My closet just committed suicide and tried to kill me as well!

Oh my goodness... I am still shaking. Something really weird just happened. I was unpacking my last boxes in the living room when I heard a noise coming out of our extra room. I walked over to check out where that noise was coming from. I was standing in the middle of the room when all of a sudden my HUGE closet fell over (right onto me really) and smashed into the opposite wall... I jumped to the side. Thank Heaven I did! Wow, that was weird... now my apartment is messy again. My closet broke into 4-6 pieces, all of the stuff that was in there is scattered all over the room ... SCARY!

My mini- vacation might have been the best weekend of my entire life!

I can't believe my weekend, and therefore my mini-vacation, is over already! Time sure flies - especially when you are having the time of your life! Above you can find three pictures of Waren (Müritz), the city I went to. I didn't take those pictures myself, as you can maybe tell, I took them off the internet to show you the beauty of this place. (For those of you that live in Germany but have not been there yet: pack your bags and GO THERE!! Lol. It's so amazingly beautiful and totally worth a visit!)

Friday, August 7th:

I didn't sleep at all that night before leaving at around 5.30 am to go to the train station. My train left about an hour later and, of course, I was there too early but I had to get a train ticket anyways. Now, most of you know that I have spent tons and tons of money during my move and that I am literally broke now. That's why I wanted to use my credit card to buy the ticket in order to have at least 20 bucks or so for the weekend. BUT that stúpid machine wasn't able to process my credit card which is why I had to use my debit card. The ticket was around 70 bucks round trip and it really sucked because it meant that I didn't have a single cent on my account anymore... oh well, I couldn't change it so I used my debit card, got the ticket and waited another half hour for the train to arrive.
Since I knew I had about 6 hours of train ride and changing trains and stuff ahead of me, I decided to start writing a vacation diary (of course, I never finished it - in fact it only has one entry which you will find below!) So, the first thing I did while being on the train was writing this into my diary:

"6.28 am. I just started my mini-vacation. The train left Nordhausen 4 minutes ago and I am sitting here all by myself. The train heads towards a dusking sun and it couldn't be more beautiful. Even though it's still kinda cold out I'm fully prepared for summer: I am wearing shorts and a tank top. People looking at me right now would probably assume the right thing: I'm looking forward to spending time at the beach.
I didn't sleep at all last night which was probably not a good idea but I couldn't really help it. I pampered myself for hours though- I haven't done that in ages. I sat in the bath tub, reading a book, listening to music- it was wonderful and yet again I realized that being by myself is pretty awesome. I really, really, really enjoy my times of solitude and yet I am longing to be in the States all the time. It's weird because it's a contradiction really. Picturing myself in the States always involves people. It always involves being together with everyone...
The train just stopped in the middle of nowhere and I really start to wonder if something happened... man, that would SUCK big time. I have 2 or 3 connecting trains to catch! Who knows if I'll be able to manage... 5 minutes and counting now! Ugh! :("

Of course, all of my trains arrived late and I was constantly worried not to make it. BUT I did - I was totally exhausted when I arrived in Waren (Müritz) at 11.30 am. The moment I stepped out of the train I was so happy though. The air is just totally different. I could just tell I was near water and I was ecstatic. I took my little suitcase and walked up to the hospital where my friend Kathrin was still working. That Friday was her birthday which is why she got off work early to prepare the party and stuff. I walked up to her office, knocked and 2 seconds later we were both screaming, crying, hugging each other... we were soooo happy to finally see each other again!
We walked to her house and just sat in her backyard and talked for a little while (it wasn't quite the Italian Upper Sandusky feeling - but it came close to that!) before we started to get everything ready for the party that night.
Around 7 pm 25-30 people had arrived and it turned into a desaster- at least for me. I felt like I was the only person somewhat sober (not really, but compared to everyone else I was, I was constantly making sure everyone had something to drink, or I would clean up after certain people and stuff... I don't know. I mean, I had fun, but I surely didn't have a blast. By 2 am I decided to just go to bed - after all, I did have some sleep to catch up on! :)

Saturday, August 8th:

