Karaoke Ring of Death: Catchy Songs

This month's KROD coincides with the last day of NaBloPoMo, so I get to sign off this month of blogging with a bang! 

Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. The theme for November was "catchy songs"-- that song you just can't get out of your head ;-) I get to host Edwin of My Adult Brain, who sings Wham's "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go". His commentary at the beginning is very apt, because that's exactly what happened to me-- was just starting to "get over" a song that had been stuck in my head for a while, and then having to actually sing the whole thing for KROD just extended that :-P

Anyway, watch Edwin reach for some of those high notes:


Catchy KROD from Edwin Schippers on Vimeo.

As for my own video, I had a brainworm that was, just like May's 80's theme, inspired by an episode of Glee. It also happened to be a duet and a song that I HAVE to lower at least 3 half-steps in key, so finding a duet partner on SingSnap, where I normally do my online karaoke, was a challenge. After a while of listening to various videos done in the normal key, I realized I had picked up enough of the harmony to just do the whole enchilada myself. So I decided to do just that.

You can catch Helly in stereo (both acoustically AND visually) at Kanriah's blog:

http://oneredwall.wordpress.com/2012/12/01/catchy-karaoke/

And of course, the main Karaoke Ring of Death website:

http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/novembers-master-list-is-catchy/

How To Be German

One of the long-standing jokes amongst our circle of friends is that Allan is more Asian than I am, and I am more European (specifically, German) than he is. He likes Asian cuisine, while my idea of "Asian" is Panda Express.  And I favor meat-and-potatoes type dishes, anyway. He can eat with chopsticks, a feat I have not yet accomplished. I speak German in addition to English, he only speaks English. In other words, I am a Twinkie and he is an egg ;-)

Yesterday my friend Nick shared this article (by way of our friend Ulf) with me: http://venturevillage.eu/how-to-be-german-part-1

I about fell out of my chair laughing at each point, because not only did I wholeheartedly agree, but I could totally relate! Some of my favorites:

(you should be sleeping in a double bed made up of two single mattresses and two single duvets). What it lacks in nocturnal romance, it more than makes up for in practicality... 
Long before Allan and I got separate beds, we had already gotten separate comforters. There was no other way around it, because of our different temperature tolerances. Either he would have been too hot, or I would have been too cold. In keeping with Americans' penchant for luxury and excess, however, we did not get two twin mattresses pushed together. Instead, we got two double beds pushed together, creating the effect of one really gigantic bed. So I can totally related to the practicality of this.

Doesn't it look like one really HUGE bed?

21. Eat German "bread"This and the note on German breakfasts made my mouth water. I remembered the spread of fresh baked bread with butter, a variety of meats and cheeses, as well as sweet spreads like honey and fruit preserves. Oh man. If I had time to eat proper breakfasts in the morning before work, and if I could have access to steaming hot, fresh, Broetchen, I'd be in heaven.

...start accepting the three central tenets of Germanism. The three P’s. Planning, Preparation, Process.
as well as:
Make spreadsheets, charts and lists.
and best of all:
Just because they call it spontaneity, doesn’t mean it can’t be scheduled.

Hee hee. All I can say is: spreadsheets, anyone? ;-)

The language part had me rolling, as well. I won't even copy and paste my favorite parts here, it would consist of most of that section! Suffice it to say that I agree that English can be difficult to pronounce (more exceptions than rules), but relatively easy, grammar-wise. It's the opposite with German: easy to pronounce (just a few rules to follow and you're set), but incredibly difficult grammar, mostly because of the 3 different gender articles.

Germans fear any beverage that doesn’t fizz... Related to this is Apfelsaftschorle.
Truer words were never spoken. Apfelschorle, if you don't know, is apple juice mixed with carbonated water. To me, it's gross. I remember all too well the difficulty I had, trying to order a drink in a German restaurant. There was no such thing as non-carbonated water, and you didn't want to drink the stuff out of the tap. I always had to ask for juice, and even then I had to make sure to emphasize that I wanted JUICE, not Schorle. 

Here, meat is the linchpin of every meal. Being a vegetarian here is probably about as much fun as being blind at the zoo.
I don't think I need to expound on this. All my previous posts about our trips to Brummi's should evidence this well enough. 

19. Do Nothing on Sundays.
This reminds me of when I first came back to the US after serving my 4-year active duty stint in Mannheim with the Army. It was about 10:30pm on a Sunday night, and my mom needed groceries. So we hopped in the car and hit the local supermarket. It was a bit of reverse culture shock. I was not used to anything being open both late at night AND on a Sunday to boot! It was kind of nice knowing that you had at least one "day of rest" every week. Workaholic Americans could take a cue from the Germans in this regard!

