Down Time Therapy

Ahhhhh...I feel SO much better! Getting out of Belgium and hanging out with some friends was just what the doctor ordered. Don't get me wrong, I have people here that I enjoy hanging out with, but it's different when there's not various hidden strings attached or underlying motives. 

Eric & I headed over to Olsbrücken,Germany which is about a half hour from Ramstein Air Force Base. The town is very pretty and nestled in the hillsides, no high amounts of traffic. All around, it was very very peaceful and totally loved it. Our friends live in an old flour mill that was restored & converted into various "condos", there's several different units and it's right next to a little river and surrounded by trees. Ah! I loved it! Sorry, I didn't bother taking my camera with me because, frankly, I wanted to enjoy my down time rather than lugging it around. 

We got to catch up with friends, tormented their red head son, and attempted to steal their 2 year old Basset hound which is nicknamed "Dumb Drops" because she's a little on the "special" side..all while hanging out, enjoying the amazing weather (yes! I actually got some sun!) AND getting our retail needs filled. For the most part, I behaved as well as I could with my diet over there considering there's a current  E. coli outbreak and all of the restaurants we ate at weren't serving lettuce, tomatoes, spinach or cucumbers..sooo that kinda took away the majority of my options! So, even though I ate at The Big Emma's and even at Macaroni Grill, I managed to get a good amount of walking in..so I think everything balanced out :)

 Since we were able to raid Ramsteins massive BX, I managed to pick up some things I've been wanting:

The last few times I've been there, I always see this vendor with wood-burned family signs (you can have them customized) with various pictures of Germany on it. You can get a standard German village with a bell tower, the German mountains, Neuschwansein Castle (the one that looks like the Walt Disney castle) or you can have a blank board with your family name on it. I opted for thenmountainside with a watermill. Most of the signs said," Germany" or " Deutschland"on the banner, but I preferred to have it say "Est. 2007" considering we live in Belgium, not Germany (TONS of people back in the States always ask me how Germany is...I'm not in that country!) and I know whenever I look at the sign, *I* know that we got it in Germany ;) It's painted very nicely and the whole piece is about the size of a large dinner plate:

Since I was waiting on the guy to do my sign, I ventured around and ended up finding a new lock wallet by Vera Bradley in addition to some makeup bags I was looking for. I'm sure you're asking "Erika, why did you get two makeup bags?"...well, the smaller one is for my purse and it'll help organize the chaos in there and the other one is for my weekend travel bag :)

One thing lead to another and I some how ended up over at The Body Shop. So, I got some much needed olive body butter, coconut lip butter, face cleaning stuff as well as some goodies to pamper my feetsies.

  All in all, I'm really looking forward to going back there later in July / early August!

Read More

Week 12

Maybe it's a good thing that Eric was gone this week? lol. I managed to lose 1.8lbs!

Hopefully my plateau was short lived *fingers crossed* so maybe I'll start making some additional progress. I'm just SHY of being 20lbs lighter and I can definitely tell since my pants are literally getting too lose for my hips! When I was doing some errands yesterday, I was in the midst of checking out at a grocery store in The Netherlands and I forgot something I was supposed to get. So, while the cashier was doing her thing, I jogged over to the aisle I needed to go to and my pants started sagging! A LOT! It felt like they were gonna fall off! I guess it's time to drop down a pant size (score!!!) to see how those feel. 

This weekend is going to be a bit of a challenge for me since I'm going out of town to Germany for the three day weekend. For one, I love German food. Two, we're going to our favorite restaurant, which is "The Big Emmas"..they have huge serving portions. I know Eric is chomping at the bit to eat there, but I still need to behave while enjoying myself. 

Before, I really wanted to have pork Cordon Bleu with their fantastic potato medallions, but now I'll stick with their awesome chicken salad (even that's gonna be too much for me to eat!):

I hope everyone has a fantastic Memorial Day weekend! Tah!

Read More

Mumble Mumbly Mum

I've been pretty quiet as of late. I suppose it's because I have a lot on my mind and I'm keeping myself occupied with other things rather than stewing in whatever it is I'm feeling. In a sense, that energy is getting invested into other adventures instead of me epically blowing up on people * thumbs up * 

I'll give you a worth while blog in a few days since I'll be out of town for the three day weekend. Well, I'll post my weigh in, then I'm ninja vanishing.

