Archives for 2016

A year in review: 2016

December 31, 2016 filed under: reminiscence

Here goes another year. It’s amazing how time speeds up the closer we get to the end of the year, isn’t it? I know, it’s all perception, but perception also is all we have.

2016 was a pretty good year for me personally, but of course, on a larger scale, 2016 was peppered with some rather unpleasant events around the world. Countless untimely deaths, a migrant crisis, war, terror attacks… I mean, I could have really done without all that. And then, to top it all of the election of he-who-should-not-be-named. Here’s a good article to sum up my feelings.

I know, lots of people on social media have been asking for 2016 to just go away, but you know, every year has good things and bad things and I am always, always trying to focus on the good (without ignoring or discounting the bad). All we can do is work towards making the future better than the past, right?

I created this little infographic to kind of summarize my year in a visual sense (hat tip to Alycia for the idea).

January

In Janurary, I chose a new word for the year. I shared a bit about our 2015 finances.

February

I talked about the books that I read in 2015. My blog got a little makeover. In my ‘Daily Life’ series, I shared 11 ways to save (some) money at the grocery store. I showed you the knitting project I was working on.

March

I made bread in the Dutch Oven. I talked about 10 things that I learned in my 30’s. I made a list of my travel essentials before heading off to Germany to celebrate my birthday with my family. I shared 16 apps that I use (almost) every day. I talked about Val Gardena and 8 fun Instagram accounts that I follow.

April

I checked back in with you in April. I shared 9 of our favorite weekly meals. I finally got around to writing down our red Thai Curry recipe. I recapped my time home by sharing a bit more about my hometown. I told you about my love for Ikea and about the wonderful week I spent skiing in Wolkenstein, South Tyrol with my family. At the end of April, I went down to Socal for a long weekend.

May

I looked forward to the month of May. I set a new goal. I recapped our time in Munich in March. I bought a KitchenAid! I shared some Awkward & Awesome things. I went kayaking for the first time with my friend Susi. I made my own granola. I participated in the Davis Pride Run for Equality 10k. I recapped our Memorial Day + Anniversary weekend.

June

I blogged about Global Running Day. I shared my love for my (almost) hometown Cologne. I talked about my half-marathon training. I shared my frustrations about the ongoing violent attacks that keep happening. I shared some of my quirks. I started a new blog series about things I bought at Trader Joe’s. I linked up for Tuesdays on the Run and talked about how often I run races.

July

I welcomed yet another new month. I shared how I pick the races that I sign up for. In my ‘Daily Life’ series, I told you about what my work week looks like. I also shared about that time when iron deficiency landed me in the hospital (don’t recommend). I ran the Davis Moo-nlight Run 10k. I baked twisted overnight spelt-rye rolls. I shared more things I bought at Trader Joe’s. I ran the San Francisco Half Marathon. My Mom had kidney surgery, which left me a bit worried.

August

In August, I finally gave you a little tour of our home. I made protein waffles. I went to Colorado for the first time for a workshop. I talked about race memorabilia. I shared my love for National Parks in honor of the NPS’ 100th birthday. I blogged about the 13.1 lessons I learned from running a half marathon.

September

In September, I shared my Labor Day Weekend recap. I also reminisced about the fact that I came to California 15 years ago. I shared a recipe for broiled veggies and parsley rice. Because some people asked, I talked about how I experienced 9/11 as I had just arrived in the country as an exchange student. I blogged about the best running advice I have received. I met up with my long-time friend Cathy from Australia in Vegas. I also talked about meatless things to get from Trader Joe’s.

How was your year? Was it good, was it bad, or a mixed bag (like for everyone else)?

Happy New Year, friends. I hope 2017 will be good to you and all of us!

December Favorites

December 30, 2016 filed under: monthly favorites

1. The only time I ever drink eggnog is when we’re skiing in Italy, but I thought it would be nice to have it during the holiday season this year, because why not? It was a great idea!

