President Hinckley

I absolutely love President Hinckley and am sad that he is no longer with us, but I am so happy for him that he has lived a successful and righteous life and has moved on to the next stage and is with his wife again. There is a quote from Pres. Hinckley that I have on the cork board by my desk. It helps me to keep my life and my actions in perspective:

"My plea is that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life, we 'accentuate the positive.' I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment and endorse virtue and effort."

It just sums up for me who he was and why I love him so much. He was always optimistic, kind, and thoughtful. I never met him, in fact, the best I can say is that I was in the same room as him, but his love for every person was apparent. I am so grateful for his example and leadership in my life.

Quatsch

After several chastisements I am posting to my blog. I will try to post more often now!! There have been several requests, and I decided to tackle this one first: What in the world is "Quatsch?!" Those of you who speak German are probably smiling right now, and those of you who know Marco Menning are probably laughing..... for the rest of you I will explain.

Quatsch is pretty much THE BEST word in the entire German language. I feel that the most common translation is balderdash, but others include: baloney, codswallop, hogwash, hooey, jabberwocky, malarky, poppycock, rubbish, and tommy-rot. Please see the LEO Online Dictionary for other variations. :) I guess I just like the word because it is the kind of thing that you can't say in English without getting a funny look, but in German you can say it all the time and it's totally normal ..... plus I am just obsessed with German and I seem to like all of their words best. I chose it as the name of my blog because it really is one of my favorites and because it is unique and different..... and also because a lot of the stuff I write is "total Quatsch"!

Lauer Family

Among all the Family Christmas Letters I got over the holiday season, there was one that I had really looked forward to and was completely shocked by once it came: the Lauer Family Christmas Letter. Well, I guess it wasn't so much the letter as the accompanying picture.

For those of you who don't know, the Lauers are my "German Family". I was there nanny for a year and I lived, laughed, loved, and cried with them. They are wonderful and leaving those kids was one of the hardest things I ever did. So I guess my reaction is the same as moms or grandma's might have: Those kids are growing up so fast!!

This is what the Lauers looked like when I arrived in May 2003 (sorry it's so blurry, but you get the idea):

This is what they look like now:

I am pretty sure that when I opened this picture, my jaw dropped onto my desk and hung wide open for about a minute. I was speechless!! It is great to see though that they are still a happy, successful family, and still very, very German!

lol cats

Ok, I just had to express my love for lol cats pictures. There was one that I sent to a coworker yesterday, and every time I opened my sent box and saw it I would bust out laughing all over again! See the page.

Happy Birthday to me....and Hope!!

What should I be doing right now? Sleeping. What AM I doing right now? Blogging. I love it!

So last Thursday my roommates approached me with an idea I just couldn't resist..... a trip to the Big Apple for my 25th Birthday! Being born in December has its downsides, one of which is that I have spent my last 10 or so birthdays studying for or taking finals (even in high school, can you believe it?!). The realization that I could do whatever I wanted this year was all too sweet and I accepted the invitation to join Kami, Diana, and Hope on their trip. Hope's birthday was on the 14th, so this really was an all-out birthday celebration.

We began our journey by catching a bus from Chinatown in DC at 1:50 AM. It was pretty nice to fall asleep in DC and wake up in New York..... it's like magic!! We arrived in Chinatown in NYC at 5:40ish and were off like a bolt of lighting....mostly because it was so cold that walking was the only way to keep from loosing a limb!

The day looked like this:

• Times Square
• Rockefeller Center
• Natural History Museum
• Temple
• Central Park
• Christmas Market
• Serendipity for lunch....frozen hot chocolate, yum!
• Bloomingdale's
• Ice Skating in Central Park
• Carriage ride around Central Park
• Grand Central Station (where we got Juniors Cheesecake)
• Little Italy
• Chinatown (where we caught the bus at 7PM)

Whew! Talk about a whirlwind adventure!!

First of all, Chinatown buses: scary but affordable....'nuff said. Second, New York is absolutely peaceful at 6 AM on a Saturday. Third, I have FABULOUS roommates!!

All and all the trip was wonderful. We all did really well considering the temperature and lack of sleep.....we were like little energizer bunnies, we just kept going. Kami was our guide and did an amazing job. I pride myself on my ability to go to a new city and find my way around, but I took one look at the subway map and knew I had met my match. Kami, however, wasn't even phased! Thanks Kami!


So, I know that I am by no means a New Yorker, but I really did fall in the love with the city. I am so glad that we went at Christmas time.....it was magical (one of the perks of having a December birthday...everyone is feeling festive already). The Christmas tree at Rockefeller center was so beautiful, and if we hadn't arrived in the city so early, we wouldn't have gotten to see it in the dark.....score one for our crazy travel schedule!

Equally magical was Diana's singing.......she is a diva after all. She regaled us with songs from "Enchanted" as we walked through central park and it was almost as if McDreamy were there with us. Thanks Di!
Hope also contributed to the perfection of our trip by suggesting that we go to lunch at Serendipity (which matched perfectly with ice skating in central park, as anyone who loves John Cusack would know). It was serendipitous (well not really) that we all ordered the same thing....chicken pot pie. It might sound strange that we would want such "home-cooking" when we were out at an amazing restaurant, but don't be fooled, this was the BEST chicken pot pie I have ever had. Thanks Hope!

Inaugural Post!!

Since I still struggle to keep in touch with the people I love despite cell phones, e-mail, face book, and even snail mail (sorry dad) I thought I would start blogging too! Knowing me, I won't post half as often as I should and only those whose vocabularies hang somewhere in between German and English will be able to fully understand me, but it is worth a try.