Read More

Week 11 Flop

Well. It's finally happened. I hit a plateau. My weight loss has been crawling ever so slowly and I was bracing myself for a weigh-in with no progress..and..it happened yesterday. I didn't bother taking a picture since there really wasn't much of a point. I'm still at the same weight, despite eating well and walking A LOT with a good amount of time spent on the elliptical. Le Sigh.

The last two weeks have been SO busy for me :( It like it's been a non-stop grind between shows, events, chores, cleaning, saying "bye" to friends that are moving away. Ugh. I'm just sad right now :(

Read More

Week 10?!

Holy gawd..it's already week 10!?! Where has time gone?! 

I did my weigh in this morning before Eric and I headed out to Germany to pick up a deep freezer. So, sorry this is getting posted later in the evening (my time). I've been on the hunt for a freezer for a while since we've been on a waiting list for one for A LONG ASS TIME..literally since we've been in Belgium, so, we finally broke down and bought one for a very reasonable price. Some places around here are asking anywhere between 300-600 euros for one (NO THANKS!), I did my magic and we found one at Spangdahlem. So, now it's chillin' (ha) in my office.

At this point, I'm down 17lbs since March 5th. Not too bad, right? I think I just need to accept that my body is only going to lose 1lb a week, despite my best efforts. This past week, I put in about ten miles around my neighborhood and on my elliptical, so, it's not like I'm not doing anything. Although, I think I'm going to add in some yoga to my routine this coming week and possibly some light strength training, so I guess we'll see how that goes. 

Hopefully everyone else is making some progress on their weight loss journeys! And, maybe I'll see a post from Stefanie in regards to her weight loss / working out routine.

Read More

Deadsies

* SIGH *

I'm rather annoyed right now because my Blackberry has officially bit the dust. Given, I assisted it with it's current condition..call me "butter fingers" if you want... but I'm just annoyed that one simple drop caused it to completely die.

 Sure, it still turns on. Fabulous, right? No. 

See where it says "Insert SIM Card"? Well, my SIM card IS in my phone, but the phone isn't recognizing it. I've restarted my Blackberry multiple times, removed the battery, prayed to the cell phone gods and whatever mumbo jumbo I gotta do to make it resume regular functions...alas, nothing works. The other arrow is pointing to the cell phone reception, which says "SOS", so I can only place calls for the police if there's a genuine emergency. Otherwise, I have a hunk of technology I can't even use. Even the tech guys at the local cell phone store told me I'm pretty much shit outta luck, but in Belgian, of course.

SO, now I'm gonna have to significantly drop my standards when it comes to a cell phone and go back to my ultra basic Nokia that I got when we first came to Belgium. I hate it. Gawd, I hate it. Nevermind the fact I gotta find the stupid charger cables for the thing...

 Why not just buy another phone, you ask?  They're not cheap here! Just for a lil beater like the one I have, it's a minimum of 60 euro ( roughly $85) and I really don't feel like spending that on a beater, especially if I already have a beater to use. Eric and I wanna get an iPhone 5 when they come out later this year, but MAYBE...just MAYBE they'll be reasonably priced (well, as reasonable as it can be) while I'm in the States and pick 'em up while I'm over there verses getting them in Belgium where they'll be a minimum 800 euros a piece ( we're talking roughly $1,144, per phone, people). I have absolutely NO intention on paying that much for something that's going to get banged up in my purse.

Meh, whatever. Thanks, life!

Read More

Art is not a thing; it is a way.

Some of my readers have known me for years (prior to starting this blog), while others have known me since I've moved to Belgium. For the ones that have known me for quite some time, you know that I did paintings, sculptures, restoration pieces and a lot of other types of media art pieces. I absolutely loved where we were in California because I loved painting Golden Poppies, enjoying the cliff side landscapes near the ocean, or just enjoyed making random doodles and coming up with spinoff designs. 

When we were in the process of moving here, I was extremely upset that I couldn't bring any of my paints. NONE of them. I have hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of acrylic and oil paints that are in storage (and most likely unusable whenever we move back to the States) in addition to a lot of my other supplies. I managed to bring my conte' crayons, pastels and other "solid" work mediums with me, but it's upsetting to have to buy the majority of the stuff to replace what's missing. Sure, I can buy stuff on the economy here, but, it's expensive. Given, good quality art supplies are expensive as is, but with the exchange rate sucking right now (and in general), I end up having to pay more for simple things.

