Germany and all its glorious food!

Sitting next to my husband on a train heading to Salzburg, I had a brief moment of clarity.  Munching on a butter pretzel (don't mock until you've tried it) and looking at the beautiful countryside of Bavaria, leaning on Jeremy I realized my life is awesome!  My life has taken twists and turns, but I feel so very blessed.

I thought I should write about it, and try to focus my life on finding more of those moments and hanging onto them.  I also just finished reading a book entitled "The Power of Now" which I highly recommend. It focuses on living in the present and appreciating the moment.  Obviously traveling with just Jeremy, and visiting a picturesque location, during my favorite holiday, would give me a chance to do this easily!

It was snowing and we were walking through the streets of Salzburg looking for the catacombs, I could have focused on the cold weather, but instead just loved the adventure.  We had a hard time finding a place to eat lunch, that wasn't overrun with tourists, but we found a little restaurant that was about 3 stories and sat down to eat.  It was a little pricey but the view overlooked the river and the interior was festively decorated and we were sitting close to the hearth.  Right before our food arrived, the lively group of older locals were leaving and as an older woman walked by she said "guten appetit".  The perfect beginning to our meal.  I missed the "buen provecho" of Guatemalans, this was such a pleasant surprise.  The food was spectacular- I had Cognac Beef Stroganoff with Spaetzle- wanted to lick the plate!  Jeremy had to get the schnitzel- come on we are in Austria- we had too.  

The Christmas market in Salzburg wasn't great, but we had all of Munich's markets to shop at, so it wasn't a loss.  We toured the castle, found the dungeon- which was a hole in the ground- little scary!  Also found the catacombs, and looked through the cemetery behind the cathedral.  We took the slow trains to and from so we saved money and got to stop at the small stations along the way.  It was an ideal day- did I mention the giant chocolate covered pretzel we bought for the train ride back to Munich?  Go ahead, start to plan your trip to Germany!

R2D2 Speak

So Sam (our 7 yr old) received Legos for his b-day. Included in these gifts were several Star Wars figures. Yesterday he kept coming to me with R2D2 saying that he had a message for me (much like the recorded message Princess Leia had done). He starts to speak to me in beeps and clicks, and assumes that I speak R2D2. Finally I deciphered that whenever R2D2 came to me with a message it meant that they'd crashed thier ships and needed technical assistance. Needless to say it was a long day! And I'm starting to hate Legos! Is it against Lego policy to crazy glue the pieces?

Testimony Meeting

So I was inspired by another blog I just read about people sharing testimonies about America and it made me reflect on several testimony meetings that need to be posted for others to enjoy!

1. Last week my Bishop shared his testimony about Facebook!
2. All the many friendimonies I endured at BYU.
3. "The devil put my car in reverse and made me hit that cop!"
4. A man got up and started to talk about a bar fight he got in, when the bishop got up and asked him to sit down, he informed the bishop- "Oh no, you'll want to hear this"
5. A sister while on a temple trip informed the other drivers she couldn't drive over bridges because they were evil, so they had to work around her, and then she went on to share her testimony about her experience.

I think that's about it. Don't want to make fun of people, merely the absurdity that testimony meetings can turn into!

How to Say NO

I think as a woman, and as an LDS woman there are certain rules of etiquette that apply when being asked to do something.

From the time we attend our first dance we're told you have to say Yes, when in fact we'd rather sit in the bathroom avoiding the Snowball Dance all together. We say Yes of course, and hope it's a short song, and that he's worn deodorant.

Now that I am older and feel like I can say No, it's harder for me to do this. I think too often we think we are Wonder Woman and can take on anything. Whether we're asked to do things for church, our kid's school, work, or our husband's job...the list goes on and on. We can fill our days with volunteer opportunities, church callings, work, just life in general. But I've decided to make a point of weeding out those things that aren't absolutely necessary. My husband and kids are and will always be my #1 priority. And I think I need to make my actions reflect this.

Sorry, if I've used this time to vent a little, but after spending this week in pointless: meetings, trips, classes...I've decided to take action and use my ability to say No now!

Christmas 2008

A Tamale Christmas

My family enjoyed a quiet Christmas here in Guatemala City. It was just our family, and we enjoyed the time together. A traditional holiday meal here in Guatemala consists of tamales, and poncha (a drink much like wassail). Since my husband had tried tamales before and loved them I decided I would embark on this mission! My housekeeper told me how to prepare this meal and what I would need. Then while I was at the store a helpful lady who could tell I was a newbie at this helped me find what I needed. So I tried, and failed! My housekeeper (Carolina), called me Christmas Eve to make sure I didn't need any help, and to see if she could come over and assist! This lady is amazing! I gave up and made something a lot less complicated. The day after Christmas Carolina shows up with a platter of Tamales and a jug of Poncha, mind you she has traveled for about an hour by bus and on foot! I love this woman!

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This is a clip from Easter 2005 in Skopje, Macedonia. Samuel was 2 1/2, and we were having a hard time understanding his vocabulary, as you will tell from the clip. Man do we miss the days of his rantings! Let us know if you're able to decipher what his last words are in the clip.