theinbetweenismine

just a girl living the expat life

Archives for February 2009

Some things I will never understand

filed under: FYI, my so-called life, USA

Ok, I get it. We’re in California. For the most part, in California, excluding the Sierra Nevada, temperatures will rarely drop under 32°F/0°C. It’s not freezing. But nevertheless, it can get pretty damn cold during the winter months.

Why the heck are Californian houses so poorly insulated and why in hell do so many apartments not have central heat/air?
I’ve been freezin’ my cute little butt off during the winter months here.
I have refrained from sleeping in the bedroom and have camped out in the living room for a while now, because it’s the only room with a heater.
We also had to put a towel in front of the door to prevent the draft from creeping up on us.

So, I finally did, what I think most people end up doing at some point: I bought a small space heater.
It’s mainly for the bathroom. Since there only is an AC/heater combination in the living room, it’s been freakin’ cold in the bedroom and bathroom the last few months. It got to the point where my towels would not even dry in any 24 hours-period, because temperatures in the bathroom were so low, let alone the fact that the bathroom stayed pretty damp and that I was shivering when I got out of the shower every morning.

I know, you’re going to say that now winter is almost over and my investment in a space heater comes a little late, but you know what they say, better late than never ;) And I agree with that.
I’ve been enjoying a cozy, warm bathroom for the last couple of days!

Oh, the comfort!! :)

OT, weekend and the Oscars

filed under: bureaucracy, movies, my so-called life

Last weekend was, in fact, not a weekend at all… if it hadn’t been for the Oscars. This has really been my only “fun activity” for the past two days.

Why, you ask?

Because I had to work overtime this weekend.
I stayed in the office until 10 p.m. on Friday and came in for another 5 hours on Saturday, all due to a deadline that we had to meet today.
I wasn’t particularly thrilled about it, but the good things are:

a) I’ll soon be done with a project that I’ve been working on for what feels like forever (a couple of months at least!),

b) I have earned some extra vacation time (which is always a good thing), and

c) my name will appear in an official publication for the first time. That alone is pretty exciting and worth the overtime.

Besides work, I had to run some errands on Saturday morning. After 5 hours at the office in the afternoon, I got home, had some dinner and then pretty much fell asleep on the couch and slept for about 14 hours straight. I was simply exhausted.

On Sunday I had to do some cleaning and filing at home and when I finally sat down on the couch to watch the Academy Awards, I had definitely earned it.

Here are the winners:

Picture: “Slumdog Millionaire“
Actor: Sean Penn, “Milk“
Actress: Kate Winslet, “The Reader“
Director: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Foreign-Language Film: “Departures,” Japan
Original Song: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Original Score: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Jerry Lewis
Film Editing: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Sound Mixing: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Sound Editing: “The Dark Knight“
Visual Effects: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button“
Documentary, Short Subject: “Smile Pinki“
Documentary Feature: “Man on Wire“
Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Short Film: “Spielzeugland“
Makeup : “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Costume: “The Duchess“
Art Direction: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Animated Short Film: “La Maison en Petits Cubes”
Animated Feature: “WALL-E“
Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black, “Milk“
Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”

I personally really agreed with Kate Winslet and Sean Penn getting the Oscar for “Best actress and actor”. I love them both!
I also think that Heath Ledger totally deserved – even post-mortem – the Oscar for playing “Joker” in “The Dark Knight” (even though I still only have seen parts of it). Admittedly, I have not seen “Slumdog Millionair” yet, but I do believe that this film got too many Oscars. I actually like to see the awards distributed a little more. Therefore, I was really pleased with the award for best costume design for “The Duchess”. Have you seen this movie?

I watched it on the plane on my way back from Germany and even though I hadn’t heard much about it before and didn’t really know what to expect, I thought it was a fantastic movie and Keira Knightely should have been nominated for her performance. If you get the chance, rent the movie and check it out sometime.

P.S. Oh yes, one more thing:  I received my 10-year-Green Card in the mail on Saturday! That was quick! I am impressed USCIS!

