National Hampoon's German Vacation Pt. 4 The Spa.

My bestie Shana and I had good bonding times at the Olympus spa in Washington...and after a little digging I found a lovely spa here that was only about an hour away, the only difference is that it was bigger and co-ed.   We weren't bothered to much by the idea and after spending a summer with the Europeans we're not phased by nudity.   Phil was a bit hesitant, but we told him it would be full of naked ladies.

We were wrong.

All sagging bits aside, we enjoyed the different saunas and going from the natural hot springs to the cold Irish Roman bath was surprisingly refreshing.   We also decided on a Rasul steam bath where we are seated in this beautiful mosaic room where the ceiling looks like stars and we apply different muds to different parts of our bodies and then hang out while steam is pumped in.  

The attendant warned us of the " abrupt " rain, but it was warm and wonderful and I will definitely be going back.

National Hampoon's German Vacation Pt. 3 The Castles.

I love  Bavaria, more importantly I love the Bavaria castles.   I think Ludwig of Bavaria was an amazing and misunderstood man and I for one appreciate his love of fairy tales, swans, and shiny things.

We decided on Linderhof first because it was closest to the resort, the weather was a bit cold, but we were treated to snow capped mountains at the palace.

Hello Mountains!

Lucky for us the weather improved after our castle tour and we were able to bask a bit in some German sunshine and watch the fountain.

But on to the next place.    Not a ton of people know about the Weis kirche (White Church) but it's getting more popular, they have just installed paid parking near the pilgrimage church.   I love this church because it's kind of in the middle of nowhere and looks pretty plan from the outside, and then it surprises you with views like this.

That's the gateway into heaven up near the top, and the whole church is painted/decorated in this Rococo Style, it's also still used for Sunday services and weddings. 

And now to my favorite place.   Neuschwanstein Castle, when we first got here someone told me I would be disappointed at the castle.   They can choke on it.   I was disappointed that I had to walk all the way up but it's always worth it.   

We stopped at the Aichen rest stop on the way home and Shana was impressed that not only can you get real food at the rest stops, but you can get pretty nice Alaskan Cod.

National Hampoon's German Vacation pt. 2 The Munich.

So I barely slept, usually I pass out in hotels but not this time.  The pillows are poopy, and there are lights outside.   AND NO ROULADENS.   I'm spoiled I know.  We finally pulled ourselves out of bed and into the breakfast buffet, which is the best kind of buffet.  

And then to Munich.  

After the horrors of driving through the city center we actually found a sweet park spot right next to one of the city gates, and the Erotic Kino.   Nice.   We passed the Hofbrauhaus and started in the new Rathaus.  As it turns out you can go to the top of the tower  and get a great view of Munich.  You can also see sweet graffiti on the tower interior.   My favorite was "Derek is Sex," and "Aslan"  We were able to get out in enough time to stand in the rain for 15 minutes and then see the Glockenspiel go off...it's a little bit spooky, like haunted carnival music.   We then headed to the Frauenkirche, and unfortunately the little alcoves with the paintings were mostly closed, and the one that was open I tried to light a candle while someone was praying ... and dropped my change in the silent echo-y prayer alcove like a jerk.

We had to run back to the car to pay for more parking and we went to the market.   We all concluded that a ripe fig feels like testicles, much giggling ensued.   We found a yellow fruit I've never seen before, we'll eat it tomorrow.  

And then we went to Dachau...learned a bit more than I did last visit, but after a while it really gets to be emotionally draining.

After the emotional draining we decided it was hot tub first when we got to the resort.   Hot tub, hot tub then food, and it turns out the drink bringer, the waiter, the people next to us, all from Seattle.   When our bellies were full...more hot tub, because I deserve it.

It was a good day.

National Hampoon's German Vacation Pt.1

I'm not going to go into the details of my long hiatus, but I think I have my second wind so to speak.     To kick of my welcome back to the internet I present to you the chronicles of our vacation with our best friend Shana.    

