It's a small world!

All my life this phrase never made a whole lot of sense to me... there really isn't anything small about this world... Well, there isn't until you move halfway across it- and see a familiar face in an unfamiliar place!

Last week I was waiting for my 3:15 swim lesson to show up at the German pool I teach at in Ramstein-Misenbach. I was killing time by swimming some laps and stopped to catch a breath at the end of the lane. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a woman looking at me- as if we knew each other. All of the sudden 4 kids came running up, with smiles that I would never forget...

It took me a second to make what was happening make sense in my mind- after all, it had been four years since I last saw the Hybl family in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

I met the Hybl's at the Cheyenne Mountain Country Club pool, which I managed back in the summer of 2007. Their daily swim was always the highlight of my day! Logan, Mallory, Liam and Aiden always kept me entertained with something new. We would play the card game "Speed" while hiding out in the guard office, waiting for the notorious 4pm thunder storms to pass by. When the circus came to town, I was invited to go check out the stunning acts with them. Monthly "lock in's" at the country club, and themed bbq nights were also a total hoot.
When word got out that I needed a place to stay for the summer- Sally's parents so graciously offered the lower half of their home for me to stay in.

All of these wonderful memories began to flood my mind when I saw all of their faces again... it just couldn't seem real! Here I was in Ramstein, Germany- waiting for my swim lesson ( that coincidentally never showed up) and was able to spend time catching up from the last four years. Oddly enough, they were on a vacation- and were stationed at Ramstein themselves back in the late 90's -and Logan learned how to swim at the pool I teach at!

So, it is a small world after all! Call it the right place at the right time, fate or just plain awesome...I was so happy to have seen the Hybl's again, and have a feeling that this won't be the last time we run into each other!

Reunited in Germany!

Guiltless Peach and Blueberry Cobbler crunch!

So earlier this week I decided to start eating "clean" as Dan would say...and around day 1.5, I started craving something sweet, so I came up with this super healthy version of Peach cobbler that you can gobble up all day long and not feel guilty about a thing!

What you will need:

Preheat oven to 350

5 fresh peaches, peeled and diced

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

a few dashes of ground cinnamon

a nice sized hand full of cinnamon teddy grahams

another nice sized handful of natural granola

How to make:

Place the diced peaches on the bottom of a baking pan. Pour blueberries evenly over the top. Sprinkle cinnamon over peaches and blueberries. Take the handful of teddy grahams and crumble them evenly on top, and repeat with granola. Cover with tin foil and bake for 15 minutes covered, and 5 minutes uncovered. Enjoy this super healthy treat- and let me know what you think! =)

Ash

Summertime =)

Summertime
Countyline
In bloom
'til June.
Fresh vase
In place
Picked fresh
For you.

<3


love you mom, I miss going to countyline greenhouse with you in the summer.

Travel Recap!

Well, after traveling for way too long, I think it's about time I put my bags down and get back to blogging! =) The trip started back in the beginning of April, and began with Spain and Morocco. We got back on a Saturday, and by Tuesday I was back at it again taking a 13 hour bus trip to Vicenza Italy with new friends Lisa and her daughter Cara ( also living in Ramstein) I had made while in Morocco. A two day "quick trip" to Italy, suddenly turned into 5 when we watched our bus back to Ramstein pull out of the parking lot, right as we pulled into it. After a venture through Italy with no GPS, and not enough euro to get through the tolls, we finally made it back on a Saturday via a space available flight. By Wednesday of that week ( notice how I can't remember any dates) I was back at it again, but this time catching a space available flight back to my family in the good 'ol USA! After a wonderful stay at home filled with Easter treats, basketball tourneys and softball games, the 2 weeks went by far too quick and before I knew it, it was time to pack the bags back up and make the long trip back to Germany. Is it over yet? I am beginning to sound like my little brother and sister on the drive our family used to make to Disney World from Northwest Indiana almost every year... and my reply would be, no..not yet..we aren't even to the Kentucky border. While most people would be thrilled to go to Greece, the thought at this point in time was more daunting then enjoyable. Thursday brought me home to Germany, while Sunday morning at 4:45 took me and my infamous hiking bag to the island of Kos, Greece to spend some much needed time away with my hubby. Kos was unlike anything I could imagine. The closest beauty I had seen before this was in a poster that hung in my college apartment - crystal clear waters with lush white sand beaches. That to me just couldn't seem real! But it was, it stood right before me. I put my hands in front of me and framed the picture, if only it would have lasted! Tuesday came, finally time to shake the sand from our brains and get back to reality. Friday brought in Ashley Gora, my friend of 15 years- so the fun isn't over yet. On Saturday, we went on a wine tour with our landlords to try some of the best wine of the region. Enjoying time, and a day on the Rhein really made the trip special. The next weekend, we packed our bags for a "girls camping trip" to Belgium. First stop was Brussels to try a beer at the "delarium cafe" which serves 2004 different kinds of beer! Next was Brugge, or " the Venice of the North" with it's winding water ways throughout the city. Camping in Brugge was quite the experience as 4 girls dominated setting up a tent, all while wearing sun dresses. we were so posh. That night it sideways rained, and we forgot to put on waterproof mascara. Needless to say we were all a bit soggy in the morning. Finally a weekend to relax, and what do I want to do..? Let's go whitewater rafting in Austria! Thank goodness for wise words of a husband stepping in and saying no. Oh well, maybe next weekend =)

