Happy 25th Birthday Josh!

Today Josh became 25 years old. He received the complete Calvin and Hobbes set from his parents and will be spending a weekend in New Orleans later this year with me.



To celebrate we did not go after Christmas shopping! We did, however, have lunch at Bill Miller's and dinner at the Salt Lick. Once we returned, Josh blew out the candle on his Italian cream birthday cake.



All these promises that we make and we break...why is it that you think people get married? Because we need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet, I mean what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything... the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all the time, every day. You're saying... Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go unwitnessed, because I will be your witness.

- Shall We Dance (2004)

Day at the Ranch

On 26 Dec, Josh, Sadie, Perry and I went to Josh's paternal side Christmas get-together outside of Goliad, Texas. It was the first time for Sadie and Perry to visit a ranch - or any type of unconstrained environment that was not a home or dog park - and they had a lot of fun!





The dogs met Ellie Mae, Josh's grandparents' dog, and herded cows for the first time. Sadie is a purebred Pembroke Welsh Corgi, and Perry is partially a German Shepherd, and the herding instinct came out - it was definitely more obvious in Perry than it was in Sadie, and that was surprising.



The dogs also had their first ride in a truck and met many new people.





That evening, the Schneider family got together to exchange gifts. There were some interesting presents!







I'm thankful for... a family - made much larger with our marriage!

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (New International Version)

9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Our First "Official" Family Portrait

 

My dad took this photo of Perry, Josh, Sadie and me this Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas!

Like every other Christmas season, Josh and I spent Christmas Eve with my family, then visit his family for Christmas.

Christmas Eve was a lot of fun. We ate an early dinner, including the traditional German dishes like bratwurst and red cabbage. Then, we opened presents. Josh got a "Super Mario Galaxy" game for his Wii, restaurant gift certificate, T-shirt, Wrath of Khan DVD and more. My gifts included cookbooks and clothing.



My mom gave the doggies each one Dingo bone as a Christmas present before we started opening gifts - a great idea! Hopefully we will remember it for next year, as it kept them calm.



Like last year, Josh gave me a pair of flannel pajamas to wear on our Christmas Eve night drive. We arrived in San Antonio to see the other three dogs (including ours - five are in the house) and let them all out. Once they calmed down, we unloaded our car and got settled. Soon after, everyone returned from the Christmas Eve service and we caught up.



The next morning was Christmas morning, so we all sat around the tree and opened presents. Like the night before, Josh and I were very surprised and grateful for all of the gifts. Dean and Glenda gave us a DVD camcorder and also a cookbook with family recipes (something I had been thinking of doing separately, so it really could not have been better timing!). Josh gave me some wine glasses, a "watching a girly movie package" (including dog bones, a candy bar, hot chocolate mix and a very soft blanket for two), and a comfortable "lounge set" of a jacket and pants.



I got Josh the last of the Sopranos DVD sets and the Mac OS Leopard for his laptop.



Josh's siblings got Guitar Hero - so we were both able to play that... and our skills could definitely be improved!



Later that day, we enjoyed a huge Christmas lunch with turkey, lots of sides and pies. After that, I tried to relax and read through cookbooks - but I continually attracted the canines!



At night, some more of Josh's family came over for dinner. The puppies were very excited, and it was nice to see everyone.



I'm thankful for... spending Christmas with our families.