I've been stressing out hard for week about my apartment and then I stayed up way late talking to my sister on the Skype...but it wouldn't have mattered because I didn't sleep anyway.  And then I was scatter brained all morning.   I visited my first international airport, I dunno if all of them are like this but the Frankfurt airport is super chill, it could be because it's Sunday and the Germans aren't too hip with anything besides church and relaxing on Sunday but there wasn't a security check point to go through so we got to go right to the gate.   And then I got to hug my friend that I haven't seen in a year and I totally cried.   Full on sobbed.

Everything would have gone swimmingly but ALL OF GERMANY IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION!   The Stau added almost two hours to our drive time, but the thing of it is no one is working today so I was thoroughly confused as to why there was such bad traffic, and that was until I saw the French stationwagon full of Djembes.   Trunk, back seat...stacked to the ceiling Djembes but Germany is a weird place sometimes.  

We finally got to the Edelweiss, after possibly driving through Austria a bit, we just happened to find the German Edelweiss first.   Silly.   The resort is fantastic and it looks like the Misty Mountains.   We had the hot tub to ourselves and we had the very best crazy pool races ever.  
Going to bed with Robin Hood on while playing poker.   Today was a good day.

Also Clif bar has a new thing called a "fruit rope" all natural, just fruit puree in a big wad of almost licorice.   I'm in love.

Munich and Dachau

    Oh my heck, I'm so sorry it's been so long, but I have had so so so many doctor's appointments over the past month.   Some weeks I have had three appointments.   Super not my favorite, but we should be pretty well done with that.

     First off Munich is sooooo beautiful. ( Only Northwesterners will really get this next part.)  Imagine Seattle, now imagine really large open pedestrian walking areas, now instead of St. James Cathedral add a beautiful castle at the city center, now imagine an open air Pike Place place, and then take away all the bums.  And now you have Munich.  Even before you get to the city and depending on which way you travel you get to drive through the Swabian Alps.   They look nothing like the Swiss Alps, they are shorter and look more like big rocky giants fell asleep long enough for trees to sprout.

 This happens to be the "old" City Hall.   

And this is a close up of "The Glockenspiel" It's a sort of cuckoo clock with life sized figures that rotate through, I think it takes 12 minutes for the full cycle, it's still really amazing to see even with the bird proof netting.

      There are several churches to visit, I was only able to get to the Frauenkirche (Church of the Women) It was a little bit like a free museum, there are monuments and tombs inside, and absolutely stunning paintings and icons inside.  Also in Munich is a replica Roman square, the Royal gardens and an Art Nouveau bath house, that is said to be like swimming nude in an art museum/gallery. I wasn't able to see any of that, because my time was so short in Munich.   Another thing is that Germans love and I mean LOVE Holidays and festivals, As soon as it gets warm you can usually find some sort of fest every weekend, and in Munich the Lederhosen and Dirndl are still worn to many events, it's pretty fantastic to see a whole group of old men come out of the beer house with Lederhosen on.

As you leave Munich you are very likely to pass one of the remaining city gates, complete with towers and stunning frescoes.

     The next portion of the trip was the Dachau Concentration camp memorial.   It's very important to remember that is a memorial to the people who lost their lives rather than the camp as it was.   I was expecting to have a much more difficult time with the camp, but it was much more peaceful than I could have ever expected.   I did choke up in the "SS" quarters, which is where a lot of the punishments were delivered.   The building itself keeps open doors and has several open windows, but there is a smell unlike anything I have ever experienced, it's not like decay or old book smell, it's almost a sour bitter smell through the whole building, and no where else in the camp.  Passing by the yard where prisoners were flogged and hung was overwhelming, but after leaving the building and seeing the rest of the camp I felt like such a good job was done to respect the dead here. It's not a beautiful memorial, it's very stark and cold but each faith has a chapel or synagogue on the grounds that is neatly kept. 

     Before I left I entered the room where the dead or soon to die were kept, I took off my shoes and socks stood barefoot in the room where so many people where cast aside, and instead of grief I was able to reflect on the thousands that lived...even if it was just to live long enough to know that they were free when the war had ended.   

The Worst...

First off if I offend anyone I am deeply sorry if your feelings are hurt, but this is an account of my own feelings and experiences.