Despite living in a beautiful country, traveling and seeing fabulous places...I've been in this funk where I haven't really been too motivated to work on any pieces. I can honestly say that a lot of it has to do with my Mom passing away. Most of the pieces I did after her death were not along the lines of what I normally produced, which caused the majority of them to get tossed. I essentially "retired" from doing anything since I wasn't in a good place of mind. . Most of my pieces are in storage back in California, or I sold them off to friends in the process of moving since we were wanting to get rid of extra weight. I think there's only 1 of my paintings up in our current house, and it's actually in my office rather than in the hallway or the living room...I suppose I see it as good enough for my office for me to see, but no one else. As I was working in there yesterday, I pulled out my "tackle box" of supplies to see what all I still have on hand, found my easel and sketch pads...it's interesting to see what your "mood" was several years ago when you see it reflected in a scribble.

I'm getting the "itch" back that I used to have. That's a good thing, right? Some days, I feel like I can verbally express myself when it comes to how I'm feeling, while other days I feel like it's a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" kinda thing. It's easier to just keep what I have to say to myself verses actually just saying something, because, everyone..in some way.. gets themselves involved in something even though it doesn't involve them from the get go. Know what I mean? Maybe, maybe not. Stress relief, I suppose. Seems like everyone uses me as their venting well or secret keeper, which there's nothing wrong with that because I appreciate that they feel they can trust me...but, I can't seem to get that respect in return. Nothing is ever really kept "between" people, in a sense. I dunno...I'm rambling, but I don't feel like I have that sort of "reliability" with people, so I rather invest myself into my old hobby / profession verses setting myself up for additional headache and drama. 

On that note, off to scribble my cares and worries away..

Read More

Week 9

Well, hey..look at that. I actually lost something! I feel ridiculously bloated right now thanks to Mother Nature and it's making me so cranky. Last week, my pants were literally sagging off my hips and now they feel like they're painted on. VERY annoying!! Today is our earned "cheat day" and Eric's ready to cut loose since we'll be attending a friends "Post Cinco De Mayo" party..so lots of Mexican food and fabulous drinks. Then after that, I have a girls night event I'm going to at another friends house...from the sounds of it, it's gonna be one hell of a time. Soooo I'm pretty sure I'll be wearing my fat(ter) pants tomorrow!

Read More

Exercise Fairy Strikes Again

The weather has been getting nicer and nicer over here in Belgie,  but the bugs seem to be getting bigger and bigger. And, more annoying. I love taking Izzy, Macie or Cole on walks..but the bugs are REALLY annoying me! I feel like I'm constantly being bombed while walking near the fields (which are EVERYWHERE), or the horse flies are strategically attacking me so I'll walk into the road and get smacked by a car. Even Izzy looks annoyed halfway through our route cause they go after her as well!

Before we even had orders to come here, Eric and I invested in a nice elliptical that I LOVED to use! Since it runs off of 110v, we decided to leave it in California with my Dad since we weren't wanting to have it shipped all the way over here and run off of a transformer. At least when I go back later this year to visit, I'll be re-united with it for a short while and get to use it. 

About a month ago, a gal here posted that she had an elliptical she was wanting to get rid of FOR FREEEEEEEE! By posting it on the community board that our base uses, people instantly pounced on it (as did I), although I was a few minutes too late. Sad, was I. Well, I guess the gal who ended up wanting it (1st come, 1st serve) wasn't able to find a way to get it to her house, so, she deferred it to whoever else wanted it after her, which was me! Yippy! I was informed about it last night, so Eric and I went over there today to pick it up! Go figure cause I was looking around last night at other bases "yard sale" sites to see if anyone was selling any ellipticals for a reasonable price. Free is ALWAYS appreciated!

It's actually REALLY sturdy and fits perfectly in the living room. Once my office is completely overhauled and cleared out, I'll probably move it in there...but I kinda like it in the living room since we have two ceiling fans in there & it's gonna start really warming up here soon. 

The digital readout on it is perfect, especially since it has pulse sensors and even a heart rate monitor you can clip to yourself. Distance is tracked in kilometers, but that's not a problem since I can just convert it over to miles for my tracking. 

You can adjust the stride resistance with a knob that's in the middle of the stand. When I first hopped on and started peddling, it felt like I was running in mud that was up to my knees! I finally noticed the resistance knob and dialed it down (quite a bit) and I was able to do a decent stride..yay!

Best part of all? Aside from it being free, that is. It's battery operated!! YAY! You're probably thinking, "Ok, it's battery operated. What's so special about that?". Well, electricity in Belgium is ridiculously expensive and if we could run one less thing off of power, it'd be fabulous in the long run. Luckily, this doesn't require to be plugged in to operate! 

