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The good news is that means I am blogging again.

I don’t really have a Christmas wishlist per se as my parents have been giving me money for Christmas, but I am planning to finally buy a DSLR after Christmas. I can’t wait as I’ve been wanting to get one for so long. That is really the only thing on my wish list this Christmas. Of course I also have other things on my wish list (a trip to Scotland in the spring, new running shoes) but they’re things I will buy with my yearly bonus.

2. What’s your favorite Christmas song?

I’m not sure I have one. I don’t really listen to Christmas music unless I have to. That makes me sound like I hate it, which I don’t, I just don’t go out of my way to listen to it.

3. Do you have a favorite band or singer that sings it especially awesome?

See above. Though I have to admit, I love All I Want For Christmas Is You – the version from Love Actually, mostly because I love the movie.

4. Have you heard about the website goodreads?

Yes, I’m on it. Add me!

5. What are 3 books you want to read?

Just three? Hah, I am such a bookworm, my to-read list is never-ending. I want to read the new Jo Nesbo novel (not released in English yet), the new Jussi Adler-Olsen novel (also not released in English yet), and The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides, January’s book for #twookclub.

6. Do you hunt deer?

No. I know it’s pretty common in the US (I have friends there who like to go hunting) but here it’s not that popular. I don’t know anyone who goes hunting here, and this being Germany, you probably need a license for it anyway.

7. Have you started Christmas shopping? Are you completely finished?

I haven’t even started. I know, I don’t even have three weeks left to get it all done. I should probably start thinking of presents for my family and best friend, right?

8. Did you shop on Black Friday? What was the best deal you got?

I did shop during the Black Friday week as Amazon UK had great deals on stuff all week. I got an epilator (a.k.a. torture machine), the Zumba DVDs, and I finally got a new DVD player to replace my 9-year-old one. Everything was about 50% off so I’m pretty pleased.

9. What’s one holiday tradition your family has?

We decorate the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. It’s not unusual in Germany but I know that people in other countries put it up earlier than that. For me, decorating the tree is a big part of the afternoon of Christmas Eve. I love decorating ours and turning on the lights for the first time.

10. How many blogs do you read? Do you subscribe/unsubscribe often or do you purge every once in a while?

I actually just cut my subscriptions in less than half, from 130+ to 60. I used to have a lot more spare time but this year I just haven’t been able to keep up with all of them. I do have a few favorites I always read and (try to) always comment on. I think it’s so easy to get overwhelmed and I try to keep a balance now. Quality over quantity, right?

P.S. Be sure to sign up for my Christmas card exchange if you’d like to receive a card from me this year.

1. Do you wear glasses, contacts, or are you one of those perfect eyed people?

Oh, I am definitely not perfect eyed – I wish. I wear contacts. I also have glasses but they are several years old and I don’t wear them much anymore as my eyes have gotten a little worse since I got them. I am considering getting a new pair though, as I’d love to wear glasses again more regularly.

2. What is the next item you are going to purchase?

I actually did quite a bit of shopping last week so I think I am done shopping for myself for now. It’s probably going to be Christmas presents for my family and best friend.

3. Have you ever watched Judge Judy or any other real court show?

No, I live in Germany and we don’t get that show here. I have no idea if Judge Judy is like daytime television here (which is when we get those “real” court shows), but I try my best to avoid it.

4. How do you feel about fake nails?

They’re not my thing. I actually managed to stop biting my nails in August and have been really happy with my natural nails since then. But on others, I don’t mind them. I just prefer for nails to look as natural as possible, even when they’re fake. Another thing I don’t like about fake nails is how they seem to completely ruin your natural nails.

5. What is your favorite sport to watch?

Soccer, hands down. I’m not a huge soccer fan, and I don’t watch a lot of sports on TV, but soccer beats football and baseball any day. I love how fast-paced it is, let’s face it, football on TV is a bit boring. But then, I am German, so it’s probably not that surprising.

6. If you could create your own Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor, what would it be and what would it be named?

Oh, I am actually pretty happy with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. I might improve it with some caramel swirls, though. I’d call it, Heavenly Caramel Cookie Dough.