2. I got these FILA workout pants on sale and with some Kohl’s cash, because I needed some longer pants for the winter. They’re really comfortable and I like that the side application is iridescent. Adds a nice touch.

3. Spekulatius Chocolate (from Coppenrath) found at the World Market. Oh my world, I never had these exact cookies before, but they’re amazing.

4. My new iPhone 7 ( to be clear, not the iphone 7 PLUS – it’s way too big, IMHO). Yep, so I got lucky and J and I decided to upgrade our phones for Christmas and I am so, so happy. We didn’t exchange any other gifts, but that was really fine by me. To have a phone with a battery that lasts more than 3 hours is simply amazing. I mean, I couldn’t go anywhere without a backup battery with my 5s anymore (which, for the record, held up remarkably well for over 3 years without any other issues!). A few months ago though, it started to get really bad and it frequently died on my 4+ miles runs and shut off at random. I had to charge it multiple times a day and it would completely drain and die over night, when I didn’t have it plugged in. I mean, one time, I thought it was dead for good, because it wouldn’t even come on anymore, but I was able to revive it by heating the battery with a hair dryer (thank you, Google, for that – I thought I was out of luck two months ago). It was just so annoying and no longer sustainable.

5. Fingerless gloves are my life-saver this winter. I am working over Christmas break and let’s just say that the heating in our office building has been capricious (especially because pretty much the rest of campus is closed down). Tuesday morning, right after the holiday weekend, it was 55 degrees in my office. I NEEDED those gloves (luckily, it warmed up during the day).

6. Christmas movies. It’s really my favorite thing for the holiday season. Especially the sappy ones. I watched quite a few this year again, including “A merry friggin Christmas”, which was new to me and must have been one of Robin Williams last movies, as it came out in 2014. I came across it randomly on Netflix. Have you seen it?

Year of running 2016

December 29, 2016 filed under: fitness, review, running

As this year is coming to a close, I am linking up with Courtney from Eat, Pray, Run DC to take a look back on my year of running.

It was a great year for me with only a couple of minor, totally neglectable injuries and lots of fun logging miles! I have been able to run constistently and with a plan throughout the year and this was my first year of running races. I am a newbie to all of that is race running and race training and it was fun trying my ~~hand~~ feet at different distances.

Best race experience: My first half-marathon in San Francisco, of course. I’ve only ran a handful of other races (5ks and 10ks), so the half-marathon definitely stood out in my mind.

Best run: The ones where body and mind agree and it feels like you can keep running forever.

Best new piece of running gear: My Garmin Forerunner 235. It’s my first running watch (I only used apps before) and I love having this extra fancy new piece of equipment.

Best running advice you’ve received this year: Run your own race.

Most inspirational runner: My friend Susi (and all of you who get out there every day!). She’s been pushing herself in so many ways this year and that has constantly inspired me to push harder myself.

Favorite picture from a run or race this year: This one – taken shortly before I crossed the finish line of the half! I obviously haven’t mastered the “I am having so much fun at running this race”- photos yet (which is also due to the fact that I wasn’t aware I was photographed), but I am glad I have some photographic memories from the half.

Race experience you would repeat in a heartbeat: San Francisco. Next time the halfmarathon that crosses the Golden Gate, I think.

If you could sum up your year in a couple of words what would they be? This year sparked my ambition. I learned that I can do hard things, that I can put my mind to something and just do it. I love that I want to run more. More races, more miles. This year has really brought me into the sport of running (something that I always considered part of working out, but not my main sport).

Extra note: At the beginning of the year, I set myself the vague goal to run more miles in 2016 than I ran in 2015 (which were 424 miles/ 682 km). When I surpassed this goal sometime in September, I decided to set an even number goal to reach by the end of the year – 1000 km (622 miles).
Today, I did that. I reached 1000 km this morning. Onward and upward! Can’t wait to see what 2017 has in store!