Oh, Come, Oh, Come Emmanuel
Translated: John Neal, 1818-66

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high,
Who ordered all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, oh, come, our Lord of might,
Who to your tribes on Sinai's height
In ancient times gave holy law,
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come O Rod of Jesse's stem,
From ev'ry foe deliver them
That trust your mighty pow'r to save;
Bring them in vict'ry through the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, O Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by your drawing nigh,
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Oh, bid our sad divisions cease,
And be yourself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Hymn # 31 from Lutheran Worship
Author: French Processional
Tune: Veni Emmanuel
1st Published in: 1854

Busy Baking

On Friday and today, I was able to finally catch up on holiday baking:

Chocolate Cookie Bark



Toffee



Chocolate-Covered Pretzels



Spiced Pecans




Cinnamon Chip Oatmeal Cookies



Chocolate Grasshopper Brownie Cookies



I was also able to try some other dishes. I finally made Cooking Light's Cream of Asparagus soup. Today, for dinner, I made Cooking Light's Spinach and Artichoke Dip, tried another Cooking Light recipe - Southwestern Turkey Soup and made Panettone Bread Pudding based on a Giada de Laurentiis recipe.

The best way to spread Christmas Cheer, is singing loud for all to hear.
-Elf

Family Fun

Starting Thursday afternoon, I have vacation until the end of the year. This means that I can use the extra time to catch up on baking and spend time with family.

On Saturday, Josh and I took the dogs to my parents' house for Christmas Tree decorating. I brought over some of the treats I made on Friday.

Sadie and Perry were going on a walk and were able to re-unite with one of their dog friends, Newton. Since Newton is a lot older than Sadie and Perry, and Sadie and Perry are very energetic, he was relieved when their leashes were re-attached.



After their walk, they were able to play with Aaron in my parents' backyard.



Josh played around on Aaron's guitar while we were there too.



Today my family came over to our house for dinner and to watch some Christmas movies - "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Elf."



I'm thankful for... spending time with my family.

And he puzzled and puzzled, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more."
-Dr. Suess

Our First Christmas Season in Our First House

This December is the first one that Josh and I have spent in our house. While we haven't gone crazy with decorations, we did setup our tree and put out our other decorations. Perhaps next year we'll get a larger tree - we just wouldn't be sure where to put it.

It's been a busy year... Part VI

Most of my life has been spent within Texas, or more specifically, the Houston area. While my family took occasional trips to New Jersey and somewhat frequent trips to campgrounds around Texas, I would never consider myself an experienced traveler. That being said, 2007 was a huge step for me. March 2007 marked the first time that I would fly overseas. I have a huge fear of heights and an obsession with control - which makes airplane flights very uneasy for me. While I do understand mentally that airplane travel is safer than automobile travel, it does not take away the nerves I feel when I get on a plane. Combine that with the total lack of knowledge for my surroundings (no matter how much research you do in advance, things rarely turn out as expected), and you end up with an overly stressed, high-strung and nervous girl.

I am definitely anything but a risk-taker, and always err on the side of caution. Traveling to places by myself, as a twenty-something blonde female (mainly in places where my appearance makes me stand out from the crowd) was not something I expected to do anytime soon. Interestingly enough, even though all of my trips have been for business, I've never flown somewhere overseas with someone I know. Since most of my co-workers do have more cultural knowledge and travel experience, that would probably ease some of the silly fears, but I am glad that I did travel by myself. It didn't matter if I was worried or not - I still had to travel to do my job - so I went. At times I was nervous (particularly walking around getting unwanted stares and calls), but I'm glad that I was at least up to the challenge. As little of a challenge - traveling alone would likely not be considered a challenge to most people - as traveling alone is for many, it was a big deal for me. I feel that I have grown... and something must always be said for growth, as it is always been my goal to continue personal growth. The funny thing is that you often don't recognize those opportunities for growth until after the fact, so I just pray that I can either become more cognizant of these situations, or that I can be guided to act in a way that advances my growth.

One of the major areas in which I would like to grow is in cultural awareness. Each time that my passport gets stamped, I learn more that I didn't know, and also am amazed at how much more that I don't know. The same goes for working in a global environment. Many of the individuals whom I work come from such diverse backgrounds, so daily activities can also become cultural learnings. In the future, I am going to continue to try and learn more, so that I can ensure I am considerate and respectful of other cultures.

