oma's geburtstag

that's "grandma's birthday" for all of you non deutsch speakers...

we all met at a very kid friendly restaurant.

and when i say 'we' i am of course referring to dani, wolfgang, esra, elias, cajus, oma rita, opa fritz, oma edith, opa gunther, tante ruth, & onkel dieter.

 scenes from a german brunch.

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the place had this amazing set up outside of jungle gym equipment.

it was a mix of a local neighborhood park, and a small theme park.

no joke.

i tried to capture all of the coolness, however, i think i failed.

there were bumper cars, slides, an airplane jungle gym, electronic swings, regular swings, a soccer, field, and a ton of other cool things that almost made me wish i was a kid again.

+++

i did manage to get some great portraits of the boys though:

the sky provided an awesome backdrop, plane and all.

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ready?

set?

fly!

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some other favorites form the past few days:

love me some holga + lomo filters.

someone is hiding in the laundry...

oh, hello!

this little shenanigan prompted our massive game of hide-n-go seek, a.k.a finding new places to hide

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like, under the couch:

gotcha!

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then it was my turn to hide...yay?

counting...

 me, hiding on a chair, behind his bedroom door...

 oh no...

 i've been found!

...and i'm being attacked with a toy, yeah!

i love when that happens...

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xoxo

die Sonne scheint...

sun, sun, glorious sun.

oh, how i have missed you.

the last two days have been bright, and warm.

i'm not one to waste a good sun shining day, so the little man and i agreed on a picnic at the park.

we made sandwiches, cut up some fruit and veggies, filled up our water bottles, and threw in a bag of chips. along with a blanket, books for me, and sand toys for him.

then we headed out on the bikes.

we sat and ate lunch for thirty minutes.

just sitting and relaxing.

hanging out.

impressive for a three year old.

then stayed for another hour and 20 minutes.

it was glorious.

twins?

i hope your spring has sprung as well. 

but if you are reading this from california...sorry about the rain and hail.

ciao, bella.

spring?

hello?

are you still there, reading this blog that i have been neglecting for some time now...or so it feels?

well, i have good reason.

it's starting to get springy over here.

not the weather, no. the weather is still cold, rainy even, which is to be assumed for northern germany i'd think.

at least that's what i assumed and i'm correct.

spring has sprung in the sense that it is freaking busy.

so busy!

does this happen to anyone else?

it's like we are hibernating all winter, settling into a sullen, yet cozy routine.

needs for warmth and comfort take over and any type of activity requiring work, stress, or critical thinking and planning takes a back seat and then, boom. it's march and you have a thousand things on your plate.

well, i do, anyway.

time is flying.

according to my friend, kendall i will be home in 93 days.

umm, what?!

that is way too soon. i feel like i just got here :(

that also means that my friends allie and justin will be getting married in 93 days.

woah there.

and i, being a crazy person, have decided that if i am not dead from flying for 11 hours directly to LAX then switching planes to sacramento, arriving around 5:55pm...i will attempt to make it to the reception, which starts at 6:00pm. not making any promises but i really would like to go. so i will have a change of clothes in my carry on, along with make up in case i'm feeling festive/overachiever-like.

gameday 2006-powder puff with allie and our twenty sevens

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i also have some really exciting plans coming up in the near future...

SCOTLAND!

yes, you heard correctly.

i will be flying to scotland on april 8th and satying for 4 nights.

two in edinburgh, two in st. andrews.

oh.em.eff.gee

my excitment is unbearable. it was dad's idea (thanks dad!) and it will be my first solo holiday.

only my second time flying alone, first was here to germany.

(go big or go home, right?)

then, following that little extended weekend jig, i still have two weeks free.

whatever is a girl to do?

i'm think little trips to hamburg and cologne

maybe an over-nighter in copenhagen or brussels. 

my little artist heart dreams of going to paris for a weekend alone with my lover, The Louvre, but that is easier said than done, financially speaking.

it's been four years, lover, and i miss you.

(i don't miss looking like shit after a sleepless red eye train from berlin to paris...oh the memories)

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at the end of the month the whole family is going to berlin.

oh, berlin, you have my heart.

and i can't wait to see you, it has been too long.

i also miss that "tan".

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so where were we?

oh, yes...may means, kendall!

one of my bests is coming all the way over to germany, her first time to europe, to see me!

i cannot wait, we are going to have a blast!

