theinbetweenismine

just a girl living the expat life

Archives for April 2015

April Favorites

filed under: monthly favorites

1.) OhEmGee. I found  Lifeway Frozen Kefir at our local Co-op and it is so delicious, you guys. You need to try this immediately. It only has half the calories of regular ice cream and it’s so refreshing. I prefer plain kefir with its tart and tangy flavor. Yum.

2.) Well, baseball season is upon us and how else are we going to survive the days at the office if it wasn’t for the MLB’s At Bat App that keeps you up-to-date on all the baseball-related happenings!?

3.) I received a complimentary subscription to Runner’s World Magazine when I renewed my Runstastic Gold Membership earlier this year and I thought, oh, why the heck not? And I must say, I quite enjoy this magazine.

4.) It’s maxi skirt season, finally! I bought this Mossimo Maxi Skirt at Target last year during a sale and it’s been my go-to, comfortable skirt every since.

5.) I haven’t had queso dip in forever and part of me wishes I hadn’t bought the Tostitos Queso Dip on a whim at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago. Now I am hooked on this stuff. Well, it’s cheese, what else did I expect?

6.) I recently came upon Mrs. Meyer’s Hand Soap and really, really love it. It smells heavenly, cleans very well and is based on natural ingredients. What’s not to love?

Daily life: Our laundry routine

filed under: daily life

Amber started a new blog series called “The World According To Amber (TWATA)”, in which she shares how she (and her husband) do day-to-day things. I love that idea and I love to get a glimpse into other people’s daily routines and habits, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon and start a similar blog series of my own.  I will file all post in this series under the category “daily life”.

I’m planning to share how we do things around here and am looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the topics.  I think it’s fascinating to find out how other people manage their daily lives (it’s something that doesn’t necessarily come up in a conversation) and maybe some of you find it interesting how we manage ours.  At the very least, you might learn something new about me, at best we’ll exchange ideas and thoughts on how to do things better or more efficiently.

I’m going to start today with our laundry routine. Don’t know about you, but I love to hear how other people manage the ‘mundane things of life’.

I’ve extensively complained about the fact that when we moved into our current apartment, we thought that we would be able to have a washer + dryer in our unit. It was high on our list of priorities when we moved and something I didn’t want to compromise on. (Just FYI, not having your own washer and dryer is something basically unheard of in Germany. Everybody owns at least a washer. I know that laundromats exist in bigger cities, but I never knew one single person in Germany who ever had to use a laundromat.)

Anyway, we found out post-move in that the outlet on our back porch only was an 110V outlet and only supported very small stackable washer + dryer sets (which are a) expensive to buy (comparatively speaking) and b) not very efficient) and there was not much room either. Our landlord wasn’t willing to upgrade the outlet (except if we wanted to pay for it. Hell to the no!) and so we teeth-gnashingly went back to visiting the laundromat.

My own washer + dryer is one of the top priorities again when we move and our laundry routine will probably most definitely (!) change, but for now, we’ve found a routine that works well for us under the given circumstances.

One thing you’ll probably be “jealous” about is that we do laundry… wait for it… every three weeks. That’s right. We don’t have weekly laundromat visits (which, if we had to do that, would drive me literally insane!) and I am very happy about that. I like clean and fresh laundry, but not bad enough that I’d sit at the laundromat every single week just for fun. Well, and besides, don’t worry… we have enough clean clothes for that time. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to stretch the time in between visits that far.

The perk of the laundromat is: if you go at the right time (Friday late afternoons for us), the place is almost empty and you can do as many loads at a time as your heart desires (for us it’s usually 5 loads). Which in turn means, we get 5 loads of laundry done in about 2 hours (give or take). I can live made my peace with 2 hours of laundromat time every three weeks.

Yes, it’s annoying to have to schlep all our laundry there. No, I don’t particularly enjoy hanging out at the laundromat when I could use that time for other chores at home. But: at least we’re highly efficient when we go. We always have full loads (which is environmentally friendly and the right thing to do!) and since we can do all loads at the same time and it takes the same amount of time regardless of wether we do two or five loads of laundry, I feel like we’re using our time efficiently as well.

