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.