Stout Stories

Project Baby: 14 Weeks (almost 15)

2012-01-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I FINALLY got around to taking pregnancy pictures yesterday. Evan and I have been talking about it for about 3 weeks, which is right about when my belly started popping out a little bit. Mostly, we've just been lazy and haven't done them, but we also have been busy. ALSO... I was waiting to get my Project Baby T-Shirt in the mail so I could wear it for the pictures. I guess Sunday will be the best day for us to take pregnancy pictures because it's hit-and-miss every other day whether Evan and I will actually be home at the same time. (Evan's been working 9am-10pm shifts, meaning we aren't seeing each other a whole ton except for Sundays.)

The funny thing is, my belly isn't really that big. If you didn't know me, you probably wouldn't even guess that I'm pregnant. It would just look like I had a little pooch. I can still wear my regular clothes up to this point, even though I'm not sure how much longer I'll want to wear my jeans. Tightness on my stomach makes me even more nauseous than I already am!

Without further ado, here is my little baby belly as of yesterday at14 weeks. (I turned 15 weeks today!)

First Trimester Quirks & Facts:

I got to have my first ultrasound on my 7 week mark and my second towards the end of my 8th week. That helped comfort my heart after my miscarriage last summer!
I'm already starting to become forgetful... My students and Evan all have to be very patient with me as I'm trying to remember what I'm talking about!
Because of nausea, vomiting, and the flu, I haven't gained any weight yet... meaning I've lost weight and the baby and everything that goes with it has gained weight.
Drinking water makes me nauseated! (This is a sin because usually I chug water by the gallons... I am, however, able to drink herbal teas, though. So I'm still trying to steer clear of getting dehydrated.)
I usually can't eat a real meal before 4 or 5pm at the earliest. Before then, I just have to snack and eat a LOT of saltine crackers.
My "cravings" (AKA the foods I'm able to eat) go in weekly or so spurts. In December, there was about 1.5 weeks where all I wanted to eat for dinner was Taco Bell (YUCK!). Then, there was the Little Caeser's pizza faze, then there was the classy hamburger phase (AKA not fast food burgers). Somewhere in there, I had a week of only wanting to eat quinoa with pesto sauce. Lately, there's been a huge mashed potato faze. Ever since the flu last week, though, I'm lucky if I can stomach anything!
I cannot eat anything sugary tasting, even if it has alternative sweeteners (AKA not sugar). Even bananas are hard for me to stomach, especially if they have ANY brown spots on them. A few weeks ago, I ate ONE BITE of banana at 8am. I guess my body thought it was too early to eat a banana because I lost the contents of my stomach due to ONE BITE.
I have not been able to wear perfume in almost 3 months. I guess I never realized how much I was addicted to wearing perfume until it made me nauseous to do so! I miss it.
I pretty much can NOT leave bed in the morning without eating 5-6 saltine crackers. If I do... well, let's just say I don't do that anymore.
I have to change sleep positions often in the night because if I lay on either side too long, it makes me sick to my stomach.
I was EXHAUSTED for really almost the entire first trimester. I started to get some more energy a few weeks ago when I went on my first hike after getting pregnant, but I'm not recovering from the flu so hopefully I'll regain my energy again soon!

The Mom Club

2012-01-28T20:28:00.000-08:00

According to blogger, I starting writing (AKA wrote the title of the post and saved it) last year at the end of April. I've been thinking about this post and this topic for a while. It is, I know, a sensitive subject for many, especially those people who struggle with fertility or those who want to be married and have children and have not yet. I guess that's why I pushed this post off for a while: I feared my own thoughts and the pain of others. However, for the past few days, I have not been able to get the title of this post out of my mind. I know it needs to be written. I hope someone will benefit from it or at least gain some empathy from it. So, here goes...

Even as a child, I knew I wasn't going to be like the stereotypical LDS (or even non-LDS) girl. I always knew I would gain an education and have a career. I always knew that I would get married at a time that some might call "later." (Now I'm reminding myself Hansel on "Zoolander": "I wasn't like other kids... I was more interested in what bark was made out of on a tree." Love that movie.) Being real, though: I had goals I knew I wanted to achieve. Sure, I was like every teenage girl who wanted to find love. I dated a lot and had a lot of fun! I just knew that I wouldn't be ready to settle down and get married until I accomplished a lot of my own goals first. Maybe that was selfish, maybe it was smart, maybe it just was.

Well, I stayed true to my childhood goals. I set out to do what I wanted and did it. Marriage eventually came shortly before my 28th birthday. I'm sure some wondered if Sassy Sarah was ever going to settle down and start a family. Sometimes I did too. But, I couldn't have imagined getting married one day earlier than I did. Graduating college, traveling, starting a career... all of these were necessary for myself, my marriage, and my future children.

Now, this isn't to say that I didn't look around at all of my friends and see them marrying almost decades before me, having several children even before I was even engaged. I did look. I did wonder. I did sometimes feel like I was missing out on motherhood and that others noticed I was missing out too. I also felt sometimes that I wasn't a part of this illusive "Mom Club" that it seems so many my age had already joined by having one or more children.

And then... I'd allow myself to sleep in on a Saturday morning in my apartment in Hawaii before going surfing and remind myself that the life I was living was pretty darn great. Ultimately, I was happy with the decisions I had made and the life I had lived.

However, getting married changed some of that. Sure, I was still happy, but I suddenly felt pressure FROM EVERYONE to have a child. (As mentioned, some of that pressure was there before I got married.) Within days of our marriage, friends/family from all walks of life started asking about children. Suddenly, our friendship circle at church changed from single adults to married friends with children. The pressure was all around us and I couldn't help feeling like I was missing out again on the "Mom Club." Did others notice? Did they feel I couldn't relate to them because I wasn't a part of their club? Sure, I still enjoyed sleeping in, doing what I wanted, and that I could live my life happily sans child. However, pangs of sorrow would come as I looked at friends happy with their children. Would I have a child of my own?

These feelings led Evan and I to pray and fast fairly soon after we got married about when we should have a child. We both felt like we should think about it logically, make a plan, and follow through on our best decision. We decided to wait a few years so that Evan could start school and we could enjoy our first few years of married life without a child. We decided that we were empty-nesters and were going to live it up!

There were times, though, that I wondered about our decision. When people at church would make comments about our lack of children. When family or friends would ask when we were going to have children. I even had someone ask me 2 years ago if Mother's Day was awkward for me because I don't have children. It wasn't awkward until you said that!

Finally, a year ago, we took the plunge: I went off birth control and we were just going to let the chips fall where they may. Like I'm sure every woman, I wondered if I could get pregnant. Eventually, after several months of worry and after finding out that I may have a progesterone deficiency keeping me from getting pregnant/keeping a pregnancy, I did get pregnant last summer. Unfortunately, the pregnancy ended in miscarriage because of low progesterone.

I feel blessed to be pregnant again at nearly 15 weeks along. I am very hopeful that I will be able to hold this baby in my arms. But, I could easily be the woman who can't get pregnant or who cannot sustain pregnancies. I could easily be the person who is not yet married and who wants to be so badly because she wants to be a mother. My face could be any of their faces.

I guess what I'm saying is... don't judge and don't ask people awkward questions about relationships or about children. That is personal. If that person wants to tell you her life story, she will on her own time and without you asking her!

Also remember that just because a woman doesn't have children, does not mean that she is not a mother! Just because someone isn't a part of the "mom club" doesn't mean that she can't relate to you or understand you. Everyone leads a different life. Some women will never experience motherhood in this life for one reason or another. I ask you, please, don't judge. Everyone is fighting their own battle. Everyone is trying to live as best as they know how. Everyone wants to be accepted and loved for who they are and NOT for who you think they should be.

I won... Twice!

2012-01-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

I'm sure we all see blogs giving away fabulous gifts and may secretly comment, HOPING we are the winners of said gifts. Of all the times that I've admittedly commented, I never really thought I was going to win something. More just curious.

Well, I am proud to say that I've won not ONE, but TWO different giveaways in the past month or so! The first is a from a blog I really enjoy reading. She is so down-to-earth and has great stories and ideas. I found her blog a few years back as I was finding tutorials for handmade kids' alphabet gifts. I started perusing around and eventually added it to my Google Reader feed (which is saying something, I'm picky about what I put on Google Reader). Her blog WAS entitled "Notes from a Very Red Kitchen." It now is more simply called The Red Kitchen. Check out her etsy stuff too. These are the hand-made buttons I won from her etsy shop! Check out her adorable hand-made thank you card too. Melts my heart.

The next prize I won was from a blog I started following sometime last year when her blog was referenced through a blog I read religiously. (Did that make any sense?) Well, anyway... she's creative and artistic, quirky and random... all the things I like in people! Her blog is called "Hue and Hum" (She's the HUE because she's a painter and her husband is the HUM because he is a musician. In fact, his band, Fictionist, just got signed with some record label or other.)

I haven't received the grand prize yet (but it's at my sister's house waiting for me to open it)! One of her sponsor's is another adorable blog called One Little Minute. I won this pregnancy T-shirt valued at $45. Awesome, right? You check off the weeks until you have the baby and take pictures with the shirt each week. (She even turned it into a baby jumper at the end.) LOVE IT and am so excited to finally get a picture of my (now) MINI pregnant belly.

Pregnancy & The Stomach Flu

2012-01-24T20:18:00.000-08:00

I don't know why a pregnant woman who is already vomiting and nauseated a majority of the time has to get the stomach flu. Pregnancy and the stomach flu DEFINITELY don't mix and have left me exhausted, irritable, and anxious that I will start contracting because of dehydration. YIKES!

I cried today several times. I talked to the little baby and told him (I think it's a boy) to hang in there and that his mama is working really hard to keep him safe and healthy. I cried because I was worried for the baby. I cried because I felt so alone. I cried because I missed my mom knowing she would have been there to comfort me and to help me out when Evan's had to work for 13 hours. Thankfully, Evan gave me a comforting blessing before he went to work that I had to hold onto today when I was feeling so awful. So grateful for the priesthood.

I couldn't get out of bed for a majority of the day, which worried me. How was I going to get to the store to get the anti-nausea/vomiting medicine prescribed to me? How was I going to get the liquids my body and baby so desperately needed? Eventually, I broke down and texted a friend asking if she could help me. So grateful for friends who care and take the time to serve. It's not easy asking for help when times are down, but she made me feel okay that I asked.

I prayed all day to feel better. I know that my prayers will be answered some time. For now, I'll get back in bed listening to my iPod and playing games trying to keep the vomiting away!

More Snow Days

2012-01-22T22:49:00.000-08:00

I was excited last week, because I was going to have a 4-day weekend! I took off Friday, the 13th, because I had a doctor's appointment and then Monday was MLK, Jr. Day. Awesome, right?

Well, my week got even more awesome! Because of the crazy snow/ice storm in Seattle, I ended up not working the entire week! Of course, it seems really awesome right now to have 10 days away from school, but probably won't seem so awesome in June when 4 days are added onto the end of the school year. C'est la vie!

I pretty much played my heart out this week with 3 of my adorable nieces. I started watching them on Tuesday because their parents and 2 brothers are in Hawaii.

Tuesday: Evan and I hiked Mt. Peak and then took over girl-watching duties from their grandma. That night, we mostly just played games and snacked.
Wednesday: We had a huge snow storm and made a snowman. Read about it HERE.
Thursday: Crazy ice storm and we lost power Wednesday night. See pictures HERE. After playing around in the ice/snow, headed to my place to play games and eat in the WARMTH of power!
Friday: Crafting, more games and playing around. Evan snapped the pictures BELOW of the girls doing gymnastics in our apartment in between crafting playing board games! We had so much fun playing Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Rummikub! We went out that night to dinner at a mom and pop burger place where I live because I have, oddly enough, been craving hamburgers recently. Weird.

