Entries Posted in ‘family’ Category
December 25th, 2009
Merry Christmas!
For those of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, we hope you will take some extra time today to spend with family members and/or loved ones.
We are enjoying our time back in Colorado… though with the traveling we’re doing around the state to visit family, we’ve been running around like crazy since getting back!
We hope you enjoy this special day!
December 21st, 2009
Top 5 Things I’m Looking Forward To In Colorado
I don’t really experience homesickness, because I always feel pretty excited about what’s coming up, about the future, about where I’m going next.
So this is the 5 things I’m looking forward to at this moment, knowing I’m returning to Colorado tomorrow.
This is being written from a hotel outside of San Jose, Costa Rica called the Adventure Inn.
#1. Water
-Hot Water (lots of nice, hot water in the shower)
-Tap water. At least in Colorado, drinking filtered tap water is safe, cool, and nice. Although we’ve drank tap water in Costa Rica and Panama, it’s nice to know that the water in the states is safe, whereas in Central America, I’m never 100% certain.
Continue reading "Top 5 Things I’m Looking Forward To In Colorado" »
July 15th, 2009
Life With A Teenage Boy – Part 2
I’ve really enjoyed hanging out with Zach.
On Sunday, we hit up a Rockies game and had fun negotiating for amazing tickets via trading up the tickets we bought from scalpers. We got to the game a little late (after the beginning of the game), so we had room to negotiate with the people selling tickets outside the stadium. We bought two tickets in the lower level of the outfield (below the Rockpile for those of you who know the Rockies stadium) for $10/ticket, $20 total, and then traded those up for two tickets that were two rows behind the Rockies dugout for an additional $35, meaning we spent $55 total for two tickets right behind the Rockies dugout.
(We could only have been closer by 1 row to the first base line.) We were so close that Zach was actually able to get a baseball from the game tossed to him by one of his favorite Rockies players.
Really a cool day!
July 12th, 2009
Life with a teenage boy, part 1
Jonathan and I are fortunate in that I convinced my brother and sister-in-law to “loan” us their middle child for a few days. I love spending time with my nieces and nephews, and the longer the better. So, after an eye exam with the hot eye-doctor on Thursday, I drove to Holyoke for the weekend.
I had a fun weekend. It’s always great to get to see my mom and Larry, my three grandparents, as well as my brother, sister-in-law, two nieces, one nephew, and this time my sister! It was a fun time had by all. I even got to kidnap Alyssa, my oldest niece, and take her out for ice cream one very hot afternoon.
On Saturday, I left to come back to Denver, and got to bring my nephew, Zach, back with me. Now, Zach is one of my most favorite people in the world. It’s been so fun to watch him grow up. The whole drive (3 hours), Zach and I talked. It’s so great when you can have a 3 hour conversation with a 13 year old.
I just have to share a few snippets of that conversation with you.
Zach: “Carrie, I’m going through a rough time in my life right now.”
Carrie: “Why?”
Zach: “I’m learning what it’s like to be famous. You see, all these girls like me. They keep calling me and texting me. There are even some in the same family who all like me and are fighting over me. So, I really can understand why famous people don’t like to be famous.”
A bit later…
Zach: “These modern girls these days aren’t afraid to tell a boy that they like him.”
Ahhh Zach. You’re so great that it’s no wonder girls are waiting for you. You’re smart and funny and respectful, and a great kid. I love you. Thanks for talking with me.
July 4th, 2009
Happy Independence Day 2009: A Poem
For those of you in or from the United States, I hope you enjoy a wonderful day with family and/or friends.
This year, I took a little time to reflect on the holiday and wrote a poem that I wanted to share.
Happy Independence Day!
May 25th, 2009
A Tribute to My Oma: Hilda Goldschmidt
Oma left this world at 7:40 am on a cold and snowy morning in March.
But that’s where the story ends.
Even though it begins earlier than 1938, her story really starts, for me, on the cold and rainy day Oma left Germany from the harbor in Hamburg, Germany.
Oma likely stood in the same spot before leaving Germany in 1938, as I stood at 63 years later (in 2001) when I lived in Germany as an exchange student.
She landed in New York on April 1, 1938.
Oma said that some of her earliest memories in Germany including playing with her cousins, Charlie and Lillian, picking fruit in her grandmother’s garden in Twistringen, Running around with her brothers Walter and Hans and visiting the Westfalia Kaufhaus, a department store which her Dad and Uncle owned, and were forced to sell at a loss to a member of the Nazi party.
December 25th, 2008
Merry Christmas
We want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas!
We got back home to Colorado late on the 23rd, and are spending today with Jonathan’s side of the family. We’ll go to Pueblo tomorrow to spend the day with Carrie’s side of the family.
All the best to you and your family this Christmas Day, 2008.
Carrie and Jonathan at the Nymphenburg Castle, the “summer” castle (because, you know.. everyone needs a summer castle AND a winter castle) of the Wittelsbach family 1700-1914.
November 17th, 2008
Gobble Gobble! The Turkey Song!
For me, Thanksgiving is an awesome and fun time of the year.
For our friends overseas not familiar with Thanksgiving, here’s the brief background.
Thanksgiving is the day that Americans celebrate the first pilgrim settlers who made it through a whole year (and a harsh winter) in the “new world” of America.
The story goes that at the end of the harvest, the native Americans and the white settlers (those who had survived) from Europe all got together, sang happy songs, and sat down at a table and broke bread together.
Chances are good that the actual story is much more complex. (But we’ll leave that commentary for another time.)
Thanksgiving in the modern sense has become a time to get together with family (and often friends), frequently eating far too much food, watching football (and taking a nap, or a walk, depending on your family), and expressing gratitude for all the wonderful things you have in life.