Another area of improvement is that of my language capabilities. My arrival for my weekend trip in London this October marked my first overseas flight arrival into a country that has English as an official language. The knowledge of Spanish I gained during three years of high school is slowly fading away, and English is the only language in which I am fluent. Knowing only one language often makes me feel ignorant - why should I expect everyone I talk to in another country to understand me, a foreign traveler? While I realize that there is no way to take away this problem (either I do not travel or I learn every language - neither of which is likely to occur), it does provide ample motivation to begin learning German.

Josh and I have always wanted to learn German. We both come from German families, and would like if our future children would be able to speak the language. Parents of one of Josh's law school colleagues actually run a weekend German-speaking toddler playgroup.

Will Josh and I begin to learn German in 2008? We'll have to see. We have some other goals on our lists for 2008. I want to monitor finances more closely, keep in touch with friends more. Josh wants to graduate from law school (which isn't looking too difficult) and pass the BAR (which will require much more effort than graduating.) We also want to start a family sometime soon, which could potentially mean a lot of changes in the future. Josh and I will just have to see the plans that God has in store for us as they come, and hope that we grow from each experience.

I'm thankful for... the opportunities that have been presented to me in the past year. No matter how tired or busy I may be at the time, I am very grateful.

Psalm 25:3-5

3 No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.

4 Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;

5 guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

It's been a busy year... Part V

In mid-November, I traveled to Canada and then to Cairo for work. I was only in Canada for a day, and spent most of my time either working at a site or in my hotel room.

After my trip to Canada, I headed back to the Detroit Metro airport, where I boarded a Lufthansa flight that would take me to Frankfurt. I had a six hour layover in Frankfurt before heading to Cairo.

I arrived in Cairo on a Saturday afternoon - I left Detroit on a Friday afternoon. Feeling as disgusting as I always do after an overseas flight, as soon as the greeter from the hotel met me and my co-workers who also took the Frankfurt to Cairo flight, we obtained our Egyptian visas. We then proceeded to get our luggage. Of course, everyone was waiting on me, as my luggage was the last to come off of the plane.

After we received our luggage, we were taken to our driver, who drove us to the Four Seasons Hotel on Nile Plaza. The hotel, as the name suggests, overlooks the Nile. I was fortunate enough to have a hotel room that overlooked the Nile, so I was able to view the Nile both at night and during the day.





The first night was a cocktail event where I was able to try different appetizers. I went back to my hotel room following the event and tried to fall asleep. While I was very exhausted, I was not sleepy, so I was stuck watching the movie "My Girl 2" (a terrible movie - how on earth did I like it when I was little?) and then finally getting a few hours of sleep.

The next night there was a group dinner, where we had courses like "Grilled Sea Bass Fillet, Lemon Risotto and Chunky Tomato Dressing" and "Consumme of Quail with Ginseng Root". Dessert was a Chocolate Mousse Dome with a Passion Fruit Center and Blackberry Ice Cream Sherbet.

The Monday night was another group dinner - this time with some Egyptian entertainment. An Egyptian band played while different dancers performed, including a whirling dirvish. The whirling dirvish twirled for a long time - it seemed like several minutes. One of my co-workers tried to do the same, but it was very difficult. He also said that the fabric was much heavier than it looked. The menu was similar to the Sunday night dinner menu.









On Tuesday morning, like Sunday and Monday, I attended work meetings. Tuesday afternoon, however, was a group trip to the Giza pyramids. We left the hotel in a bus that took us to the pyramids, through Cairo. Traveling to Cairo can definitely give you some perspective. There is a huge disparity, like in similar countries, between the wealthy and poor. Many of the buildings are not finished because if construction on a building is not finished, then the building residents do not have to pay taxes. Trash collects in rivers and on roads, and most people get by on a fraction of an average U.S. worker's salary.