There was more in that article (and the subequent parts 2 and 3) that I found hilarious, but these are just the highlights of my absolute favorites. I think Nick can attest to the fact that I was IMing him with a "LOL, OMG, soooo true" reaction at each new paragraph ;-)

So go on and read it. Have a laugh. And see how much you agree :-D

Good Food, Good Company

Few things beat a nice, relaxing evening spent in the company of good friends while we dine on delicious food. Last night, we got together with some friends at Brummi's, our favorite German restaurant, where the food is superb and the service is friendly, personable, and all-around awesome.

I've waxed often enough about the food and experience at Brummi's, so this time I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves :-)

Parking, which is normally abundant either behind the restaurant or on State Street right in front of it, was unusually scarce last night. I think part of it is because of the new cocktail lounge next door, which replaced the dive bar that used to be there. Anyway, despite being a bit late, we were still the first to arrive, and immediately settled down and set up shop with our cameras ;-) Here are some of the new table decorations:

Nick and Michelle were the next to arrive after us, and Allan aimed his camera at the door when we saw them walking up through the window.

Don't they look like celebrities making a grand entrance? ;-)

We didn't intend it this way, but the table division wound up such that the three Asians sat on one side, while the white folks sat on the other side. And at the head of the table? Straddling the divide? None other than Todd, of course! How appropriate!

Nick, Michelle, and me

Allan, Mitch, Anna, and Ulf

Anna and Ulf, wearing their best loving expressions

 

Cheers for the whole table! Yes-- those large beers are 1-liter portions.

We had a good time, hanging out, even though the conversation kept devolving, from dancing-as-euphemism-for-swinging, to testicles-as-speedbags and worse. Nothing spells a good time like raucous laughter with a good meal ;-)

We all got to partake of Veronika's Oktoberfest special, the Schweineshaxen (pork shank), in addition to the usual German delicacies like potato pancakes, potato dumplings, schnitzel, spaetzle, and soft, steaming pretzels :-9

Finally: dessert time! Veronika had made a delicious Black Forest cake that was super moist, and super delicious, mostly because the cake wasn't as icky sweet as most other cakes.

Veronika and I pose with the sumptuous cake

I, of course, opted for my usual Apfelkeuchlein (apple fritters) with homemade vanilla sauce. Tonight they were even bigger than usual-- thicker slices of apple, and more dough. No complaints from me-- it's always delicious!

A little slice of German mouth heaven

Ready to dig in. Guten Appetit!

We wound up staying at the restaurant for nearly FOUR hours. We all arrived around 6:30pm and didn't leave until past 10:00pm. By the time we got home and put Todd to bed, I could barely keep my eyes open, packing things for his lunch the next day. And I felt a little bad that we left a full hour after closing, but we all had a great time, even if we didn't get to break out into Veronika's favorite German song ;-) I'm sure the non-singers in the group were grateful! All in all, a really great evening with delicious, filling food, great ambience, and lots of wacky conversations with our friends. I'd call the night a success!

The "Other Men" In My Life

... besides my husband, of course. There's the obvious: the boy. I'm not sure he really counts, though, because he's equally the "other person" in Allan's life, too.

But there ARE two other actual men in my life that fulfill needs that my husband can't/won't.

Hehe.

Ponder that one for a minute ;-)

Now get your minds out of the gutters :-P I'm talking about two of my hobbies: singing karaoke and country dancing.

For the past two and a half years, my buddy Nick has been my singing partner. He's an awesome singer in his own right, and we often tackle duets together at karaoke. I think we sound good together, mainly because he's so flexible, adaptable and good at harmonizing. I can always count on Nick to join me in something that I may not feel 100% comfortable doing on my own.

Here's a sampling, a song we've done so often that it's sort of become our "trademark": http://sandywessel.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-krod.html


More recently, I've taken up country dancing. It started with line dancing, as I had zero dance experience of any kind, and it seemed like the logical place to start-- very methodical with its prescribed steps, and a solo endeavor, so I could focus on my own feet first. After I took some lessons, I began going to Creekside for their Wednesday country nights, and that's where I met Mitch.

I didn't think I would be interested or even ready for partner dancing until Mitch roped me in during some of the two-step and West Coast swing rotations at Creekside. I decided it wasn't so bad after all, and we ended up taking a couple lessons here and there together. Since we were both beginners, it was nice to have a partner that I felt comfortable with. Not having to worry about being self-conscious allowed me to focus on learning how to dance. And though I've gained a bit more experience since this summer, and have danced with a variety of partners (some quite experienced, even!) at Borderline, Creekside, and UCSB, Mitch is still one of the best partners I've had. They say that a good lead makes even the most novice of followers look good, and it's so true!

So there you have it. Allan doesn't sing and he doesn't like country music, so I'm happy to be able to partner with Nick and Mitch on those endeavors!

Heaven and Hell

Two years ago, I blogged about how love of God and love for your fellow man is exemplified by actions that pass the "lens of love" test: http://heckledtrio.blogspot.com/2010/11/your-neighbor-that-all-to-it.html. Any "true Christian" behavior should stem from that basic principle.

I think the flip side of that is true, as well: that God loves you and that everything he does for you is likewise through that "lens of love", because he wants what is best for you.