How was your year of running?
Did you reach your goals? Any running epiphanies?

Our Christmas

December 28, 2016 filed under: holidays

This was our first official Christmas in our new home. We had the keys last year, but hadn’t technically moved in. (Moving day was the 30th.) While I was bummed that we again couldn’t see family for the holidays this year, I wanted to embrace this quiet Christmas in our own space as much as possible. Heck, I even decorated our Christmas tree a whole week early (how very un-German of me – ha!).

We had a nice, cozy and quiet Christmas weekend. We started off Christmas Eve with some Wintry Blend coffee and I put a makeshift Christmas plate together (‘makeshift’, because purposefully didn’t buy a whole lot of treats and hadn’t baked any cookies, because we were expecting a package from my Mom, which still hasn’t arrived, so I only had some Spekulatius, toffifee and Ferrero Rocher available).

At lunch time, around 10 pm German time, we skyped FaceTimed with my family. Everybody was gathered at my sister’s house for Christmas Eve and it was nice to see everyone for a little while.

We watched ‘The Polar Express’ in the afternoon and then I set the table and we cooked ourselves a nice dinner. We had scallops wrapped in bacon as an appetizer, followed by Ribeye steak with baked potatoes and green beans. We were too full for dessert, but I had the apple blossom with vanilla ice-cream later that weekend.

Afterwards, we watched “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” – one of the movies J watched as a child.

Christmas Day we just stayed home, I read for a while and we watched more Christmas movies, “The Santa Clause” and “Elf”. Buddy is just so damn excited about Christmas and I have “Santa Claus is coming to town” stuck in my head now. It was cozy and quiet and just the way I like it.

My sister sent a package with a handmade shopping bag and my niece and nephew prepared this paper cutting kit for us to put together (as they couldn’t send it assembled). Isn’t that a beautiful looking star?

I got Monday off this year, which was nice, because it meant a) we had a long weekend and b) it felt like having a ‘2nd Christmas holiday”. I will also get January, 2 off and since I am not taking any time off between Christmas and New Year’s this year, having a short week and two long weekends in a row makes the whole thing much more bearable.

I went for a long run on Monday, we cleaned up and did some laundry and watched “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” in the evening. It’s one of my favorite Christmas movies. It’s so silly that I have to laugh out loud every time I watch it. Yes, you are correct: I am easily entertained, haha.

One of my favorite things about Christmas was receiving so many lovely Christmas cards and I wanted to thank each and every one of you who sent one this year. I always love sending and receiving cards for the holidays and I was thrilled that so many of you feel the same way. They truly made my holidays extra special.

Last but not least, I also wanted to mention, the Holiday Card Swap that I participated in this year and which was hosted by Lacey and Merenda over at https://fairytalesandfitness.com.

The objective was to just add a little holiday cheer to someone’s mailbox by sending a Christmas Card and a “little something” …. It was supposed to be really just a “little something” that would fit in the envelope and therefore not result in extra postage. The suggestion was that you check out the person’s blog or social media account, learn a little more about them and then pick out something they might enjoy… a coupon for an item you think they would like or perhaps a race sticker, a gift card, etc.

I received my card from Juliana from 4wellrules.com last week. She sent a super-sweet card and included a $10 gift card to treat myself to some holiday drinks at Starbucks. I thought that was really sweet, because I know it’s hard to pick something out for someone that you don’t know very well. Thank you so much, Juliana. That was a really nice surprise in my mailbox last week and I appreciated your thoughtfulness!

I hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend and were able to unplug (from social media) and connect with family and friends. Thanks for being – in one way or another – part of my holiday weekend.

Vacation Recap – the last few days

December 27, 2016 filed under: California, family, USA

The last few days of my parents’ visit flew by fast. On Thursday (10/13), we had a late breakfast and my Dad decided to try out another golf course in the afternoon. My Mom and I decided to drive to Davis. We walked around, checked out some shops and I invited my Mom to a frappuccino. We got a few things at the local Co-Op and stopped for some groceries on the way home. We all met back at home for dinner.