I can be very, and I mean VERY particular

filed under: about me, food, FYI

As mentioned many, many times on this blog, say it with me,  I am NOT really a coffee drinker. I just like a little coffee flavor in my milk :)
However, I am very particular about that “little flavor”.

You probably think that with all the milk in the coffee, I won’t be able to actually really taste the coffee and to some degree that might be true (you know how “bad coffee” can be saved with a little bit of milk?!), BUT, I argue that even though at least half of my coffee mug is filled with milk, I can exactly tell you if the other half, the coffee, is any good.

By now, I have also created a list of the places at which I will definitely, only-if-I-really-feel-like-some or definitely not drink coffee in the future. Seriously, some places brew a really mean cup of joe :(

It is definitely worth investing a little bit of money to get some decent tasting coffee and not buy the pre-ground coffee from the grocery store. Many people seem to be used to getting inexpensive, bad-tasting coffee, but this does not have to be the case. Buying coffee beans and grinding them yourself makes a BIG difference, for example, and coffee grinders are really inexpensive these days.

Photographer’s block

filed under: about me, good things, photography

I cannot believe it. Seriously. I treated myself to this incredible camera last summer and I have not yet found the time to make full use of its capabilities. 

I am angry with myself.
I want to take a photography class so badly, but I have not found the energy to even look for one (and I am sure there are plenty), let alone attend one.
I have not touched the handbook that came with the camera in weeks!
Yeah ok, I have played around with the camera a little bit and I have definitely produced some interesting and, by all means, presentable shots (in my humble opinion) with it already. In auto-mode alone, the camera just takes so much better photos than any point-and-shoot.
However, I still want to do so much more with it.

I really want to get back into posting regularly on Flickr. Beside the fact that it’s fun to just share everyday shots with family and friends, I want to use it as my creative outlet again.

I am such a creative person really and I am not doing anything about this right now.
I used to scrapbook, make my own holiday cards and other crafts and I occasionally I even knit/crochet or quilt.
I am doing neither of those things right now and it bothers me.
It makes me grumpy inside.
I feel like I have no time and/or sometimes no peace of mind to sit down and be creative. I need to change that.

At least, I am still writing my letters on a regular basis (sometimes even by hand! – otherwise I am sucker for Handwriting Fonts :)). That kinda helps.

Happy Self-Love Day!

filed under: about me, lists!, love

Today is Valentine’s Day. While I like the romantic idea of it, I don’t buy into all the commercial crap that surrounds Valentine’s Day. I can have a good time with J any other day of the year and I don’t need Valentine’s Day for him to show me that he loves me (or vice versa).

Therefore, I am participating in Snackie’s Self-Love Day, because Valentine’s Day is not only about loving your significant other and your family and friends, but also about loving yourself (which is sometimes a challenging thing to do).

VDay

Here are the rules:

1.) Post one of them thar banners on your blog and declare February 14th as the day you not only love your one and only, but the day that you love yourself! (For those of you who need help, all you do is right-click over the image of your choice then click on “save” and save it wherever you want.)

2.) Post one nice thing about yourself; then ask others to post one thing that they really like about you.

3.) Enjoy yourself!

So, here’s one thing that I love about me: my dedication. I know that this is a very general term, but that’s a good thing and I’ll tell you why: my dedication applies to every single part of my life.
Once I dedicate myself to someone or something, I’ll give everything for them/it and then some.
I don’t easily give up, but will go the extra mile for someone/something.

I like this about me (even though I know that it makes me vulnerable sometimes).

Let me know if you posted something for “Self-Love Day” so I can come over and show you some love! :)

Just wanted to share…

filed under: family, photography

My sister sent me this incredibly sweet (and no, I am not biased ;)) picture of my little niece Greta yesterday. I love it so much that I HAD to share it with you!
It makes me sad that I couldn’t be there with her when she took her first swimming lesson.

Greta at the pool

Doesn’t she look totally comfortable?
She seems to be so content with herself in her little red lifesaver ring (and it seems to taste pretty good, too ;))
Well yeah, and Daddy is right behind her. Which little girl wouldn’t feel safe with Daddy watching out for her?