As straightforward as this concept may appear, it also seems at odds with what Jesus said in John 14:6 : "... no one comes to the Father except through me". Many Christians interpret this to mean that if you don't accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior while on this earth, you will forever be condemned to an eternity in hell. I'm not so sure it's that simple, and to me, it doesn't jive with the notion of a loving God.

Now, I do actually believe that you only get to God through Jesus. However, I believe it with the following caveats:

1. You can do this after death as well as in life.
2. The way you live your life is the way you live your afterlife (and subsequently, dictates whether you go to "heaven" or "hell")
3. I absolutely do not believe in the literal "fire and brimstone" notion of hell. I believe hell is, quite simply, being removed from God.

Allow me to expand further:

One of my favorite books by C.S. Lewis is called "The Great Divorce". In story-like fashion, it paints a picture of what Lewis speculates heaven and hell might be like. Hell is, in essence, populated by self-absorbed people who cannot let go of their earthly desires, be it for money, fame, or physical pleasures. It is a depressing place to live, not because its residents are on fire with sulfur, but because everyone is so self-centered, jealous, greedy, spiteful and everything else they were while alive. Once in a while, a bus arrives from heaven and transports hell's residents to heaven. Heaven is a bright, beautiful, breathtaking place to live, and each passenger meets an "angel" of sorts who tries to persuade him/her to move to heaven. It is not an easy feat: because they are not well-developed, they cannot easily move about heaven. Even walking on blades of grass is a tormenting and near-impossible endeavor. The angels assure them, however, that with time and further development, their ghostly bodies will become stronger and more solid, and better able to navigate the heavenly realm. One by one, however, the angels fail as the passengers shrink away from this notion of hard work, offering up excuse after excuse. One man, a musician, must get back to hell so he can give a grand performance (vanity). Another is unwilling to give up his giant, luxurious mansion in hell (greed). Another man is unable to let go of his addictions (manifested in the form of a demon attached to his shoulder) because he cannot bear the initial, fleeting pain of slaying the demon, and because he has grown accustomed to having this demon around as a crutch. As with everyone else who eventually boards the bus back to hell, he cannot look past his earthly desires and feelings to see that a small amount of pain in giving them up is worth it to be able to live in paradise.

This story exemplifies the notion the way you are now, in life, is the way you will be when you die.

This also ties in to my belief that you have a chance to accept Christ when you die.

HOWEVER. (before you get up in arms about that statement) This does not mean that I believe you can conduct yourself willy-nilly and do anything you like when you're alive, because you've got a "last chance" conversion opportunity the moment you die. It doesn't work that way, either, because it all boils down to the condition of your heart.

The man who religiously attends church, tithes, and outwardly professes piety but inwardly remains full of deception, greed, envy, lust and vanity, will likewise carry these "deadly sins" with him when he dies, affecting his ability to fully embrace Christ, both while living and when dead.

The staunch atheist today? Will continue to be a staunch atheist when he dies. He will carry this closed-heartedness with him, so that even when faced with Jesus himself, he will refuse to believe.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is someone like my grandmother, who is the most selfless, caring and kind person I've ever met-- much more so than many so-called Christians. Her heart and ensuing behavior are the epitome of "Christ-like". But she happened to be raised in a country that had different (or none at all) religious beliefs. Many Christians would say that yes, indeed, she'd spend an eternity removed from God, simply because she wasn't fortunate enough to grow up in a place where God was talked about. I don't buy that. I believe that if she had had the opportunity to learn about God and Jesus while she was alive, she would have readily accepted him. And that's the main thing: she had a heart that was already receptive to Christ! When she died and met her maker, I have no doubt that she willingly accepted him then.

In a nutshell, to me, "going through Christ" does not necessarily involve openly professing belief in him, saying the sinner's prayer, and getting baptized. To me, "going through Christ" means being Christ-like yourself-- having a heart that is open to him. Everything else just naturally flows from there, from accepting God and Jesus to doing what its right, not because it's an "insurance" maneuver to secure a place in heaven, but because it's what you feel is the right thing to do. Going to heaven (i.e. spending eternity in God's presence)? Also flows naturally from all that.

It all boils down to the condition of your heart. God sees your heart, and allows you to respond accordingly, no matter what your circumstances. That, to me, is love.

Clean House

Believe it or not, I'm not a particularly sociable person. Whenever we go out to eat with a group of friends, Allan usually ends up doing more of the conversing than I do. So it's rather surprising that I've found myself enjoying entertaining folks at our own home. We've hosted our church's "Four Course Connection" for a couple of years, and have hosted several home karaoke and game nights, both at our previous apartment and in our current home.

I'd always thought that having folks over to our place would be too much work, but it hasn't felt that way at all. It's actually been kinda fun, taking advantage of our spacious living room and huge front deck.