We found this really clean and well-kept laundromat 5 minutes from our house. We drive there, wash + dry + fold, and drive home – all within 2 hours. Try to beat that! Plus, I bring a book, my laptop (they offer free Wi-Fi) or some knitting and use my waiting time there productively that way.

Obviously, it’s not the most comfortable place to hang out and I’d much rather sit at home, but we’re making it work – for now.

What’s your laundry routine? Is it a chore you enjoy or despise?

Girlfriend time at the spa

filed under: friends, girl time

A few weeks ago, my friend Susi texted me with a Travelzoo Deal for a day at a spa, including a 60-minute relaxation massage and a glass of champagne, that we couldn’t pass up. Since a girls’ getaway was long overdue, we jumped on the deal and made reservations for the 24th of April, which was Friday.

Susi and I met up early at the Willow Stream Spa at the Fairmont Mission Inn in Sonoma, CA. It’s about half-way between our respective homes and seemed like the perfect place for a getaway. I know, the destination alone might evoke envy in some of you (and I can’t blame you), but the Spa itself could have been anywhere and it would have been fantastic by itself. But going to a spa in Wine Country sounds extra fancy, doesn’t it?

We both left early and arrived at the Spa at 8:30 a.m. to get an early start and take advantage of the day. Our morning began with an hour of water yoga. I had never done water yoga before and it was a pleasant experience, especially the relaxation at the end (where we were floating on two of these pool noodles with underwater music soothing our ears).  I might or might not have asked Susi to come get me three hours later! Ha.

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Next up, champagne in the hot tub. The epiphany of a spa day, right? It felt indulgent and marvelous (and definitely well deserved) and some good conversations were had.

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Our 60-minute relaxation massage was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and, OMG, it was the most glorious thing. I can’t even remember if (or when) I had a massage in the past and I kept saying that this is definitely something I could get hooked on.

Diane, my masseuse, was wonderful. She knew where to apply the pressure and could tell from my tight spots that I work a desk job (yes!) and use the mouse a lot (also correct). Amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the massage and I felt completely relaxed afterward.

We had lunch poolside and just enjoyed the beautiful and relaxed atmosphere.

In the afternoon, we explored the Bath House and used the Bath Ritual. The Willow Stream Spa sits atop an ancient mineral spring and all the pools are all filled with the mineral waters. The Bathing Ritual features an exfoliating shower, two mineral water soaking pools, an herbal steam room, a dry sauna, and cool down showers.

The facilities are supposed to be a gadget-free zone and we (mostly) appreciated and stuck to that rule, but obviously I had to make an exception to snap some quick pictures for my scrapbook blog. You’re welcome.

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The Spa was wonderful and luxurious and it took me a little while to not feel completely ‘out of place’ since I had never been to a spa before. But, by the end of the day, we were basically ‘spa-pros’ and Susi and I decided that we absolutely have to do this again. The day went by way too quickly (as good times do!) and we finished up this amazing day with some coffee in the hotel lobby.

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I had a wonderful time unplugging from the daily grind in some lovely company (what could be better than catching up with your girlfriend?) and highly recommend it to everyone.

Surprisingly, I was dead tired by the time I got home and felt like I had run a marathon or something. I went to bed at 9 p.m., slept like a rock through the night and woke up sore the next morning. Comfortably sore, I might add. I guess my body had (passively) done more over the course of the previous day than I thought.

If you ever get the chance (especially if you find a good deal online – spas are not cheap, especially in this country, or so it seems), I urge you to enjoy a spa day some time, if you haven’t done so before (please tell me that I am not the only one who has never indulged in that kind of way!?). Either way, it was totally worth it and just a great experience all around and the only question I have left is ‘When can I do this again?’ 