 We started eating "Paleo" in January and it was great.  I didn't go into carb comas and I lost about a pound a week with somewhat moderate exercise.**  We plateaued in March, and it's probably, at least for me portion control. I would think, Well this is Paleo...I will consume all of it. And before you knew it there went two avocados and a half pound of bacon down the hatch.

     My husband bought a book called "Mastering the Life Plan.*"    The man on the cover is 74 years old and has the body of a Chippendale's dancer.  His hair is white and he is balding, you can see wrinkles in where wrinkles would be but the muscles underneath his skin are superb.  My husband was hooked.  It's definitely a book written for men, moreso men in their 40's and older but we figured might as well start now.

     My husband really grooved on it so I decided it would be less complicated in the kitchen if I just followed the eating plan as well.  So far so good on that front, I managed to pick back up on my losing a pound a week, but one thing the book suggests is to take a "before" picture that only you look at, to use as motivation.   I took mine yesterday.  It was horrible, I wanted to cry but I was so furious with self revulsion.

    And then I took my measurements.   Devastated.  Looking at the back of myself is revolting.  I can see all of the old stretchmarks and dimples.   Instead of being motivated, I'm just angry.   I'm angry that eating healthy feels like a punishment for being overweight.   I'm angry that this isn't just a goal, but an entire lifestyle change.  I'm angry that I hate going over to people's houses for dinner and agonizing about eating certain things.  But maybe that's the point, to be so disgusted with the "before" I never want to go back.

     I have lost 12 pounds since December, and I had to get a new smaller pair of jeans, but looking at that picture of myself was worse than giving up sugar and pasta combined.


* The book can be purchased herehttp://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Life-Plan-Essential-Achieving/dp/1451681704

** Moderate Exercise for me is 30 minutes of walking at 3.5 miles an hour at different inclines followed by some weightlifting or calisthenics and stretching.

Cochem...Late I Know.

     I am so sorry this is so late, but March was a busy month.   So for our anniversary my darling wonderful husband decided to take on the USO Cochem Castle and Dinner tour and I must say I was not disappointed.

     I know this isn't the best angle for the castle, but you are able to see the massive vineyard that surrounds the castle and provides the Riesling for dinners held at the castle.
     Our tour started inside the town of Cochem and we stopped at a mustard factory and tried 8 different "artisan" mustards, and then made our way to an Italian restaurant for lunch.   We had a bit of free time before the tour so we make sure that we make our way to the Catholic church in town, check the view of the Mosel river and find an Eis shop.

     After a bit of a hike we are treated to the beautiful grounds of Cochem, wrought iron dragon fences and coats of arms from various knights.   The tour starts and huge wooden doors open to let you into the courtyard.

     I didn't have enough time to take as many pictures as I wanted...but the details on this castle are breath-taking.   The wonderful thing about this castle is that is was completely renovated and restored in the 1800's, and while not authentically medieval it appealed to my sense of aesthetic.

     We are led down through the castle and we end up in a former chapel with pine table and benches.   We are seated and the Master of Ceremonies began to tell us about the knights of the castle and different customs as a boy carrying buckets of water and towels to each member of the tour group so we can wash our hands.
     We are first served bread and lard ( I know it sounds gross, but it's seasoned bacon grease...so bomb) followed by a nice hot broth.   While sipping our broth an honest-to-goodness minstrel plays for us.

     After many more stories, songs, and a pass around of a snuff box we get our feast.

     Now I'm no stranger to Ren. Faires...but this Turkey leg was so good, smoky and juicy and huge.   I know the meat is magical in this country, this leg ousted even the Bratwurst.   After dinner there is a Knight's Tournament between members of the tour group with a feat of strength, the ability to entertain the ladies, and of course a beer chug-a-thon, the winner was presented with a heraldry of his vast talents, the minstrel plays and we all dance and our wonderful evening comes to a close.   

   

  Both my husband and I really enjoyed this trip and hopefully we are lucky enough to take our folks when they come to visit.

Cuijk.

I'm pretty dang certain it's pronounced something similar to "cook"...but make a funny little "er" sound in the middle, sort of.  