Best of all, it keeps our place in tip-top shape. We try to do house cleaning every week, but sometimes that falls by the wayside, or we just do the bare minimum (like laundry) when we'd rather relax on a lazy Sunday. Expecting company really jump starts a frenzy of thorough cleaning that our house wouldn't ordinarily get, at least not on ay kind of regular basis.

And after we've given the house a thorough once-over, and company has departed? Well, we try to vow to continue to keep it clean (since maintenance is always easier, right?), but in reality, that usually lasts all of... one day. Maybe two ;-)

So, these days, I welcome regular company. Keeps us on our toes, cleaning-wise!

Belated Friday Five: Laundry!

Feeling lazy tonight, since we just got back home from a fun-filled Thanksgiving weekend in LA. So, since I didn't do a Friday Five yesterday, I thought I'd make up for it by doing it today, and keeping it low-key with a relatively simple set:

1. Washing machine: front-loader or top-loader?
2. Detergent: liquid or powder?
3. Rinse cycle: fabric softener or another additive?
4. And then: clothesline or dryer?
5. Do you fold things straight off the line or out of the dryer? What do you iron (or have someone iron for you)?

1.  Front-loader. They seem to clean more thoroughly than top-loaders, so we're die-hard front-loader users. Fortunately, all the communal washers we've used in our years of apartment living, prior to purchasing our own set, have been front-loaders.

2. Liquid. I feel that it dissolves and is distributed more evenly and cleanly than powder.

3. No additives. The only thing I ever add besides detergent is an occasional splash of bleach, when washing the whites. I do throw in a dryer sheet to keep the dryer load static-free, but that's about it.

4. If we had the space for it, I would totally get a clothesline set up and dry my clothes naturally. It saves energy and is much easier on the clothes. Unfortunately, that isn't an option for us, so I make do with dryer use for hardy clothes like undergarments and jeans, and then hang up clothes that I want to preserve longer (such as Todd's school uniforms-- so expensive!) onto clothes racks and from the shower curtain rod.

5. Only if it's regular clothing like shirts and pants that I don't want to wrinkle. Underwear and socks have been known to sit in the hamper for a few days until I find the time to fold them. I typically only iron my cotton dresses, and since I don't wear dresses THAT frequently, I don't wash them that often either, and hence don't have to iron them regularly. Thank goodness! ;-)

How about you?

Universal Studios

One of the most quintessential theme parks to visit in Southern California is Universal Studios. I mean, come on-- Six Flags is all over the country. Disney is all over the WORLD. But nothing says "LA" and "So Cal" quite like Hollywood.

So it is no surprise that in the many years I've lived in LA, I've been to Universal Studios numerous times. Most of the time, it's to accompany friends/family that visit us from other states and other countries. I always enjoy both the shows and the rides, and I think I actually like it better than Disneyland!

On our wedding night, Allan and I stayed at the Hilton next to Universal Studios, and visited the theme park the next day-- the hotel stay and park tickets were a gift from my parents. I've been there by myself on a company trip when I worked for Amgen.

The last time we were at Universal Studios, we finally got to bring Todd-- it was the summer of 2010, and my cousin and his family were visiting. Their daughter is about Todd's age, so it was especially cute to see the two kids run around and do everything together.

My favorite photo from Universal Studios is from March 2007, when my friend Lisa visited from Wales. She took this picture of Allan posing next to Frankenstein. It's a testament to how freakishly tall Allan is, that Frankenstein needs to wear huge, clunky shoes in order to be just a little bit taller than sandal-clad Allan!

We're planning to go again today, after some purchasing mishaps over the summer (when my parents were yet again entertaining friends from out of the country) left us with a couple extra tickets. Let's see how much has changed in the last couple years!

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

The nice thing about participating in NaBloPoMo during the month of November is that there are a few guaranteed days to write about-- our anniversary, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, Black Friday. The downside to that is that after a while, you run out of things to talk about on the same special day, year after year. For Thanksgiving in past years, I've discussed things I'm thankful for, as well as the food we eat every year.

Fortunately, this year, our friends Nick and Michelle gave me something to write about-- they hosted an "Un-Thanksgiving" dinner at their house this past weekend! They provided the main dishes, we guests provided appetizers, side dishes, dessert and drinks, and voila! A fun-filled meal!

One of the guests, Anna, made tiramisu for dessert. I like tiramisu well enough, but it's not one of my "OMG, best ever!" favorites. But this stuff!? Wow. If all tiramisu was like Anna's concoction, I could totally change my tune on that dessert ;-) Another couple brought homemade chocolate ice cream-- also very delectable. Nothing beats homemade when it comes to ice cream!

And the turkey! Remember how I blogged about how little I actually like turkey? Always too dry for my taste. Even the dark meat. Not this turkey. Well, I didn't eat any of the white meat (I rarely do, on any bird), but the dark meat from the turkey was perfectly done, and so moist and tasty I didn't need to spoon any gravy over it! 

The evening was very relaxing, as well. One of the guests brought her dog, but Nick and Michelle's naughty little beagle couldn't be distracted enough by his canine friend, to avoid jumping up on the table for scraps every chance he got!