All in all, we had a lot of fun together during our 4 snow days! Love these girls!

Here is my little Nonney Nonney making THIS BANNER.

This girl LOVES crafting with me! She begs me every time we get together to do a craft. We've sewed together, made headbands, carved our own stamps... you name it, we've done it!

This one is SO good at gymnastics. Self-taught!

Here she is helping her sister.

Then, of course, the little one wanted in on the action! :) I promise I actually dress my nieces, but the middle one LOVES jammies and the youngest doesn't like wearing anything but underwear! She strips down to her skivvies the second we walk into the house, no matter how cold it is.

Seattle's Ice Storm

2012-01-20T15:02:00.000-08:00

As many of you probably heard on the news, the greater Seattle area had a major ice storm this last week. Let's just say that we're not equipped for TONS of snow and ice because we usually have VERY mild winters. If we want snow and ice, we just drive up into any of the mountains in the area to ski, snow board, sled, snow shoe, ice climb, etc. After living in Rexburg, Idaho through 5 winters, I have to say that I prefer this method of going to the snow rather than having the snow come to me!

Nevertheless, it was still fun to play with my sister's kids in the snow. As mentioned in this post, I've been trading off "mama" duties between my brother-in-law's parents while my sister is with her husband and 2 sons in Hawaii for business (and pleasure!). I have the girls for 5 days this week. I really love being around this crazy girls!

They have a swing set and a climbing rope... check out the ice on the rope!

Check out all of the branches that fell off their trees due to the heavy ice.

My niece made this snowman all by herself! (Well, I rolled the bottom out for her, but she did the rest.) Isn't it creative how she thought to do the hair and hat? Love it! In this picture, her little sister is loving it too. :)

Showing the layer of ice that was on top of the snow... without gloves! She is hard core!

The car was frozen solid!

Snow Day #2

2012-01-18T15:36:00.000-08:00

The past 2 days have been snow days in the school district I teach. These 2 days, plus MLK, Jr. Day Monday, 2 weekend days, and 1 day off on Friday for a doctor's appointment means that I haven't been at school since last Thursday. It has been glorious and just what I needed at this stage of pregnancy!
Because I started watching 3 of my sister's kids last night for her while she's in Hawaii with the hubby and other 2, today it was exciting to have a snow day! I loved watching the joy on the girls' faces as they saw the snow this morning. We had fun getting all decked out in snow gear! We played outside for 1.5 hours and have a whole yard full of foot prints and a HUGE, NOT-put-together snowman to show for it. The snowman turned out to be SO big that we couldn't lift the second part onto the bottom part because it was too heavy. We needed a man to help us out with that. Seeing as none were around, our snowman is in shambles until we get him put together right, carrot nose and all. :) For now, we're enjoying the warmth again and the girls enjoyed huge cupfuls of eggnog hot chocolate, my niece's own recipe.

Here are a few pictures I snapped with my fancy camera this morning. Of course the dog wanted to be a part of everything! She was jumping on the oldest one (below) and acting strange for a girl dog, if you know what I mean.

She loves her water... in any form! She couldn't help but eat snow the whole time we were out there. We had to stear her clear of the yellow and brown snow made by the dog, though! :)

Love my family's dog!

See what I'm talking about!

Love this girl!

I couldn't help but take a few "artsy" pictures in the snow. It was too beautiful!

Making a snowman from a bucket.... unfortunately, it didn't work as well with how powdery the snow was!

Just before making our HUGE snowman

Snow Day #1

2012-01-17T22:46:00.000-08:00

A terrible picture of both of us (the flash on Evan's phone is HORRIBLE). However, it is proof that we did make it to the top of Mt. Peak on my 1st snow day of the week. This is saying something, considering A) I haven't been very active since becoming pregnant. B) There was a lot of snow and ice. And C) It was dark. Only 33 minutes up. Not too shabby!

Denny Creek & Franklin Falls

2012-01-17T12:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, after allowing me to sleep in, Evan was chomping at the bit to get out into nature! In spite of Western Washington's snow storms and literally driving into a blizzard (see yesterday's post... the picture wasn't the blizzard: it got worse), we kept going. At one point, we passed 14 vehicles along the side of the road up I-90 putting chains on. People probably thought we were crazy to keep going sans chains, but WE DRIVE AN ALL-WHEEL DRIVE SUBARU, baby!

(driving down the road... the snow had finally stopped)

After a few missed exits, we found our destination: Exit 47, Denny Creek. Because of the amount of snow, they a road block of snow was set up to prevent cars from continuing on the "road" up to the normal hiking area. We parked on the side of the road, strapped on our mountaineering boots, grabbed our new trekking poles, and headed up to the hiking area. The snow was beautiful. The creek alongside us the entire hike was breathtaking.

The hike ended in a beautiful waterfall called Franklin Falls. We broke trail down to the base of the falls where it was too cold to stay very long. All in all, it was a beautiful hike!

On the way back, I heard some creepy noise in the snow. (I have freakishly good hearing.) I called Evan back. At first he couldn't hear it, but the closer he got, he heard a little noise. I thought it might be a walkie-talkie with a dying battery. We searched and searched in the snow drifts and eventually found someone's i-Phone. And it was working! We connected with the owner and got his phone back to him. He was grateful!

All in all, we had a great day that we ended with dinner at the Olive Garden using gift certificates we've had since Christmas 2010. Have you been to Olive Garden lately? Prices have gone up and food quality has gone WAY DOWN. (Not to mention that almost everything on the menu is over 40+ grams of fat!) We decided we would never go there again.

(See all those ice crystals forming under the long and all the of the snow-created mushroom rocks?

So beautiful in the creek as we hiked.)

Crazy or Sane?

2012-01-16T12:33:00.001-08:00

Most people would probably think we're crazy to head out to go hiking when the weather looks like this! I'm starting to think they might be right. :)

You Know You're Pregnant When...

2012-01-15T16:49:00.000-08:00

1. You feel nauseous 90% of the time. The other 10% you are sleeping.
2. Your diet mostly consists of saltine crackers with the occasional banana thrown in there (stomach allowing).
3. You wake up in the night to go pee a minimum of 2 times.
4. Your clothes are starting to get tight around the middle, in spite of the nausea and vomiting.
5. Your sleep to awake ratio has gotten closer together.
6. Your husband has to do most of the cooking, because you can't stand the SMELL or SIGHT of food.
7. Just about anything will make you cry, even if it's something you were originally laughing about that then turns in crying.
8. Most days are NON-makeup days due to the nausea, vomiting, tiredness, and lack of care for one's overall appearance.
9. The sight or smell of the most random things make you want to throw up. (e.g. a piece of pizza in the fridge may just send you over the edge when packing your lunch)

And the most tell-tale sign...
10. You haven't had your period in 3 months!

If you have any of the above signs, you may want to take a pregnancy test and seek medical attention.

Because I have these signs, I want to tell you that the Stout family is adding one to their number in July!

Hiking up Peak

2012-01-06T19:05:00.001-08:00

Went up Mt. Peak today with the kids! Made it up in thirty.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T17:51:00.000-08:00

As usual, for our New Year's Eve celebration, Evan and I headed over to my sister's place where everyone gathers to play games, chat, and pig out on all of the snack food for hours until ringing in the new year. This year was no exception, except that I could hardly eat any of the deliciousness due to pregnancy nausea. Not cool. I still had fun with everyone, though, and got a kiss at midnight from a handsome (and HAIRY!) ice climber I know who made it back just in time from ice climbing to join in on the festivities!

Time Means More

2011-12-31T08:34:00.000-08:00

Because making memories means more than getting a present you'll soon forget about, I decided this Christmas to give my sister's kids the gift of time with their aunt! This year, I had the 4 oldest (the baby needed his mom's milk as sustenance and couldn't come) stay the night. I let them get whatever they wanted at Jack-in-the-Box for dinner. We then ate it on my living room floor, picnic style! They loved it. We all were smiling and laughing at our picnic dinner on the floor. Everyone busted out their pillows/blankets while we watched a movie (with treats! that was part of the gift). We had so much fun laughing and eating popcorn and candy canes! I know the kids won't forget the time they spent here, but they would have forgotten what I bought for them at the store.

One of the other parts of the present was that they got waffles for breakfast the next morning and could put whatever on it they wanted! For the 2 youngest, this was the COOLEST THING EVER! We all had a great time (minus the 1st and 3rd giggling and messing around until 11PM even though I kept saying they had to go to sleep... kids)! They each got one more individual present from me that involves doing something hands-on that they enjoy doing (e.g. the 4th child gets to go on a hike/walk with me and gets to choose the location... she was SO STOKED that she could choose wherever she wanted to walk. She suggested the grocery store. Haha.) Love those kids!

They were so excited to light the candles in the woodworking I got in Germany last summer. Except the one on the left was SCARED because she recently had her hair caught on fire from a candle. Hence the reason, the little one on the right was more curious to get in close. :)

Unexpected Guests

2011-12-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

Evan's sister, Jennifer, lives up in Northern Washington (2.5 hour drive away), which means we don't get to see her or her 4 darling girls all that often! Thankfully, Evan's mom talked them into coming down to visit the Thursday after Christmas. It was so fun to see them and how big they've grown. Sadly, we realized that it had been since our wedding since we last saw each other.

Phoebe drawing a monster

We had a great day eating, chatting, drawing/coloring (Jennifer & her girls are all wonderful artists!), playing angry birds (hey... it made the little ones happy!), taking pictures, and (me) learning sign language. One of Jennifer's daughters is deaf. She has a special place in my heart. Every time I see her, I just want to speak to her as much as I can... which, unfortunately, isn't much! She taught me quite a few new signs this time and I managed to learn the alphabet after the 3rd try. We had a great time. :)

Grandparents and 7 of their grandchildren...

Darby and I

The girls were so helpful feeding baby Leena!

Angry birds!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T17:41:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, I have NO pictures from Christmas day this year (above is our 2011 Christmas card), partially because we forgot our camera. Partially, we because the last time I felt as sick was when I caught a freak bacteria in the Czech Republic in 2009. I was vomiting and had diarrhea for 3 weeks with that one and lost 20 lbs. right before my wedding. Talk about an unhealthy way to lose weight!

Thankfully, on Christmas, I did not have a virus, but I did eat sugar and drink milk, both of which I think affected my Christmas festivities. We still had fun doing what we always do visiting my family, Evan's family, and my brother-in-law's parents' house amid me throwing up and napping for a few hours. In fact, the thought of how I felt kind of makes me want to vomit.

So, Christmas wasn't that great, but I still enjoyed being with family and thinking of our Savior and the sacrifice his mother made to bring Him into the world so that He could perform the atonement for me. Boy, am I glad for repentance and the comfort of knowing that SOMEONE, only one, truly knows what I have been through, am going through, and will go through. So comforting!

Christmas & New Year's Teaser

2011-12-29T12:47:00.000-08:00

(From Oma's Christmas tree... I was enamored with this ornament!)

We had an AMAZING Christmas among family and friends. We, like many others, are truly blessed to be able to celebrate Christ's birth at this time of year. Because I'm heading out the door for more family fun, trying to go through and update the ol' blog, AND pen my annual New Year's post, I won't write much yet. I'll post more pictures and funny stories soon! Sorry, I fell off the proverbial blog wagon somewhere around the middle of November. I promise there is a good explanation for it coming in due time! But, for now... here are some pictures before/after Oma's house on Christmas Eve:

Evan got a little too crazy with the garlic... truth be told, he didn't realize that he was shaking it from the LARGE opening instead of the other side until after he'd given it 3-4 hearty shakes. Those were some delicious, garlicky potatoes!

Singing Christmas carols with the books I made.

Baby Benjamin... I witnessed his birth last summer!

