(Almost) everything since Dec. 10

Hello all,

as promised, pictures of American Christmas tree and German Christmas tree:





We are doing good. I have been able to talk to quite a good number of the family. Everyone is doing well. K and R are awaiting the birth of a girl in about 5 weeks. H is also pregnant, but I don't know when she is due. I also heard from the Munros that they are also awaiting a stork. We ARE NOT awaiting the stork, just so you know.


Work is good. We are also in recession and our company will be closed every Friday in February. We will still be working in Quality, but production will not be running. Husband's work is also moving right along. Today he is in Zurich for meetings. I have late shift, so we will see each other tomorrow morning. Our apartment owner is coming with a carpenter to fix some problems.

I am so sick of the Germans asking me "How is President Obama doing?". I always answer: "I read the same news as you do. I don't live in the States, I live here. How should I know how it is going day in and day out?" The absolutely worst day was last Tuesday...'hey Amber, watching TV tonight?' 'Did you know that they are expecting 2 million people at Obama's inauguration?' I tried to explain that when EVERY president comes into office, there is a celebration. No one really listened. The Germans in my office are shocked that there are Americans that don't like Obama. I just laugh and ask if everyone in Germany likes Mrs. Merkel, the Chancellor. (There is never really an answer that comes...hehe).

I cut my hair last week and really like it. Much easier to do and not always in a pony-tail. :)

I hope you are well, too.
Until next time!!!

Today

The highlight of my day was lunch: Spaghetti Bolognese and salad. YUMMM!! It is really funny that the day was really long and boring and then lunch (30 minute break; haven't been on time in awhile) was way too fast. I sat with Aldo, he is an English teacher but gave it up to work in plastic production. He actually speaks four languages: Italian, French, English and German (in that order). He is neat and older than my parents, but really laid back (this is a typical Italian).

The weather is terrible. Been snowin since sometime in the night. Here are pictures, where you can only see snow falling:





I know it is dark...at 5 pm!!!! Craziness! That isn't dirt on the camera lens, that is the snow. It has been really cold, but add the snow, and YUCK!!! I am still just a kid from the desert!

Now I am going to make (read: heat up) refried beans and tortillas for dinner. This is also a favorite meal of mine. AND super expensive since I moved here. I really enjoy it! After dinner, Husband is working, so I will start baking cakes for Friday's blood donation. Forget about cookies and punch, here in Germany, after you give blood, you get a full meal (with dessert!!) I am making 2 cakes and my variation of my mom's potato salad. Ever since I am here, I really like potato salad...especially Husband's Oma's...it is so good, it cannot be fully appreciated unless you have eaten it.

It is kinda weird that all I have thinking or blogging about it food. Or is it not?

Oh, pictures of the American and German Christmas trees to come. American tree is already here. I will try to talk Husband into getting big tree next week. :)

Afraid

Directions
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write that song name down no matter how silly it makes you look.
4. Title this email what the answer to your last question is.
5. Good luck and have fun!

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Not Ready to Make Nice (Dixie Chicks)

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Scar Tissue (RHCP)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Glow (Nelly Furtado)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Promiscuous (Nelly Furtado)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Say It Right (Nelly Furtado...what is up with all the N.Furtado songs???)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Homecoming (Kanye West)

WHAT DO YOU OFTEN THINK ABOUT?
Californication (RHCP)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
London Bridge (Fergie)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Here I Come (Fergie)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Let Me Talk to You Prelude / My Love (Clean Version) Justin Timberlake

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Mercy (Duffy)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Crash Into Me (Dave Matthews Band)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Showtime (Nelly Furtado)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Everyday (Dave Matthews Band)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
No Hay Igual (Nelly Furtado)

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO NAME THIS POST?
Afraid (Nelly Furtado)

First snow of 2008

Hi, here I am!!!

First a few pictures:

Fall in Loerrach!

So, here is an update from my week. (I had vacation):

Visited with my psychologist on Monday. He is cool. He told me that I needed to go back on (and stay on) the medicine. He said I didn't do anything wrong, it was all the stress from work getting to me. My body isn't able to fight off the stress without help. I will call him again next week. I started taking medicine again on Mon. He said I would be feeling myself again in 2 weeks. I know Th. is glad to hear that too.
Dr. S. also told me that there are people that have diabetes and arthritis that MUST take medicine everyday of their life, in order to function. The only thing is, its my brain that doesn't process the stress without the help. He told me not to be too disappointed for too long. And I am really not. Now I know. I need the medicine.

