I confess....

Hallo meine Lieben,

Happy Easter evertbody! I hope you are all enjoying your holidays! I want to use this day to make some very important confessions. 

Number 1.

I would so love to buy some spring clothes but I am trying to spend as less money as possible right now so I can't go shopping for spring clothes which is a little sad.  But that's my plan and I will stick to it. 

Number 2.

Sometimes I really want to punch some people in the face.

Number 3. 

Heather wrote a great post called 10 reasons I love the German mountains and reminded me of David der Kabauter (David the gnome) and now the German theme song is stuck in my head.  I am singing it the whole time.

Number 4.

When I was a child I wanted to move in with David der Kabauter and his wife. I mean, come on, he lives in a gnome house hidden in the deep woods and his friend is a fox called Swift. He can talk with the animals, read the stars and only eats nuts and fruits. 
To be honest, I still want to move in with them. 

Number 5.

I love to listen to the theme songs of shows that I watched when I was a child. Inspector Gadget, Alfred J. Kwak, Heidi, Turtles, Biene Maya, Chip & Chap (Chip and Dale in English)....love all of them! Listening to these songs always makes me happy.
And I have to say that although I prefer to watch shows in English, the theme songs of German children shows are always better than the American ones. The worst one is the American intro for Inspector Gadget. Bah. 

                                           


What makes you happy?

Have a wonderful Easter Sunday!

Top three books turned movies.

Hallo meine Lieben,

if you read my blog on a regular basis you probably know that I am a huge fan of books and a huge fan of movies. So this week's Random Thursday topic is pretty exciting. Although I have to say that I usually like the books a lot better than the movies. I guess the problem is that when I read a book I already have images in my head of how the characters look like, hoe the scenery looks like, how the characters talk, the atmosphere of it etc. So I think it is pretty difficult or almost impossible to live up to my standards. 

I guess  almost everybody loves The Lord of the Rings.. I read the trilogy before I watched the movies (which I always try by the way) and I think both, books and movies, are absolutely brilliant. I am also a huge fan of the Harry Potter books, I have read them several times, in German and English. 
For my top 3 I have chosen some not so well known books and movies. Well, I guess the Stieg Larsson series is pretty famous now...Anyway....

The girl with the dragon tattoo by Stieg Larsson.

I have to admit that I discovered these books really late, I guess it was in 2011 which I can't really explain because I am a huge lover of all kinds of crime novels. But yeah, I was late and it is kind of sad that I did not discover it earlier but the books are definitely brilliant. I recommend them to anybody (I admit that all the names can be a bit confusing at first, there are so many members of the Vanger family).
I also have to say that I haven't even seen the Hollywood version of the movie with Daniel Craig but I definitely want to watch it at some point. But the Swedish version is absolutely brilliant, I usually love the atmosphere in Swedish movies. 

Youth in revolt by C.D. Payne.

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I grew up reading the journals by Nick Twisp, they made me laugh  and cry and I could not stop reading. I have read them at least 25 times. Although these are the journals of a 14 year old I don't feel like they were only written for teenagers. I really don't. I still love to read them as much as I did when I was younger. So if you want to laugh a lot and don't mind reading about masturbation, rude alter egos, weird penises, varicosities, old communist neighbors with a bad mouth, transvestites and so on you will love the books.
In 2009 Hollywood decided to turn the first diary into a movie, starring Michael Cera as Nick Twisp. Well, I guess that guy was a decent choice although he does not look like I imagined Nick Twip. And I have to say that I was disappointed. The movie isn't bad, not at all. But it is okay. Not more than that. I guess you can like it if you don't know the books but that's it. 

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby.

Again, I read the book first and loved it. Read it 10 times I guess and then watched the movie. And it did not disappoint. It is still a movie I love to watch when it is on TV. Sure, I love the book a bit more than I love the movie but it is still a really good one. John Cusack is perfect for the role of music lover Rob Gordon. I also love that Jack Black is in the movie because Jack Black is wonderful (can't get enough of Nacho Libre, School of rock, Orange County and Be kind rewind.). So I definitely recommend the book and the movie but the book a little more. 

And because three are not enough: two other books turned into movies that I really love. 

About a boy by Nick Hornby.
Well, I like Nick Hornby. And Hugh Grant. 

Submarine by Joe Dunthorne.

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Which I read in German first. I think the German title is weird: "Ich, Oliver Tate" ("Me, Oliver Tate"). I don't know why you would name a book called Submarine like that but okay. Germans seem to like to screw up the titles of foreign books and movies.
 I was totally surprised when I found out that there is a movie. A really good one. The perfect coming-of-age comedy/drama in my opinion. 