Handmade Christmas

2011-12-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

Last year, I had the "brilliant" idea to hand-make all of our Christmas presents. They turned out really well. I made I-Spy pillowcases and pillows for the kids and traveling shoes bags for the adults. Each family with children also got an I-Spy jar. There were probably more hand-made gifts, but those are the ones I can remember!

This year, I was too tired and BUSY to sew as much as I did last year. I had great plans for a year of what I was going to make everyone, but it just didn't work out because I had either no time or no inclination to put my plans to action.

Instead, I improvised! Every year on Christmas Eve, we get together with my mom's side of the family in true German Christmas fashion. (In Germany, they open presents on Christmas Eve.) After eating a hearty feast, we all sing our hearts out enjoying Christmas carols in English and German. The problem we have most years is that we all forget the words and no one has a book of carols!

Well, this year, I decided to make a book of German and English Christmas carols for every family. I included with it a German Christmas CD of German Christmas carols. Everyone LOVED the present. I was so glad that my idea turned out to be a success! We were all able to use the book to sing together on Christmas Eve. Awesome.

The only Christmas present I sewed this year was a table runner for my mother-in-law. On Black Friday, I had a friend over and we both crafted while watching a movie. I got the idea from pinterest. Mine turned out just as beautiful. I now wish I would have taken a picture of the final product. I think I did, but it's probably still on the camera. Here is a picture of the process and a picture from pinterest:

For the girls, I made homemade sugar scrub that smelled delicious! One kind was vanilla and one was citrus. I hope everyone enjoyed it!

That was it for my hand-made Christmas. I did give my sister's kids some gift certificates for play dates which they loved!

Christmas Eve Festivities

2011-12-24T23:27:00.000-08:00

Every year, we get together with my mom's side of the family to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, as is typical in Germany. I love my Oma (pictured below on the right) and going to her house for Christmas Eve. We all have been going there for a minimum of 20 years to celebrate the life and birth of our Savior.

We had a fantastic feast that was gone before any pictures could be taken. We sang carols as we typically do before the little kids can beg us enough to open the presents under the tree! We had a great time. On my mom's side of the family, only 4 cousins and my aunt were missing from the action. Here's to hoping we can all be together soon!

My cousin, Bre, and her husband Josh. They are both hilarious and awesome. I love how happy my cousin, Bre, always is. She is always smiling and just jovial. Love her.

Me playing Santa by divvying up the gifts for the kids (especially for the little ones who couldn't read)

This was a before Christmas Eve dinner mistake. Evan accidentally poured to much garlic into the potatoes before realizing he poured from the wrong side of the cap. The potatoes ended up delicious after we were able to scrape some of the garlic out of there. Not pictured: My crazy delicious lime jello with cream and pears. YUM!

Me kissing on my nephew, Benjamin, whom I saw born in August. So adorable!

Except when seconds after this picture was taken, he did THIS down my shirt. (Sorry for the graphic picture... but I just felt like you couldn't get the effect unless you saw it for real.) Can you see the HUGE pool of spit up down there? Evan had to help me de-spit up after this. I almost gagged because of the smell. You should have seen how soaked-through my garment top was! I couldn't wear it the rest of the night because of how bad it smelled and how soaked through it was! Thank goodness I love this little boy so I was willing to deal with it!

The newlyweds: My brother, David, and his new wife, Elspeth.

Oma uses outdoor colored lights on her tree. Can we say fire hazard?! Somehow, though, the tree always looks beautiful with her vintage baubles. This is something I got her in 2009. It's a wood cut-out of the Frauenkirche in Dresden, bombed during WWII and then rebuilt in the 90's. So cool.

Singing using our new caroling books! Apparently, I knew the songs without having to look at the words. :)

Dedicated to Skiing

2011-12-23T16:31:00.000-08:00

Evan is DEDICATED when it comes to skiing! I don't know if I've mentioned this within the last year or so, but Evan sold a bunch of stuff on Craig's List to get a pair of sweet skis. You see, Evan is a mountaineer who enjoys the outdoors more than anyone else I've ever known! Well, in 2010, he was hiking up to Camp Muir (one of the base camps for climbing Mt. Rainier... a BEAUTIFUL mountain in our "back yard"). As he ascended in freezing, snowy conditions, he had skiers past him. And then, they passed him AGAIN on their way skiing down from Camp Muir.

What he realized is that these skiers had a great idea going... put skins on your skis so you can use them as snowshoes to hike up (instead of carrying your skis or snowboard) to Camp Muir. THEN... simply remove the skins and voila! You can downhill ski from Camp Muir saving hours in hiking time... and making it a lot more fun!

Like I said, Evan sold an RCA helicopter and some other stuff on Craig's List to save up money to buy his skis and skins. I was surprised he bought skis and gave up on snowboarding, but the mountaineering aspect of skiing does make a lot more sense for Evan. Either way, he was able to ski all winter last year and even up until June.

This year, he has hit the slopes several times in the area... every time FOR FREE! He doesn't pay for a lift ticket. He simply slaps his skins on his skis and skies up to the top and then skis down. Usually he only skis up and down one time because he goes so high that it takes him over an hour just to ski down (depending on how high he goes).

I saw these pictures on our camera that he must have taken just for fun when he went out skiing on December 21st. Seeing these pictures reminded me to write about his skiing.

Ugly Sweaters & Dinner with Friends

2011-12-22T23:47:00.000-08:00

You may recall that last year at the Tuttle's First Annual Ugly Sweater Party, Evan won the ugly sweater contest with this bad boy:

We proudly hung the ugly sweater ornament he won on our tree.

Maybe it was the anxiety of trying to outdo our amazing sweaters from last year, maybe it was that we were lazy, maybe it was a combination of the two. This year, for the Tuttle's Second Annual Ugly Sweater Party, we dress normally, as in no ugly sweaters. We didn't even try. Well, okay... I did search for the ugly sweater I wrote last year (it looks like it was knitted from a brillo pad mixed with cat hair), and I also searched for Evan's amazing sweater vest creation. I couldn't find either. Evan assured me that he threw his in the garbage. First of all, this shocks me because the guy RARELY gets rid of things he doesn't need. Second of all, I was saddened because I wanted to wear it this year. C'est la vie.

Needless to say, we didn't win, but we had fun anyway! I ate all the salsa and chips there was to be had and enjoyed sampling all of the cookies for the cookie contest. Awesome!

As if we didn't have enough fun last Friday at the sweater party, we went over to the Tuttle's again last night to get together for dinner with friends from out of town (Elliot & Rachel). There were 2 small baby girls there born only days a part. You can guess what the women talked about for the first hour! Dinner was delicious, but turned south when we all decided to have Evan take our blood pressure (as if he isn't getting enough of that at his work as a CNA)! Here is picture proof that that happened. I don't know why we were all so curious to get our blood pressure checked after we just ate dinner, but we were. Garrin (host) is an EMT and had a couple blood pressure cuffs laying around to use. Talk about random! We all had a good time, though. Gotta love good friends you've known since high school!

Proof Evan took our blood pressure... do you see the beard he is sporting? It's called laziness, winter, and ice climbing season. The guy hates shaving anyway and uses ANY excuse to not shave!

Birthday Week & Turning 30

2011-12-18T23:38:00.000-08:00

My family and friends all made the week of my 30th birthday special! It all started on the Sunday before my birthday. The Stout family held its Second Annual Christmas Progressive Dinner so we could see everyone's birthday decorations. It ended in cake and chocolate mousse at Evan's sister's house to celebrate both of our December birthdays (4 days apart)! We had a wonderful celebration and definitely felt the love.

Then came the pressure... my birthday was only 3 days away. For weeks, nay months, I had been stewing about WHAT I should do for my 30th birthday. I wanted it to be special. I considered parachuting, paragliding, pretty much anything death-defying. And then I thought, why? What am I trying to prove? I realized 30 is just an age and another birthday. Sure, I've now left my 20's and am now in another decade of life. But, you know what? 30 doesn't even feel different. I still feel young. I still want to have fun. AND... I still am enjoying my life no matter what number is attached to me!

After recognizing all of this, I decided that for my 30th birthday, Evan and I would just relax and enjoy each other's company. Usually we go to my Oma's house and have a big dinner with my sister. Because of her kids' sports schedules, it was changed to Sunday. So, Wednesday, Evan and I went on a walk hand-in-hand to the park. He showed me some tips and tricks I've been BEGGING him to show me pretty much since we got the camera last April. :)

Trying to get an action shot in the dark... My face is hilarious as I run by! :)

Once we were done with our photo shoot, we walked to a nearby Mexican restaurant for an enjoyable dinner. Evan brought a sweet card with him that actually made me cry. Usually, he's not much of a card person, but what he wrote expressed in few words how I am the best part of his life. I love that man.

When we got back from dinner, Evan gave me my present: ELF! I had been begging for this movie for weeks and told him that if I owned it, I would watch it everyday. (Well, I watched it 2 days in a row when I got it. Does that count?) Anyway, we're not big into getting each other presents, but it was really sweet that he got me "Elf." We watched and laughed. I fell asleep on his lap. All in all, it was a wonderful birthday with my favorite person in the entire world.

Thursday EARLY morning- 6 am breakfast with some girls from my ward. So fun! We all were tired, but enjoyed getting together before work and kids. :) The whole restaurant sang happy birthday to me and the server brought me ice cream! (Can you see how dark it is outside in the picture?! YIKES!)

Sunday- More partying! My Oma and my sister's family gathered for dinner and dessert for my birthday! I sure love my family and am so grateful for such wonderful people who have continue to stick by me after 30 years of life! :)

Past Birthday Posts:
*24 Year Birthday
*25 Year Birthday
*27 Year Birthday
*28 Year Birthday
*29 Year Birthday

Scouting a Climb

2011-12-15T16:14:00.000-08:00

As mentioned in this post, Evan hiked/skied in to scout out a climb near Mt. Rainier on his day off. Apparently, he also brought our fancy camera with him because he took some STUNNING pictures of a fox on his adventure. I love our camera and the amazing quality of pictures it takes. Evan sold his mountain bike to get our camera and a nice lens in April of last year. Funny thing about that was... he told me it was he bought the camera for MY birthday. Hm... HIS birthday is in April and he bought the camera in April. Guess who has used the camera WAY more than I have?! :) I don't mind, though. Evan is a better photographer as demonstrated by the photos below.

Photo of the ice climbing area

The fox! Look at those red eyes... My maiden name "Russell" means clever fox. I am a clever fox! :)

I love this one of the fox yawning!

The real reason the fox was hanging around...

Ice Climbing

2011-12-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

It's funny how little Evan cares about my blog or reading it, but he always asks me if I post about his stuff on here too. I guess he wants to be included too!

Last Saturday, I stayed home and slept, designed our Christmas postcards, went grocery shopping, and pretty much did a lot of unimportant tasks. While I was doing said tasks, Evan was ice climbing! Evan is hilarious when the weather starts to turn cold. He religiously checks the weather daily. He starts perusing Cascade Climbers frequently as well to see what ice is popping up all over the state.

Well, last week... he even took it one step further! He had the day off on Wednesday and scouted out some ice climbing in the area. He took pictures, he posted them to Cascade Climbers (what I jokingly refer to as his blog) and shared the details of the climbing area. THEN... he proceeded to climb at the climbing area with a couple of the TOP ice climbers in the state. He was pretty proud that they all came there because he had taken the initiative to scout out the area and post the information.

Needless to say, he had a blast! At least someone around this house is having a Saturday adventure, because it sure wasn't me! (Not that I'm bitter or anything.) Here are pictures of the climbing area Evan took.

Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas

2011-11-20T13:36:00.001-08:00

I got home from church today and was really feeling like eating a burrito was what needed to happen. Unfortunately, we didn't have any tortillas! As Evan and I sat there discussing what we were going to eat, I just couldn't get over wanting a big, fat bean burrito. Then, the thought came to me... didn't Evan get a grain mill this week? Can't we make our OWN flour and therefore our OWN whole wheat tortillas?! Genius.

So, we made them with wheat we ground ourselves. I think that makes us hard core or at least on our way to hard core. I've only had a few bites of the tortillas, but they tasted pretty good and will taste even better all filled up! I found the recipe here. This was the easiest one that required the least amount of time. This blog actually looks delightful! Here is the recipe according to how I did it:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 olive oil
1 cup warm water

Mix first 3 ingredients. Slowly mix in water as you stir. Make dough into a roll. Divide the roll into 12 equal pieces. Roll out 12 dough balls. Flatten slightly and let sit for 15 minutes covered with plastic wrap. Flatten out each ball. Heat cast iron skillet to medium (we ended up using 4 because medium-high as suggested just burned for us) and use a paper towel to spread avocado oil onto the skillet. Cook on one side until it seems dried out. Turn over and cook briefly on the second side. Makes 12 tortillas.

We used this beautiful little bowl from Poland for avocado oil. The blog above suggested using avocado oil to cook with instead of olive oil, because avocado oil doesn't break down like olive oil does. Love this little bowl from Poland! I bought 4 of them last summer as little dessert bowls. I eat yogurt with them all the time. It's the little things that makes me happy! :)

The cooking tortillas!

I thought this HUGE bubble was hilarious.

Evan popped it and so much steam came out...

These pictures are making me hungry and my burrito is done! Happy Sabbath Day to all! And Guten Appetit to Evan and I :)

Thinking about Thankful

2011-11-19T17:54:00.000-08:00

Usually I don't drink hot chocolate, but sometimes on a cold day in November, hot chocolate becomes the right thing to do. Love this picture I found when I searched for "heisse Schokolade" (German for hot chocolate)>

via h ere

Tonight, I am alone. Evan is working from 2-10pm. I have some time to do laundry, clean, organize, and think. I've enjoyed the past few hours I've been able to spend going through saved tutorials, finding treasures and gaining ideas of what I can make for family for Christmas. You see, I'm one of those crazy people who decided last year (and is sticking with it these year) to hand make every Christmas gift (Evan and) I give. It is a lofty goal. It means trying to be more meaningful about the gifts I choose to give. It also means preparing at least a month in advance so I have enough time to finish everything! Last year, I LOVED hand-making the gifts I gave. I hope the recipients of the gifts similarly enjoyed them. If you want to see some of the gifts I made, revisit this post.

Besides gifts for family to celebrate our dear Savior's birth, life, and atonement, I am also thinking about gratitude. This week I can't help but be grateful for Evan. He is such a wonderful husband to me! He serves me without asking for anything in return. This week alone, he cooked many meals for me, he grocery-shopped for me, he dealt with my emotional state and just laughed and kissed me instead of taking offense. He drove twice over an hour out of his way to pick up 5 cases of advent calendars for my students and bring them to me. He does so much to serve me and doesn't complain about all that he does to help me in my busy life. He jokingly says his motto is, "Happy wife, happy life." While that may or may not be true, I believe his deeper motivation is that he loves me. He wants to do what he can to help me amid my stresses and trials. I am so grateful for a husband who is my best friend, who is so willing to help uplift and strengthen me. I'm grateful for a man who goes to the temple with me as often as possible. I'm grateful for a righteous priesthood holder who is able to give me priesthood blessings during my struggles. I love this man and thank God daily for the opportunity and blessing it is to be his wife.

Evan's Text

2011-11-17T20:24:00.000-08:00

Evan was trying to get me to come home instead of staying at work late. This text is how he enticed me: "This is waiting for you at home. No tomato sause, but lots of burnt cheese! Not to mention my hot body." I love me some burnt cheese! His hot body doesn't hurt either.

Phlebotomy

2011-11-15T20:37:00.001-08:00

I had some blood work done today. I normally am okay when getting blood work done (I just can't look at the needle), but have had some crazy phlebotomists in the past who have left severe bruising and pain.

Today, the phlebotomist walked in and she was wearing a "student in training" shirt. Immediately, I thought, "It's a bad sign when your phlebotomist is wearing a student in training shirt!" I do have a bruise and the needle did hurt. I feel like she tore my vein. Oh blood work!

Graysen's Birthday

2011-11-13T22:00:00.000-08:00

Nearly every Sunday, we have a family dinner at Evan's parents. Because there are so many people in the family, it seems about once a month, we are celebrating someone's birthday! Our nephew, Xander, told a family friend one time who came to Sunday dinner, "Thanks for coming to my pretty cool party." When he was little, he thought all of these people were coming to his "pretty cool party" because we almost always have dessert and so often we are singing "Happy Birthday!" to someone.

Well, today was a "pretty cool party" for Graysen (pictured above). He turned 4 this week! He and his brothers are 3 of the most adorable little boys in the world. And, their mom had a baby girl in July so now they have 3 adorable little boys and 1 little princess. I didn't think it could get cuter until she was born. WOW, she is adorable! Evan keeps talking about if we have a girl someday that he hopes she so cute. We love being an aunt and uncle to all of our nieces and nephews!

Here are some fun pictures. Holly, Evan's sister, made the most adorable cupcakes for the kids. I haven't seen the movie, but I guess they're "minions." They were adorable and the kids loved them!

Evan snuck this picture in there. I brought our computer with me because we got there early and I wanted to blog. He snapped this while I was blogging.

The token pinata for a Peck birthday... this one was a pirate ship! WARNING: We had a nephew (not pictured) who participated at the last birthday party and ended up bashing in his family's TV because he thought candy would come out of it. Although Evan's brother was happy to get a brand new TV, don't say I didn't warn you.

Look at this little cutie! She isn't quite one, but she wanted to participate too! Look at how happy that makes her. :)

Eventually, Evan got a knife and started cutting into the ship so it would break open. Holly had already drilled holes into it, but I swear these pinatas are reinforced! It broke up finally and the kids enjoyed the candy!

Lieblingsperson & 11.11.11

2011-11-11T23:11:00.000-08:00

This is my Oma. She is pretty much the best person I've ever known. I love her so much. To say that I am grateful for her in my life is an understatement. Looking at this picture makes me want to cry. She is the most beautiful person in the world to me. She loves unconditionally, she serves without asking for anything in return. She has such great faith and is so talented at anything she tries. She is so logical about everything and seems to always make me feel better about the things that are going on in my life.

Because my parents died when I was a child, my Oma has been there for me through everything. I know that she will never stop loving me. I am so grateful for her kindness, her example, her beauty. I hope someday I can be a quarter of the person that she is! I love her so much!

Oma was born on 11/11/1919 and today she turned 92 on 11/11/11. We had a family dinner and get-together in the evening, but we started the celebrations by taking her to the most beautiful little tea and brunch house called "The Secret Garden." The restaurant is in a house that is over a hundred years old and has such character! The food is divine and the presentation is amazing.

Pumpkin Soup... Delicious!

Love the label on the personal tea pot!

They brought Oma her own cake!

The group (my sister, Oma, niece, me)

Views of the house:

Loved this staircase!

New Hair

2011-11-08T20:35:00.000-08:00

I am nearly 30 years old and, before today, I had never before dyed my hair! I found my first gray hair when I was in my early teens and the gray hair count has ONLY gone up since then! I have a relatively "young" face, but with all of the gray hair, I felt like I was aging fast.

On Tuesday, my coworker told me she was going to get her hair done. All of a sudden, I decided to tag along to get my hair done too! The lady mixed red and dark brown, slathered it on my hair, washed, dried, and straightened.... and we ended up with this:

NO MORE GRAYS!

Evan was so shocked when I got home and my hair was straight AND red-brown. I've since received many compliments about said hair color. I need to buy a new straightener (minimum $130 for one that will work well on my hair) so no more straight for a while!

I'm not sure how the grow out is going to work (one of the reasons I didn't color it before... on top of HOW EXPENSIVE it is). ANY IDEAS about how to deal with grow out? HELP!

Evan's interpretation of my hair:

Homemade Currywurst

2011-11-07T22:11:00.001-08:00

I tried out for a play tonight before realizing I wasn't able to do it. For this reason, I got home super late and super hungry. Tired and hungry don't mix because then it's hard to actually want to cook anything!
Evan got asparagus so I cooked that up and then remembered the leftover sausage from Oktoberfest sitting in my freezer! I sauted it on up and ate it with ketchup mixed with a little curry powder. Delightful! People who have been to Berlin or eaten Currywurst will appreciate this homemade variety!

Wedding, Baptism, Baby Blessing

2011-11-06T21:04:00.000-08:00

This weekend, we had a family celebration EXTRAVAGANZA! First, some of our good friends got married in the temple. Evan and I had the opportunity to be at the first live sealing since our own. What a wonderful blessing it was to be a part of that!

After the sealing, we drove to my brother's wedding. It was neat to see him and his wife, Elspeth, so happy! (Pictured above)

The next morning, we all got up to go to my niece's baptism and my nephew's baby blessing. It was so cool to be there for both of those things. I was the first family member at the baptism. When my little Annie saw me, she ran down the aisle at church yelling, "SARSIE!" and gave me a big hug. It made me want to cry seeing her all dressed in white and ready to get baptized. I'm so proud of her and her commitment to be a better person. She is awesome.

My little nephew Benjamin's baby blessing was also so neat to be a part of! I'm so glad that my sister and her husband made the decision to travel up to Washington for the blessing rather than do the blessing in Utah. Love that little guy!

Here is our first family picture with all four siblings and their kids after the wedding and baptism! So neat to have all of us together for the first time!

92 and going strong

2011-11-06T20:42:00.000-08:00

My Oma is awesome. Her 92nd birthday is on Friday and she's still alive and kicking! Because my mom died, Oma has been not only a grandmother, but a mother, and a wonderful example and friend to me. Love her positivity, strength through hard times, how intelligent she is and how logical she is.
This picture was taken tonight at her house. We all were gathering for a final time before my sister and her family head back to Utah. My Oma decided the cuckoo clock needed to be changed because of daylight savings time and she instantly climbed up on her own to do it. Love that lady!

Hobbit Thanksgiving

2011-11-05T23:49:00.001-07:00

As mentioned yesterday, today was the day of my niece's baptism and my nephew's baby blessing. Needless to say, the day was awesome AND I ate a lot of food. In fact, I pretty much felt like I was consistenly grazing in between meals for a good nine hours of the day. The food was delicious, especially a glorious pumpkin cheesecake leftover from my brother's wedding last night.

Pretty much I feel like today was a holiday because the whole family was together and we all ate a lot. Okay, so we had Thanksgiving two weeks early. I'd like to think we were just stretching out our stomachs ahead of time so that by the time Turkey Day comes around, we can really pack it in. Food is an important part of our family. We'd die without it. Maybe we're all just hobbits and we have Thanksgiving and second Thanksgiving. You all know I'm short enough to be a hobbit. Too bad I don't have the hairy feet to prove it.

I've digressed to talking about hobbits. It must be time for bed!

2 Weddings

2011-11-04T22:33:00.001-07:00

The two weddings were a success today... and I gained a new sister to boot! So happy for my friends and family. Also grateful for a day away from work responsibilities! Tomorrow my niece is getting baptized and my nephew is getting blessed. Busy weekend for family. Pictures to come...

NaBloPoMo & Life

2011-11-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

I think you all know, but October was one of the most busy, stressful months of my life. I'm slowly easing back into society. I started out with a rockin' Halloween party in our ward where I copmpeted in my first (not last!) pie eating contest. Thinking about practicing slurping up vanilla pudding before I try again.