Todd and a 2-year-old girl were amongst the kiddie guests, and Todd spent most of the evening playing with some of Nick's video games in the living room. That worked out well-- he wasn't bored by adult chatter in the dining room, and we adults could... well, chatter without having to watch every word we said ;-)

All in all, a very pleasant way to spend a rainy Saturday evening!

Faking Jealousy?

Remember how I asserted that one of the "cons" of husbands is that they are constantly consternating? Well, one of the ways Allan in particular manifests this is that he will intentionally say and do things that get an irritated, annoyed "WTF is wrong with you!?" rise out of me. Sometimes this is physical-- maybe he tries to tickle or poke me, or makes weird faces at me. More often, though, it's verbal, and he'll intentionally say something mocking or provocative just to elicit a consternated, confounded response :-P

There is, however, one technique that would typically work on most women, but doesn't work on me. And that is evoking the green-eyed monster.

Neither of us really gets jealous of the other. We're confident enough in our relationship that we don't worry about that kind of stuff. We understand that it's perfectly natural for us to admire other people besides each other. My take on it is: how can my husband really appreciate me if he's unable to appreciate (the beauty of) other women? It's like admiring and appreciating a beautiful painting in a museum without feeling the slightest impulse to take it home.

So, we don't get jealous when the other spouse talks (or even flirts a little) with someone of the opposite sex. In fact, I actually think it's kinda neat if another woman tries to flirt with Allan-- shows that he's still got it, even in his 40's ;-)

So if jealousy doesn't get a rise out of me, what does? Well, all those other tactics I mentioned above. And these days, with Allan trying those other tactics to intentionally get a rise out of me, I think I may have to resort to faking a jealous response the next time a girl talks to him. Maybe that way, thinking he's fulfilled his "annoy Helly" quota for the day, he'll lay off the actions that TRULY consternate me ;-P

What do you think? Do you think it would work? ;-)

When the Boy's Away...

Since there is no school tomorrow, my parents picked Todd up from school today, to take him to their place for the rest of the week/weekend. So while it's only a few days "off" for us, it's the little things that make it enjoyable.

Like my being able to drive straight home from work, not having to go all the way to school to pick up Todd, and then back home again. Assuming I don't get stuck behind a dozen cars that have no idea how to handle a roundabout, the trip from my office to our front door (well, back door, technically) takes about 6 minutes. These days, that means actually being home *before* it gets fully dark!

Not having to make lunch for Todd the next day. This may seem like a small thing, and in reality the chore takes MAYBE 20 minutes at most, depending on what I'm preparing. But for some reason it's one of those chores that really grinds me down. I think it's because there is more mental effort than physical effort involved. I have to plan ahead for these things, and do things like cook extra rice for dinner so there's enough left over for the next day. It gets so wearisome that I excitedly jump for joy (yes, literally) on days when I don't have to prepare his lunch for the next day.

Watching TV earlier at night, and not having to worry about turning the sound down. I think that speaks for itself ;-)

Since Todd isn't dry at night yet, I've taken to getting him up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom (I'm usually up around 4-5am, myself, to use the bathroom, so I figured I'd just get him up while I was at it). Sometimes I don't time it right and he gets wet before I can get to him, so there's the added chore of changing the sheets. Even on nights when he remains dry all night, just being aware that I need to get him up is enough to interfere with my sleep and keep me alert enough to make sure I get up. Not the most conducive to a restful night's sleep!

So yeah... we're going to enjoy these next couple of days immensely. Not because we have some big plans, but because the little things really add up!

Roaring Random Words

Today's post comes from a plinky.com prompt:

Pick a random word and do Google image search on it. Check out the eleventh picture it brings up. Write about whatever that image brings to mind.

I suppose the word I plugged in isn't all that random, as it's my favorite word:

Onomatopoeia.

And this was the 11th image result:

So what does this bring to mind?

It brings to mind sleeping. This is how I feel when I am awakened before I am ready. Ask my husband and son about the time I shook our San Francisco hotel room with a mighty "SHHH!!!" when they were making too much noise one morning ;-)

It brings to mind power. Tigers are big, powerful cats. When they roar, you'd better pay attention or start running.

And finally, it brings to mind husbands. Who else but constantly consternating husbands could elicit such frustrated roars from their wives? ;-)

Physical Hangman

Hangman is a classic, simple word game. Yesterday, Todd decided to take it a step further and make it a physical, 3-dimensional game.

He assembled the various pieces with Legos: the gallows, the individual body parts of the unfortunate hanging victim, and the blank letter tiles for the word to be guessed. As I guessed correct letters, he assembled those letters out of Legos right then and there, and stuck them to the letter blanks. Here we are after one successful guess:

Empty gallows, a 5-letter word, and an "E" in the middle of it

After that, I managed to guess a succession of wrong answers in a row. Fortunately, I guessed the word before the man could be completely assembled. Whew! Just in the nick of time:

An almost complete (hanging) man, and the guessed puzzle: "Hello"

What a neat little twist on a classic pen-and-paper (or online, in this digital age!) game!