The morning ( 4 a.m.) was beastly cold.   It snowed again the night before, and even though I barely slept, and I have a very difficult time sleeping on transportation...it was nice seeing the periwinkle and coral of the sunrise reflecting in all of the empty fields on the sides of the Autobahn.  I've been here for months now and I am still impressed by the amount of hawks I see.  I stopped counting somewhere around twenty.

The rest stops in Germany are phenomenal.  They have a convenience store, a cafeteria, a fast food restaurant and the NICEST public restrooms I've ever seen.   There is a catch though, there is a 70 euro cent toll to use the toilet but you are given a 50 euro cent coupon back to use on anything at the stop...you can collect them and stack them if you want too.

For your toll you get a magic robot that sanitizes the toilet seat at your request...it also does it automatically after you use it. The bathrooms are impeccably clean nice smelling, and they even thought of putting in a nice backsplash.  Good on you Deutschland.

The market itself is as big as four football fields and it has it's own food court and live entertainment.  It has everything you could possibly imagine.   Carved oak furniture, Tiffany lamps, Pre WWII dishes, crazy leggings, lingerie, licorice, flower bulbs, a truly impressive collection of stuff.   And I was lucky enough to find some treasures for me.

This was what caught my eye first, and I instantly thought of Twin Peaks, but it's a little too Victorian to fit in with either the Great Northern or my ideas of how to make our apartment cozy.   And they were asking 175 euro.

I did find this little guy for 35 euro, it pretty much made my week.  I went with church gals...who were looking for antiques or a good price on furniture to make-over...so I stuck out pretty bad, but what's new.

That's not even the best find.   I had passed by this stall a few time and it was filled with the coolest stuff. Top hats and straight razors, old medical stuff, opera glasses old war helmets and furs, and then there in the back of the shop on a rack with binoculars was a beautiful, perfect, brass and leather spyglass.  What kid hasn't wanted one of these to go on an adventure with, and now I have it, naturally to go on adventures with.

The Bluebird.

It's no secret that I am not a great photographer, so please forgive that.    This is my first watercolor in a long time, so forgive that too :)

     This is also my second animal painting, my first one was a unicorn behind Josh Groban on my bedroom wall, but that is beside the point.   All in all I like the was and the ghost-y effect of the branches, but the feathers got a little muddled and I am hesitant to do any more work on it because watercolor is super good at one strike you're out.  The more I look at it the more I notice it lacks depth, but I pretty much only had instruction in high school and not much practice at watercolor, but I think it will come in time.

     I also took all of my art of Facebook, which is silly because most people want to get their art out to the world.  I guess the older I am the more personal I'm becoming.   I can be a bit more personal about the art piece in a blog versus a little blip about on Facebook.  I don't do this for anyone else but me, and while I have done work for other people it has been for the most part free.  

     Our landlord dropped by last night and commented on it, he asked if it was a Kingfisher, I replied no that it was some sort of Bluejay, probably from the East Coast, and he replies in his accented English. " Wow. I hauf never seen one of deese birds."   Which got me thinking, that I could probably paint a picture of a Jackalope and convince him that we have them in the States in the Midwest somewhere.

     Lastly, I did this bluebird in part for, or inspired by my Dad...who I will always associate with Bluejays.

Creatures!

I'm not very good at caning just yet, but it's a part of polymer clay that I really enjoy, even if I'm sucky at it.   This is my turn out from the Donna Kato tutorial on Fire Mountain Gems.  I definitely should have chosen different colors and made the white bits smaller.  The smaller wing is from a separate cane, I tried it again with what I had left over, I rolled the one smaller slice into the pasta machine and shaped it a little more afterwards, I am much more satisfied with the smaller one. 

And this is my Mom's old crabby cat Roady.   I'll probably make it a magnet...or the creepiest cat lady necklace ever.

I'm in love with this one, I am not sure how I'm going to turn it into a pendant, but it's nautical and sparkly.   LOVE. I don't care how much I love Kung Fu and war history, glitter still beats them.  Always.

Finally I'm getting the hang of doing miniatures, I don't have the motor skills just yet to add detail to the smaller pieces with clay, so this little teeny guy is going to get a sweet paint job, and I even remembered to add a ring for using it as a pendant.

