Very Merry Indeed

I am always so sad when Christmas is over. I think half the fun of the holiday is the anticipation and preparation leading up to it. That said, this year was full of wonderful memories that I can look back upon fondly.

This was a busy year in that we had to fit 3 Christmases into a span of 24 hours. This is not a feat I wish to do again anytime soon so I hope we figure something else out for future years.

We started off with having Christmas Eve at my dad's house. It's always such a fun and lively time and is a great way to kick off the celebration. It's awesome to be there with my brothers (includes surrogate brother Joe), sister, and three delightful nieces. The little ones are growing up so fast and they always make the holiday so fun especially when they open their presents and you see their faces light up. After our traditional dinner of ziti, we all congregate in the living room and put on Christmas Vacation (my favorite xmas movie ever). A bonus of the evening is that we get to celebrate the December birthdays of John, Aunt Mo, and me - of which the highlight is Andrea's peppermint red velvet/white cake swirl cake. It's the best holiday dessert ever -- I need the recipe!

My niece Alise (hey that rhymes)

Poppop and Bella

My niece Abby - she's a trip and a half.

December babies! Aunt Mo, me, and Johnny

Get in me belly. Now. 

Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning we spend with my mom. She always makes everything so incredibly special and she's the reason Christmas is my favorite holiday.  Our Christmas is always so calm and relaxing but still very fun. We take our time to get up and after we get the animals fed and a cup of coffee in our hands, we all find our spots on the floor to open presents. Each year, I make us wear something ridiculous - whether its an ugly Christmas sweater, elf or santa hats, or, as was the case this year, hats from Oktoberfest. After we take our sweet time opening presents, mom always makes egg sandwiches and kielbasa (a Polish tradition we've had for years...the kielbasa part - the egg sandwiches are a mom/steffi tradition).

Mom's gorgeous tree and the 8billion presents! 

The bear is always a good sport...

Me and Boarat

Mom got our lil family of three monogrammed stockings! 

We even made the dogs wear hats

Me and Lewis opening up gifts

Usually after we have breakfast, we all cuddle up in the living room and watch A Christmas Story and nap a little bit. This year we had to skip that part and head down to Roanoke to see the Foutz clan. We finally made it down to Jerry's parents house around 6:30 and arrived in the middle of dinner. It's always great to catch up with the family. We opened up some wine, watched some football, and later in the evening opened presents between just the immediate family. All in all it was a lovely time.

Jerry and I both made out like bandits this year but the material things are so inconsequential. I love Christmas because of the time we get to spend with our families and because of the memories the day brings. It was a very merry Christmas indeed.

A Keeper

The other night, Jerry surprised me with a belated anniversary present. I posted a picture below but it is a canvas print of one of our wedding pictures with our vows written across it. I couldn't stop crying and hugging him after I opened it. Not only was it a sweet surprise but the picture is so quintessentially us and the words that we spoke that day about cherishing our friendship and love forever really got me. 

He's a keeper.

Wine, Beer, Bavaria, and B-days

This upcoming Wednesday is my 29th birthday and this year I wanted to do something different to celebrate. As much as I love a good bar crawl - I just wasn't feeling it this year. So Jerry and I decided to celebrate by heading down to Charlottesville. Primary destinations: King Family Vineyard (where we got hitched) and then dinner at the Bavarian Chef in Madison because I've been craving German food ever since we got back in September.

On the way down, we decided to stop off at Prince Michel vineyard right on 29. We've driven past it half a million times but never stopped. It was super cute inside and for 5 bucks, you got to taste 15 (!!) wines. They were all pretty tasty...some more than others. Prince Michel also sold a ton of little gifts and knick knacks... all of which were very cute - thought I might find something for my work's holiday gift exchange but alas there wasn't much under $10 (silly gov't rules). We had a really nice time but we stayed there a little longer than we should have since we still had to head to King Family and then make our 6pm reservation at the restaurant.

So we sped off to King Family, getting there 15 minutes before they closed, eek. Luckily their tasting room was still hopping and they were more than willing to do a tasting for us. They only have 7 featured wines but they are all fantastic. I've never had a bad glass there. We purchased quite a few bottles, signed up for their wine club (thank you husband!), and then headed back to Madison for dinner. Next time we go, I hope we are able to spend more time there...maybe grab a baguette, some cheese and a bottle and just enjoy the beautiful view... really could spend all day there. It just brings back the best memories.

Afterward we made our reservation at the Bavarian Chef...another place we have passed a zillion times on 29 but never stopped at. It's an adorable log-cabin-y type place decked out with Christmas wreaths and lights. Inside it was super cozy and really reminded me of when we were in Bavaria. After having wine all day, we decided to order some German beers and a sausage appetizer. Both of our main courses were super delicious and luckily were big enough so that we could have leftovers tonight. I can't wait to go back there again as the food and ambiance were both incredible.

All in all, while it was low-key, it was a fantastic day just spending time together (thank you husband - you are amazing) and I couldn't ask for more. The best part is that I still have my actual birthday to look forward to where I'm going to dinner with the girls in DC. Can't beat that.