AND I also found out that I eat horribly. We met with the nutritionist last week and I mostly only eat sugar. So, we are changing that now too. (I couldn't spell nutritionist...had to look it up on www.dictionary.com...hehe)

Oh, IT SNOWED IN LOERRACH WHILE WE WEREN'T HERE!!! I wanted OUT of Bischofsgruen because they predicted snow from Wed on. In Frankfurt, where I was visiting E., it was just cold and rainy. But apparently it was super cold here! All my plants were still outside on the balcony. I brought them in when I got home.

I really do not like Deutsche Bahn (train service) today. I tried buying a ticket to get from E's apartment into Frankfurt, to get the train to Basel. The machines do not accept 20 or 50 Euro bills. Guess what I had...so I get on the train and hope that no one is controlling for tickets..........................you already know what happened. I get in the last wagen on the train and there isn't one train person, not two but 3 (!!!) fuckers waiting to control if everyone in the wagen had a ticket. So, instead of paying 3,60 for a 25 minute trip into Frankfurt, I paid 40!!!! I really don't like them today. I tried to explain that I was from out-of-town. I had no idea that the machines don't accept 20 or 50 Euro bills, but they were such Asses! WITH A CAPITAL 'A'.grr
Then when I finally got to Frankfurt, I stopped being so mad when I saw Starbucks!!! :) :) A grande vinalla Latte makes everything better. :)

That is about everything going on with me. Th. is getting home sometime tomorrow from Belgium. He has been in 4 countries this week: Germany, Holland, Belgium and (tomorrow he will being driving home thru) France. I was in the normal 2 countries for me: Germany and Switzerland. :) :) :)

catching up

Hi all,

Ok, just want to update on a couple of things:

First: Work

(We have a name for the co-worker that I have so many problems with: Noodle-head. She will be referred to, from now on, with this name. :)

So. It was only us this week at work. Noodle-head early shift, me late shift (Early shift: 6:30 - 3:30 and Late shift 1:00pm until 10). Mondays are bad days at work. We have to process all the production that went on through the weekend. Production even ran yesterday, a national holiday (with no celebrating...more on that later). So that means, on Monday Oct. 6th, I am actually processing 3 days of production. Ugh. But do-able. Thank God its me working and not Noodle-head. I came into work last Monday to chaos. I couldn't walk to my desk because of all the plastic boxes in the way. Noodle-head doesn't know how to clean up after herself. There were 5 EMPTY boxes placed here and there that she had not taken back downstairs. The plastic trash (after we have proofed the parts, some cannot go back onto the palettes. So we have trash) was over-flowing. And who cleaned up? Yahoo! You are so freaking smart: Amber! I also found out that she had 4 boxes of number signs that she had not brought back into the production hall. Who did that? Me, of course. So I spent my first 2 hours at work cleaning up after her. I asked her later how it went (overall, what happened...problems, annoyances, etc.). She replied: 'Stressful'.
DUH!!
So, I told her it was time for her to go home. That is late shift's job: to ask early shift how it was, then ok, I am taking over production, you start getting ready to go home. Her reply: "I would like to work more this week so I can go home earlier next week." WHAT!!?? I was speechless.

Here is the deal: her husband works at the company too, only on the metal side in Loerrach (we work plastic side in Weil). She wants to work longer (doing nothing) so she doesn't have to work as long next week, so she can see her husband. WTF!!??? They are now on opposite shifts for the next few weeks because we switched from working every-other-week shift change to 2 weeks early shifts and one week late shift.

I had a talk with her on Wednesday. I told her she needs to go home when she is supposed to, because there isn't enough for us both to do. I told her that if there is still product to be processed that she can give it to me and I will finish it. NOW I need to have another talk with her because, she is not doing the paperwork. She has time to do the paperwork, then she should give the finished paperwork to me and then asks me put them on the palettes. Jeez!! This kid is killing me!

Second: National Holiday (Oct.3) German Unification Day (when the Berlin Wall came down).
There are no fireworks, no parades, no celebration. It is just a day off from work. Then, everything is running again on Saturday. There were all kinds of politicians on the TV talking about it. There was one HUGE concert in Berlin, in front of the Brandenburger Tor:


THIRDLY: October 3 is K.B's Birthday!!!
HAPPY HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY K.B.!!!!!

I don't think there is a fourth. When there is, I will type again!
later gaters!