Tuesday, I visited my Oma who is almost 92 and still ticking. Wednesday, parent meeting, dinner with my work friend, and a presidency meeting. Today ended with a dinner with friends to celebrate our friends' wedding tomorrow. Because our friends have a wedding and my brother is getting married, no school tomorrow! For some odd reason, I am wilingly choosing to go out to breakfast with friends at 6am.

Hm... maybe this whole life slowing down after October dream isn't going to happen. Well, here's to a busy weekend with family and friends!

P.S. I'm participating in NaBloPoMo, which is why all the November posts!

Student Gift

2011-11-02T22:59:00.001-07:00

I have so many talented students! One of my students is in a floral design class and made me this pumpkin arrangement. She gave it to me last week on the day of Oktoberfest when I was super stressed. It made my day. I'm so grateful for thoughtful students!

P.S. Sorry for the poor picture quality! It was taken from my phone.

Oddly Busy October

2011-11-01T23:36:00.000-07:00

Honestly, October 2011 was one of the busiest months in my nearly 30 years! I'm so glad I survived. There are a lot of things I gave to make Oktober successful for my students and myself. Most importantly- sleep! I also inadvertently gave up exercise, reading for pleasure, blogging, etc. due to time constraints.

I'm happy to say, however, that I left school before dark today and even ended up getting a twenty minute walk in when I was at my Oma's house! Nice. More to come and I'll even include pictures.

EHS Oktoberfest 2011

2011-10-28T22:35:00.000-07:00

Each year, the German Program at my school holds an annual Oktoberfest. This has been going on since 1992. I'm pretty sure the same band has also played at each Oktoberfest since then, but I was only a part of 4 of them during the 90's while a student at the high school.

Well, since I am the German Program, I put on the event for the 3rd time in my career! We had the superintendent of the school district there, 3 of our high school's principals, and the school and local newspaper! Over 300 people attended. It was a SMASHING success. Last year, my students and I had the genius idea to create a "face in the hole" Bavarian board. My students went to work buying the supplies and painting a MAGNIFICENT board. We used the picture board again, we had fun faux gingerbread necklaces for the children to paint, a fingerhakeln competition, and best of all our token Bavarian band and dance!

One of the best parts of the night was when I surprised my students by singing a song they had memorized while the band was on break. My students were SO HAPPY and SO SURPRISED that they got to sing that song! They loved it!

The band...

Crow & Cat Are Friends

2011-10-24T16:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes friends come up in the most unlikely places! I saw this video today while looking up the most DELICIOUS recipe for "Creamy Avocado Pasta." I think the premise of the video is awesome. I know that I also have friends that are opposite of me and people find it hard to believe that we've been friends for years. I love the ending where the couple (who've been together 51 years!) give the reminder that friendships form in unlikely places and we shouldn't be too quick to judge those around us because we never know the blessings that may come from taking the time to get to know someone new! :) Enjoy!

Surviving a Miscarriage

2011-10-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

image via HERE for Infant Loss Day, October 15th

Last summer, I found out while I was in Germany that I was pregnant. After coming back from Germany, I started bleeding. I lived through 4 weeks of bleeding , 2 weeks of worrying why my pregnancy hormone (HCG) levelswere not dropping while I was bleeding, 2 weeks of getting my arms poked with needles to test my HCGlevels every other day, severe cramping, and that’s nothing to say for the emotional trauma I wentthrough. It was not a fun experience to say the least.

I feel very blessed thatHeavenly Father guided me to having the foresight to get my progesterone levelschecked BEFORE we started trying to have a baby. I found out at the end of Maythat my progesterone levels were low and that I may not be able to get pregnanton my own, let alone be able to sustain a pregnancy without progesterone. I’mglad I had that in my back of my mind after I found out I was pregnant just sothat I was a little more mentally prepared when I started bleedingand ultimately found out I was miscarrying.

Still, the struggle was not easy. Icried briefly after it was confirmed that I was going through a miscarriage.And then I didn’t allow myself to cry for a few weeks. I felt like I had tosteel my heart away from the pain of the miscarriage to remain sane. It wasn’tuntil the birth of my sister’s baby that I broke down. It was so awesome to bethere and be able to witness the birth of my nephew, but that night it was sohard watching both of my sister nursing their babies side by side knowing that my own babywasn’t going to make it. As I got into bed that night, I laid down and cried.And Evan held me. The loss of a pregnancy, especially because we had no otherchildren, was acute. Being at first surprised with a pregnancy I didn’t knowcould happen on its own with such low progesterone levels and then allowing myself toget excited about the prospect of the pregnancy… then the loss of the hope ofthat excitement. Every baby I looked at was a reminder of what I lost. I feltlike EVERY woman was a mother and I was the only one not in the “mom club.”But, that wasn’t really why I was sad. Those were merely reminders of mysadness, but they weren’t the reason why. The reason why is complex. Part of itis that I couldn’t understand why something like this would happen to me. Bothof my sisters had fine pregnancies without any mishaps and now have healthychildren. WHY ME?! Why am I the only one who has trouble with sustaining apregnancy?

Thenthere was the fact that I do want to be a mother. I do want a child. Eventhough it scared me, I feel more ready for that responsibility than everbefore. The pain of that loss and worrying that I may never have a childpressed deep into my soul. I was distraught beyond words but had to repress it.I had to show a happy face to everyone else even though inwardly I wasstruggling deeply. Would I ever have a child? Would I ever become pregnant again?These are still questions that haunt me. I don’t know the answer, but I do havea little more peace now than I did before.

Anotheradded complexity was Evan’s excitement about being a father. Ever since we gotmarried, Evan has wanted to be a father. In fact, I’d say that he wants to be afather more than I want to be a mother (which is saying something!). He loves kids and was SO excited whenhe found out that we were going to be having our first child. He said he lovedme even more than he thought possible now that I was going to be the mother of his child.To see him let down and help me through this struggle made it even harder. Iwant to have a child with him. I want to be parents and raise a child, ourchild, together. Losing this baby meant that we may not ever share thattogether. It was heartbreaking.

SoI allowed myself to break down twice and have since pushed all of those sadfeelings away. The struggle now lies in that I’m numb. When I think abouthaving a child or being a mother, I feel numb. How do I get rid of thesefeelings? How do I let go of the past and hope again that I can be a mothersomeday?

Thegood news is that I CAN get pregnant. The bad news is that it’s tricky takingprogesterone to ensure that I can keep the pregnancy. I don’t want to gothrough another miscarriage. I don’t think I can deal with another heartbreaklike that again. I’m hoping through continued prayer that I can find peace,that I can gain comfort, that I can hear the guidance from Heavenly Fatherabout the next steps I should take in my life.

Pumpkin Farina Delight

2011-10-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning craving both farina cereal (malt-o-meal) AND pumpkin. I had never heard of the two combined, but I thought, surely, in the vast global internet someone had thought to combine the two things! After a cursory internet search, I found that was right: Pumpkin Farina topped with granola. I tweaked the granola part to include sliced almonds instead of pecans. I was also really excited to use my beautiful bowls from the Czech Republic. LOVE the polka dots!

This recipe was like eating a steaming bowl of pumpkin pie... but even better than pumpkin pie! It was creamy, delicious, AND topped with honey, buttery granola goodness. I think I might make this as an after-Thanksgiving dinner dessert! People might think I'm crazy, but not when you taste the deliciousness involved here. If you love fall and love the pumpkin family, this recipe is for you!

Recipe found in the article, "With a little imagination, breakfast porridge can take on a new life"
BY ROSEMARY BLACK
Sunday, January 02, 2005

For farina: 3 cups milk 1 cup canned pumpkin 9 tablespoons maple syrup 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon allspice Pinch of salt 1/2 cup farina

For granola: 1 cup oats 1 cup pecans 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut 1/2 cup sunflower seeds 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup butter 1 tablespoon honey

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare farina: In a saucepan, mix milk, pumpkin, maple syrup, spices and salt and bring to a boil. Add the farina, stir well, and cook until thickened. To prepare the granola, toss together all the dry ingredients. Microwave the butter and honey until melted. Pour over the dry ingredients; mix well. Spread mixture onto sheet pan and bake for 7 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Spoon farina into bowls. Top with granola and serve hot.

Football

2011-10-07T22:12:00.000-07:00

I'll be the first to admit I really don't know much about football and I don't really care that much about it either. Meanwhile, I have decided to work at all home football games this year as ticket/gate/stand duty extraordinaire. Tonight was our homecoming game. We lost, but I still got paid for my four hours working. Nice. Wearing a hot, sexy orange vest is also a bonus not to mention the walkie talkie. I can now be classified as an adult.

P.S. Pictured with me is my coworker and "work spouse," Lyndsey. I think we spend more time together at work than Evan and I spend together at home! I guess hence the reason she is my "work spouse!"

Nice Note!

2011-09-22T07:06:00.001-07:00

Evan left early for work this morning, before I even woke up! But not too early to make me breakfast and leave me this note. So nice! Love that guy :)

(The note says: Sarah- I think you're the most amazing person. Every time I see you I fall in love with you all over again. I'll be missing you today at work. See you soon. Evan)

Summer Recap

2011-09-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Image via HERE

To say my summer was busy is an understatement. School got out on June 17th. I left that day to go on a road trip to Portland. The day after that, I left to Germany for 4.5 weeks with students and without Evan. The week after I got back, Evan and I left on a 3-week long road trip visiting family and friends. I spent a majority of my summer on the road and away from home.

Because I'm not quite willing to admit to myself that the summer has ended and I'm back to my school responsibilities, I feel like posting a little recap on my crazy summer:

Traveled in 5 different countries (4 of which were with students on an exchange)
Went on 2 road trips to 6 different states
Slept in a minimum of 11 different beds
Ate at least 161 meals away from home (not including snacks!)
Witnessed the birth of my nephew
Dealt with a major health issue and came out of alive (more on that in a later post)
Slept in my bed roughly 10 days from June 17th to August 21st

When all of the traveling was done and the dust had settled, I had about a week to relax and organize my classroom before teacher meetings started. The first few days, I spent relaxing and reading, taking some much-needed down time. However, the need to go through and get rid of outdated materials in my classroom took over my need to relax.

All in all, the summer was very memorable. Evan and I had a fun time on the longest vacation Evan has ever been on! I was proud to take him to some new places he had never formerly traveled. He decided after this trip that we need to take a big vacation at least once a year. Everyone knows I'm on board with that idea! I'm voting for Thailand next year, but we'll see how it goes. Viva la Summer! (It still lasts for another week, you know?)

Another Back to School

2011-09-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

Photo via here

This years marks 6 years since I started teaching, which actually means that I'm in my 7th year of teaching. Here are the teaching stats in the past 6 years:

Substituted for 1.5 school years
Taught in 3 states
Taught in 5 schools (not including substituting... if you count that, then add another 2 schools onto the mix!)
Moved schools a minimum of 6 times
Instructed in 8 different classrooms (not including subbing)
Taught 4 different subjects and 6 different grade levels within those subject areas (including AP!)
Before this year, I had never taught in the same school 2 years in a row.
Also before this year, I had never taught the same subject 2 years in a row.

To say that my professional life the past 6 years has forced me to be flexible is an understatement. This 7th school year marks 2 hallmarks in my teaching career:

I get to teach in the SAME CLASSROOM in the SAME SCHOOL for the 2nd year in a row.
I get to teach the SAME SUBJECT for a 2nd year in a row!

What a blessing this is! I already feel like I've started the school year off on a better foot than any school year before. Every school year before this one, I felt like a first year teacher all over again in a new school and teaching a different subject. It is so nice to already have materials and ideas prepared and ready from last school year to lead into this school year. It also doesn't hurt that I know 3/5 of all of my students because I taught them last year in German! Even though being a teacher still has its challenges, I feel a little bit better prepared to fight them because of these 2 blessings. Here's to another great year of teaching!