Maybe Not So Awful..

Since I last posted, I've taken it upon myself to try and make more of an attempt at cooking. The past few Sundays I have made some delicious meals with my new best friend, the crock pot.

The first was a pork and sauerkraut stew with homemade mashed potatoes from this site called "Recipes from a German Grandma." I have been craving German food ever since our honeymoon and I must say, it was pretty amazing. Jer and I both had leftovers for lunch all week.

Then last Sunday, I made a good pot roast from a recipe i found on Allrecipes. My mom came over to help us eat it thank heavens because there was a lot of food.

Having made two dishes that don't suck and are actually pretty good, I feel like I may be able to try other things beyond using the slow cooker. But maybe I'm not so awful after all... for now. We'll see what happens next Sunday...

Worst Cook in the World

Who sits at home sick on a Saturday night googling "how to cook an omelette" and watching youtube videos of chefs demonstrating their omelette-cooking skills after a disastrous attempt to make one for dinner? Me. That's who.

Honestly I have got to be the worst cook in the world. I don't know why. My mom's a great cook. My dad is a pro at steak and spaghetti. But beyond tacos, chili, baked ziti, and other baked goods, I'm awful. Its a shame because I truly love the idea of cooking and adore recipes. I can get caught up in allrecipes.com and the Food Network but when it comes to actually putting into practice, I'm inept.

But back to omelettes: this guy seems to have a good idea - half cooking on the stove, half in the broiler. Side note: this 5min.com site is pretty interesting... they have a ton of instructional videos, most under 5 minutes. Probably should spend more time in the food section. ugh. 

How To Cook an Omelette

Americans in Austria

It's been a long week and I'm sick but tonight I decided to have a beer after catching up on all the email I missed while I was in training all day. And naturally I decided on Stiegl, one of my favorite discoveries when we were in Salzburg. This made me realize that I never blogged about our trip to Austria... so here we go (note: I lack brain power so pictures will do most of the recapping). 

Our first stop in Austria was Salzburg...the birthplace of Mozart, a huge well-preserved fortress, a Mecca for fans of "Sound of Music" and puppets (no really - there was a puppet museum in the fortress). Most of our time here was spent just pal-ing around and checking out various sights and the fortress. A highlight was definitely Getreidegasse, a famous, very old street. 

Festung Hohensalzburg overlooking the city

First encounter with puppets

Getreidegasse - famous street where every store has a wrought iron guild sign.

Even McDonald's...

Sweet view from the fortress

We took a side trip to Stiegl Brewery where we discovered a new beer that we are very fond of. One of my favorites was the Ratler which is half beer, half fruit soda (I got grapefruit but their lemon is also sublime). Definitely a terrific afternoon that was topped off with a quick boat ride up the river. 

Trip to Stiegl Brewery. 

Super yummo

We're on a boat! 

After a day and a half in Salzburg, we took the train to Vienna. We very much enjoyed this city but I think it got a bit of the shaft since it was the last stop. Our legs were so friggin tired by this point that it hurt to walk at all. Plus I was exhausted from not getting much sleep in Salzburg (damn church bells rang every 15 minutes all night long and kept me awake).

A few highlights of Vienna were St. Stephen's Cathedral, Hofburg Palace, the museums, and naturally the Sacher Torte! Unfortunately we did not get to see the Lipizzaner Stallions but maybe next time.

Anddddd that's all I have to say about that... once again the beautiful and lovely Vienna gets the shaft because she was last in line. 

St. Stephen's

Hofburg Palace - a portrait of extravagence

Couldn't move after a trip to a museum... so we just hung out in the grass.

Sacher Torte!

This finally concludes all the recaps of our trip. Now we just have to start planning the next trip! I think we are definitely going to go back to Oktoberfest next year - too much fun not to - then maybe Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, who knows? So many possibilities!

Tubs o Lard

No matter how tough or busy a day is.. It goes away when I see my favorite tub o' lard, Kiki.

The Perfect Ending

Some days you just need a yummy glass of wine when you get home.. My wine of choice as of late as been Malbecs... Preferably Terra or this one from Cigar Box. Super delish. Tonight's glass will be accompanied by Hamburger Helper for dinner and Sixlets for dessert. Keepin it classy.

A Very Harry Halloween

I must say that even with all the self-imposed pressure to come up with a good costume for Halloween, it really is one of my favorite holidays. Probably because I just really enjoy seeing how creative other people are. This year, Halloween started on Friday afternoon/early evening with a joint happy hour between the Archives and the Canadian Embassy. Those Canadians sure know how to have a good time. I went as a Rockford Peach from A League of their Own (which surprisingly was a big hit with some people - I get it, it too is one of my favorite movies).

The winners of the costume contest were my fellow teammates, Hilary, Maureen, and Rania who went as the National Archives Curling Team (very Canadian - very creative). They made their own logo and curling stone and it was just really cool. My other teammate Corinne and I screamed our bloody heads off for them during the contest because we wanted them to win so badly. Luckily they did...otherwise losing my voice would've been for nothing. 