And now I want to know: what are your favorite books turned into movies?
Have a lovely Thursday!

Las Vegas in 10 pictures. Part II.

Hallo meine Lieben,

I hope you are all having a wonderful week. It is time to share some more pictures of our recent trip to Las Vegas. You can find part one of this post here.

Number one.

I guess that most of you know that I am not a fan of the gun control law in America (there's not much control)  but it was interesting to virtually shoot a fugitive in the Mob Museum. And I was pretty good at it. The guy had no chance. But I won't go and buy a gun now.

Number two.

We saw this on our way to Area 51 and I am pretty sure that this is an UFO. I mean, what else could it be?

Number three.

This was a fascinating experiment at the National Atomic Testing Museum. We just could not figure out how it works. It will remain a mystery. 

Number four.

Stephanie from meet.make.laugh., they named a street after you! Isn't that nice?

Number five.

We were inside the Hoover Dam and there was water running down the walls. I am scared of water. So no surprise that I look a little worried in this picture. 

Number six.

You can see it in my face: there was too much water for my taste. What I love about Hoover Dam is that it is an hour later when you cross the bridge. You are in Arizona then. Very interesting for a German girl who only knows one timezone. 

Number seven.

David with his Alien Burger in the Little A'Le'Inn in Rachel, Nevada. My fries did not contain any alien meat. 

Number eight.

Advertising for a wedding chapel. Pretty cool. You can see me in the picture too. 

Number nine.

The A'Le'Inn really is in the middle of nowhere. The town is called Rachel and only 98 people live there. I mostly saw some wooden sheds. Quite nice. Who knows how many aliens are hiding in there. 

Number ten.

These are the Forum Shops at the Ceasar's Palace. Quite impressive for a mall. They also have a nice mixture of shops there. A lot of stuff I can't afford and don't even want to buy (Christian Louboutin, Chanel etc.) but also Sephora and H&M. A really huge H&M by the way. 

To be continued....

Have a lovely Tuesday!

Confessions about bunny names, expensive shoes and the English language.

Hallo meine Lieben,

I hope your weekend is going great! I am linking up with Alyx from Every Day Is A New Adventure because I have something to confess.

Number one. 

One of my bunnies is named after a famous Swedish cat. 

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Number two.

My other bunny is named after a character from German Sesame Street. I don't think that character even exists in the American version.

Yes, I named my bunnies after a pink bird and a talking cat who wears green pants. 

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Number three.

A couple of years ago I bought the most expensive shoes I ever owned. I never spent that much money for a pair of shoes again. They were 200 Euros (260 dollars) and I found them on  a trip to the Netherlands. I know that some people spend a lot more money for shoes but this was a whole lot of money to spend on a pair of shoes for me. But I had to buy  them. And the thing is that I only wore them 5 times. I guess because I don't want to ruin them. I don't know. First I decided not to buy them but the next day I had to drive an hour back to the store where I saw them. 

Number four. 

I still discover new exciting things in the English language. Last week I found out what a "car boot sale" is. And it is not what I thought it would be. Fascinating. 

Number five.

There are some words in the English language that I really dislike because I always seem to say them in the wrong way. Or they just sound stupid when I say them. Some of these words are:
"owl", "comfortable", "sewing", "legit", "vehicle" and so on. Don't know why I struggle with them. 





Do you have anything to confess? Have a lovely Sunday!

My hidden talents.

Hallo meine Lieben,

hope you are all having a nice day! This week's Random Thursday topic is an interesting one like usual.  I just don't know if I can contribute that much. I am thinking about this for a while but I am not really sure what awesome hidden talents I have to reveal. 

I have weird thumbs.

Well, I am not sure if this counts as a talent but at least it is something that not everybody can do. I can dislocate my thumbs. A hundred times in a row.  They always jump back into their normal position. But it  looks weird and creepy. So it is nothing you can be proud of. 

I am the cat whisperer.

I have never met a cat that does not like me. In Germany I volunteered in an animal shelter and on my first day I visited the cat house and saw two cats and the woman who worked there told me that the cats never let anybody pet them. After half an hour one of them sat on my lap and the other one let me pet her ears.

I can remember numbers very well.

Well, except of phone numbers. I don't even remember my own. But I am good with prices. I remember how much I paid for tofu two weeks ago in a certain store. Or how much my favorite beer at the store was when it was on sale. I also know how much I paid for my driving license years ago. And how high the gas price was when I got my first car. 