The Hiding Place

Last night I finished reading the" The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom. If you are looking for an extremely inspiring and moving read, I would highly recommend this book! Corrie and her family hid Jews in their home in Holland during the war, and were turned into the German police by a fellow dutchmen. After being taken away to prison camps...it was only Corrie and her sister Betsie who remained of their family. They were put through pure torture from camp to camp, fought through disease, fleas and filthy living conditions... yet, they always thanked God for everything, even the fleas that infested their cot! Their amazing faith to God really opened my eyes to realize how grateful I am to live the life I am living right now. It taught me that no matter how hard life may seem at times, God is always with you through it all. Though Betsie passed away, Corrie survived the holocaust and spent the remainder of her life traveling the world to share their amazing story of faith and love. Corrie passed away on her birthday at the age of 91. How I wish I could have seen her speak and tell her what an amazing person she was! Maybe I will bump into her in heaven one day =)

Trip to Spain, visit to Morocco!

About a week and a half ago, Dan and I packed our bags and took off for Sunny ( and outrageously windy!!) Spain. We flew into Jerez, then made our way down to Rota, which is on the Atlantic ocean in the south western tip. There is a navel station in Rota, so it was nice to have access to the base commissary to relieve us of paying in euro for a few meals (man, that gets to be expensive after awhile!). The next morning, we drove in our little Panda ( manufactured by Fiat- pretty much the official car of Spain) down the coast to Tarifa ( the very southern most tip of Spain). Tarifa is known for their wind, kite and surfing in general...they have over 50 kite schools on the main stretch! notice earlier how i said extremely windy-- i could have sworn there was going to be a hurricane when we were there! It was so windy, that even the wind surfers wouldn't go out! So this kind of put a bummer on a few of our plans, since we wanted to ride horses along the beach, and dan wanted to wind surf so bad.. but that can be saved for another time. We stayed in a beach front bungalow- that was super fun, because our room opened up to the ocean- so pretty! Finally, on the last day of our trip, the winds subsided and we were able to go forth with the much anticipated part of the trip--a day in Tanger, Morocco! We took a ferry, which advertised it only took 35 minutes, but it was more like an hour and 35 minutes...not even close..way to false advertise!! While boarding the boat, we met a family who was also stationed in Ramstein, so we ran around morocco the whole day together. The culture was for sure one to see! There were over a million people set along the coastline, it didn't seem possible! We drive through palaces, then to went into complete poverty in less then 10 minutes time. There is no happy medium in Morocco- it's either you are filthy rich, or dirt poor. After riding on a super sketchy camel in a parking lot- we spent the remainder of the day in the "old city" which consisted of run down buildings, and back markets. Our guide weaved us in and out of alley ways, and through peoples way of life. We followed him like little dogs, who wouldn't dare to stray away! At the end of the day, we were followed back to our van by street beggar children who took the last of the money we had left in our wallets. All in all, it was an awesome adventure, and yet another great story to tell!
.