7. Do you have any scars?

No big ones. I have a tiny one on my left hand from when my neighbors’ cat scratched me when I was 13. I also have a few small scars on the inside of my arm from giving blood.

8. Does your pet’s name fit them? Is there a more appropriate name?

Boring answer but I don’t have one.

9. What is your favorite television show theme song?

Oh, I think that would have to be the theme song from True Blood, ‘Bad Things’ by Jace Everett. It’s been my ringtone for the past two years. In a close second, the theme song from Gilmore Girls.

10. What was your favorite activity on the playground?

The swings. I don’t think I was ever brave enough to swing across the spindle, though.

Since March or April, I have been riding my bike to work every day. Just last week, I started walking again. It takes longer but when it’s as cold as it has been lately, I prefer walking. I enjoy having this time to myself, to listen to music and spend another 20 minutes lost in thoughts. Another upside is, it’s so much easier to just stop and take a quick picture.

Today’s sunrise was absolutely beautiful. I have often passed by these fields thinking I wish I had the time to stop and take a picture or I wish I had my camera with me. Today, I took the time to take a few pictures. The pictures were just taken on my iPhone 4S but luckily its camera is pretty good.

City girl or not – I am willing to admit that I am not likely to have an amazing view like this in the middle of Munich. Gorgeous, isn’t it?

P.S. Be sure to sign up for my Christmas card exchange if you’d like to receive a card from me this year.

Even though I haven’t blogged much this year, I still love it and appreciate the fantastic people I have met through blogging. This year, I decided that I’d do my own Christmas card exchange. I’d love to show my appreciation for all of you by sending you a Christmas card.

If you are a reader of my blog and would like a Christmas card from me this year, please fill out the form below.

P.S. You don’t have to send me one in return, but I do love getting mail as well. ;)

P.P.S. As you may or may not know, I blog under my middle name for privacy reasons, but I will be using my first name for sending out Christmas cards. Tell me if you don’t know it yet.

[Form has been removed.]

Source: kidspacestuff.com via Elaine on Pinterest

It’s just another Thursday here, but I know that for all of you living in the US it’s Thanksgiving. I once got to spend Thanksgiving with a friend’s family in Texas, and I still salivate when I think about all the delicious food.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I went on the last day of the festival, planning to spend a couple of hours there, not having any idea what exactly was expecting me. Well, I was blown away. I enjoyed my visit so much, and instantly regretted not having gone earlier so I could have visited twice. There were so many performances and I was only able to see a couple of them.

I also thought it was such a shame I had to go by myself. I had asked a couple of friends to come up from Munich for it, but they didn’t, and in my opinion, they really missed out. If I get a chance to go again to the one in two years (i.e. if I still live here), I definitely will. I think I would even make the trip from Munich for this, it was that fun!

It takes place in a fairly small town but hundreds of people participate in the festival and many thousands come to visit, many of them in historical costumes. It is really a unique experience.

The historical part of town makes for a perfect backdrop, it gives the festival this sense of authenticity – knowing that many of the buildings, and the castle are very old and have really seen the time we as visitors are transported back to at this festival.

I ate some Rahmbrot, cream bread, a specialty of this town that has been ‘exported’ to Christmas markets and festivals all over Germany. For good reason – it was absolutely delicious. In fact, it was so good I had two.

I got to see two performances that are very typical of the festival, and I am so glad I decided to see both. One was a reenactment of medieval games in the historical stables, which was very entertaining, and the other was a classic – the hobbyhorse riders – a performance by children in historical costumes in the courtyard of the castle. Very sweet.

I really loved how so many visitors were dressed in historical costumes – some really elaborate, some very simple. It almost made me wish I had a historical costume to wear. I think most people who live around here do.

It was such a fun day. My expectations hadn’t been that high, but I really loved it. If you’d like, you can watch a video of the festival from 2009 here. I think it does a really good job at conveying the atmosphere.

Have you ever been to a historical festival? Are there any where you live?

Ever since I started my job, I was worried about accidentally dropping something into that hole. It’s too small for my iPhone (believe me, I made sure of that) but keys, earrings or other jewelry would be small enough. What’s worse, it could easily get stuck in the nirvana between the floor and the ceiling of the floor below.