Little did I know, when I woke up around 1 pm, that this day would turn into the best day of my entire life. My goodness, I couldn't even really get up that morning. Kathrin and I had breakfast together and watched her husband clean the backyard. Kind of mean in a way, but then again I did my cleaning part... so nothing to be mad about. After he was done cleaning, we joined him outside and discussed what we wanted to do for the rest of the day. Thorsten, Kathrins hubby, wanted to go on their boat and sail away (talking about it always makes me wanna sing "I am sailing" by Rod Stewart...lol) but neither Kathrin nor I did really feel like doing that. I have to add that I once sailed with them and it was the worst water experience I ever had (mind you, water is not my friend - never has, never will be!). So, anyway, Thorsten was getting really mad at us for not wanting to go with him which was pretty childish (he is 44 - grow up!). I finally said that he could just go by himself and have fun... (you have to know, he likes to know exactly what his wife is doing!). He seriously left, without saying goodbye or anything. But Kathrin and I didn't really care... we showered and went into the old city center, actually right to the harbor, to have a coffee. We actually had one coffee and then each of us had two glasses of wine... the atmosphere was beautiful. We were sitting in a cafe overlooking water and just enjoying ourselves. I got so overwhelmed by the beauty of this moment that I seriously had to fight back tears. In moments like these I keep thinking about my favorite Americans and what a shame it is that they will never be able to see this, they will never be able to share this amazing sight with me. It really is sad in a way.
By 10 pm we actually wanted to head back home, but by coincidence we ran into people that told us about live music in a bar that we would have to pass anyways on our way home. We ended up staying in that bar until they closed around 2 am. It was so much fun. We had WAY too many beers... and at least Germans know the saying that you shouldn't drink beer on top of wine. Well... when I tried to get up from that bar stool I knew why - I couldn't walk anymore. Partly because I was laughing so hard, but I guess the alcohol really didn't help. Hehe. We walked home, which was only a 3minute walk, and sat down in their backyard again to drink some more... wow, now that I think about it it was a lot of drinking. But Kathrin and I were able to spill our hearts to each other that night- something that is pure luxury for us since our husbands are childhood friends and always make sure that we don't get to spend as much "girl's only" time with each other. (It's a pain in the butt - I can tell you that much!)Well, anyways, so we could just really be honest about where we stand in our marriages. It's great to have someone like Kathrin that is practically married to the same type of person because I don't have to explain anything. She just knows... and it's great to hear someone have the same problems. It really helped me to put a lot of things into perspective and to start thinking about what I wanna do about the issues we have.

Sunday, August 9th:

When I woke up I puked three times in a row. I guess it was my punishment for acting up the night before. I am sure I deserved this, but I have to say it was all worth it.
Sunday was the day I had to leave again and it felt so unfair. I mean, I know I will be back there in 3 weeks because my mother-in-law is celebrating her birthday (she lives there as well and NO, I didn't go see her....I know I am mean!) but it's not gonna be the same since Matthias will be with me and even my parents will stop by. That will mean it's pure stress and it won't have anything to do with vacation, that's for sure!
Anyway, I left around 5.30 pm and didn't get back to Nordhausen until after midnight.

I'm really sad my mini-vacation is over but I know I can live off the fun I had for quite a while. :)

VACATION!!!

Okay, I have another hour until I need to go to the train station... I did not sleep at all tonight. I am so excited to get away from everything and to finally see my Kathrin again - I miss her so much. I just know that she probably couldn't sleep either and that she just cannot wait until it is 12 pm and I come and pick her up from work... it's gonna be great!!

Wish you all a very good weekend... I'll be in heaven the whole time, I just know it. YAY!

Celebrating the 100th blog post...

Wow, I knew the day would come when I get to celebrate this VERY SPECIAL EVENT of having posted 100 blog posts. LOL. I always wanted to think of something to write, something really profound, something insightful, something mindblowing even... but now that I have reached this point my mind just totally goes blank and I can't think of anything smart to say. (What a surprise.. hehe)

There is one thing I really want to say though: I always thought I just wouldn't care if people read this or not but I have learned that quite a number of people read my blog on a regular basis - which is awesome. I just really wanna thank YOU, my dearest readers, for putting up with my crap, my nonsense, my over the top dreams and expectations, my moods and emotions ... and, well thanks for putting up with me. :)

I love you guys!!

My Golden Girls

I just got back from a night out with my "Golden Girls". I haven't had that much fun in a long time. I'm still cracking up about them. I'm a LITTLE tipsy, to say the least.