I had some leftover from the glitter nautilus, so I made a bunch of these leaves with head pins, and I'm going to try and make a necklace with most of the components being handmade, I think if I add enough glaze or translucent liquid sculpey, I'm  going to end up with a product that closely resembles dichroic glass (with out the price tag)

That's all for this week, I think I'm going to focus a bit more time into making jewelry...there is a Bazaar coming up and I want to try my luck.

That Guy Version 2.0

Somehow I lost my digital camera inside out apartment.   I had the memory card in a pocket, and somehow the camera has just vanished. So no Creature Features, or Shinies...just more about That Guy.

The good news is he has a roommate now so we aren't sought out nearly as much.

Here's the latest.
Since he has a new roommate he invited us up to meet him, he said the roommate would be home in 15 minutes so we should just come up.  20 minutes later we show up to the door which he answers shirtless...and continues to remain shirtless.

Now this is just my personal opinion...but I dislike it when people are shirtless.   There is no real reason to take off a shirt unless you're planning on swimming or sunbathing...if you're hot it makes more sense to leave your shirt on sweat a little more and then let the sweat cool you instead of exposing more skin to the heat and sun...And he knew people were coming over, and it's winter time in Germany.   His girlfriend calls and the roommate still hasn't shown up so while he is on the phone Phil and I decide to get out while we still could.

That Guy:  Hang on babe,  Hey man I'll catch you later.

Phil: Sure thing

That Guy:  Yeah Phil came up to hang out.

I'm not upset, but it does prove my theory that he views me as a non-entity unless my husband is not present

 I'm going out to drop off the compost and he is on the balcony.

That Guy: Hey you wanna come up for some rice?  Or get some lunch or something?

Elena: I don't eat rice anymore I'm okay...thanks though.

That Guy: WTF Why don't you eat rice?

Elena: Paleo...no grains, rice is a grain,

That Guy: Rice isn't a grain...it's rice, I'm on the Paleo diet too, I know what I'm talking about.

Elena: I have to go back inside the stove is on.

Now this part I don't want you to think that I'm some terrible judgmental hag, I prefer more of a Sherlock Holmes approach what can I learn about the new roommate based on what I see...and what I see is his car.

For most service members you know what base you are moving too 6-9 months or so in advance, excluding first base moves out of tech school, but we still had a few months to prepare, do research you know important stuff.  Part of that important stuff is an Anti Terrorism briefing, mostly giving tips on how to not be a target.  Don't wear clothes with English writing, don't put up your name outside your house...just try and blend in with the locals.   That Guy's roommate did not get the memo, because he drives a jeep.  This is no ordinary Jeep, first off it's pretty big, and if you do any research on Europe their roads are windy and narrow so a more compact car is a better choice.  It's also Germany...it gets really really cold here, more importantly while mild and beautiful it doesn't get above 85 like ever, not really Jeep weather.  He also has giant ...I mean GIANT Jurassic Park logos on either side of his Jeep along with windshield decal that reads "Take your top off"...and a little fixture around his headlights that turn his round Jeep headlights into what looks like glaring eyes.

 But he's probably a really nice guy.

I'm not saying he is a bad guy...but maybe subconsciously I don't hang out with people who decorate their car with more than one bumper sticker or rear-view mirror dangly.   When I was in high-school I had a friend who was dating a guy who had pimped out a Daewoo.   No lie, a Daewoo...he added a fin to the back( 'cause I'm sure he street raced in South Hill) and had it airbrushed.  Maybe it's because I've always bought cars purely as transportation, and any money I threw into them was for repairs.   I've just never seen a reason to make a fairly regular car a statement to other drivers and/or policemen.

The only thing that bothers me is he parks right in front of the building  (we're on the ground floor) so it looks like we have the Jeep.

S'more That Guy

First off he drops by and is chatting Phil up, here is the conversation he had with me.

That Guy: You're a *Depend-a-saurus.

Elena: There is no way I am a *Depend-a-pottamus, I go to the gym and I home-cook all of our meals.

That Guy: I didn't say Depend-a-pottamus,  you're a Depend-a-saurus Rex.

Elena: I think you mean Awesome-a-saurus.