My solution? I usually move my trash can over the hole to cover it. That’s an exercise in futility, though, because every time the cleaning lady empties it, she puts it back into the corner.

So it was really only a matter of time until I would drop something into it. Luckily it was not an earring or my keys … I meant to throw some gum (wrapped in paper, phew!) into the trash can – only to watch disbelievingly as it disappeared in the hole. Then I cracked up.

What? It was Friday afternoon and this was probably the most entertaining thing to happen all day! I went downstairs to recover my gum and asked a co-worker if he happens to know where exactly the hole is downstairs – he thought it was hilarious! But turns out there is a shelf right under the hole so I guess the gum will stay there until someone bothers to clean the top shelf. What can I say? It wasn’t me?

Maybe you had to be there for this to be funny, but it really was. And I think I should consider covering that hole a little more permanently now that the inevitable has happened – who knows what it will be next time?

In the afternoon, I met up with my friend Julia and we went to the Oktoberfest. The weather was fantastic, and the Wiesn was super crowded. It was the first day which is always crowded and with the beautiful weather, it was just madness.

But we also had a great time. I am not a fan of all the drunk people but I love the atmosphere. There are rides everywhere, women in dirndl, men in lederhosen, and lots of different food stalls. Of course there are the beer tents too, but if you want to get in on the first day, you need to be there at 8am to get in line. Considering that I don’t even drink beer, it has never been worth it for me.

We walked around a bit, went on one ride (my favorite), I ate an ochsensemmel, Julia bought a gingerbread heart for her boyfriend, and ate a chocolate banana. After about 1 1/2 hours we had had enough and we decided to go back home. It was getting really cloudy and we didn’t want to get wet. It was a short visit to the Wiesn, but absolutely worth it. I am going to be back in town in a couple of weeks, and I hope to go again one more time.

I think next year, I will try to take a day or two off during the Wiesn, though, so I can go during the week. Weekends are just a little too crazy for me.

Hello everyone! I’m Dani and you can usually find me blogging at Daniela Yvonne. Karen and I were matched up in the 20 Something Bloggers’ 9th Blog Swap so you can find her posting on my blog today. Make sure to head over to check out Karen’s post. The topic for this blog swap is:

As summer nears its end and it’s back to school time for many, we think it would be fun to reflect on SUMMER. Did you take any great vacations? Did you melt in the heat? Do you have a favorite summer memory from your childhood? Share anything summer-related with us!

Growing up, summers back home in south Texas meant dry heat, raspas (also known as snow cones), family BBQs, running through sprinklers and adventures with my childhood friends and neighbors. Oh, and my birthday of course. Some of my best childhood memories come from those sweaty days, but it’s been my summers here in Chicago that I think I’ve loved the most so far.

The summer of 2007 was my first one in the city. I lived in an apartment with 4 of my college friends that had zero air-conditioning and had 3 different jobs (an internship, a part-time job at a cafe and an editor position at the summer edition of our college newspaper). We had to battle a few bugs and a bat invasion (and ok, by invasion I mean one lonely bat who was more terrified of us than we were of him). I was constantly running around, taking the train everywhere and working hard. I bought my Macbook as my 21st birthday present to myself. I went to festivals and markets and drank with all my friends. It was fun and hectic and I wouldn’t change a single thing about those 3 months.

Last summer, I moved back to Chicago with two suitcases, whatever money I had in my pocket and no jobs. I freelanced, I traveled and I made the most of my situation. I fell in love with this city and my neighborhood all over again. I enjoyed the time I had off to renew friendships and make new ones. I was fortunate enough to find my full-time job in early September, thus being able to enjoy that first summer back to the fullest. And then there’s this summer. It has served as the mark of my one year anniversary back in my favorite city. One year older, one year wiser, space of time filled with just as many laughs and adventures as the last one. Except this summer was also filled with love, as I met my wonderful boyfriend Alex back in May.

As a summer baby, the hottest time of the year is easily my favorite. The last few have shown me that each one can be even better than the next, as long as you remember to make the most of it. I can’t wait to see what next summer will bring.