[yes, i did say blast.]

a few days after kendall goes back home, we are all driving down to basel, switzerland.

but, my dearest friend laycee will be hosting me for the weekend in southern germany in her new appartment with her new husband! not like she had and old one, but you know what i mean. and it is still crazy to say, but i love that she has found someone so great, i can't wait to see them.

i'm also hoping to talk her into making a blog. i mean, she is a newlywed in germany...win.

dang, we were cute/sometimes weird.

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so that is it, business over here. 

i have been slacking on photos lately. i have them, i just haven't actually uploaded them to the computer yet. but i have a few to share. some randoms from the last few days:

 hi my name is hayley, and i only wear black.

and i finally found a bar with margaritas!

.................

cool that the photos look funky, whatever.

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you can also find me here this week, as a guest blogger.

whadddduup.

 and i promise that i will have some fresh photos here soon, and some more random questions from the thirty day challenge, and also, some edited, pretty photos for the photoblog.

+++

has anyone else ever been to scotland?

done a solo vacay?

have suggestions for other things i should do during my two weeks holiday?

let a girl in on these things!

xoxo

rants & raves...

reasons #127-129 why germany is cooler than the states:

number one-the H&M's are way better. 4 floors people, come on now. roseville only has one. and it's lacking in the quantity department...

number two-you are allowed to be drunk in public. there is no chance of you getting arrested if you are stumbling down the street, walking around with alcohol, or yelling out for the nearest mcdonalds or döner.

speaking of döner...

number three-döner. enough said. the closest thing to it in california is a greek gyro. just doesn't cut it.

number four-cheap coffee. so much cheaper here than in the states. except for starbucks of course because well, it's starbucks.

number five-all of the bikes! oh i love it so much. so bike friendly. must get a bike when i go home.

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reasons #313-316 why the states are cooler than germany:

number one-helpful employees. see, even though the H&M is way better, when i was in the dressing room and somebody had put an XS skirt on an L hanger, an overly pushy sales room assistant would have been awesome right then. mama's got hips, and they ain't fittin' in an XS.

(btdub, the above sentance recognizes that [fittin'] is not a word, however [ain't] is acceptable. hmmm.)

number two-in the glorious u-s-of-a people have the freedom to smoke, yet it's in controlled areas and has restrictions in public. everyone here smokes everywhere, all the time.

number three-plutos salads. ohhh maaa gawwd. girlfriend is misses you, plutos.

image via flikr

oh, and for the record...i don't actually have an ongoing list of pros and cons about germany and the united states that reaches into tripple digits. those numbers just came to mind.

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okay, onto my next rant.

ignorant people on facebook making rude comments about today's tragedy. 

i'm not talking about actual facebook "friends" because i would have deleted them. 

no, i'm talking about ignorant people commenting on my "friends" status' offering who were offering condolences towards japan. uugghhhh anger. honestly. and it's stupid to even let it bother me, but i think because i was so stressed out and anxious from all of the news reports, that it really was just adding fuel to the fire.

but i am okay now. 

my family is fine, and my heart is heavy for those in japan.

to take my mind off of it i went shopping.

apparently, natural disasters lead me to shopping.

once upon a time, i used to be addicted to shopping. 

literally, addicted.

but there is nothing to send a girl running from the stores like being knee deep in twenty three hundred dollars of debt.

yes, that really happened. 

before i turned twenty.

yikes.

but now, shopping for me is good.

 i only buy things when i really, really need them and really, really want them. but it is so hard for me to shop because i freak out thinking the debt monster will  grab me again.

bad analogy?

you bet!

but back to natural disasters...

it just makes me realize my own mortality and that life really is precious and unpredictable and it makes me want to see the things i want to see, go where i want to go, and tell people i love, that i love them.

reminiscing on places i love on the coast and out in the middle of the pacific:

++haystack rock at cannon beach, oregon-my most favorite place in the whole world++

++the young family in maui-dad and kate's wedding, 2006++

++little river inn-mendocino, northern california++

all places minimally hit with a tsunami. and by minimally, i mean min-i-mall-y.

way to terrify us over here in europe, news.

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in other news...

the sun was being a tease today.

first she was there in the morning,

yet ran away and replaced herself with cloudy skies dropping rain,

then came back for dinner.

dirty little minx.