GIRLS TRIP!

Sometimes, you have to get away with the girls. Nothing is quite as fun as a full day of shopping, good food, shopping some more, playing in make-up and a good night out on the town with good friends. Five of us girls planned a girls overnight trip to Kansas City that would be filled with "everything that made us happy." We were minus two friends who had last minute schedule conflicts and they were missed very much!

Kara, Steph, Julie, Kelly, Jazmin

In the hotel lobby waiting on the shuttle to the Plaza

Some of us "played" in Bare Escuentals while others "played" at Tiffany's.....

I cannot tell you what was so funny.....BUT.....here's proof that we laughed A LOT!

Jaz was IN LOVE with the queso at Baja 600....
Candids in the lobby.....
Jaz and Julie sporting their new purchases of the day....jewelry and bags

We are now all home safely, somewhat sleep deprived, but headed to watch football at the clubhouse!

Friday Night Lights

It has been quite a while since I have been to a High School Football game. I had forgotten how exciting it is...especially when you have a vested interest in one of the players. Last Friday night, I went to Memphis to watch my cousin, Craig, play Defensive Back for the Briarcrest Saints. It was his Senior Homecoming where he played very well and was credited with a very important fumble in the 3rd quarter. I am very proud of him! Check out this handsome dude...if my camera was better I could have gotten a better action shot, but I'll just have to use what I have right now.....

After the game, my Grandparents, Mom, Dad, and Aunt Lisa were finally in town and waiting on us at Tom and Andrea's house in Germantown. We had a very nice weekend visiting, shopping, and watching lots of SEC football!! You've not experienced football until you watch it with my Aunt Andrea....love it, love it, love it!

My Uncle Tom has just finished his outdoor kitchen. He added a stone fireplace complete with a TV. It just doesn't get any better than watching football outside in front of a nice fire kicked back in a comfortable chair. I've not had such a good Saturday in quite a while.

The Women

Round up your girlfriends and head to the nearest theater to see The Women...it is funny and makes you glad to have girlfriends who love you! You will find yourself somewhere among these women.....

PICTURES!!

Okay...I think I've figured out how to link you to my pictures. These albums are found on my Facebook page, so feel free to check them out there, too.

When you click on the album, the pictures will show as thumbnails. Be sure to click on the 1st picture to enlarge and then advance the album by clicking "next" at the top right of the page.

Enjoy!

Germany Day 1

Germany Day 2

Germany Day 3

Germany Day 4

Germany Day 5

Heather's House and Saturday Market

Day 5 & Home

As I type this, I am finally in NW Arkansas....I do not have jetlag and feel very rested. Amazing after being awake for 24 hours before finally getting to sleep in my own bed last night!

The last day of my trip to Germany was a very relaxed one. We had hoped to visit the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, but time just ran out before we could make it across the river.

This was the day that we had to return the BMW Convertible. We were very sad and drove it all around town until about 5 minutes before it was due back. We savored every minute for as long as we could....I don't think there was a road in Weisbaden that we didn't drive down at least 2x.

Lunch was at a cafe on top of a big hill that overlooked the city. It was very peaceful and beautiful. The weather was nice and we were able to sit outside. The perfect spot for reflection and peace.

After lunch and returning the rental car, we went to downtown Weisbaden and shopped for several hours which was a lot of fun. I got to see a Apotheke (Pharmacy), department stores, boutiques and several grocery stores.

Being in the grocery industry, market visits are a priority to me so that I can see what innovative products they sell and product mix on the shelf. I was impressed with the variety of pastas, meats (sausages mostly), and Organic items. The 1 thing that really left an impression on me was that the eggs were out of refridgeration! In fact, there were 2 varieties: 1) in a carton sitting on a shelf in the dairy and 2) individual eggs in a large basket will chicken coop "dirt" still on the outer shell! Now, I used to work for a cheese company and understand that Kraft Singles can sit out of refridgeration for 10 days and still be okay, but I also know that it's not real cheese. Eggs on the other hand are a completely different story....Needless to say, if I lived over in Germany, I wouldn't buy the eggs....

The other big change that I saw in the grocery stores were that there were no grocery bags. Europeans force the carbon footprint by not providing plastic or paper sacks for customers. If you want a grocery bag, you have to bring it yourself...and you cannot take the grocery cart out to your car in most stores. A perfect example of this was a grocery store in the basement of a department store (cannot remember the name of it to save my life). The store was very high-end and the groceries were at a premium price and offering. YOu had to carry whatever you purchased...as American's we are spoiled by conveniences such as shopping carts in the parking lot.

That night, Heather and I enjoyed looking back through all of the pictures and talking about our favorite moments. There was something in each day that stood out to us - each having a different experience - but what a blessing to have a good friend to share a trip like this with! H and I have traveled many places together and always seem to have the same idea: see as much as you can in all the time that you have. We travel well together because of this same philosophy, but we have 2 completely different viewpoints of our experiences...and I wouldn't have it any other way. I am richer because of her friendship.

All of our pictures are still being sorted. I have posted most of them on Facebook, so if you have a FB account be sure to check them out. I am still trying to decide how I want to post them to this blog....if anyone has a suggestion or recommendation, please let me know.

Day 4 - Cologne (Koln)

Gutenmorgan Freunds!

As the saying goes, a little rest does everyone good....this morning, everyone slept later and just hung around the house all morning. The rest allowed the kids to regroup and the adults to recharge!

At noon, we left out for the day's adventure to Cologne. But first, we had to put diesel in the car (everything is diesel over here). This was an adventure within itself! It started first with going to the Air Field and getting an approved for a gas card for the rental car and then going to the Main Base to pick up the gas card and then to the gas station to actually get the gas....it took us 2 hours! That's ridiculous, but the way the process works.....

Once we were finally on the road to Cologne, the drive was absolutely beautiful! Rolling hills, farms and lots of windmills. We were headed North-West, so the temperature was dropping some, too. It was nice and cool.

Cologne is quite the city! It is the 4th largest city in Germany and has more than 30 museums, the most popular is the Roman-German Museum. But, most importantly, Cologne is the home of the Cologne Cathedral. I cannot express the massiveness of this cathedral. It was built in 500B.C. and not completed until 1800's. During WWII, it was unharmed when the rest of the city was devastated from bombings. Amazing. Everything inside this cathedral is symbolic, which is true to Catholisim. However, the coolest thing about this cathedral is that is houses the Relics of the 3 Wise Men.

After a full afternoon of the Cathedral, we ate at Farmer's, the most wonderful AUSTRALIAN Restaurant. It was one of the best steak's I've ever had. The sauces for the steaks were simple: herb butter. Never thought about putting butter on my steak, but it was very tasty!

This morning, we are getting another late start, but today will surely shape up to be quite nice! We are hopefully going to the Gutenberg Museum (first translated Bible on paper). Then onward to downtown for a little shopping and then to a grocery store! I want to take a market visit to see what innovation and products are on the shelf! Hopefully, I will learn something good and be able to implement in my role as a WM Category Advisor.

I do hope that you and yours are faring the hurricane well. I saw where is downgraded to a Cat I, which is a great blessing!

Tschus!
SS