There is Beauty All Around

This
can not

even begin to describe

how beautiful

the Black Forest is.

Just a Tad Too Small

Okay fine, I'm gaining weight and I'll deal with it...somehow. But not by cutting back on Magnum Ice Cream bars, Haribo Gummy Candy, or all the delicious food I get to eat. But somehow I want to be able to comfortably fit in my clothes again.

food i like to eat
was so busy eating it after it was cooked -- forgot to take an after picture

This is what I'm thinking everytime I put on a shirt or pull it down during the day because it's not long enough when it used to be fine. This is what I've been thinking for the past looong time. But when I do go somewhere with a scale, although I'm a few pounds more than I used to be, I'm not that much heavier (cuz then I wouldn't be doing a blog post about my weight). So I just go on wearing the small clothes, wondering what on earth happened to my clothes but blaming it on a weight gain, I mean, what else could it be?

Let's go back to where I'm wrong. Yes, wrong. I admit it. My husband once cautioned me about how hot the water in the washing machine gets. I'm talking H-O-T. Like 60-95 degrees Celsius. We're talking 140-203 degrees in Fahrenheit. 212 degrees is the boiling point of water--the boiling point! And it didn't really sink in but I thought, I wouldn't wash on the "white clothes" mood aka the hot cycle. Problem solved, I thought. Okay, it's still hot if you wash on the "colored clothes" option. But I never really did get the whole Farhrenheit thing very well, let alone Celsius.

It was not until I decided to wash my carry-all bag that I realized I am shrinking everything by washing and/or drying it!!! EVERYTHING. I fully admit I thought Rick was overreacting because he is tall and slender. He has mentioned how he'll buy a new shirt and it fits perfect before he washes it. But after the wash, it's just a tad too small. (American manufactors don't supply the "tall and slender" population very well. It's usually the "tall and overweight" category when looking at XL clothes.)

bag under discussion is to the left of me in the picture

the most delicious shave ice we've ever had at Matsumoto's in Hawaii


It's really unfortunate that I found a few great pairs of jeans before discovering this dilema because now they are just a tad too tight.

My bag, which I could previously shop at the grocery store and stuff a ton of stuff in it (Germans don't give out bags at grocery stores like in the States--you have to pay for them, so the majority of the customers bring their own). We're talking a couple liters of bubbly water, a package of cheese, some bags of bread, maybe some of our favorite jam or pesto sauce--all in my handy shoulder bag. My bag, which used to be able to hold my school books and notebook, still does but now I have to turn them vertical! So yes, I have definite proof that my bag--along with everything else I've washed in the past YEAR has shrunk!

my very nice, sweet, and sexy husband holding said bag

Yes, my bag which I used to be able to throw in a big sized beach towel and beach necessities can now only carry a regular sized to smallish towel. I like them big, people. BIG.

me, being delighted with my bag (hidden behind the big hawiann towels we got)

i told you, i like them big

don't mind the big white car in the picture--has nothing to do with the story

So I admit my wrongful actions and unfortunatly I did not realize that washing and drying our laundry was harming the whole batch. I guess the bright side is, I can't blame my weight! But now I need a whole new wardrobe and I like the one I had. I guess it's not as bad as it seems. I still fit into my clothes but they're just a tad too small.

Is there a secret to un-shrinking clothes?

What would you do if you shruk your whole wardrobe?

Do you think you would figure it out quicker than I did?

Would you be happy you strunk your clothes so you could buy new ones?

Do you know where to buy clothes for tall & slender people?

Are you going to answer these questions?

Love You Long Time

Seriously, if I were in Utah on February 27th would be here! How cool does this sound? I love the picture, too, if you enlarge it you can see it says "no, this is not a joke". The band Love You Long Time will also be performing. I'm digging their style and music. If you're interested in attending, you can check out UVU's site.

Take some pictures for me!

For Russ

Russ,

Donde estas? Where are you??? Just in case you're looking I snapped these at a Catholic (I think) Church in Mallorca cuz they reminded me of you. Enjoy!

I hope you still have my email address cuz I never got yours!
We can meet up in Italy :)

Familiar Face

When we were at this huge Catholic (I think) church in Mallorca, we saw this:

Remind you of anyone?

Cora!

This is a shout out to Cora! I think you're birthday is in the next year or so, so Happy Early Birthday, you popular person in France, you!

Yes, they have named a store after you!...

...a drink after you

...a shopping cart after you

...and they just like broadcasting your name everywhere!
Now, you must come here and see for yourself
and please bring your entire family with you
:)

Green, Money, Signs

So I'm a little behind on our blog but I'm caught up on everyone else's blog, trust me. I seriously have an addiction to people's blogs I don't even know and ebay. There, I said it. Yes, I have an addiction to blog hopping and ebay.

So we found Ratatouille in France but we didn't buy or make it. In fact, I don't even know what it is, but I had heard of the movie and then saw it in the grocery store and snapped a pic. There, I said it. I take pictures of stuff that has nothing to do with me or my life.

Like these cherries. We didn't buy them but only gawked at how much they cost.

That's almost 14 Euros for one kilo!
That's close to $20 U.S. dollars.

I mean, shoot, I even get bummed when I have to pay 50 cents to go to the bathroom and when there's two of you, that's a whole Euro, about $1.40 give or take.

But I did think these cute trees scattered around a small town in France were festive and very "green". As if trees need a reason to be green!

can you tell what decorations are on these two trees?
those are scrubbers

styrofom cutouts
How cute that there were random trees around the town.

We did find the most marvelous jam ever in France! I don't have a picture of this but it is the best stuff and will make a great jar to put a treat in later. And we got strawberry-rhubarb--that is some good stuff! I have since found the jam, or confiture, as it says on the bottle (which sounds way better than plain old jam) in Germany and I've stocked up on the stuff in peach, strawberry, and pear. I don't think I've ever had pear jam and probably not peach either but I'm expanding my horizons.

And I found the tiny-est stop sign ever.



I don't know how well you can tell, but that is one teeny tiny sign. It's like they're trying to be polite and saying, "please stop". Baby stop sign in France, I'll call it.

We Found Ratatouille!

It's a movie, it's a food, it's here--we found it!

Speaking of movies, has anyone seen Seven Pounds with Will Smith? If you want to cry hard, go see that movie.

Crafting

I am officially a wannabe crafter. I search different blogs and get tons of ideas but I haven't done any crafting since my December Pink Christmas endeavor. That doesn't mean I can't enter a few giveaways!

You can enter too:

http://donkeysmiles.blogspot.com/2009/01/valentine-blog-candy.html

http://papercraftsbyrach.blogspot.com/

The Spa in Korea

Yes, we are taking a shower and I am taking pictures. woo-hoo!

What is this? Oh ya, we're taking a shower in a cafe. A foot shower ;) but still in a cafe...you know, the kind you eat in.

My reaction to getting the spa treatment. Why yes, aren't spa treaments normally grand? For me they are...

Look closely, very closely.

These little fishes tickled SO much--
what a weird sensation that was!

We got about 15 mins of tickling sensation.

And this is our after spa treat.
We really had no idea what we were ordering but ended up liking it.

Who ever thought of a 2-in-1 Book Cafe and Foot Spa?
Well, we're fans whoever they were!

Maybe I Do Want To Live on a Farm

 

 

 

What could be better? Totally fresh, un-pesticides, organic fruits, count me in! I was excited to make and eat homemade dried apples this past summer. I wish I could have helped out with canning tomatoes but hopefully some other time. Yes, I'm beginning to enjoy this life.

I Know Cute People

 

I may not have any of my own but I sure know a whole lot of cute people.