It rained pretty much all day on Friday (10/14) and my Mom and Dad went to the Outlets for some last minute shopping and also stopped in Downtown Vacaville for some coffee. (Can you believe that I’ve never been to Downtown Vacaville? Especially appalling if you know that they have a German Bakery there.)

On Saturday (10/15), the rain had stopped and my Dad went golfing one more time, while my Mom and I went shopping. We went to Kohl’s, Nordstroms, and checked out a couple of yarn stores in the area (that I hadn’t been to). We also went to the German Butcher and got some Bratwurst for dinner. I made my Mom cook bratwurst and red cabbage with potatoes. It was nice to just do some ‘everyday stuff’ with my Mom.

When we came home, we had some coffee and leftover apple pie.

Before dinner, we decided to walk around the neighborhood to check out all the Halloween decorations. Some people really go all out with the decorations. Unfortunately, it started raining again when we were out and we were lucky that I had grabbed the umbrella before we left, or else we would have been completely soaked.

It kept raining through Sunday (10/16) and we kept joking that California was trying to get my parents used to “German weather patterns” again as their vacation was coming to a close. You know, to make their departure a little easier – haha.

My Dad didn’t want to go anywhere, but my Mom and I decided to brave the weather and go for a walk in Downtown Sacramento. J Street has some nice restaurants and shops and I invited my Mom for some “Kaffee und Kuchen” at Rick’s Dessert Diner.

For dinner, we had one thing left to check off on our list: Sushi at “Bento Box”. My parents both really like sushi now – who would have thought?

We had Teriyaki Chicken and ordered a bunch of different specialty rolls: King Kong, Paradise, Americano und Dre. All of them were really, really good, but I think our favorite was the deep-fried Americano Roll with shrimp.

When we got home, my Mom and I got a few more rounds of knitting in before going to bed.

On Monday (10/17), it was time to say goodbye again. I couldn’t believe how fast the time with my parents had flown by again.

We wanted to enjoy one last ‘American breakfast’ and I took my parents to “The Fox and Goose”, an English Pub in Downtown Sacramento. It’s a really nice, homey, slow-paced pub with really great breakfast. I think both my parents liked it a lot.

I also had decided to drive them back to the airport in San Francisco.

Originally, my Dad had suggested that they could drive the rental car back to San Francisco and drop it off at the airport, so that I wouldn’t have to make the 3-4 hour round-trip, but I couldn’t really say goodbye to them at home and let them go to San Francisco by themselves. I wanted to see them off at the airport and also enjoy every last minute with them, so we dropped off the rental car in Sacramento and I drove them to SFO.
I am going to be honest, it was hard to let them leave. Saying goodbye never gets easier and I really didn’t want to let them go, but I am really so thankful for the wonderful and special time that we had when they were here.

Until next time…

A Christmas Survey

December 26, 2016 filed under: holidays, Things you wouldn't know, this and that

Hi friends, just popping in for some low-key Christmas fun (in case anyone is bored enough to even bother reading blogs over Christmas – haha! – but I know I probably will!) Sometimes, I just love reading fun surveys learning some randoms things about each other that way. I hope you’re having a lovely Christmas weekend.

Do you open any presents on Christmas Eve?

Yes! We usually do Christmas the German way and that means Christmas Eve is the day for a fancy Christmas dinner and opening the presents. Christmas Day is for relaxing, watching movies and drinking hot chocolate.

Run on Christmas morning or take the day off?

No running on Christmas morning. Christmas Day is a day to stay cozy (but I ran on the 2nd Christmas Day – which totally is a thing in Germany. The 26th is an official holiday and who could argue with a 2nd Christmas Day, am I right? I was lucky to get today off as well and I took advantage of it).

What do you usually eat on Christmas morning?