European Food

2011-09-03T16:15:00.000-07:00

After I got back from Germany this summer, I had someone ask me what kind of food that I ate and what foods you can find in Germany (he was skeptical there was anything more than Bratwurst and Sauerkraut). When I was put on the spot, it was hard to think of exactly what we had eaten. However, as I looked back over my pictures, I realized that I ate many different types of food. Honestly, I've eaten the best food of my life in Germany. They have every type of food you could ever want and all of it is delicious. Just thinking about the food you can find in Germany and the high quality of the food makes me want to take a trip over there right now! The price of the plane ticket is totally worth it when you taste how amazing the food is! Pictured below are the highlights (or at least the foods I have pictures of!)

1- Czech crepe, 2- Czech Pizza, 3- Trdelnik pastry from Czech Republic

DESSERTS! Germany has amazing desserts and the presentation on the food is always so beautiful. One of my favorites was Dampfnudel from Dampfnudel Ulli (top right below). Here is a post about it. (The bottom left picture is of me with yummy fish and potato croquets. Not a dessert, but still delicious!)

1- Polish pizza, 2- Cheese-baked Schnitzel with potato croquets and cherry sauce (you can't go to a German-speaking country and not have Schnitzel! We ate it at Moritzburg.), 3- The best sausage I've ever had in my life in Dresden with GERMAN potato salad (WAY better than ours... very fresh tasting)

1- Potato with Lachs in Berlin... look at the presentation of it in a swan!, 2- Italian ice cream at the Berlin main train station, 3- gorgeous chocolate mousse in KaDeWe in Berlin, 4- Turkish food in Berlin, 5- Marvelous salads!, 6- A fruit mousse that was to die for (also at KaDeWe in Berlin). The whipped cream in Germany is SO much better than we have here!

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

2011-09-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

In all the cities I've ever been to, Cesky Krumlov in Czech Republic is probably the most breathtaking city. Every where you look, is beautiful. Every building and street corner has something new and interesting to look at. The city is built in the middle of the Vltava River and has a fortress overlooking the city. If you ever have the opportunity to go to the western Czech Republic, you have to go visit and eat the famous trdelnik pastry (biscuit dough rolled onto metal rolling pins, grilled over coals, and rolled in a variety of things- I got cinnamon and sugar).So delicious!

Up The Peak

2011-09-01T22:22:00.000-07:00

I was feeling pretty burnt out this week after pretty much only just working and sleeping! Evan was gone up in the Enchantments, which made me feel like I could work until late at night because he wasn't waiting for me! On Thursday, I decided to get out and get some exercise. I invited my niece to go up with me and she was thrilled to go! We made it up in 32 minutes and had a great time doing it. Love my little hiking buddy!

Evan's New Toy

2011-08-23T17:15:00.001-07:00

Evan just traded his motorcycle to get this beaut. Not sure at this point which is more costly or dangerous!

Mt. Peak Reunion

2011-08-22T13:12:00.001-07:00

I've been gone for over two months and haven't hiked up here in a while. I did it today in 27 minutes which isn't bad for not doing much hiking for over two months. My two nieces and Evan went with me. Time to get active again! Now for the down hike...

Nursing Cover

2011-08-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

For the last nearly three weeks, Evan and I have been on a road trip visiting family and friends. One of the main purposes of this road trip was to spend with my little sister and be there when she had her baby. We achieved our goals and had a great time. On Tuesday, August 16th little Benjamin was born and I got to be a part of the labor and delivery! I'm so glad I was there to be a part of such a special occasion.

I wanted to make or give Zandy something special. After day one of nursing, she realized she needed a nursing cover. I went to buy her one and it was going to cost $30. I made one using this tutorial- http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/p/shop-diary-of-quilter.html. I decided I could make two for her for less than a third the cost. I'm making the second one Monday and sending it off.

Going Home

2011-08-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

Made it to the resort in Mccall Idaho late last night after eating dinner with Evan's brother. On our way home with one more stop to rock climb! Yay! First time in Washington in nearly three weeks.

Rock climbing final day

2011-08-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Last day of our road trip. My sister had her baby yesterday which means we're heading back tomorrow morning. Last time rock climbing in Utah before we go. Had a great time and even talked my sister, Nicole, into climbing. Awesome!

Salt Lake Temple

2011-08-13T13:46:00.001-07:00

Evan took me for my first time ever to a session in the Salt Lake Temple. It was so beautiful inside! I am so glad we had the opportunity to go to this temple and experience some of our Mormon heritage! What a wonderful day!

Rock Canyon, Part Two

2011-08-12T11:56:00.001-07:00

Evan just climbed to the top of that peak. I belayed him safely from the base of the top peak! Climbing up two routes was enough for me. I didn't need the third! Now off to float the river down Provo Canyon... Hopefully my sister doesn't go into labor while we're gone!

Stewart Falls

2011-08-12T07:37:00.000-07:00

Here is the view from Evan's phone of our hike to Stewart Falls. I told you it beautiful! More rock climbing this morning and then we're going to float down the river in Provo Canyon.

Rock Canyon Climbing

2011-08-11T19:21:00.001-07:00

Just got done hiking up to Stewart Falls near Sundance. Beautiful!I used to run a trail up there three or more times a week after work when I lived here. Good times. Now we just headed back to Provo to go rock climbing in Rock Canyon. Viva la climbing!

Rock Climbing Little Cottonwood Canyon

2011-08-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

Evan and I have been busy and having fun during our marathon road trip! We've now been in five states and have been traveling for eleven days. My sister still hasn't had her baby yet, so we'll see how much longer this road trip will last waiting for that to happen!
While waiting for that to happen, we've been trying to have as many fun adventures as possible. On Tuesday, we headed up to Little Cottonwood Canyon east of Salt Lake City to rock climb. This was a day of laughter for sure! Using the climbing guide book Evan had bought the day before, we attempted to find this super sweet climb next to a water fall. Apparently if guide book was not super accurate. After four hours of searching, hiking, and asking, we FINALLY found the climb on a last stop just to check on our way leaving. It was a crazy day and I couldn't help but laugh the whole time even if Evan was frustrated and sometimes ornery! :)

Bye Rexburg

2011-08-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

We had to stop and take some pictures of the temple on the way out of town! We had a great trip with friends, good food, and fun adventures. This will probably be the last time I'm in Rexburg until we have kids that come to school here! I took tons of pictures to document changes that I'll post for people when I get home. Now it's off to Utah! :)

Old Faithful

2011-08-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

Even though it smells like everyone here is passing gas because of the sulfur, Evan and I are having a good time touring around Yellowstone National Park and seeing all of the crazy geysers and natural hot springs. Now we're just waiting for Old Faithful to erupt!

The Log Cabin Burger

2011-08-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

Evan put some fries on his double burger and henceforth named it the log cabin. Had a great dinner and fun time cruising the tourist-filled streets! We were so surprised to see so many people out so late at night in such a small town! On to Yellowstone National Park tomorrow...

Mesa Falls & West Yellowstone

2011-08-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

Took Evan to Mesa Falls today and if loved using his new camera to take pictures. Unfortunately, this is the best my phone can do! We're in West Yellowstone now and had fun bumming around town tonight. We're so excited about the resort we're staying at and going to one of America's greatest national parks tomorrow. Yay for awesome road trips! :)

Bird Picture

2011-08-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

We're on our way rock climbing and then heading to Yellowstone for the night and Evan stopped to take a bird picture of this huge hawk with his new camera. He loves taking bird pictures so much that he got a new zoom lens for it!

2 years married, 5 years together

2011-08-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

Well folks, we made it to two years married and five years together. Evan and I had a great anniversary today. Most of it was spent at Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho, which was Evan's first time at a theme park of this size. We had so much fun going in the water park and on the crazy rides! (Pictures to come.) It made me even more excited and determined to take Evan to Disneyland someday because it's at least ten times bigger and ten times more fun!

Aside from all of that, I'm so glad to be married to my best friend, the person I choose to be with through good and bad. He is such a great support to me daily. I cannot say enough how grateful I am for how much he does for me. Love this guy! Here's to more great years to come! :)

On our way to Silverwood

2011-08-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

After our Costco run, we stopped to get another sleeping bag for later in our road trip and saw this HUGE frying pan! Wow... Not sure why or how anyone could use this sucker. Yikes! On to Silverwood Theme Park!

Long Time...

2011-07-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

To say that life has been busy in the last month since I posted is an understatement. I've been in 4 (European) countries (5 if you include the US!), 4 German states, and have had a roller coaster with some medical issues I've been dealing with since returning from Germany! I am exhausted.

The positive is: HOPEFULLY, we'll be leaving on a 2-week trip to go to visit friends and family in Idaho & Utah as well as celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary! YAY! I'll post more and with pictures soon... I just wanted to write something. Hope everyone is doing well. :)

At the Grocery Store

2011-07-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

Grocery shopping in Germany is similar to our experience here. There are a few ways grocery shopping differs:

You have to pay to get a cart. (Pictured above) It is to ensure that you actually put the cart back where it belongs rather than leaving it in the parking lot to damage someone else's car.
The cashier sits down. If the cashier didn't sit down, people would think it's weird. In fact, they think we're weird that our cashiers DON'T sit down. Weird.
You have to pay for bags or bring your own.
You load up your own bags on a small little area right after the cashier. (pictured above) This means you have to be exceedingly fast at packing up your groceries, especially if there is a line otherwise people will be getting mad at you. Not that I've experienced that before or anything.
You weigh and label your own fruits and vegetables with a cool computer, labeler thing. (pictured above)
Many grocery stores have the entire dairy section open. (In the milk pictured above, the green cartons come from my relatives milk in the Berchtesgardener Land in Germany.)
Cigarettes are just out at the cash register for anyone to buy, but the signage on the cigarettes saying that they will kill you takes up about a third of the front of the cigarette carton. (pictured above)

Pictured Below: Sweets! That aisle in the picture below is JUST the chocolate aisle.

Grocery store randomness!

Around Town

2011-07-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

Some views of the town center

Signs around town... the only one that isn't from Eggenfelden is the shoe repair one. The one in the top right is a cigarette machine. They love their cigarettes in Europe!

I just had to take a picture of this guy with the Bavarian hat and sneakers walking his bike down the sidewalk. It made me smile. Do you notice the cemetery below? They have flower boxes for every grave. Sounds cool, right? But, watch out! Because if you don't pay the dues every X amount of years, they turn the body out of the grave into a mass grave and sell the grave to someone else. Crazy!

A sculpture, me at a computer at the bank in my own private office, me opening an account at the bank.

Family Comes to Visit

2011-07-17T23:51:00.000-07:00

One of the neatest parts about this exchange trip was that my niece was on the exchange with me! It was so fun to get to know her host family better and to spend some time with her. Towards the end of our trip, my brother-in-law who raised me came to see Maria and I. He got the opportunity to meet her host family and my former host family from when I went on the trip. It was so fun to see him and have him a part of our adventures in Germany! It was the first time that he and I have ever been together in Germany, but hopefully not the last!

3 Lakes, 1 Day

2011-07-17T16:59:00.000-07:00

My former host family is super sweet. Every time I go to Germany, they go out of their way to do something special for me! I already had spent some time with them one afternoon the week before, but that wasn't enough for them. They ended up taking me on a crazy, day-long road trip all around Northern Austria to see some of the most beautiful lakes I've personally ever seen in my life. Even though I was car sick for the almost 7-hour car trip, I am glad we were able to see the beautiful lakes.