ABC Photo Challenge

filed under: photography

Edited with Phonto. https://phon.to

As I mentioned, I participated in a little photo challenge on Instagram. My blog friend Fee initiated the ABC photo challenge earlier this month and since I hadn’t participated in any challenges lately, I thought it would be fun to document part of this month by playing along. Here are all the photos for my personal ABC.

A is for Azalea. There are some beautiful azalea bushes close to my work.

B is for breakfast. Steel-cut oats with apples. Hmm :)

C is for Chemex and coffee. The best, that’s all.

D is for daffodils. I love those yellow, happy flowers.

E is for Easter bread. I baked our traditional sweet yeast bread for Easter and it was so delicious!

F is for family. My sister’s wonderful family, to be exact.

G is for gray skies. We got some rain earlier this month. Very needed, much appreciated.

H is for home-cooked meal. Turkey-mushroom-spätzle bowl with green beans.

I is for I Street. 

J is for Jetta. Our new ride!

K is for (door) knobs in our old, vintage apartment.

L is for lazy baseball Sunday. Go Red Sox!

M is for McKinley Park. Another day, another run at this lovely park.

N is for never tired of these beautiful magnolia blossoms.

O is for Oh, I just ran 4 miles.

P is for pasta. Yummy home-made spaghetti with spicy italian sausage.

Q is for quality time at the beach last summer.

R is for Red Cherry Trees.

S is for Sunday Thai cravings.

T is for (summer-ready) toes and the first pedicure of the year.

U is for unreal. Yosemite National Park is so amazing!

V is for Volkswagen.

W is for water which I am tracking with the new @NalgeneUSA app on my phone. Drinking enough is one of my goals for 2015.

(X)Y(Z) is for (water) yoga at the Willow Stream Spa in Sonoma where I spent the day with my dear friend Susi.

If you want to see some of the other photos of people who participated, check out hashtag #abcfee2015 on Instagram.

A lesson in patience

filed under: career stuff, I can't make this shit up

Are you a patient person? Most people say that I am and they’re probably right. I have a lot of perseverance, I don’t give up easily and I can wait for things to fall into place. I am an eternal optimist and always believe that things will work out. Eventually.

Although sometimes, I wish that ‘eventually’ was a little sooner rather than later. I’ve done my fair share of “waiting things out” in my life and sometimes I wonder if that was always the right thing to do.

I know, waiting is usually not a good strategy. If you want things to happen, you have to make them happen (or so they say). But what if you’re pushing and working hard and things get within arm’s reach just to be dangled in front of your face always an inch or two too far to grab? When do you stop reaching?

The last few  months have just been mentally exhausting. Actually, the last year and a half has been mentally exhausting. I have talked a few times about this “limbo state” at my work that I have been in for (dare I say it? years!) much too long and after being on the brink of almost being let go at the end of May last year and my head spinning out of control with worry about “where am I going to look for a new job?”, “where are we going to move?”, “what are we going to do?”, things turned around (somewhat) last minute and now it looks like we’re here to stay after all.

However, my job situation is still not resolved. It’s frustrating to say the least.

I’ve been working here for almost 8 years. I have had my citizenship for 3+ years now (the ONE requirement that prevented me from being hired directly by the government agency in the first place), and yet, my contractor status has still not been converted to a more permanent position. I’ve missed out on regular raises, job security and the general feeling of being an equal to my co-workers and I sometimes wonder how and why  I have “stuck it out” for eight freakin’ years.

Like I said earlier… “the ‘carrot’ was always dangled right in front of my face” and I have a lot of patience and general optimism, or else I would have quit here a long time ago.

More importantly: I love my job (most days). I like my co-workers. I like my physical work place. These are hard things to let go of when faced with decisions you don’t want to make. I know so many people who don’t like what they do or have horrible co-workers and just dread going to work every day.

That is not me. I enjoy my job  and I work hard it. But I also think that I finally deserve some appreciation, too. I honestly can’t believe for how long I have been talking about this.