The traditional Thanksgiving food is turkey with bread stuffing.
All sorts of variations of this food happen of course, but that’s what the majority of people expect to be eating on Thanksgiving.
Enter The 2008 Thanksgiving Song!
I’ve had this song sort of rummaging around in my brain for the past couple of years, so I decided this year, with the help of Carrie (offering encouragement and alternative lyrics), Deanna (offering encouragement and additional lyrics), and my Mom (offering encouragement and creating the accompaniment on the piano), that I would share this fun little song with you!
(Thanks to Adam as well for help with suggestions on the video.)
Happy Thanksgiving (a little early)!
(If you’d like to download it, it will be available shortly… just post a comment below for now and I’ll email it to you.)
Hope you enjoy the song (forward it to a friend if you like it), and thank-you for being a wonderful part of our lives.
Lyrics below:
October 1st, 2008
Roboform Is One Of Our Favorite Tools: Roboform Discount Code
Carrie’s Mom Susan was here at our house recently. She was explaining to us how frustrated she was at trying to remember passwords and login codes for web sites.
Carrie and I have a tool we use to manage and fix this problem called Roboform. I’ve actually been using Roboform since 2006, and I generally tell people that Roboform is the best $30 I spent in 2006
I love Roboform so much that I’ve been promoting it pretty aggressively as an affiliate since the beginning of 2007. And I talked with Roboform’s affiliate manager and got a discount code for the program, (so that instead of $30, it only costs you $24).
Yes, I will make a little something if you decide to purchase through my Roboform discount code link, so if you don’t want to do that, you can just go directly to their web site at www.roboform.com.
But why not save $6 if you do decide to purchase it?
Anyway, this is just a quick note, but we thought we would share it here, because Roboform’s been a great tool for us. We didn’t know Susan’s frustration at trying to remember passwords, so we thought that maybe some of you could use a program like Roboform too.
Save $6 using our Roboform Discount Code or just go directly to www.roboform.com.
Continue reading "Roboform Is One Of Our Favorite Tools: Roboform Discount Code" »
June 22nd, 2007
Friday Five…
5 “things” to see and do in Kentucky (that I’ve done so far)
5 nieces and nephews (Drew, Adam, Alyssa, Zach, & Emma)
4 nights of Yatzee (you win some; you lose some – big time)
3 books read (Scarlett – the sequel to Gone with the Wind, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Handmaid’s Tale – currently reading, but will finish before I leave. And, just so you know that adds up to a total of … 1,879 pages, Scarlett has 896, HP has 672, and The Handmaid’s Tale has 311)
2 Library book sales (FUN!)
1 Swimming pool (more fun!)
- March 20, 2010 09:05 AM : Ecuadorian food: Chifles (fried plantain chips)
- March 19, 2010 05:40 PM : OK GO does it again
- March 18, 2010 03:50 PM : It rains every day in Quito?
- March 17, 2010 08:59 PM : Sharing my passion by blogging
- March 16, 2010 12:32 AM : Otavalo Market, Otavalo, Ecuador
- March 15, 2010 05:12 PM : Visiting the Equator (Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador)
- March 14, 2010 05:41 PM : Does Ecuador change times?
- March 11, 2010 04:03 PM : Un Presentación de la Pizza
- March 10, 2010 04:05 PM : Getting Passport Pages: The United States Embassy in Quito, Ecuador
- March 08, 2010 05:34 AM : How To Make Empanadas: Empanadas From Plantains in Quito, Ecuador
- March 06, 2010 06:46 PM : How Can You Afford To Travel - Phones
- March 06, 2010 05:59 PM : My favorite day so far...being welcomed as part of an Ecuadorian family
- March 05, 2010 05:59 PM : La Basilica de Quito, Ecuador: The tallest church tower in South America
- March 05, 2010 03:08 PM : How Can You Afford To Travel?
- March 05, 2010 01:16 PM : The Lost Generation?
- March 04, 2010 10:01 AM : Quito Ecovia in Rush Hour: The Quito Bus System
- March 03, 2010 02:54 PM : Where Have You Been?
- March 03, 2010 02:12 AM : Alex's Birthday in Quito
- March 02, 2010 09:10 PM : Visiting the Doctor in Quito, Ecuador
- March 02, 2010 08:56 PM : Saquisili Market near Quito, Ecuador
- March 02, 2010 07:36 AM : How to Make Canelazos: Como Hacen Canelazos
- March 01, 2010 08:05 AM : A Night Tour of Quito, Ecuador: Pictures And Videos
- February 28, 2010 10:00 PM : February Changes: Movable Type to WordPress
- February 27, 2010 02:09 PM : Cotopaxi in Ecuador is the highest active volcano on Earth
- February 26, 2010 05:47 PM : Videos of Our Quito Apartment: Ecuador
- February 24, 2010 02:08 PM : Torpedos de Ruidoso: Our earplugs
- February 22, 2010 06:49 PM : A Friendly Reminder
- February 22, 2010 05:44 AM : Pictures of Quito From Our Balcony
- February 19, 2010 02:53 PM : Cuatro Rosas
- February 18, 2010 05:13 PM : Spanish Doesn't Come Naturally, That's For Sure
- February 14, 2010 04:12 PM : Happy Valentine's Day from Quito, Ecuador
- February 13, 2010 04:16 PM : Teleferiqo, a gondola to 13,340 ft. in Quito, Ecuador
- February 12, 2010 04:21 PM : Weird Food: Eating Cuy (Guinea Pig) in Quito, Ecuador
- February 11, 2010 09:34 PM : Do You Have A Sixth Sense? Check This Out!
- February 05, 2010 08:10 PM : Ecuador Has Huge Cabbages