That Guy: Well, later bro I gotta go get cleaned up.

I'm pretty sure he only hates my guts because I am a female that has no desire to sleep with him...or it could be conversations like the one below.

He came over because he wanted some womanly advice from his woman who is a recent divorcee, not that there is anything wrong with previously married people but it's probably a good idea to not expect an outstanding amount of commitment from someone so recently severed.

That Guy: It's * Allison, I just can't do anything right she keeps saying crap like "Ugh You're just like my ex-husband." and I'm trying...but she won't talk to me about it and I can't fix it.

Elena: Well she can't keep blaming you for things that you didn't do, you aren't her ex husband.

That Guy: But she can, she put up with so much abuse...

Elena:  If he was so abusive, I'm pretty sure any likeness to her ex-husband would probably make her leave, and women who are abused physically or other wise don't usually get into relationships right after their divorced.

That Guy:  Hey, is your husband going to mind that I'm over here and we're alone?

Elena: I already texted him that you are here, so I'm pretty sure he's okay with it.

That Guy:  It's just I'm trying and I do everything she wants...but she's leaving in May and I know she doesn't want to get married so...

Elena:  I think you know the answer to that question, and I'm pretty sure you are well aware that she isn't really emotionally invested in your relationship.

That Guy:  So do you go tanning?

Elena:  No, I got a really severe burn last year, and I finally getting my skin back to normal with coconut oil.

That Guy: Coconut oil, did you know they use coconut oil for blood transfusions?

Elena: Hmm, I thought it was coconut water as emergency IV fluid.

That Guy:  Well coconut oil is water soluble, which means it can be absorbed through the blood stream.

Elena: Weird, I thought water soluble meant dissolve-able or mixable with water.

That Guy: Well, I'm gonna go to the gym.

A little fact about me first...I love, I mean LOVE correcting people's "fact's"...Like I read blogs and articles online I will check their references, the only thing I really read/watch and take it as fact is National Geographic.  So most of my conversations with That Guy are blissful, the snarky jerk inside of me does a little happy dance.  I read three newspapers, a left one, a right one and one that I enjoy the most because it seems to stick to pure reporting instead of appealing to either side.

He mentioned going on a paleo diet, and then asked to borrow butter for his rice.

Paleo is no grains, no dairy...so he seems to be doing really well with his new eating plan.

He stopped by again to complain that his girlfriend isn't having sex with him and how he's SOOOO horny and he just wants to have some sex...Awkward.  I only talk about my sex life with my best friend, and it's super not in front of anyone.  I mean it's bad enough when we hear it...I don't want to talk about it either.

Today he dropped by to ask Phil to the gym, and our rest days are Sunday and Monday, to which he responded that Phil is a faggot and needs to work out.  Classy.

He then goes on to say how he has sex like a bedbug...where his penis will just go for anything (gross)  I said if were going to be an animal I would be a barnacle because they have the longest penis to body ratio.

That Guy: Did you know when a wave comes up they use their penis to hold down the other barnacles, 'cause they only have one appendage?

See, what That Guy doesn't know about me is that I really do read National Geographic...and my favorite channel growing up was PBS, with my favorite show being "Nature"

Barnacles do have a long penis, and two "arms" which they use to feed, they also have an eye and cement glands that serve to anchor them to their surface.

After our barnacle conversation he mentioned his Paleo diet again and then proceeded to lift up his shirt and put his abs on display for my husband, I tend to leave the room during his random acts of partial nudity...it's not because I'm offended, but he is obviously peacocking to seek approval, which I refuse to give him.

Sorry it was soooooooo long but I hope it was worth the read and you found some humor in it.

* Depend-a-saurus: Is a dependent who calls all of the shots in the marriage, it can be likened to a "Wife wearing the pants"
* Depend-a-pottamus: Is a dependent who doesn't do anything.
*Allison is not her name.

Creature Feature and Shinies!

Oh my stars.   A water horse.   I would have posted creatures from last week, but they all met their demise, I wasn't satisfied with any of them, they were hideous.    This little guy is different than my usually I tried to emulate more of Becca Golins' style with the clay eyes and hand painting more of the details versus Christ Freisen who does most of the details either out of clay or with a texture...I am more confident with a paint brush and I think for my first go of it it turned out pretty dang cute. You can see much more of Becca's amazing work here.

 http://dragonsandbeasties.deviantart.com/

Her gallery is totally worth your time to peek at.