The last lake we stopped to visit was the Attersee. Now, I've lived in Hawaii and am very familiar with the color of the water there. Well, this water at the Attersee was more brilliant than any ocean water I saw in Hawaii. It was stunning. It was breathtaking. It was the kind of place you buy a cabin and go live for 2 months every summer. The expensive restaurant we ate at may have had terrible food, but had wonderful views of the valley and the lake. I'd love to go there again!

At the end of our road trip,we stopped on the border of Austria and Germany to get some delicious cakes. As we were driving away, we saw the birthplace of Hitler in Braunau, Austria, only marked by the stone in the picture in the collage above. No plaque says that this is where he was born. The sign only reads:
"For peace, freedom, and democracy
Fascism never again
Millions of the dead remind us"

German Weekend Adventures

2011-07-16T23:33:00.000-07:00

Our weekend was a busy one! Friday night, we went to a school musical. Saturday, FINALLY, my niece and I had the chance to do something fun together with our host partners. Our first stop on our way out of town was to Marktl am Inn, the birthplace of the current pope. In the top left of the collage, you'll see my niece and I standing next to the sign marking his birthplace.

Stop two took me back to Piding, the home of our relatives. I had spent time with them the weekend before, but my niece was gone in Italy and didn't get the chance to go visit with me. Thankfully, my partner teacher, Beate, was nice enough to drive us all of the way down for a quick visit! My grandma's cousin was gone on a trip in Tirol, but my niece, Maria, still got to see the rest of relatives. She had only see them one time 10 years before when she was only 5! It was so cool to see what they thought of her all grown up.

After visiting the relatives, we headed up to Chiemsee (Lake Chiem) to paddle boat around the lake and eat a delicious lunch. It was funny because Beate and I ordered the same thing and Maria and her exchange partner, Amelie, ordered the same thing. It wasn't planned! I guess each partnership has the same taste in food. We enjoyed a great day on the lake paddling around. We all got a good workout.

The final stop was on our way back to Eggenfelden. We stopped at Burghausen, the longest castle in Europe. The only other time I'd been there had been in 1999. It was so fun to walk through the castle and see the beautiful views of the valley, river, and lake below. Stunning castle. Sadly, my camera died on our way going in, so I only captured a few pictures. The rest are on Beate's camera. When I get those pictures, I'll post them.

Exchange Student Visit

2011-07-15T23:35:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of last year, Andi came to our school from Germany. She was a shy girl who enjoyed speaking with me in German, but was nervous about speaking to ANYONE in English. It has been amazing to see her COMPLETE transformation from the beginning of the school year to the end of the school year. She really came out of her shell! She went from the girl who nearly dropped her Drama class because she was nervous of being on the stage, to participating in 2 plays and a musical!

While I was staying in Germany this summer, her family invited me over to dinner so we could get to know each other better. It was so neat for ME to play the "exchange student" role and have Andi show me around her house and farm. Her family owns a chicken farm and I got the opportunity to see 30,000 chickens at one time! (pictured above) WOW. It was crazy to see and hear and SMELL that many chickens in one place at a time. Once in a lifetime experience!

It was great visiting Andi and getting to know her family. She will be missed this school year, but I'm excited to see her when I visit Germany again in 2 years!

GAPP '99 Reunion

2011-07-14T23:45:00.000-07:00

Even though not everyone got to come that was in the area, we had a great GAPP reunion catching up about the last 12 years! It was so good seeing old friends and eating amazing Italian food. (Can you tell I'm food driven?) Hopefully, our 14-year reunion will be better planned in 2013. :)

Salzbergwerk, Königsee, Salzburg

2011-07-13T23:20:00.000-07:00

The first field trip we took out of our homestay in Eggenfelden was to the Salzbergwerk (salt mines) in Germany, a slide in the salt mines is pictured below. The salt mine tour is actually pretty cool! You are taken on a train underground through tunnels into the salt mine. You get to go on a few slides down through the mine, go across an underground brine lake with a laser show, watch some cool interactive, highly technological videos, more light shows, up a crazy, sideways elevator, and another train ride back to where we started. I loved going on this tour and so did the kids and their exchange partners!

Next stop was the Königsee which happened to be in the running for the 2018 Olympics. They were hosting live TV footage of the event. Sadly, they didn't get it. In spite of that, we still had fun hiking around the lake and walking through the town. (You may have heard of this lake as in the lake above which was Hitler's "Eagle's Nest.")

Next stop: Salzburg! Salzburg is one of my very favorite cities. I love walking around, seeing the architecture. Plus, who doesn't love "The Sound of Music?" I sure do! It was fun walking around again seeing the sights of where the movie was filmed, seeing Mozart's birth house (the picture of me below with the yellow house) and where he lived. I even got to give him a kiss! :)

Below are some of my favorite shots of the architecture. I especially love the one in the top right-hand corner where the gargoyle is peeking in the window. He freaked my students out!

German Book Reading

2011-07-11T23:00:00.000-07:00

While I was in Germany, I was invited to go to a book reading with a famous German author. (Just found out that she also translated the Anne Frank book into German. WOW! I read that in college and had NO IDEA when I met her that she had translated it.) The senior students at our partner school contacted the author and set up the whole reading themselves, complete with sponsors to help pay for the author to come visit. I thought it was so neat that the student worked that hard to make this happen for their school! They had posters all over town and had local booksellers selling the book and endorsing the book reading. They even raised money selling appetizers and drinks at the reading. It was really well-done.

Well, I had bought the book ahead of time, but, because of the exchange, was so busy I didn't get a chance to actually READ the book beforehand. She read a majority of the book during the 2 hour reading so I feel like I actually did get to read the book. :)

At the end, I got to meet her and have her sign my copy of the book. I am excited to read some more of her books. I've heard very good things about them! Here is the book she read from. I'm not sure if it's available in English. If it is, I recommend reading it!

Family Fun

2011-07-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

I have had the opportunity to visit my relatives in Germany 5 times starting in 1999! It was so fun to go visit them for the weekend and see them again. My cousin, Eva, took me to Salzburg to walk around and enjoy the city on Saturday. Sunday, she was kind enough to take me to a congregation of my church in Austria. I was so glad to be able to go to church for the first time in almost 3 weeks! All in all, Eva and I had a great time together and I am so grateful for her and her family's kindness and hospitality! I hope that she and her sister will come visit soon so my family and I can return the favor.

Picture 1: Mountain Climbing store in Salzburg. I had to take that picture for Evan because it looked so crazy with ice in the window and mountain climbing gear. He would have LOVED that store:

Picture 2: This guy was selling these little sticky men. I loved just sitting there watching him throw the little sticky toys. They look like they're climbing as they fall down. Cool.

Picture 3: As we walked back to the parking garage, we walking through this entry way.

Picture 4: Eva and I waiting at the train station, saying goodbye. :(

Meeting the Mayor

2011-07-08T14:19:00.000-07:00

In Eggenfelden, we truly felt like royalty! They pulled out all the stops for us. Not only was the principal of our partner school the former exchange leader who came to Enumclaw many times over the last 20+ years, but the mayor wined and dined us with candies, drinks, and Eggenfelden souvenirs in the city hall conference room. Because this was Gretchen LaTurner's last exchange, they got her a necklace pendant for a famous Eggenfelden artist (Neustifter who even built a monument for the Pope in his home town) to thank her for what she's given to their community over the years. It was a great time!

July 4th Welcome!

2011-07-05T11:24:00.000-07:00

It's always weird being in a foreign country on July 4th. I miss the celebration of our country's founding! I miss the family get-togethers, the fireworks, the Chinese lanterns we set off and watch blow away.

Because the German exchange teachers were so sensitive to our students, they decided to have our welcome party on July 4th so we didn't miss home quite so much! A family owns an Italian restaurant and was kind enough to host the party. The picturesque country views were to die for. And so was the smorgasbord! (Did you know that word was Scandinavian?) All of the kids who owned them dressed up in Dirndls and Lederhosen. We had a great time listening to the Bavarian band, singing along, dancing, eating, laughing.

P.S. That's me holding my niece in the bottom corner. To the right of that, is Beate and I. She and I have been friends for 12 years. We met on the exchange that we are now leading. We said 12 years ago that WE would be the teachers leading the exchange. 12 years later... our goal came to fruition!

Medieval Festival

2011-07-03T21:38:00.000-07:00

My first weekend at our home stay in Eggenfelden, my partner teacher, Beate, and her husband took me to a medieval festival. I've seen festivals like this in America, but they always felt like something you make fun of people for dressing up like that and participating in. In Germany, however, MEDIEVAL festivals actually make sense because Germany was around during that time. I ate those most amazing medieval wrap thing that involved bacon, some type of crazy cheese, a flat, thick breaded tortilla, spices, and probably something else delicious I can't remember. Either way, it was to die for! We had a great time seeing the sights. Now, I can go tell Evan's Uncle Bearstar (real name Sam) that I've been to the festivals that he takes part of on the weekends!

P.S. I want Evan to make me one of those chair I'm sitting in! It was so comfortable and looks easy to make.
P.P.S. That lady in the top right-hand corner was a fortune teller. Awesome.

Dampfnudel Ulli

2011-07-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

After leaving Augustusburg, we made the long trek down to Eggenfelden to our 3-week homestay. A trip is never complete without a lunch stop in Regensburg. While the kids went to eat sausage, we snuck off to eat the BEST Dampfnudel you've ever had in your life. Dampfnudel just means steamed noodle. In fact, it is the most delicious thing you will ever eat. My 91-year-old grandmother says that Dampfnudel is truly the best thing she has or will ever eat.

It may sound weird, but mostly it's just a very light, fluffy biscuit cooked via steam smothered in a delectable vanilla sauce. YUMMY! This particular place to eat is probably one of the most famous in Germany. Bill Clinton has eaten here, I think G.W. Bush has too. You wouldn't believe the amount of celebrities that have hit up this TINY Dampfnudel joint. All for one reason: To eat the most delicious Dampfnudel in existence. And I ate there. End of story.

P.S. Okay, so I know you thought I was done. So did I. I forgot to mention that in the middle picture on the bottom of the photo collage above, the bricks are from Roman times. I believe that may even pre-date Christ. But, don't quote me on that. (I read the sign, but can't remember.) All I know is that they are centuries old. Okay- Looked up the date from a picture I took: 179 AD.

P.P.S. That is not beer next to me in the picture. It is Apfelschorle. Try it sometime when you're in Germany. It has apple juice and sparkling water. Refreshing!

Seiffen

2011-06-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

If you've ever purchased woodworking made in Germany, it most likely came from some town in the Erz Mountain region of Germany (probably even from Seiffen!). Seiffen is a small, woodworking town that is home to miners turned woodworkers when the mining declined in the area. (To be honest, there are haven't been miners in the town for several hundred years.) Woodworking is the major source of the town's income. That fact is very obvious as on practically EVERY corner, there is a shop filled with more turned wood (a process unique to this area) than you can even dream of buying!

I'll be honest, I spent A LOT OF MONEY in this town both this time and last time. I purchased a really neat wooden angel display that turns when you light candles below. I'll post pictures of my finds at Christmas (that is, the ones I didn't give away!).

On our way into town, we went on a summer Rodelbahn (luge track). It was awesome, except when one of my students had a freak allergic reaction from the grass and his face/eyes turned red and started swelling up. We rushed him to the doctor! Thankfully, 2 shots later, he was fine and we all got to do our gift-shopping in Seiffen. :)

Mt. Rainier & Other Adventures

2011-06-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

While I was in Germany, Evan decided to go up Mt. Rainier... not once, but twice. In fact, in total, he attempted to summit 3 times and made it up once. The other 2 times, the people he went with got altitude sickness. Not fun!

Additionally, I would get pictures from Evan saying he all of a sudden decided to go camping by himself in the snow somewhere. That guy!