Poetry

I just wanted to share some poems that I have written in the recent months. The first one is entitled " 22", I wrote it the night before I turned 23 because I had a realization that 22 still seems young. Before you know it, 23 turns into 30...and so on and so forth. Then we refer back to 22 as the good days, and how quick those days flew by. But I am living them right now, so I'm trying to take advantage!
The second one is entitled " Viva Europa". I wrote this while I was at a cafe one morning, while enjoying my yummy pastry with no remorse.
Just thought that I would share, enjoy!

22

We are living the days we will one day refer back to
These are the good days,
These are the good times
No ties, no baggage
Nothing to hold us back.
We define the definition of freedom
We dream of the mysteries that tomorrow holds,
We attempt to construct our path in life.
One day we will look back,
And wonder why we didn’t live for today
Why we didn’t live it up just little bit more
In the good old days.
But we can’t change what we don’t know,
So we just keep on dreaming.
*************************************
Viva Europa

When living in Europe
Eat up
…and don’t feel guilty
Drink up
…because beer is cheaper than water
But most of all
Live it up
Take too many vacations,
And spend money you don’t have…
You’ll end up thanking yourself later.

Dinner with the Washetko's

In January, I started taking German classe through the University of Maryland on base. I was so excited to finally start learning the language, after letting 8 months go by without getting in any type of a class. Another reason to add to my excitement came when I found out who would be teaching the class...his name is Dr. Igor Washetko, and he is a prodigy to me. He speaks 7 different languages, and has lived the most interesting life! He was born in the Ukraine, but when the Soviet Union took over, his mother gathered up her family and they fled to Austria. After the German's took control of Austria during the the war, they were excepted by Venezuela as refugees. ( Venezuela was one of the 7 countries accepting refugees at the time.) Jobs soon became scarce, so they knew a contact in California who would sponsor them to come to the US. The sponsor happened to be a student of his grandfather's from 60 years prior, but they were somehow able to get back in contact! Here, there, and everywhere later... he has lived in Germany for about 40 years with his wonderful wife, Dolores. Oh, and last night Dan and I had them over for some Yum-oh chicken ( recipe to come) and some homemade lemon meringue pie that Dolores made. It was a great evening filled with stories of great adventures. They even brought over their super adorable oversized poodles with them! Finals are this week, then I have German 112 to look forward to two weeks later! So thankful that Dr. is teaching it, and sacrificing being able to go skiing!

ta ta for now!

Ash

The Traveling Art Class begins!

Last night I had my first "Ladies Night {In}" art class! This is something I have been wanting to do for so long, and with the help of Teri Grey ( my first hostess with the mostess =) I was finally able to make it happen! I traveled to her house with all of my supplies packed up in my car, and we had our art class right out of her living room! Our project was to decoupage recycled wine bottles, and turn them into either an awesome center piece or conversation piece. There were six ladies total who all live in the same village, so it was very nice to gather with old and new friends. The completed projects turned out awesome! It was so fun to see the different variations of what everyone came up with, even though they all had the same materials to choose from. Thanks again for a great time ladies, enjoy your creations!

The set up: pre-project time!

workin' hard

The finished project!!



-Ashlie

Garmisch or Bust!

This weekend, myself and 3 of my former co-workers from the Aquatic Center took a totally awesome trip to Southern Germany and Austria to go snowboarding! We left at 6am on Friday, and made it just in time to catch a half day on the mountain. It was called the Zugspitz, and I believe it is one of the highest mountains in Germany at 2900m( about 10,000 ft.) The Southern part of Germany is also known as Bavaria, here they have a few different regional differences from where we live. The popular greeting is "Gruss Gott, which means "Praise God", however, the phrase possesses no religious ties today. The buildings and houses have elaborate paintings of hunting scenes, kings and saints which are truly amazing to see. After boarding we went to a really cozy restaurant and got a taste of some traditional Bavarian cuisine. I had a chicken cordon bleu ( ok, so I was traditional at all) but my friend Ashley got wild boar, and other game in a mushroom sauce. She is very brave, but it must have been fantastic because she cleared her plate! The next day we packed up and drove to Lermoos, Austria to catch our second day of boarding...and what a day it was! Clear skies and warm(er) weather made for the perfect day on the slopes! There were some slopes that were more of a rough terrain, but they were so fun to ride! After getting lost in translation, my friend Sharee and I ended up on the toboggan trail, and got some snarkey looks from the parents who's kids were sledding. Whoops! We got a late start to our trip home...because we didn't want to leave! Can't wait to head back in the Spring with different attire =) Bis Spater! ( see you later!)