We don’t have a traditional Christmas morning breakfast.

Is your Christmas tree real or fake?

It’s fake. Our previous apartment was so tiny that we didn’t really have space for a tree, but since I still wanted one, we got a small fake tree that we cut put up on the sideboard. I really wanted to get a real tree this year, because we do have a bit more space now, but Christmas kind of snuck up on me and then we decided to just use the little fake tree for another year. I think it actually looks quite nice and not necessarily fake, if you look at it from far enough away… haha.

Do you like tinsel?

No. Never have.

What is on top of your tree?

A small straw star.

Favorite holiday or Christmas tradition?

Christmas Eve with everybody at my parents’ house. We would have a fancy Christmas dinner (cooked mostly by my Dad) and we would listen to “kölsche Weihnacht” (Christmas music) and open the presents one by one for everybody to see and admire.

What is your favorite Christmas movie?

There is no way I can just pick one! One of my favorite-favorites is The Holiday, but also Love Actually, Elf, It’s a wonderful life, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Elf, A Fitzgerald Family Christmas, and Home Alone.
Who is your favorite character from any Christmas movie?

Oh, hard to say… there are so many. I love Buddy the Elf, of course, and Clark Griswold is just so excited about Christmas. I can relate to that.. haha.
Christmas pajamas… yay or nay?

The whole thing with Christmas PJs is not a thing in Germany, so I never had one…. But part of me likes the idea.

Do you like eggnog or cider?

Both! :)

Red or Green?

Red

Food that you always have during the holiday season?

After Eight, Speculoos, Spritzgebäck (spritz cookies?).

Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Mostly wrapping paper – but sometimes, when I have odd-shaped gifts, I prefer pretty gift bags!

Do you drive around and look at Christmas lights?

Usually yes. I love looking at Christmas decorations!

Do you put Christmas lights on the outside of your house?

Not really, but I want to. I only put out a small string of lights on the little bush next to our entrance door this year, because I had one (with solar panel) sitting around in my closet…. But next year, I’d like to get more lights (only white lights, though. I find the colorful string lights kinda tacky ;)).

Do you hang up a stocking?

Only teeny-tiny ones for decoration. I’d love to get J and I some stockings, though.

Where do you usually spend your holiday?

Usually we would spend it with family in Germany, but we were at home by ourselves for the third year in a row this weekend and it was quiet and cozy.

What is your favorite Christmas Album/CD/Song??

NKOTB’s Christmas Album, obviously.

Do you like giving gifts or receiving gifts better?

Both. I love giving gifts for Christmas. It’s never about the monetary value, but picking something out that I know someone else will enjoy. Of course, I also love getting gifts in return. As much as I like the idea of a “gift-free” Christmas (and I would totally go for that if I could see family and friends instead), I also really love finding little gifts for people.

When do you start getting excited about Christmas?

In the middle of summer? Haha. No, but I probably get seriously into a Christmas mood around the first Sunday of Advent.

I hope you enjoyed learning some more about our Christmas, and feel free to share some Christmas facts from your family with me! I’d love to hear! Hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend!

What I bought at Trader Joe’s – Holiday Edition

December 23, 2016 filed under: food, review, shopping, traderjoes

Trader Joe’s* had some awesome seasonal items again this year. I always love to browse their holiday shelves.
They always have a bunch of Christmas goodies from around the world like German Lebkuchen and Christmas Stollen, Italian panettone, advent calendars, fancy chocolate, and quite a few nice non-edible gifts.

I bought a couples of things that I gave away for Christmas and today, I want to share five holiday items that I picked up this holiday season for ourselves.