Camping on June 21st, the day after I left:

Climbing Rainier on June 23rd:

View of Mt. Adams

Skiing up to Camp Muir, June 29th:

Augustusburg Fortress

2011-06-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

Because of an error in scheduling a youth hostel earlier in the year, we had the pleasure of staying the Augustusburg fortress (it says castle in the picture collage, but it should say fortress)! After leaving Seiffen, we drove to the top of the hill to our castle home. The views from up above of the rolling hills and the city below were breath-taking. It was hard to believe that we were staying in a place so beautiful FOR SO CHEAP! If you're ever in the Erz Mountains in Germany, I highly recommend staying at this youth hostel. We had good food, beautiful views, and they even tout having a bird sanctuary and show with hawks and other types of birds. I would love to come back just to see that show!

P.S. While we were walking to eat dinner, a bunch of motorcycles starting driving up. I guess there is an annual motorcycle convention in the middle courtyard of this castle! Kind of random.

Schloss Pillnitz

2011-06-29T12:04:00.000-07:00

On our trip to Germany, we went to and saw more castles than I can count on my fingers and toes! European architecture astounds me. You just don't see things like that in America because of how relatively "young" our country is.

There are a few things that I really LOVE about Schloss (German for castle) Pillnitz:

It's right on the water. In fact, you can take a boat tour from downtown Dresden to the castle outside of the city. (And the royals used to travel via water way back when.) The water combined with the green makes it stunning as well as a calming place to reflect.
It has FABULOUS POTTERY! Not that I needed to buy any more pottery, but I love the pottery that they have here. I can't help but buy something every time I go.
The gardens. One of the oldest Camellia trees in the world lies in these expansive gardens, planted in 1776. You know, when our country signed the Declaration of Independence. So cool.
The Japanese style chateau architecture. It seems to fit right into the surroundings.
Did I mention the pottery?

This is my second time taking students to the castle (meaning the second time I've been there myself). It's a place I plan on coming to again and again!

FIFA World Cup Game

2011-06-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

As we were planning our trip to Dresden, we noticed that there was a Women's FIFA World Cup game while we were there! I bought front row tickets (only 8 rows up from the field!) to the game, USA vs. Korea. It was a fun game that the USA won. It was so cool to watch their first game and then see them play in the final game, even if they didn't win the world cup (at least they won 2nd!). I'd never been to a soccer game in that big of a stadium before and it was awesome. So many Americans were there dressed up ready to support our country! Also, as pictured above, the Germans represented themselves too. All in all, it was a great game and my students and I had a wonderful time!

Poland & Görlitz

2011-06-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

(As written on August 28th, 2011...)

While we were in Dresden, we couldn't help but make a trip to visit Boleslaweic Poland (Polish pottery, baby!) and Görlitz (the eastern-most city in Germany). We stopped both places last time in 2009, but it was still so fun to go back. And it was even more fun to add to my Polish pottery collection! (Evan wants me to add that I have a bunch of Polish pottery and no hutch to put it in... YET. I'm looking all over Craig's List. Working on it.) If you've seen Polish pottery that's blue and white with the circles on it, (some pictured above), that is made in here in Boleslaweic (pronounced Bowl-es-la-veetz).

I'll tell you what, though, going to a non-German speaking foreign country sure makes my students (me too!) realize how much German we all understand. We ate at the same pizza place as last time. It was too delicious to not go back!

We stopped at Görlitz on the way out of Poland. It is a beautiful city that lies directly on the border of Poland. It's so fun to visit and be able to walk across a bridge to Poland. Even more fun, though, is the famed "whisper arch" (Flüsterbogen) where one person whispers on one side of the wide arch and feet away the other person hears it amplified louder than the person even whispered it. SO COOL! I love going to Görlitz if only to go to the whisper arch!

Dresden Sights

2011-06-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

Our second stop on our Germany exchange trip EXTRAVAGANZA was to bus our way down to Dresden. Dresden is a beautiful city that, sadly, was bombed heavily during World War II. One specific thing that was bombed was the beautiful Frauenkirche (Church). It has since been rebuilt. Where possible, they used the former stones from the church. Any black stones in the church are the former stones. This city is full of history and culture! Maybe you've seen the little angels at the bottom of this painting before? I think so! That is in Dresden's beautiful Zwinger museum.

Near the Zwinger museum is the Grünes Gewölbe or the royal treasury. The gifts the royals received (and had made for themselves) is astounding! This is just a small sample of what we saw there all hand carved out of ivory. (Is it bad that the ivory things were my favorite? I just loved them because of how small and intricate they were. The craftsmanship (pun... get it) on this is amazing!)

Another thing I love about Dresden (and big cities in general) are the types of people you see and meet. I specifically loved seeing the actors come out all dressed up (see man painted black above) who stand still on the street. When people give them money, they start to sing, bow, or do something else to make the audience impressed and/or laugh. Love it.

All in all, we had a great time, most specifically because I ate a fabulous crepe and also the BEST sausage I've ever eaten in my life! More on that to come in an upcoming food post.

Schloss Moritzburg

2011-06-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

On our way down to Dresden from Berlin, we stopped two places that we stopped on our last exchange. The first was the Lausitz raceway. It is so cool to go there and to see how fast those cars can go! The second place we stopped to each lunch. It is the beautiful Moritzburg Castle. Words cannot describe the beauty of this castle built on an island in the middle of a lake! Below is a picture that STARTS to do it justice, but still isn't the same (or as large) as it appears in person.B-E-A-UTIFUL! If you ever are in this part of Germany, you should definitely take a carriage ride through town, check out the pottery shop at the castle, and even take a tour. It will knock your socks off!

Berlin 2011

2011-06-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

Some fun pictures from Berlin... We're all having a great time!

Portland Road Trip

2011-06-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

I got out of school on June 17th and left for Germany June 20th. Because my former roommate, Beth, was down in Portland visiting Darcy (another former roommate), Evan and I decided mere hours after I got out of school to leave to Portland to visit for a few days! We had a blast going to the famed Portland food carts, the Pittock Mansion, and just having fun together! It was awesome seeing Beth and Darcy. Thanks, Darcy, for letting us sleep in your bed and for hosting us at your house. You are awesome.

Portland Farmer's Market

2011-06-18T12:06:00.001-07:00

Made it to Portland and had fun at the infamous food carts last night where we all got amazing crepes at midnight. This morning, we headed to a cool farmer's market downtown and ate delicious biscuits and gravy. It was wonderful. Now to the Pittock Mansion for an aerial view...

Spur of the Moment Road Trip

2011-06-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

Evan and I are driving to Portland right now in spite of the fact that I leave to Germany Monday morning. I know, I'm crazy to go on a road trip the Friday before I leave!

Purpose of the trip: See two of my former roommates and buy Evan ANOTHER mountaineering rope for climbing Rainier this week. Hopefully I still get all my shopping and preparing done! Updates to come...

Friend Reunion

2011-06-16T23:52:00.000-07:00

Nikki and I have been friends for ages and ages. Sadly, because we are both such busy people and we have both moved SO MUCH over the past 12 years, we hardly see each other! That's why meeting up with her shortly before my Germany trip and her big move was so awesome. We met up to eat sushi at Big C at Southcenter Mall. We stayed until closing and then went to the mall to chat on couches even until AFTER it was closed. Love this girl and our chats! She is always so uplifting and inspiring!

Memorial Day (Belated)

2011-06-16T16:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a crazy last few weeks! First of all, our internet is on the fritz so I mostly just use my phone for quick posts (if you can't tell). Second of all, school ends tomorrow (WOOT, WOOT!) and I leave for Germany in 4 days. I cannot express to you the stress I am feeling right now with school ending and not everything being done that needs to get done... yada, yada, yada.

But, you don't want to hear about that! You want to hear about our amazing Memorial Day adventures, right? Even if you don't, I'm going to tell you because I'm sick of talking about the height of my stress and excitement about our Germany trip.

For Memorial Day, Evan and I decided to venture over to the other side of the mountains to rock climb at the Tieton River. It was awesome. The mountain views combined with lakes, rivers, greenery, and, at one point, SNOW were wonderful. The normal pass we take to go through the mountains is still closed because of snowfall, so we went a little longer route. Can you see how tall the snow banks were in the pictures below? Yeah, it was crazy! Here are some pictures. (We climbed on the columns pictured.)

I'm flexible!

Once we were done climbing, I got the opportunity to reconnect with a good friend from college! It was so great to see Bradley and his family, especially to meet his kids for the first time. I had so much fun reading with Anna and holding Oliver. It was also nice for them to meet Evan for the first time too. I look forward to more getting together this summer and next fall while the passes to the other side of the mountain are still open. Thanks Bradley and Brittany for a wonderful dinner! :)

Megan's 3rd Birthday

2011-06-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

Sweet, little Megan celebrated her 3rd birthday with the Stout family today! For some reason, everyone in the family (besides Evan and I) thinks it is a good idea to have kids repeatedly bash in a pinata for a birthday party. We have always joked that the kids would then take it too far. The funny thing is that Jordan (pictured below) DID take it too far! He actually bashed in their TV hoping candy would come out. We all had to laugh at that one and his dad wasn't too sad to get a newer, better TV out of the deal. Good trade for him.

The guys wanted to show the kids how eating the cake was done!

Megan and her mommy

Fly Swatter

2011-06-11T22:31:00.001-07:00

Saw this bad bow at Winco tonight. I'm wondering what kind and size of fly this must be for. Yikes!

Our First Date

2011-06-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

Dear New Asics,
Even though we met a month ago, I finally decided to accept your offer of a running date. I've never been out with Asics before and I was pleasantly surprised by the enjoyable company. We ran over 2.5 miles together and walked another 1 or more to cool down. We should definitely go out more often! Sorry it took me so long to try something new. I'm glad I did. How about dinner on Monday?

Sincerely,
Your New Running Partner

Healthy Living & Weight Loss

2011-06-08T10:49:00.001-07:00

A family friend writes weekly about her weight loss journey on her blog. I love seeing her motivation and spiritual inspiration that she uses to make wise choices about weight loss! It has been really inspiring for me to read what she writes and learn from what she has to say.

Today, something she wrote truly caused me to reflect about the purpose behind healthy living and "weight loss." I wrote a lengthy comment on her blog about it and decided to share said comment with you:

Your thoughts on weight loss reminds me of something I my students brought up
the other day. I never grew up with a scale at my house. To this day, I STILL do
not have a scale at my house. When I do weigh myself (usually every few weeks at
the Stout's house), I often find myself feeling depressed and that I haven't
accomplished my own healthy living goals. That's why I don't buy a scale! If I'm
trying to be healthy and I'm happy with the way I look, then the number on the
scale doesn't and shouldn't matter!

Sometimes I think we get so focused on a NUMBER in creating a healthy lifestyle for ourselves that it becomes debilitating and defeats the purpose of what we're trying to do.

I know it can be hard in the throes of weight loss to stay focused on that number to feel a sense of accomplishment, but weight loss or living a healthy lifestyle
doesn't always mean that the number on the scale goes down. Sometimes it simply
means that you're building muscle, becoming healthier, and having more energy in
your everyday life. I know PLENTY of people who are not healthy, but weigh very
little. Numbers don't equal health. If I got frustrated every time I weighed myself and my weight didn't go down, I would be frustrated all of the time! All the exercise and healthy eating I do doesn't decrease my weight and, in fact, has only increased my weight.

I guess my point (and the point that came up in the discussion with my students) is: Don't live your life by the scale! What if you look and feel good at a higher weight than you anticipated? Will you be then be unsatisfied with the healthy lifestyle that you're living just because of a number on a scale? Keep on being proud of the accomplishments and life changes you have made in your life and stick with the healthy lifestyle that you've created for yourself! :)

What are your thoughts, readers? Why do you exercise? What gauge do you use on your journey to improving your looks and your physical health?