Wacky Weather

I know a number of people who prefer to have all 4 seasons. Most of these people come from climates where you really do get to experience 4 seasons, from hot summers to cold, snowy winters. Places like Germany. And I suppose, in a sense, I get that. It IS nice to see the seasonal changes. I was born in Germany, and remember enjoying playing in the snow as a little kid. After having grown up in southern, evergreen California, I got to experience autumn in eastern Georgia, where I marveled at the beauty of the trees' leaves turning red, orange, and brown. It was kind of neat to see colors besides green (or bare) for a change. And when I moved to southern Germany shortly thereafter, the first thing I had to learn how to do was drive in the snow.  Then there were the weather extremes: from year-round heat and humidity in Indonesia to below-freezing temps in Minneapolis, Minnesota in December. Plenty of new experiences all around!

There were plenty of things I didn't like about LA weather, either. Like how hot it could get in the summer (I am, mind you, grateful that since we're in a desert area, it's at least a DRY heat. I can't imagine how much worse it would be with humidity). And the Santa Anas that blow through every fall? I absolutely abhor those winds. I would rather take rain and/or snow over wind any day. They say that Santa Anas cause depression, and it doesn't surprise me. I hate the dry, staticky, dusty feeling those winds leave me. Let's not forget all those wildfires that result, as well!

Santa Barbara is much better in that regard, at least. We do get our share of Santa Anas, but at nowhere near the intensity and frequency as in LA. And the weather itself is more even keel. Very mild and little variation in temperature throughout the year. A "hot" summer day would be 80 degrees, and those are rare. Winter in the 60's. Mostly sunny all the time. Occasional rain (some years not nearly enough), and certainly no snow or ice.

Seasonal changes are neat, and keep the years interesting. I actually like the rain and enjoy listening to the pitter-patter while I'm cozy indoors. Snow (without snowstorms, of course) can be fun, though it can be a chore, the way it dirties everything. If I had to live anywhere else, I wouldn't mind living in Germany, where you get four seasons without the extremes of super-hot/humid summers and icy, well-below-freezing temps in winter (I think the coldest I ever experienced was just a few degrees below zero... Celsius!)

But I think at this point I'm pretty happy that we live in a mild, Mediterranean climate. It's not something I would easily trade in, and I consider us very fortunate that we're able to hold down jobs and live in one of the few true paradises in the world.

How about you? What's your ideal climate/place to live?

Friday Five: Travel

Haven't done a Friday Five in ages, so I thought I'd wrap up this week with another one. Plus, being only halfway through NaBloPoMo, I'm starting to run out of steam a little, so I'll gladly use all the help I can get!

1. Have you ever left the country you live in and where?
2. What countries would you visit if time and money were not problems?
3. Out of all the foreign food you've tried, which is your favorite and why?
4. Can you name all 7 continents?
5. Which continent are you least likely to ever want to see and why?

1. This question's kind of ambiguous. If it's asking if I've ever simply *traveled* outside the US, then yes, several times. And if it's asking if I've ever *lived* outside the US, then also yes, from 1998-2001. I was stationed in Mannheim, Germany with the U.S. Army. I lived on post, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. Loved the food and loved the culture!

2. I've already visited a handful of European countries while living in Germany, but regret missing a few, like Greece. I'd love to go there someday, see all the ancient structures. Also Israel, visit the Holy Land. Australia's also on the list. And of course, you can never go wrong with the tropics of the Caribbean ;-)

3. Well, I'm a die-hard fan of German food, but I'm not sure that really counts as anything I've "tried", since I was born in Germany and then spent time there after college. So I'd have to say it's a tossup between French food and Indonesian food. Which I find interesting, because I'm not normally a fan of Asian cuisine (usually too spicy), but Indonesian food is actually pretty good.

4. North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, Antarctica. (I'm embarrassed to admit that I had to think for a few seconds to not only come up with the last one, but to spell it correctly :-P)

5. Probably Asia. Visiting Indonesia in 2008 pretty much killed off any desire to visit places where human rights (and, by extension, animal treatment) are so abysmal. I don't think I would enjoy the sights very much when surrounded by extreme poverty and general indifference to your fellow man's situation.

How about you?

How to Defend Yourself Against (Much-Bigger) Hubby

My tall 6'8" freak of a husband stands a good foot taller than me and weighs at least 100 pounds more than me. As you can imagine, there is just no way I could ever be a match for him, physically. If he wanted to pin me down so he could tickle me, there's little I could do in the way of defending myself.

That is, if we're talking about brute strength alone.