My sister said she loves the water and didn’t cry once – which doesn’t surprise me, since her Mom received her “seahorse swimming badge” (Seepferdchen) when she was only 4 years old, whereas  for her aunt, (ahm yes, that’s me!)  it took a tiny bit longer ;)

To be honest, I’ve always hated swimming. I have always had somewhat of a fear of water and it has never completely gone away. I love the beach and I love being in the water, but I don’t like competitive swimming (had to do it in College for my P.E. degree) and I don’t like to not have solid ground below my feet. Period.

Maybe with a cute red lifesaver ring, I would ;)

On our obsession with the X-Files

filed under: my so-called life, USA

Yes, I know I haven’t mentioned it in a while, but J and I are still working on watching all seasons of the X-Files. We took a little break, but we’ve officially started Season 8 now.

When the X-Files movie came out last summer, we were really tempted to  go and see it at the movie theater. But we held off last minute, because we decided we wanted to finish all nine seasons before seeing the movie, regardless of the fact that the movie apparently had no connection with the TV series, besides Mulder and Scully being the main characters.

Something that I never thought possible happened when J had me sit and start watching the X-Files. I got hooked. Honestly, I rarely get hooked on a TV show like that (ok, let’s say besides SatC and Friends). I mean really hooked.

I can barely stand going to bed when it’s 11 p.m. (and honestly, I really should already be asleep at 11 p.m.) and the last episode ended with a cliffhanger. How cruel! Now I need to know what happened to Mulder, even though the plot is getting more and more confusing and in light of all the “in between episodes”, it’s getting harder and harder to keep track of the main plot.
Some say they got really disappointed with the X-Files later in the seasons. I am hoping that this is not going to happen for me. I am really enjoying it so much right now and I have grown quite fond of Mulder and Scully. It almost feels like I personally know them. Ha! That’s what TV shows do to you, right?

BTW, I am not currently watching any TV shows that are on television. I hate the commercials and it kills me to have to wait another week for the following episode ;)

What TV shows are you hooked on?

My shopping trip

filed under: food, shopping, USA

I went grocery shopping on Friday. I know that some people (Hi Kim!) hate it, but I actually enjoy grocery shopping.

I usually have a shopping list written before I leave (neatly divided lists for each store that I go to – yes, I am a list-person! I don’t function without lists!), but I also like to be inspired when I am actually at the store.
I have a list of things that always find their way into my shopping cart – my basics, so to speak – which would be multi grain-sunflower seed-bread, milk, Coffeemate®, butter, pasta,  potatoes, canned corn and diced tomatoes, salad mix, cheese, grape tomatoes.

For hubby there must be meat (!), hash browns, eggs, rice, cereal, sourdough bread, lunch-meat and mayonnaise.
Do you see a clear, cultural difference here?
You could easily tell from our respective shopping lists that I am German and he’s American :)

Albeit, I have to say that we’ve converged on our eating habits and I enjoy some eggs and potatoes for breakfast every now and then, whereas J does enjoy some multi grain bread with jam occasionally. (Hasn’t he come a long way? :)) I love to prepare my home-cooked German dinners for him, while he makes some kick-ass burritos. I think it works out pretty well in the end. We get the best of both worlds :)

Anyways, back to the shopping.
As previously mentioned, I am the proud owner of a Costco membership card now and I spent two whole hours there on Friday.
I just love perusing the aisles, much as if it was a department store, and picking out things that will fill our fridge or freezer.
I really love me a full fridge.
Even though you can practically get anything  at Costco, some of the packaged food is way too much for two people to consume before it expires. What works well are the frozen and non-perishable items. If our kitchen wasn’t so small, I would have really stocked up on some things.
Well, who am I kidding, I did stock up on quite some things… just not as much as I would have liked to :)

There were only a few things left that I had to/wanted to get at Trader Joe’s and/or Safeway and I think I will be making a run to Costco now every other week or so.

Do you have a favorite place to (grocery) shop? Certain items you will buy from only one particular place? Do you shop with a list or without one?

Tell me your grocery shopping habits. I’d love to hear them.