Parking.

I am pretty good at reversing into a parking space.  I can also change the tires of my car. All alone. 

I am cursed.

I can mess up or destroy every electronic device I get into my hands. A pretty bad talent if you ask me.

I know who the killer is. 

When I watch a crime show I  know who the killer is. At least most of the time. And trust me, it does not make it less interesting. 




What are your hidden talents? Have a lovely Thursday!

Las Vegas in 10 pictures. Part I.

Hallo meine Lieben,

first I have to apologize for sucking so much at telling you stories from my Vegas trip. I still haven't sorted all the pictures and honestly I have no idea where to start. I guess you don't even care about it anymore but I thought I should use this Ten On Tuesday post to tell you a little bit more about the trip. And what's better than showing you some pictures.

Number one.

We tried to solve the mystery around Area 51 and visited the very famous Black Mailbox which is not black. Well, there is some black writing on it and I stand next to it and wear a black coat so maybe that counts as black enough. I don't know. Anyway, there are many conspiracy theories about this chic mailbox and people say it is the mailbox of Area 51. It was definitely fun visiting the holy grail of UFO lovers.

Number two.

When you try to take a picture of the fancy stage that belongs to the illusionist Criss Angel and angry woman will jump at you from behind and yell at you. She will tell you that this is strictly forbidden and that she will kick you out if you try it again.

Number three.

David and I are not really great at taking picture of us in front of glamorous fountains. We tried. But you can never see the fountain AND us. 

Number four.

The same applies to taking pictures of rollercoasters.  At least we tried. And I am obviously good at making stupid faces.

Number five. 

A propos....when you take a picture with the only famous person that you meet on your whole trip, you should try not to make a stupid face because you will look at this picture in 10 years and will think that it would be nice to have a picture with a famous magician in which you don't look like this. 

Number six.

If you are in the mood for a huge vegan burger you can go to Pink's. One portion of fries is enough for two by the way. 
(Oh yeah...stupid face...)

Number seven.

It is totally awesome to watch the news while you take a shower. I would love to do this every morning. And it is also totally awesome to go into the shower with your camera to take a picture of what it looks like to take a shower and watch the news at the same time. 

Number eight.

I can't help myself but the canals and gondolas in the Venetian don't feel very Venetian. Plus the water is way too blue to be Venetian. Still a cool experience to watch the people and hear the gondoliere singing. 

Number nine. 

I am 5'8" (I guess. I never really know if it  is right. But I am defnitely 172 cm) but Penn is huge. He is even taller than it looks in this picture.

Number ten. 

I tried to look like a mean serial killer who will die on the electric chair soon. This was taken at the Mob Museum and I recommend visiting it. Definitely a very cool and interesting museum.  So much to see. We spent at least 4 hours there looking at all the exhibitions, shooting laser guns, watching short movies...

To be continued....


I am linking up with Lin. Have a lovely Tuesday!

I confess...I was a bad ass child.

Hallo meine Lieben,

I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday.
I thought my confessions today should have a theme...and because I don't have much else to confess at the moment I decided to do a little time travel and tell you some things about my childhood.

source

I would say I was almost as bad-ass as this pretty cool lion here. I was fearless and lawless, my life as a six-year old could not have been more dangerous. See for yourself.

Number 1.

I was a thief.

A pretty cold blooded one. I went to the hair dresser with my Mom. I had to wait. I got bored. I read a magazine. I found a cool iron-on picture in the magazine and decided that I would love to have a t-shirt with this bad ass kitty cat on it. Fearless as I was I got the picture out of the magazine with my sweaty hands and put it in my coat. I felt so adventurous. 

When we got home I got so scared and felt so guilty that I started to cry and told my Mom everything. She laughed at me but let me bring it back the next day. They let me keep it. 

Number 2.

I was a rowdy.

When I was in Grundschule (German elementary school) my friend Susi and I beat up the school bully together because he was always mean to a friend of us. Needless to say, we won. 

Number 3.

I was dirty.

One of my best friends in Grundschule had a huge mud hole behind his house. We spent every afternoon in there. Every time my Dad picked me up from there he had to wrap me in a blanket because I was too dirty to be transported in the car without protection. 

Number 4.

I was wounded. 

I don't know how I did that but I always succeeded in hurting myself. I often came back home bleeding from several wounds. But I can proudly say that I never had a broken bone. A concussion, yes. But no broken bone. 

Number 5.

I was fearless but not heartless. 