So, since I can't match him, strength-wise, I resort to other ways to get the best of him. Here are my top three techniques, all of them remarkably effective:

1. My elbows. Apparently, I have sharp, pointy elbows, a swift blow from which knocks Allan down in pain, especially if I get him in the right spots: between the muscles (i.e. Charlie Horse) or between the ribs. Best of all, I hardly feel it, as my bony elbows don't exactly have a lot of nerves there ;-) These days, all I have to do is yell "Elbows of death!" and threaten him, waving flexed elbows in his general direction, and he immediately cries "Uncle!"

2. My hair. As I've often lamented before, it is so coarse and so thick and numerous that more often than not, it just gets in the way. As much as it bothers me to have my own hair get in the way, it bothers other people even more. So I've learned to put this nuisance to task. All I have to do is unclip my hair and throw it in Allan's face, and the result is such a huge amount of annoyance that he immediately lets go and gives in!

3. Tickles. I've learned all of Allan's ticklish spots. It's the usual: armpits and feet, mostly. And those he can easily keep out of reach. But one spot that isn't as easily hidden? His ears! It was actually his mother that told me about his ticklishness there, and I've taken advantage of that fact every chance I get! But only in self-defense, of course O:-)

What I like best about these techniques is that none of them require a significant amount of force. And isn't that the best way to overcome your nemesis, or at least allow an escape? Not brute force, but clever application of one or two effective little techniques ;-)

The Pros and Cons of Husbands

"Husbands: can't live with 'em, can't kill 'em!" -- such is a popular refrain punctuating the end of a conversation, argument, or blog post. At least, it is in my household and my realm ;-)

For today's blog post, I decided to try to map out the pros and cons of husbands. An exercise in futility, you say. We all know the cons outweigh the pros. Perhaps, but maybe keeping mindful of the pros will help put the cons into perspective, or at the very least, keep us from strangling our husbands. After all, last time I checked, murder was still a capital offense in this country :-P

First up, the pros:

1. Husbands make good heaters. On cold, chilly days like the ones we've been having lately, nothing is more efficient at warming you up than snuggling with a nice, warm husband under the covers.

2. They make good jar openers. Or tackle any other thing where physical strength is needed (assuming that he happens to be stronger than you).

3. They serve as stepladder substitutes. Much more convenient to have him fetch that item from the top shelf for you! Again, assuming he is taller than you.

What of the cons, then?

1. Snoring. I know women are just as guilty of this, but there is something about most men's snoring that no woman can compete with. It's not just loud, it's deep and rumbling so that even earplugs are useless. My own son doesn't want to sleep in the same room as Daddy because the snoring keeps him up!

2. They're smelly! Sure, wives are no beds of roses themselves, but husbands outshine them in that regard as well. It would take me hours of activity to work up as much sweat as my husband can accumulate in 30 minutes. And when it comes to passing gas? Which we're comfortable doing in front of each other because, well, we're married? Again, there is no comparison. Mr. Stinkbomb wins, hands-down!

3. When you have kids, they could pass along a Y chromosome, resulting in a son who... *drumroll*... is just like his Daddy. 'nuff said.

4. The pièce de résistance: Husbands are constant sources of consternation! My own husband personifies this a thousandfold by cracking lame jokes. By mocking me when he can think of nothing else to say. By purposefully doing things that annoy me (like attempt to tickle me). He picks on me and then "wins" arguments with the unbeatable "well, look who you married" line.

So really... as soon as the little man is grown and out of the house, and as soon as I get my own electric blanket, electric jar opener, and a small, convenient stepladder, hubby had better watch out! ;-)

Pet Peeves

I could have sworn I had already written a blog post about pet peeves several years ago, but I cannot, for the life of me, find it! So I thought I would at least revisit the concept and maybe update my list. It's probably not much different from what I wrote a few years ago :-)

1. Super bright headlights. Seriously. Who the hell thought equipping newer cars with lights bright enough to illuminate a football stadium, was a smart idea? Sure, when you're driving said car at night, you get to enjoy seeing every minute detail of everything you headlights hit. But you're also blinding the people around you! Saturday night, coming back from Borderline, I had just such a car behind me. I flipped up my rearview mirror, but there was nothing I could do about the searing lights reflecting off my side mirrors. Even Mitch, in the passenger seat, remarked, "does that guy have his high beams on?" I checked the reflection-- nope. It was at the proper headlight angle. How can that stuff be legal? And WHY does anyone in their right mind think these are a smart idea!?

2. Turn signals. This is a two-fold peeve. I hate it when people turn or change lanes without using their turn signal. It's inconvenient at best and dangerous at worst (like when they suddenly brake in front of in order to make a turn you had no idea was coming!). On the flip side, I hate it when people DO turn on their blinkers to change lanes... and then forget to turn them off, driving miles and miles with a blinking light.

3. Cruising in the passing lane. In other countries, it's very much discouraged, even illegal. And it should be! I loathe passing anyone on the right because it's more dangerous (the right lane is designated the slow lane for a reason, people!) but sometimes I have no choice, because some idiot decided to cruise in the left lane, which should be for PASSING ONLY!!