Wonder who my Golden Girls are? Well, I met them through Matthias a couple of years ago and there are my only real friends here in Nordhausen. Both of them are like 25 years older than me and I really have to say: you just cannot tell. LOL. Oh, they're so much fun to be around. And it's wonderful to spend time with them because we actually have things to say to each other. How often did I wonder, while spending time with people my age, what the heck I am supposed to talk to them about. People my age mostly (there are exceptions, of course...) didn't even reach the point of knowing who they are and what they want. I am so tired of people living in their little bubble... I need substance in a friendship. Substance and REAL things to talk about.

This weekend I will be going on my very own mini- vacation. One of my friends (she is 46 by the way- notice a pattern? LOL) is celebrating her birthday and I can't wait to have fun and spend time at the beach... it's gonna be great, or as Linds would say: it's gonna be FABULOUS! Hehe. Will tell you all about it on here... hope to be able to post some pictures (as soon as I finally find the charger for my camera...).

Very wise (and true) words...

"I’m like every other actor, I’ve been unemployed more than I’ve been working. Actors just have a lot of down time. So I’ve never gotten used to being out of work. It’s a very uncertain life and there are only a few people that would sign up to be married to somebody who’s an actor. My husband’s an artist and he understands that, the vagaries of the job. I just take every day as a miracle and I’m really glad that I’m still working and that people are not sick of me, even though even I’m sick of me a little bit." (Meryl Streep)

There is nothing I can add to this. I understand that most of you out there don't really get the life that Matthias and I are living. I know that some of you are trying hard to understand it but I guess you will never be able to fully comprehend what it means to have a job like this. And, it's fine. I know you will never be able to grasp it because it is a totally different world with different worries and expectations. But, please, be aware of the fact that you can't keep on judging our life like some have done in the past. It's not fair. And, I am sick and tired of explaining and having to defend myself for it.

Happy 25th anniversary!

My parents are celebrating their 25th anniversary today. They are in Venice, Italy getting ready for an all American photo shoot. ;)



This picture was taken at my wedding 3 years ago... my brother and stepdaughter are in it as well.

Being homesick ...

I couldn't have found better words than that:

Awww, that brings back WONDERFUL memories

Found MY song from "Once upon a mattress" (the play we did at Mohawk in 2002)...



Oh how I miss my Queenie....;)

Oh, and how YOU came to my rescue....

Whenever I hear this song I have to think about how GOD sent me my American family. So wonderful... they came to my rescue. I know it was all GOD's plan for me. HE knew that I would let them in my life and my heart to finally be able to love and trust in HIM.

Changes and adjustments

Well, I know that some of you (CLAUDI - LOL) get so tired of reading about my move that I am VERY HAPPY to announce that I will no longer talk about it. I returned the keys to my apartment in Leipzig (left it crying) and I am now back in Nordhausen to unpack my boxes - no more details about this. I PROMISE! ;)

But, sorry Claudi, MOVING is THE topic this weekend. It's truly crazy. So many of my friends start new chapters of their lives RIGHT NOW that I just wanna spend a couple of minutes talking about it. I didn't sleep at all last night. I am constantly worried about everyone. I hate sitting here not being able to help them AT ALL. Last night, I went back and forth from praying to weeping to praying to weeping... I feel like I am emotionally drained right now and I don't even wanna start thinking about how THEY (or YOU since most of the people I am talking about are reading this blog) might feel.

So, who do we have here? Leslie is in Malaysia right now. She has a layover there on her way to Paris, France. Leslie has lived in Japan for the last year and is now returning back to the US (with a short vacation in Paris and Ireland). I just talked to her via Skype and am thrilled to find her in good health. Her plane to Paris will be leaving in like 2 hours or so...

Brent probably just hit the road to drive up to Tillsonburg, Canada. (I seriously can't say more about it... I know you all know how I feel about this... so let's just leave it at that.)

Brent's sister Heather will be moving to Japan for 3 years in September, I think. (Leslie, you're probably reading this and thinking: "3 YEARS!? Oh goodness..." LOL)

And then there is Claudi (Yes, girl, YOU are MOVING in a way, too!). Claudi will be leaving for her semester abroad at Kent State in OHIO (Noooo, I am so not jealous...LOL)in less than 3 weeks.

And yes, I just ended one chapter of my life as well... so we ALL are going through times of changes and adjustments right now. It won't always be easy but I know we will all learn to appreciate it. (Leslie, I know you're more than excited to go back home!)

Praying that we will all be sound and safe and happy. Can't wait to hear all of your stories, guys!! Awesome things will happen along our paths, I know that.

May GOD bless all of you!