My New Gym

About a ten minute walk down our street is a very nice park which I've decided will be my new gym. It is beautiful, lush, and so green. It has lots of trails, and it's almost 1 mile around the outside loop. So, I have been heading down there to walk each morning after Jay goes to class. It's full of people walking dogs, playgroups, summercamps...it's a very happening place.

It even has a mini zoo near the playground equipment. I walked through once to check it out and take pics, but I walk around now because of the smell. There are animal pens on the left and a bird house on the right. Quite a menagerie!

Jay told  me about this park earlier in the spring when he discovered it. He said it was where they held local festivals and carnivals, which is how he discovered it. One thing that bothered him, though, was this racist group put stickers up, so he and his buddy would tear them down. I asked how he knew it was racist, and he said there was a swastika on it...ok, makes sense to me.

This morning there was another sticker on a lampost, so I took a picture. Then I came home and used google translate to see exactly what it means...

It actually is an anti-racism sticker! Oh my gosh, I laughed so hard. Good intentions, for sure, but we'll be leaving the stickers on now, I guess...although I don't know that a lamp post in the park is the right place for it (or why they have a swastika on it)! This language barrier is killing me...time for Rosetta Stone, I think!

Tot ziens!

Swedish Guacamole

Jay didn't have much food in the fridge when I got here. He claims it was so he didn't have to move a bunch of stuff across the street to the new apartment, which may be partially true, but I think he really just didn't want to go to the grocery store! One of the few items he did have (along with mustard, mayo, grape jelly, and pickles...Can you tell why he didn't have any forks when I got here??) was this can of guacamole. Yep, a can. Like the kind bean dip comes in.

It's made in Sweden. Swedish guacamole? Hmmm. Well, of course I was eager to try it. So for dinner we had chicken soft tacos with hot sauce and guac.

It looked like guacamole. It had the texture of guacamole. It smelled like guacamole.

But how did it taste? It tasted kind of like guacamole. Actually, it wasn't too bad. It tasted like guacamole, but creamier. It was interesting. We ate it. I did notice at the grocery store the other day they have avocados, so in the future I think we'll just make our own.

Tot ziens!

LOOOOONG Days

3:50 a.m.--Believe I hear birds beginning to chirp.

3:55 a.m.--Confirm that it actually is birds chirping and not just my imagination. The sky is just beginning to show some color.

5:00 a.m.--It is full-blown light outside. Like, if you open the curtains, you would need no lights on. Birds still chirping.

ALL DAY--Sun out, light outside. Birds singing their hearts out.

9:30 p.m.--Still light outside...totally. Still a few birds hanging on and chirping away.

10:30 p.m.--Sun has set, but can still see. Can also still hear birds.

11:00 p.m.--Finally getting dark. Night, night, birds.

Man, that's a long day for a bird.

Tot ziens!

Moving On Up

When I arrived in Enschede, Jay got to move across the street to the equivalent of married student housing. Here is his room before (think small dorm room).

Standing in the doorway. There is a bathroom to the right (you can see a little of the door) and then it's the desk straight ahead.

This was taken standing at the doorway to the room. The single bed pushed against the wall was about 3 feet away from the desk. Very cozy.

Who knew that just across the street from the world's tiniest dorm room this room was this. Our new digs...

We have a little entry way which is cut off from the hall by a door. Then a hall with three doors off it (couldn't get a good picture because of the light). The first door is our bedroom. Yes, that's two single beds pushed together. This room alone is larger than Jay's living space across the street. The second door is a bathroom...no picture, it's just a bathroom.The third door opens up into the living space. It's one BIG room.

I was extremely pleased. I had set my expectations way low, you know, so as not to be disappointed. No disappointment here! I spent today while Jay was at school doing grocery and other shopping (The boy had no plates or forks!).

This is our home for the next 3 or 4 months, and we're excited!

**A note, please excuse any misspellings. It is spellchecking for Dutch, so it is saying almost every word is spelled incorrectly. Ahem, so until I figure that out, just disregard any errors please!  :)

Tot ziens!

The Last Leg of the Journey

I was lucky to spend the last two weeks in Iowa with my grandparents. Being at their house is probably my favorite place in the world. They live out in the country, so it is quiet and peaceful. My grandma keeps the lawn perfectly manicured (along with the fields, the area around the pond, and the ditches). There are wild animals, and there is absolutely nothing I have to do there. Sure, sometimes I'll run into town on an errand with my grandma, but for the most part, I read and float on the pond working on my tan. That's it. I definitely needed a little R & R after wrapping up a school year, packing up a house, and driving across the country.