I'm a very very grateful and very happy camper! Looks like the Exercise Fairy was watchin' out for me!

Don't worry, I'll go outside from time to time to get my daily dose of Vitamin D, but now I won't have to get my daily exercise with a fly swatter.

Read More

Sparatic Update

I figured I'd do a update about the various things that've been going on other than posting my weight updates and food stuff. Change is good, right?

* I'm retaining water like crazy and it's driving me nuts. Mother Nature is definitely rearing her ugly head my way because I can't even take my rings off...so...this weigh in is most likely going to suck ass. Fabulous.

* As I mentioned in a different post, Eric and I will be spending our 4 year wedding anniversary in Venice, Italy!

I'm VERY VERY excited to spend some down time with him because this is only..hmmm..the 3rd trip he's been able to go on with me since we've been here. Our other trips were to Bavaria for Mothers Day last year and when we went to London earlier this year. So, the fact that we get to take a flight somewhere is rather nifty. While doing some research on things to do there, I stumbled across this interactive site that Venice has (here you go) and you can get street level views all over the place..it's better than Google Earth. Word. 

* Eric's currently sick with something that's taking his voice (and energy)..so he sounds like he's hitting puberty all over again. As entertaining as it is to hear his voice get squeaky, I feel pretty bad for the poor guy so he's milking it for all it's worth to get some pity from me.

* Tomorrow is the 20th Annual Sint. Elizabeth Run. Thanks to blowing my knee out, there's no way I can really participate in it along the lines of how I was wanting to. So, no 5k running for me..but I'll most likely walk the last mile with the elementary school kids, or I'll just volunteer to help with water for the other runners. At least the official race shirts this year are actually nice looking, lol. The last few times, they've been highlighter colors (bright pink, bright yellow green, etc)..and this year they're black with gold writing. I'm thinking they did that since it's the 20th year or so. Who knows, lol

* Last week, I signed up for a pottery making class that lasts for 10 weeks. The group of us that's doing it meets up once a week for three hours while our instructor, Danny, helps us out with our techniques. Tell ya what, he makes it look SO incredibly easy when it comes to keeping the freaking clay in the middle of the potters wheel! I haven't made any pottery in YEARS, so it's slowly starting to come back to me in terms of how to do it. Although, I DID manage to make a cute little pot (which was refined into a mini tea cup today), so that was very cool.

Oh, and then there's Karl:

He's Dannys dog and I totally love him! Karl is so sweet and his fur is incredibly soft :) Apparently his breed is called "Muensterlander" even though he looks like a large springer spaniel. Either way, he's freaking cute and he's turned into our "coffee break" buddy since he likes to gossip with the gals and beg for our snacks.

* In about 2 weeks, I'll be attending a Hobby Market and selling a bunch of Pampered Chef goodies since I have a massive inventory. I was originally stockpiling because I was supposed to attend a "Spring Bazaar" at a base in The Netherlands, but the gal that's organizing it is lacking in her communication skills. So, I'm tired of all this stuff taking room in my cubbies, wardrobes and other storage areas around the house ..so, I'm on a mission to give 'em all new homes! Besides, I can use the money towards the Venice trip :)

I've been REALLY sucking at reading my book! It's a great story so far, but it seems like I don't have the time to actually unwind and read! I'm determined to finish "To Defy A King"!!

 

That's all I can really think of off the top of my head!

Read More

Weißer Spargel

Ok, in the last week or so, several people have asked me how to prepare White Asparagus since they've finally come into season and vendors are popping up at all the Farmers Markets with 'em. In case you've never heard of White Asparagus, here's some info for your noggin:

During the Spargelsaison, or season of white asparagus, Germans unite in their devotion to this delicate and delicious vegetable which makes its first appearance in mid-April and usually disappears around the end of June. Asparagus officinalis is a leafy plant whose young shoots are known to us as the vegetable asparagus. Cultivated by ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, asparagus has long been cherished for its subtle flavors and as one of the first vegetables of spring.

While green asparagus is more common in the United States, it is the arrival of the white asparagus that sends Europe into a feasting frenzy. White and green asparagus come from the same plant, but in Germany the earth is heaped into knee-high mounds around the asparagus plants to keep the shoots away from sunlight in order to prevent the development of the chlorophyll that would turn them green.