I always loved animals and my parents and I offered our home to lots of homeless animals in need. I rescued a cat from an abusive guy in our town, a bird from the street. Animals rock.

Do you have something to confess? Happy Sunday!

Pet peeves.

Hallo meine Lieben,

today I want to tell you a little bit about my pet peeves.
But first of all I have to tell you that when I moved to America I had no idea what a pet peeve is . I did not know that expression, never heard of it before. So when I first heard about it I had no idea what people talked about. I assumed that it had something to do with their pets. Well okay, that was pretty stupid and I had to google it first.
Now I know what it means and I can actually talk about it. 

Let's start.

People who spit on the ground.

It drives me crazy. First of all because it is so disgusting. I mean, come on, who would do that? And then it also shows what bad manners these people have. Every time I see someone spitting on the ground I say loud and clearly "Bah" or "Pfui" or "Igitt". I did not get beaten up yet. I just hate it. Please stop, people.

People who chew with their mouth open.

No, I don't want to see what you eat. Really. Another thing that disgusts me. 

People who throw trash out of the car.

Why would you do that? Don't you care of the environment. Take your trash home and recycle it there.

People who yell at their pets.

Just don't do it. 

People who talk on their phone so that everybody can hear it.

There is no need to scream. I am sure the person they actually talk to can hear them fine. And I don't care. 

When people say "I got my hair did".

I just don't get it. It is also weird when people say "for my friend and I".  Another thing I don't get is "y'all". 

People who don't say "thank you".

Just be a little polite, it is not that hard.

In general people who seem to not care about the environment, animals, other human beings.

You are not alone in this universe. Show some compassion and commitment. 

What are your pet peeves?

Have a lovely Thursday. 

Ten On Tuesday. German patriotism, goat vs. cat and oatmeal.

Hallo meine Lieben,

how is your week going? I finally got rid of my cold which is pretty nice.  

It's time for this.


Number 1.
I found a very interesting article on Alex' blog (You should all check out her Stamp of approval Saturday, by the way. It rocks). Mariella is a well-traveled German who wrote an article about "Being German and the issue of patriotism". You can find it on her blog Bridge Keeping Traveler. I love her article, I can totally relate to it. There is an issue with being German and patriotism. Germans are very hesitant to say that they are proud of their country. It is something you just don't do because people could take it the wrong way. Okay, I admit that there is one exception. You can be proud to be a German during the soccer world cup. There are flags everywhere....but except of that you learned to be a little careful in expressing your feelings for your country. 
Number 2.
This heartbreaking story shows me again how smart animals are and how cruel human beings can be. 
Number 3.
I really really love my iPad mini! 
Number 4.
Well, goat vs. cat looks pretty much like bunny vs. cat.

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Number 5.

I really really need a new haircut.  I am talking about this for weeks but I think I finally need to do it. Probably next week. I don't want to look into the mirror anymore.

Number 6.

I am so obsessed with "Bones" at the moment that I haven't watched anything else in the last couple of days. Not even The Mentalist or Girls. 

Number 7.

I love boots and scarves and hats and gloves...but I am ready for warmer weather. It's time. I want to wear ballerinas!

Number 8.

Do you listen to podcasts? If so, do you have any recommendations? I would like to start listen to one but I haven't found the right one for me yet. 

Number 9.

My newest food addiction is oatmeal with vanilla soy milk and cinnamon. I wonder what will be the next one. 

Number 10.

I apologize for being so uncreative today. I will do better, I promise. It's just a pretty busy day. 

Have a lovely Tuesday!

Sunday Confessions. Rotten bones, a singing tofu and an iPad named Herman.

Hallo meine Lieben,

it's Sunday which means that the weekend will be over soon but it also means it is time for some confessions with lovely Alyx from Every Day Is A New Adventure.



Confession #1.
My iPad's name is Herman. True story. Important things need names.
Confession #2.
I have a new TV show addiction and I can't believe that I did not start to watch this show earlier. It's "Bones". I was looking for another crime show to watch and Bones seemed to be perfect. And it is. Great characters and lots of rotten bones. My favorite character is Hodgins because of all the conspiracy theories and because he gets so excited about exploding things.

source Confession #3.
I really need to find more time for blogging. There are so many things I want to do, there are so many things I want to tell you about, I want to change the design (finally), I want to do some more crafty things and share them with you, I also want to share some recipes. I feel bad about this blog right now because I have the feeling that I could do so much more with this blog. Please be patient with me!
Confession #4.
I don't know why but I don't really feel like drinking coffee at the moment which is weird because I usually drink coffee every morning. But at the moment I only drink tea. Lots of tea. 
Confession #5.
Justin Timberlake as a singing tofu? Hell yeah!