Cookie Mix in a Jar (1 lb 7 oz – $4.99) ★★★★ // holiday section

I loved this ready-to-go cookie mix in a jar as soon as I saw it. What a neat idea. You just add butter and eggs and have awesome fresh Christmas cookies ready in no time. I wish I would have stocked up. I wanted to get a couple more jars this week, but they were all gone already. I hope they’ll have them again next year.
Scallops wrapped in uncured bacon with brown sugar glaze (7.5 oz – $6.99) ☆☆☆☆☆ (to be determined) // seasonal freezer section

I haven’t tried those yet, but they’ll be our appetizer for Christmas Eve. Don’t they sound delicious? I’ve read some positive reviews about them and can’t wait to try them.

Wintry Blend coffee (14 oz – $7.99 )★★★★★ // pantry section

I’ve been raving about the Gingerbread Coffee that Trader Joe’s sells every holiday season, but I only tried their Wintry Blend this year for the first time. Silly! This blend is really nice with the addition of spices and has a smooth taste.

Sipping Chocolate (9 oz – $3.99) ★★★★★ // pantry section

I like hot chocolate, but rarely ever make it at home – except for when the holidays come around. This sipping chocolate is pretty tasty and most importantly not too sweet. It’s really the best chocolate powder I’ve had here so far.

Apple Blossoms (8 oz – $2.29) ★★★★★ // freezer section

These are just the most perfect single-serve little apple pies that you can get your hands on. They are delicious and so easy to pop in the oven (or even the microwave) and it couldn’t get more convenient if you’re looking for a warm, tasty dessert for two.

What did you pick up at Trader Joe’s this month?

* I am not affiliated with Trader Joe’s, nor have they endorsed, sponsored or paid for my reviews. I am just sharing my love for the store and its products, which basically means free advertisement for them. Ha. All opinions are my own.

Currently | December

December 22, 2016 filed under: currently

loving the holiday season. Despite the fact that we won’t be traveling and we won’t be seeing family for Christmas, I always embrace this season and I’ve tried to decorate and make our home as cozy as I can.

watching Christmas movies. I am trying to fit in as many as humanly possible. So far I crossed It’s a Wonderful Life, The Grinch, and Home Alone 2 off my list. Many, many more to go.

drinking hot chocolate with whipped cream. It’s a treat I only have around the holidays.

eating Christmas cookies. I haven’t baked myself, because I am waiting for a package with goodies from home, but I bought some Christmas cookies and my co-worker has generously brought some cookies to the office. Which cookies are your favorites?

looking forward to a long weekend. I won’t be taking any time off over Christmas this year, so it’s nice to at least get two 4-day weekends in a row. It’ll be odd to work between Christmas and New Year’s though. Are you taking time off?

enjoying coffee out of my new mug!

trying to finish strong on my running goal for this year. Will I be able to hit 1000k by December, 31?

sending Christmas cards and a few packages. I love wrapping presents and putting little packages together, but most of my Christmas gifts were ordered online this year, because the added cost of shipping is just insane (especially when sending overseas).

wearing fuzzy socks at home and fingerless gloves at the office (because they always turn down the heater over Christmas break, although they know that people will be working… ugh.)

listening to NKOTB’s Christmas album. Naturally.

reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline for the #PostalBookclub.

hoping for a great 2017. 2016 was a bit of a mixed bag, so I am curious to see what 2017 has in store for us.

keeping in mind that not everybody looks forward to the holidays because people have strained family relations or are generally stressed by the holiday expectations and trying to do something good for someone less fortunate.

A year in review: 2016

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

December Favorites

Year of running 2016

Our Christmas

Vacation Recap – the last few days

A Christmas Survey

What I bought at Trader Joe’s – Holiday Edition

Currently | December

Blogging through the COVID 19-crisis: Are you ready to ditch the mask yet?

3: Things you didn’t know about me

Tuesday Topics | When the world goes to hell in a handbasket, or why I caved and finally got a Peloton

30: The 2017 Holiday Cookie Swap

Where did the time go?

The day I met Jon

6: The 6th annual Secret Santa (Mug) Swap

A snapshot of my day | 8/10/2021

Currently | June

Tuesday Topics | 2021 mid-year review