A little bit of Munich

Remember when I started telling you about my epic trip to Europe? Well, here is another installment.


After Amsterdam we hopped on over to Munich. Have you ever been there? Because it rocks. Germany was my favorite stop during this trip. It was clean and beautiful and lots of yummy food, what more can you ask for?

Our first picture in Germany.  Also some of the final moments in which I still had our camera...

Our trip was basically centered around Oktoberfest (yes, I know that makes us sound like we just went for the booze, which is only a partial truth).  Let me tell you, Oktoberfest beat any other festival that I have ever been to before.  It was amazing.  The food, the beer, the people, the crazy rides were over the top and amazing!! 

Cheers. Or prost as they say in Munich.

Let me just say that the food in Germany was the best!  I loved all of it!  Even the funky looking sausages.

I can't even begin to tell you how glorious these pretzels were and with a little bit of cheese spread it was a taste of heaven, I assure you!

This was the best cheese tray I  have ever had.  Ever.  I could live off of these things for the rest of my life, seriously.

Underneath the meat there were tasty little radishes.  We are convinced that eating lots and lots of radishes is what allows the Germans to consume such large quantities of their tasty beer and still be able to function.

This my friends is spatzle aka German mac and cheese.  I couldn't get enough of this stuff!!  John had to try to convince me to order something else when we were eating because I would have eaten this for breakfast, lunch and dinner the whole time we were in Germany, no lie.

These little gems are potato dumplings.  They were absolutely delish!  I was worried John was going to try to take the gravy with us he loved it so much.

I decided whilst walking back to the hotel for one of our midday naps that I was in dire need of an authentic dirndl.  A dirndl, for those of you that might not know, is a type of traditional dress worn in parts of Germany.  Many refer to them as "beer girl" outfits, but they are way better than that.  John didn't have the patience to get an entire outfit, so he settled for a shirt.

Yes, my husband has his pants rolled up.  He didn't get liederhosen and was convinced that this would make him "more authentic."

I love how bored our waitress looks here.  She spoke no English (at least that's what she led us to believe) and our group knew very little German, so the conversation revolved mainly around holding up numbers with our hands and saying bier, bitte.

I can proudly say that wearing a dirndl and consuming a hefty amount of radishes allowed me to partake in several more liters than I had been able to in nights before.  Which then led to hiccups and I think you know how the rest of my evening went.

The rides were crazy.  I feel like it's pretty safe to say that they probably wouldn't be allowed at a fair or festival in the states, just my observation.

The Hollenblitz was my favorite ride.  It was an Indiana Jones Temple of Doom theme and for some reason, I loved it!

 

Of course John's favorite "ride" was the carousel/bar. 



Basically, we had an absolutely amazing time.  I can definitely say that I will be back one day! 

 

Hope you enjoyed, even if it is a few months late! I have a little more of Germany to share, but I'll save that for another post :)

Thin Girl Thursday {10}

Why does it always seem that when we get ready to get on track with our health something always seems to happen?  I've been sick this week and completely drained of basically all of my energy.  When I'm not feeling well, I make up an excuse to not work out or not to cook because I just don't feel like it.  Luckily, my sweet husband has stepped up and cooked dinner the past two nights, but I have slacked on working out.  I did go to my tennis lesson on Monday, so that was something, but not near enough.  I really need to get over making excuses!!

Anyway, I have recently fallen in love with the cookbook, "Cook This, Not That" by David Zinczenko & Matt Goulding. My mom gave it to me for one of our wedding showers and let me tell you, it's awesome!  Everything I have tried in it so far is super yummy and really easy to make.  It gives you options that are cheaper and better for you than similar dishes in restaurants.  It's worth a try, I definitely recommend it!

Thin Girl Thursday is Back!

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately.  I have worked hard to take charge in many areas of my life.  So why is losing weight and getting healthy so hard for me to do?  I'm so tired of not wanting to do things because I feel uncomfortable in my body.  I've missed out on so much, because I'm not taking care of myself like I should.  So let's do this for real this time, sound like a plan?
I used to love to exercise and I really want to work on bringing back that loving feeling.  Last night I started tennis lessons and had so much fun!  It's a beginners tennis class, so we're working on technique and actually being able to hit the ball, so while it wasn't intense exercising I really think it will be the beginning of a fun way for me to get my booty moving!  I also brought my clothes for the gym today.  I will not get off the treadmill until I go at least 2 miles.

Thin girl Thursday is back, and will hopefully be better than ever!

Oh, John...

It's official.  John has lost his wedding band.... 

I was waiting a while to say anything in hopes that it might appear, but it has not.  He lost it January 9th, the day I went on travel for work.  I was then gone six days and heard nothing of him losing it and of course I noticed it within minutes of getting off the plane when I got back.  So my husband didn't even make it a month with his wedding band.  I haven't quite made up my mind how I feel about it.  I did, however, mention that Valentine's Day was not far away and maybe he could  make it up to me then.  Silly boys...

I did :)

So remember a little over a month ago, you know, when I got married?  Because I did and it was awesome.  Until I can go through all 977 of our wedding pictures, here's one so you can get the idea.

Seriously, it was amazing.  Being with John and having so many of our close family and friends there to share this special occasion with us made it the best!

I'm so excited to call John my husband and for us to start our life together!

Books in 2011

Last year I did a lot of reading.  Reading for fun, work and school.  The only part anyone wants to know about is the reading for fun part though, I'm sure.  I read 25 books last year which is almost a book every two weeks and I must say I'm pretty proud of that.  I've always enjoyed reading, but I'm finally starting to make time for myself to read.

So for 2011, I'd like to aim to read at least 25 books.  We'll see how that goes.  I have several Jen Lancaster books that I want to read and some classics that I grazed through in high school that need to be revisited, so I have a pretty good list going of books to read.  Of course I'll be reading the next in the Mortal Instruments series and the Infernal Devices (which I enjoyed more than MI) and the next Sookie Stackhouse novel as well.

So here's to a happy, book-filled 2011.  First book to be finished this year, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

ps- I have a Nook and would love to Lend Books with my other Nook friends.  Email me and I'll let you know what eBooks I have available to lend :)

Happy New Year!

Happy 2011 friends!  I hope everyone is blessed with an amazing year!

I rang in the new year with my hubby and some great friends :) 2010 is going to be hard to beat, I just hope 2011 can be even a smidge as good as the last year.