I made a little forest wyrm...but I so of hate it and it needs more paint, so you'll see it next week, if it doesn't end up in the garbage.

And now for Shinies!

Betsy Johnson inspired.  I love her jewelry...but I don't buy jewelry unless it's from Longship Trade Goods usually.   The pendant is from the "Buds and Blooms" collection from Blue Moon Beads*  , the chain is from Beadalon and the red beads are glazed ceramic from "The Bead Gallery" by Halcraft.  All products were purchased at Michaels.

With my camera, lighting and knowledge of photography, I can't seem to get a clear shot of the abalone...but it's gorgeous. I've always loved abalone and how the colors swirl and stand out so much against the black.  Okay I don't love it enough to get an anklet with dolphins, but it's still really eye catching...even more so against black.  Both the pendant and the beads are all "The Bead Gallery" and also purchased at Michaels.

So much work, but so work it.  I want to do a whole Greek Goddess set, with this one being Artemis.   Czech glass beads and seed beads from Shipwreck Beads.  Oh how I miss that place.   The pattern came from the Jan  issue of Bead and Button magazine, I halfway want to try it with pearls  to make something really showy.  

Happy Marriage Ritual.

Before I get this thing started, Phil and I are stupid compatible, like Disney couples don't have anything on us...Maybe Ariel and Eric...maybe.  I know not every relationship is like ours, but that doesn't mean it can't be.  

Morning time.   He wakes up really early and as dedicated of a housewife as I try to be.  5 am breakfast isn't happening. ( He still gets a homemade breakfast usually made the night before.)  10-15 minutes before he leaves he comes back to bed and snuggles me, I admit I am mostly asleep but before he leaves the house he tells me he loves me and I am usually awake enough to give him a hug or put a hand on his face ( That is "pug" for I love you)

We have a mostly set schedule he comes home, we go to the gym, we come home, we shower.

Lotion time.  Phil and I both have stretch marks from gained weight during our teens and needless to say we hate them, so during our shower we do a mini scrub learned from the Korean ladies at the Olympus spa and after drying off we rub lotion on each other (it's now coconut oil, 'cause my order finally came in) it's non sexual (mostly, we ARE still newlyweds) but for the most part it's just a loving touch for each of us towards the end of our day, but it is everyday.  

Show time.  A half hour to an hour before bed we watch a show together on his half of the bed, because his half is warmer, a nice relaxing time with my partner before we have to part ways for a little while.

I'm not a marriage counselor, and Phil and I have been married for less than a year, but I firmly believe that the way we do things is what makes it so we never fight and always have time for each other.

The First Friday Creature Feature!

I decided blog posts are a good way to hold my crafting accountable so we'll try it out.

First out of the gate is a little dragon I made for Phil.

It took me more than a few tries to get a "fire" effect that I liked.   Just a Skinner blend even parts red and yellow.   I used some citrine beads as accents and a little copper bead as his eye. I used a mix of gold and burnt umber acrylic paint as the patina, and I think the final place will be dangling from the rear view mirror.

This creature is my first Octopus done in the style of Christi Friesen from her book, "Under the Sea."  Chocolate pearls for eyes...not actual chocolate 'cause that'd melt in the oven.  This is the first time I used liquid Sculpey for anything other than frosting a polymer cake. I think I'm going to add some on top of the Octo, to give him, hopefully it'll turn out more like water droplets, I'm pretty new to clay, so more often than out it's a cross your fingers game.

I love the Christi Friesen books.   LOVE THEM, her books have been the single best push to use my own creativity and a real boost to my confidence with polymer clay.  Her gallery and products are located here.

www.cforiginals.com

I recommend them to anyone wanting to try polymer clay, her style of writing is humorous and every project is pretty well open to interpretation.

New Year's and That Guy.