The OMG omelette

Today when I came home from my German class, my stomach was rumbling like a stampede of wild boars. I'm sorry, that was a terrible comparison, but it's the closest description I could give you. So, I found what I had in my fridge and came up with the OMG omelette, because I literally said "oH my gosh" when I took the first bite. Luckily for you, I am going to share my secret recipe because I feel that I need to Spread the love.

To make the OMG omelette:

1 whole egg
2 egg whites
5 cubes of smoked Italian provolone cheese ( cut into even smaller pieces)
2 leaves of fresh basil, chopped up
3 pieces of lunch meat ( I had rotisserie chicken)
2 green olives cut up into slices
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Combine egg, cheese, basil, meat, salt and pepper into a bowl. Whisk together a few times. Cook on stove top for a few minutes until the sides look cooked. Place olives on top, and broil in the oven until the top is a bubbly and crispy.

Enjoy!


-Ash

What a better place to be

Then the city of love and romance... for Valentines day! True story- Dan and I took a spontanious surprise trip to Paris last weekend to enjoy not only Valentines day, but 3 awesome years together! After our trip last July with a tour company, we knew we had to go back on our own time to enjoy some sights that we flew past, and find some new ones as well. We stayed at the Albert 1ER ( now owned by Best Western) on the North side of town. It was built in 1914, and had the first elevator in the city ( and it is still the same one today!). The night we got in, I was looking for antique markets to visit, and came across a website called parisperfect.com. This sight is amazing, and filled with wonderful tips about getting around the city. The author told about a market called "Le Puces", which turned out to be the MECCA of antiques...it was outstanding, I almost couldn't control myself! Besides the fact that the prices were astronomical( it is Paris, after all), we had a great time rummaging through old and new...and we even bought an awesome revision of Mona Lisa! That night we went to Sacre Coeur ( also known as the Mont of artists, because this is where talent thrives!) The view from the top is breathtaking, and we even captured an awesome shot of the Tour de Eiffel at dusk. For dinner, Dan found a quaint restaurant called "Chez Papa" and for 54 euro, we got a steal of a deal for the meal we had. I got ratatouille, and Dan ordered a mouthwatering duck dish,and to finish we got a few scoops of lemon sorbet. Taking the metro throughout the city was a lot easier than we thought, and extremely affordable( and still there were people sneaking through the gates.) On Sunday morning, we went to Notre Dame while a church service was in session. The way the choir echoed through the violent peeks of the domes was unlike anything I had ever heard. On our way out we took one more stop at Sacre Coeur, and got our Portrait drawn by one of the "artists". Lesson learned...always ask to see their portfolio before you agree to pay 25 euro for a sketch.. because it ends up looking like the one we got below! All in all, we had an unforgettable weekend, and can't wait to go back during the summer again!
Stay safe, and don't forget to unplug the curling iron.
-anw

antique market at Le Puce

Our Hotel, ALbert 1ER-- can you see me?

- Staged antique room- so cool.

- Tour de Eiffel at Dusk from Sacre Coeur

OMG, i want our money back.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Right? I mean, here I am... It's February, and I haven't written in my beloved blog since July. Partially my fault, but more so the weather's. Everything is so much easier when the weather is beautiful. This winter has brought a crippling halt to my creative spunk and ambitions. Germany is known for it's ever changing weather patterns. I don't really know why this has come to any surprise to me after growing up in Northwest Indiana. However, life, as is always does, catches up and I find myself making excuses to put creative thoughts on hold. Well, not any more! Recently, I resigned my lame job at the Ramstein Aquatic center, since my flub of a boss never cared to acknowledge my creative program ideas! So here I am again, turning over a new leaf, and hoping to stick with it this time.
thanks for sticking with me.

.adbs (asher dasher booty smasher). thanks for that nickname when I was a baby, t and go..love you.