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Have a wonderful Sunday, my friends!

Screw you, Friday the 13th! (My favorite childhood memory.)

Hallo meine Lieben,

I hope you are all doing great. Today I want to tell you a little bit about my favorite childhood memories. 

And I am doing that because I am linking up with some lovely girls for another Random Thursday. I am starting to feel better, by the way which is very nice because a runny nose can get really annoying. I wish I could sleep at night though. Oh well...



First of all, I can happily say that I had a wonderful childhood. I grew up in a little town with only 700 inhabitants. By best friends lived next door and I lived in a nice house with my parents, grandparents and pets. It was awesome and I love to think about all the great memories I have. I am very thankful that I had the chance to experience all these things. 
So here are some of my favorite memories.
Play "Mühle" with my Grandma.

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First of all I have no idea if this is right but the game is called "Mühle" in Germany and my dictionary says it is called "Nine Man Morris" in English. Please correct me if I am wrong but this is how the game looks like.  I loved to spend time with my Grandma, she was probably one of the five nicest persons on earth. Unfortunately she was very sick and died when I was only nine years old which was a huge shock for me. But I am so thankful that I had the chance to spend nine wonderful years with my Grandma Anneliese. In the evening I often went downstairs where she lived and we played board games together. This game was our favorite. I think my Grandma always let me win because the winner got a cookie. My Grandma also made the best cookies in the world. 
A trip to the North Sea with my parents and my best friend Julia.

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I don't remember how old I was but I spend 2 weeks in a house at the beach at the German North Sea with my parents and Julia. It was wonderful. Julia and I had our room in the attic and we felt pretty adventurous, we visited some cool islands, ate lots of ice cream, rode our bikes everywhere and even saw some seals at an animal sanctuary. And we spent every evening playing cards together. I will never forget this vacation.
Getting hurt on Friday the 13th.
Well I guess this is not the most wonderful memory but  still one of my favorites because it is so typical for me and my life. My birthday is July 13th which means that sometimes I have to honor to celebrate my birthday on Friday 13th which is known as the day of misfortune. I don't believe in this at all but I am a very clumsy person and this birthday ended with little Katrin covered in blood because she managed to get hurt four times in a row at her own birthday party. First I fell on my knee, then hurt my forehead, my arm and then the other knee. I must have looked very nice at the end of the party and I am pretty sure all the adults thought that I was cursed but I still had a wonderful time. I just did not care about all the disasters.
Well, there are so many others....I loved to spend time with my pets, my friends, my family, we went camping, had barbecues, went on vacations....
What is your favorite childhood memory?

Ten On Tuesday. A new friend, a runny nose and a heart attack grill.

Hallo meine Lieben,

it's time for another Ten On Tuesday.

Number 1.

My nose is running, I have a headache, I can't sleep, my throat hurts, I look like a month old water corpse, I am either too hot or too cold and I feel a little sorry for myself.

Number 2.

Hello, new friend. 

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Number 3.

I am searching for a new dress for my friend to protect him from mean scratches. I got one at Target but at home I found out that it covers part of the screen which is not very nice. Any recommendations?

Number 4.

I read the first couple of pages of "Fifty Shades of Grey" and got so bored. I guess I will remain one of the few people who haven't read this book. I can live with it. I am just glad I did not have to pay for the book.

Number 5.

I have a new favorite restaurant. The "Heart Attack Grill" in Las Vegas. They have so many delicious meals...I could not decide what to eat. The have the highest calorie burger in America! And you even eat for free when you weigh more than 350 pounds! 

Just kidding. I would not want to eat there. And how about "Over 350 lbs gets free vegetables"?

Number 6.

I am really really jealous of Matthew Bellamy's jacket. Where did he buy it?

Number 7. 

The Muse concert was definitely one of the best concerts I have ever been to. And I have been to many. So now I need to see them in Wembley Stadium. 

Number 8. 

Sometimes I feel like I can't stand all the cruelty in this world anymore. Seriously, what is wrong with people? 

Number 9. 

Last weekend David and I watched all episodes of "Long way round" in 2 days.  It is a documentary about Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman traveling eastwards from London to New York through Europe, Asia and America. Fascinating. I have read the book and wanted to watch the show so badly! Now we have to watch "Long way down" where they travel from Scotland to South Africa. 

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Number 10.

Porcupines make me smile. 

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Have a lovely Tuesday, my friends! And don't get sick!