This actually starts on New Year's Eve, and continues on into New Years day.   We purchased some little fireworks to light off, and invited the That Guy and his friends to come down and shoot some off if they wanted.   It's going pretty well until he drops a big 'ol firecracker into the building's compost bin.

Elena: The compost?  Really?

Phil: Yeah, maybe let's not do that...

That Guy: These things are super heat resistant it's fine.

Last time I checked the compost bin was made of regular plastic, so unless German plastic is radically different than any other plastic, I think it's safe to say that the bin was a poor choice to put a firecracker in.

Until he put one in our barbecue, no asking, no forewarning, just the metallic boom of our barbecue.   It's not really "ours" the previous tenant left it so I'm not mad.

All in all the night went pretty smoothly.

The next morning while Phil and I are enjoying the last day of vacation we get a knock on the door.

That Guy:  Oh man I am sooooo hungover, can I come in?

Phil: Sure yeah.

That Guy: Do you have any coffee?

Elena: Yeah do you want me to make you a cup?

That Guy:  No I got it.

He then makes himself a pot of coffee and then three eggs.

In my kitchen, like it's second nature.  I'm looking at my husband, he's shrugging so I guess this is okay, the oddest thing about it, is that he has houseguests at his own apartment and he is making himself breakfast in ours.

An hour or so later he finally leaves and Phil and I continue our day together.

6 hours later, another knock at the door.

That Guy:  Hey man it's me.

Phil lets him in because both Phil and I are painfully hospitable, I offer to warm him up some soup and instead he makes himself a few knackigs ( sort of sausage thing)  He doesn't hurt anything (mostly) and he is nice enough, but it's the second meal he's cooked in our kitchen for himself with our food.  No harm, no foul (mostly,  He melted the end of my sweet lettuce chopper, but we didn't discover this until later)

I start doing the dishes and after he finishes and comes into the kitchen.

That Guy: So where do you want this?

Elena: The counter is fine I'm already doing the dishes one more won't hurt

That Guy: Philly, you're such a lazy bastard how come you never help your wife?

Elena:  Because he goes to work and makes the money.

That Guy: I need to marry a girl like you.

Elena: Good Luck

Phil: Yup Girls like her are few and far between.

That Guy: Hey do you mind if I get comfortable?

Phil: Go ahead man.

That guy proceeds to take his shirt off and hang out in one of our wingback chairs.

(While Phil is using the restroom)

I look over at him and he is jiggling his pec.

That Guy: Hey you wanna feel 'em?

Elena:  Naw I'm good.

He continues to flex his chest and we put on Better Off Dead.  Every time the antagonist comes on screen and is snarky he tells us  " I would punch that guy in the teeth" or "Man all you gotta do is sucker punch and BOOM"   Every. Single. Time, that the character is on screen.

I do honestly feel bad for the guy though, he's obviously lonely and he must have low self esteem if he needs to vocally assert his masculinity that often.  So we will keep having him over and feeding him, if only to provide you with entertainment.

Trier

A little while ago we had the opportunity to go to the gorgeous city of Trier, and while driving on the Autobahn can sometimes be nerve-wracking, the scenery is always delightful.  Rolling hills covered with vineyards, red roofed villages dotting along the Rhine, a lot of the time we do drive through the country it feels a little like taking a step in the past, where skyscrapers aren't towering over you and suburbia doesn't exist.  Just quiet, beautiful country...I think that is why the transition has been so easy.

Anyways, back to Trier.

All though there is a Christmas Market, the real reason we wanted to see Trier, is that it's the oldest city in Germany, complete with Roman ruins.

This is "The Black Gate," note the bottom of the picture to see how small people are in comparison.  It's huge, it's magnificent, it's breathtaking.  I am used to being enamored with large natural wonders on account of being in Mount Rainier's backyard, but this building is so different from anything I've ever experienced in my life.  Aside from native petroglyphs, this is the oldest man-made structure I have ever seen...and it's quite possible that this building is much older than the petroglyphs at Ozette park.

The only funny thing about The Black Gate, is that it's across from a hotel and a car dealership in the center of town.

On an unrelated note, due to the popularity of my "Roommate Chronicles" I will be posting a new feature monthly, maybe every two weeks about "That Guy."  It's definitely going to be worth your time.