn't even care about all the important, intelligent, life-changing things I have to say every day. My own brother.

Mom said something about him not having internet. Pshaw. Really, that's the worst excuse I've ever heard. Maybe I work my butt off every day for a living, so leave me alone would have worked. Probably not, though. Seriously. All those years I bossed you around incessantly and then you cooked me lunch? This is how you repay me?

I see how it is. I was going to make you eggs some day. To thank you for all those lunches. No eggs for you!

I need validation. Is there anybody out there...


Liz....if you don't respond to this post within thirty minutes, I'll...

Ah. Better not. Why torture myself?

Oh, and I've been told that yesterday's "car" pic featured a Blazer. Not a Suburban. I strive for accuracy. Some day I might even learn what kind of car our green car is.

For now, we'll just go with "green car."

Yes, I did graduate high school and college. Shocking, isn't it?

Matt, here is that picture. This represents the fact that I still love you, even if you aren't stalking your bored, lonely big sister.


For the record, I stalk you. Isn't that why Facebook was invented? For big sisters? You better be good.

And someone please tell Matt to get on the blessed internet so I don't have to call him. Phone conversations make me break out in hives. I'm a social nightmare, and I don't care who knows it.