The farmers must keep a close watch on the white asparagus crop, which is typically harvested by hand at dawn. If a tip of a shoot grows beyond the mound and is exposed to the sun, it will turn a light purple color. When a crack appears on the surface of the dirt mound, the farmer takes great care to excavate and cut out the spear. All newly planted asparagus beds may take two to three years of cultivation before they produce a crop. Afterwards, the plants produce for another 20 or so years. In light of these factors, it is easy to see why this labor-intensive crop with a very limited production window can garner high prices on the market.

I remember my Grandma being able to get her paws on 'em once in a while back in California (I think she had the hook up at a local German deli), and she'd make it with Rinderrouladen, potatoes and sometimes she'd toss some red cabbage in the mix (I'm totally not a fan of red cabbage). The main thing I distinctly remember her telling me is that you HAVE to peel the asparagus or else you're going to have a very bitter / borderline bark-like tasting veggie. So, here's how you tackle some White Asparagus:

Preheat the oven to 400* and wash the veggies:

Chop about half an inch off of the bottom of the stalk:

You gotta peel the outer skin; I used my Serrated Peeler to do that:

Once you're all done peeling, poke holes in the stalks with a fork (don't over do it!!), and stick them in a baker. 

Add fresh ground pepper (however much you want to use), a seasoning of your choice (I used Tastefully Simples Wahoo Chili seasoning) and 1 container of chicken stock (I used the low sodium type). 

Pop it in the oven for 20-30 minutes (without the cover), depending on how soft you want your stalks.

If you happen to have Parmesan cheese, you can use that to sprinkle whatever stalks you put on your plate. There's a variety of different ways you can make these: steam, boil, bake, fry...they always turn out good because they have their own natural flavor which is a buttery taste. If you're able to actually experience it in Germany, by all means, do it. They normally serve it with an amazing Hollandaise sauce and potatoes:

Here's what to look for when buying fresh, white asparagus.

• Look at the cut ends, are they dried out? Gently squeezing the ends should produce juice droplets. If you live in Germany, check with the seller before touching any produce yourself.
  
  
• Are the asparagus spears straight and white? The straighter and whiter they are, the more you should expect to pay for them. Violet-colored or crooked asparagus tastes the same, but is harder to peel and not break plus the violet color is considered a flaw in Germany.
• 
  
• Is the asparagus thick and stocky? The thicker the asparagus spears, the bigger the yield after peeling, and the easier it is to peel.

Storing and handling asparagus

• Do not keep asparagus more than a day or two after purchase. Keep it in a loosely-wrapped, damp kitchen towel in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator.

• Handle asparagus carefully to minimize breakage. White asparagus is less flexible than green and can snap off, especially right behind the head. While it still tastes good, it is usually reserved for stock and soup at that point.

Read More

Sunday Routine

It's a gorgeous day over here in Belgie! The birds are singing, the breeze is nice and there's little beetle bugs flipped on their backs. I suppose their trying to work on their tans since I've found a handfull of them so far (about the size of my thumbs) stuck on their backs with their feet flailing around. I did my good deed and turned several of 'em over to send them on their merry way, while others flipped right back over. Oh well, can't say I didn't try!

Anyway, Eric's outside barbequing all of our goodies for the upcoming week. 

I don't think people realize how much we actually cook when it comes to pre-making our meals. I mean, I eat between 2-3oz of chicken/ pork lion every two hours while Eric eats 4-5oz every two to three hours of steak, pork loin and schwank. Lots and lots of meat. So when you see all of it laid out at the same time, it makes you think "OH my gosh, that's a ton of food!". 

So, as he's doing his thing with the meat, I figured I'd do my thing and make some tea. Hard work, right? I have my spiffy new teapot that I picked up in Poland in addition to the Bavarian tea I picked up yesterday, so might as well brew some tea to enjoy!

The reusable tea bag that I picked up works really well, even though it looks like a sock with a wire through it. It fits over the lip of the top and even allows for the lid to fit back on. That way, I can just seal everything together and let it sit and brew.

MMMMMMM! Strawberries and Kiwi! Eric said it looked like hot koolaid because it turned out to be a hot red color when it was all done.

I gotta say, the warmer you use works REALLY well! I've been drinking my tea on and off throughout the day and when I go back to the teapot to get more, it's still pipin' hot! Love it! 

My husband is rather "metro" ...well..when it comes to cooking, baking, and anything that involves the kitchen. So, when he saw me making tea, he told me," When we go to Poland, I want a manly teapot."..lol! Ok! No problem! He and I usually take time out in the morning and have some quite time and tea together before the mayhem begins, so I think it's cute that he wants his own teapot.

Now, where's my tea biscuits?

Read More