Best part of their outfit was the Swiffers. 

Saturday morning, I went and got a massage from my trusty pal Andre at Massage Envy (love how they make massages affordable - it's $49 well spent). Sidenote: ever since I started getting a massage every month or so, my chronic tension headaches have almost entirely subsided and i have severely cut down on the amount of excedrin and advil i take a day. 

Saturday night, we headed off to Grand Central in Adam's Morgan to crash the kickball party's open bar with Mary and company. Mark wanted to put his bald head to good use and dressed up as Voldemort from Harry Potter... so I jumped on the opportunity to bring out my inner nerd and decided to be Hermione and subsequently insisted Jerry dress as Draco Malfoy (he's all wrong for Harry Potter... that blonde hair screams Malfoy). I decided to just go full geek with this. And we did - complete with ties, scarves, and even wands. 

Mary and Katie had a terrific idea and went as a Double Dare team with two of their friends. It was such a great costume and drinking beer out of the cups on top of their heads was a big hit (even though Mary's cup had a hole so when they poured beer in her cup, it went down her head).

Below is a sampling of some of the other costumes we saw... all in all, it was a terrific time. After having a lackluster Halloween last year, this one was super fun and reminded me what I loved about it.

Sunday, Mary and Randi came over and we had a girls fall fun day complete with scary movies, chili, pumpkin-related snacks, and Halloween candy. We watched the original, "Halloween," which I admit was not as scary as I had remembered but still pretty creepy.

Such a fun and lovely weekend...

Jeremy as Elvis, Ron as the Scarecrow, Dustin as one half of the Ambiguously Gay Duo and Big Matt as a Duck Hunter. 

Ace and Gary...aka the Ambiguously Gay Duo

"If you're gonna spew, spew in this." Love me some Wayne's World. 

Black Swan, me, and some weirdo in goggles ;)

Lindsey and Kristen as game board girls

Lloyd from Dumb & Dumber (secretly have been trying to get Jerry to do this duo for Halloween for years)

A smattering of Smurfs

FLAVAAAAA FLAV! 

The Jimmy Dean Sunshine Man

My Friend Munich.

I've been so busy lately that this will be the second-to-last "travel-journal" post. Tomorrow, I'll cover Austria and then it's back to normal blogging topics. :) Until then, next stop is Munich!

The new town hall in Marienplatz (city center)

We got to Munich around 5pm so we just walked around for a bit. It was a little overwhelming to be in a city this size after being in such tiny towns. We eventually headed to Hofbrauhaus downtown for a little pre-Oktoberfest preparation. We drank a few liters of beer while chatting up our table-neighbors. Sidenote: That is the one thing I highly enjoyed about Germany, they are very into the shared seating thing... it's a great way to meet new people and spark conversation. Hofbrauhaus was definitely good times but who cares about all that, let's get to the real thing!

Two are ours; two were the couples next to us. I swear. No really... 

The next morning, Jerry and I got up early and headed to Oktoberfest. We decided upon the Lowenbrau tent since Gwen and Mary had gone there 2 years ago. We ended up sitting at a table with two guys from Australia, Tim and Dominic, who really ended up make the day so much fun. I hope we'll get to see them again. Overall the day was insanity and such a blast. We had a lot (A LOT) of beer and had a terrific time meeting all sorts of folks (Spaniards, Italian Swiss guys, more Aussies...) and singing and dancing on the tables. For some reason, I also thought it'd be a good idea to purchase a Boar Hat or as I like to call him "Boarat." We seriously cannot wait to head back. It's impossible to capture the full day here - it's best to check out the pictures and videos on my flickr.

Me with new friend #1 Dominic

My fellow "Boarhat" friend, Ben. 

Me with new friend #2, Tim

Double fisting is where it all started going downhill :)

The end to a great day. 

Talk about opposites...the next day Jer and I headed to Dachau Concentration Camp. There was really nothing else that I wanted to do more. I think Jer was a little skeptical but I talked him into it and he told me later that he was glad I insisted. It was such an incredibly haunting but moving experience. Dachau was pretty much leveled after the war so there isn't many original structures there. Regardless, you definitely can feel the horror that took place...especially when you walk through the gas chambers and crematorium at "Barrack X". That was probably the most horrific part of the experience since you are literally standing in rooms where people were murdered. As emotional as it can be, if anyone gets a chance to go to a concentration camp, I highly recommend it because I feel its important to let yourself experience how horrible it was so that we as a society never let this happen again.

"Work will set you free"

After that experience, we needed to lift our spirits. Once we got back to downtown Munich, we had a really great dinner with new friends, Tim and Dominic, and then spent the evening just walking around Marienplatz. Munich was a great time and I think we'll be seeing her next year for Oktoberfest 2k12 - hopefully.

Next blog stop: Salzburg and Austria!

Boarat is strapped to my bag, ready to board the train to Salzburg.