Junie made herself at home very quickly. I was relieved...less guilt about leaving her for the next 3-4 months. She will be well taken care of by grandma, that's for sure!

Grandpa and Sam (the IV). In my lifetime my grandma has had four dobermans, all named Sam. With Sam II she claimed she would just end up calling it Sam no matter what else its name was, so it stuck. Nobody even asked with Sam III and Sam IV. We knew we would get the same answer!

My brother Matt made the long, heinous drive with me from Wyoming to Iowa. I'm grateful!

Just her back, but it's rare to find my grandma inside in the summer. She's almost 82 and enjoys nothing more than being outside on her riding lawn mower or tractor.



The view. Don't be jealous.

On Saturday, though, my time of relaxation in Iowa was over. My dear friend Liz dumped me off at the airport and I was headed to the Netherlands. I made it safely, but exhausted.

Monday was a national holiday here, so Jay had the day off school. We got settled in our new apartment and wandered around town. There was a Jazz festival going on in the City Center, so we headed down there with Cornelius and John.

We had dinner at a shish-kebob place.

The  boys toasting with their local beer. The main beer brewed here in Enschede is Grolsch. It's pretty good. This was Efes, and it is not good.

Tot ziens!

Sweet Summertime

I survived the hard goodbyes of the last day of school. It kind of sucked, to be honest.


Fortunately, though, I didn't have much time to wallow in my self-pity and sadness. My mom and brother arrived Friday evening from Texas to help me move. We went out to eat and then finished up a little last-minute packing. Saturday morning came bright and early, and we were moving all my stuff to storage by ten. I was fortunate to have not only my mom and brother to help, but also my friends Amber and Ryan (and their friends, whom I had never met, Leif and Jacqueline...How nice is that?!) and my friend Lisa and her parents. With all that help, we were done before noon! Amazing.


We got the house cleaned and slept on a pallet on the floor Saturday night. We woke up early to leave Sunday morning...in the snow! My brother (who had been in Austin just a week before in 90 degree weather) was definitely not impressed or prepared.


Matt and I started the drive, and we drove...and drove...and drove...and drove. Nebraska is sooooooo long and takes just a little longer than FOREVER to get across. Seventeen hours later we pulled into my grandparents' drive.


Junie made the trip relatively well. She lounged on the back floorboards and just chilled. When it got dark, she even got brave and came exploring up in the front. This was all well and good until the last road to get to my grandparents' house. It's gravel, and it scared Junie TO DEATH. She was hissing and growling, and by the time we finally stopped in their driveway, she had wedged herself up under the seat and wouldn't let us near her.


I'm sure the situation would have been hilarious for anyone watching, but by the time we finally got her out of the car it was 3:30 in the morning. We weren't laughing! In fact, I was near tears and my brother was annoyed but being nice to me. We finally got her in and she hissed at me for the rest of the night and most of the day Monday. When we got up this morning, she decided we could be friends again.


I'm excited to have almost two weeks here to relax and let Junie get settled in her new digs before I head to The Netherlands. I'm hoping to read the giant pile of books I brought and work on my tan out on the pond.


Tot ziens!

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

As sad as I am to be leaving my school and the AWESOME people I work with, I couldn't be more ready for summer vacation! One of my favorite parts of summer is ice cream. Love it!

Over at Kelly's Korner Blog there is a literal buffet of awesome desserts to make. It reminded me of one of my favorite treats, although it's so easy I'm not sure it qualifies as cooking. I've made this for work lunches and for treats for my students as school...ok, I've made it at home for just Jay and me too. It's sooooo yummy.

Here's what you need:
12 ice cream bars (I like to use vanilla ice cream sandwiched between chocolate)
Cool Whip
Chocolate syrup
Caramel syrup

Here's what you do:
1. Press the ice cream bars into a glass dish until they cover the entire bottom. You may have to break them and tear them apart to make them fit. Don't worry about what they look like.
2. Cover with Cool Whip.
3. Drizzle with chocolate syrup and caramel syrup. (I usually try to make a design that doesn't turn out and looks more like something a child did). You could also vary it by adding different toppings or changing them...I'm thinking it would be just delicious with crumbled Reese's on top.
4. Refreeze for at least half an hour or so. Then, cut and serve like cake.

It's so easy and so yummy. Somehow it doesn't taste like just ice cream sandwiches! Might have to look for some ice cream sandwiches to make this treat when I get to The Netherlands.

Happy Summer!

Tot ziens!