Driving up to the pyramids, you can begin to see them while you are still in Cairo. By the time that we were at the pyramids, I was shocked by the size. When you consider the time during which the pyramids were built, the fact that there are openings inside and the fact that they are still standing, it is pretty amazing. The three large pyramids were built for a Grandfather (the largest pyramid - the Great Pyramid), Father (the middle pyramid) and Son (the smallest pyramid).



Our group was able to actually go inside the largest of the pyramids. There was a fairly small opening, wide enough for two people to walk without touching, but not much larger. The height at the entrance was tall enough for the average person to walk through, but soon it became much smaller, and you had to bend down to climb up a ramp. The ramp was not as wide as the entryway, meaning that lines of tourists could easily build up. The ramp is slippery, but there are slabs of wood intended to function as steps. Once you reach the top of the ramp, you climb some more stairs and bend down to get through until you reach a room with an empty granite tomb. I do not recommend that anyone with claustrophobic tendencies go through the pyramid path, but I am glad that I did it.



The bus then drove our group to a place for taking photos and purchasing souvenirs. Since I am typically not interested in souvenirs, I went straight for the photo area.













When everyone was done, we drove over to see the Sphinx. While the pyramids were larger than I had imagined, the Sphinx was smaller than I had expected. You were not able to stand directly in front of the Sphinx, but you were able to get fairly close to it.









Following the visit to the Sphinx, our group was able to see a short papyrus demonstration. After that, we went back to the hotel.



I had a couple of hours during the next day where I was able to get out to see the Egyptian museum. The museum holds over 120,000 objects. I took a taxi and walked through in less than an hour. The Tutankhamen exhibit was particularly interesting, but the sheer amount of artifacts and information is very overwhelming, especially when you are not there on vacation. I've never been the type to read every artifact description, so I was satisfied with the time I spent at the museum. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed inside, so I could only take photos of the museum's garden area. If Josh and I ever have the opportunity to come to Cairo together, we'll definitely go to the museum.















Following the museum visit, I ended up walking by myself back to the hotel. The traffic situation in Cairo certainly induced some cultural shock in me - there was no stopping for pedestrians, nor was there often a passage for pedestrians to get through. I did my best to watch the traffic patterns and quickly walk across when
the traffic calmed down, but the traffic situation definitely made me uneasy. Additionally, since with blonde hair and blue eyes, I do look significantly different from the typical Egyptian, I got a lot of stares, some honking horns and a couple comments (from a distance) from drivers. Needless to say, I was relieved when I got
back to the hotel and could get back to work.



Since my flight back was around 5 am, and I had to leave time to get to the airport and go through ticketing / security, I ended up leaving at 1:30 am. I slept for a little over an hour on Wednesday night. Once I got to the airport, I was in line for a long time before I got my ticket. Once I did get on the plane for the flight to Frankfurt, I slept the entire way. I woke up toward the end of the flight, and started getting my belongings ready for landing. Unfortunately, I spilled my orange juice all over my pants. I was very glad that the spill only affected me, and not the person next to me... but smelling like orange juice was no picnic, particularly with an hour layover in Frankfurt (not the smallest airport) and all of my extra pairs of pants packed in my checked baggage.

I was very glad that the plane from Cairo arrived in Frankfurt on time, because it took me much longer than I had expected to walk to the departure gate for my flight to Houston. When I finally got to the gate and handed them my ticket, I was spoken to in German. Flying on Lufthansa, with a stop in Frankfurt, and a German last name - it's obvious why the Lufthansa personnel would always start to speak with me in German. Too bad I don't understand more than a couple of words! I was very grateful to get on the flight. Since I was flying on Thanksgiving, the plane looked empty. I prepared for the long flight back, only to start feeling sick after take-off. Only after I returned home that afternoon did I feel better. Thanksgiving dinner (real food) at my parents' house must have made the difference!





Since the trip to Egypt is my last huge trip for the foreseeable future, I did feel relieved not only to be back, but also have a little break from the large travel. With the extra time, I started writing this blog, which I plan on continuing to do in the following year.