4. Roundabouts. Actually, I don't have a problem with roundabouts. I have a problem with people who don't know how to USE them. They are commonplace in Europe, and over there, I never encountered any issues with drivers using them. Here, on the other hand? They are so rare that people hesitate to enter/exit them properly. Drives me nuts when I'm waiting behind someone trying to enter a roundabout, hesitating and letting missed opportunity after missed opportunity go by...

Hmm... okay, enough car/traffic related ones ;-) What else?

5. Cash change. It irks me when cashiers give me my change by first placing the bills in my hand, and then putting the coins on top of it. The precarious balance of items all but incapacitates that hand. Much easier if the change is on the bottom, and bills on top. That way, I can put the money in my wallet in a much more efficient manner: slide the bills in the billfold portion, pour the coins in the coin purse portion. All without having to balance the stuff in my hand to avoid dropping everything!

6. Misspelling the word "ensure". I've lost count of how many times I've seen it spelled "insure". No! Blue Cross insures you to ensure you stay healthy! You know where else it's spelled that way? In the Preamble to our country's Constitution! I wonder if our Founding Fathers knew how much the insurance premiums on domestic tranquility was eventually going to cost...

7. Inadequately flushed toilets. Public restrooms. How hard can this be? When you've finished your business and you flush, PAY some freakin' ATTENTION. Make sure everything's gone down, and if it hasn't, flush again! Don't leave an unpleasant surprise for the next person to walk in on. Do you do this at home? Jiggle the flush handle and then leave without a second glance? Am I the only one who makes sure the toilet is cleared before leaving it!?

Tired Feet and Breaking in Boots

This past couple of days has certainly been good for getting exercise in the form of country dancing! On Saturday, some friends and I went down to Borderline in Thousand Oaks, where we had a good time eating, drinking, hanging out, learning some new dances, and working up a sweat on the dance floor. I got a good mix of both line dancing and two-stepping in (it helps when you bring your own two-step partner along ;-) )

Me, Taryn, Amy, Tabitha. (Not pictured: Joe, who took the picture, and Mitch)

After I got home, though, I had a hard time sleeping that night, because my legs were sooooo sore and achy! It's a testament to how out of shape I am :-/ All day Sunday my legs were still aching, but they were better today, which was a good thing, considering I had to do a bit of walking around, shopping!

Saturday night at Borderline marked the second or third time I'd worn my new boots for some major dancing in a long period of time. So while they're definitely still in the "breaking in" stage, my feet, though tired at the end of the night, weren't hurting. I'm a big fan of the Ariat line-- good quality and great comfort. Only downside is that the shaft on them tends to be really wide, and since I have thin-to-average calves, they practically swim in them. Still, I love my boots-- from the deep oiled brown color to the pretty design to the scalloped top, and, of course, the comfortable fit!

Ariat Legend in Brown Oiled Rowdy

Today I went to Ventura to do some shopping, and stopped by Boot Barn to pick up another pair of boots: Durangos. The leather on these is much softer than on my Ariats, the foot is extremely comfortable, the shaft fits on my calves much better, and the square toe was narrower. And unlike the rubber sole of my Ariats, this one had a composite sole that was a little smoother, and hence easier to dance in without having to attach felt or some kind of cloth tape to the sole. Plus, it was a nice, neutral, tan color, which goes well with a lot of deeper-colored dresses I have, especially red.

Durango RD3478 in tan

Tonight, I got to break in my new boots with a two-step lesson sponsored by the UCSB country dance club.  The poor boots not only got some good use, but got stepped on a lot. Amazingly, you can't really make out the faint scuff marks that resulted. I guess that's the nice thing about a lighter color-- scuff marks don't show up as easily. As far as comfort goes, the sole of the Durangos don't have as much cushion as the Ariats. Plus, the heel is slightly higher, which gives rise to the usual high-heel-related leg/foot woes. That probably contributed to my having tired feet after less than 2 hours of active use.

Well, we'll see how they hold up on Friday!

Army Memories... In Pictures

This year's Veteran's Day trend seems to consist of changing your Facebook profile picture to one taken while you were in uniform. I'm not usually much for such trends, plus I'm loathe to change my profile pic that often (I haven't touched it in over 3 years). But if I had to, this was the last photo taken of me in uniform:

Sometimes it seems like only yesterday that I joined ROTC at UCLA, when in reality it was almost 20 years ago. Here I am, barely eking out pushups during my first PT test, and doing rappelling for the first time. Don't you love that short hair, those braces, and those huge glasses?

Somehow I survived and graduated..

Yes, that's me being pulled out from under the barbed wire

Went on to Officer's Basic Course in Fort Gordon, GA, where we worked hard...

Hey! This was legit work! We were applying advanced skills from a knot-tying class!

... and played hard... 

Karaoke (you aren't surprised, are you?) at the Officer's Club

... and graduated, ready to tackle to the world as newly-minted and trained officers!

With my squad and our training officer during the Dining Out at the end of the course

I arrived in Germany and got my own platoon:

1st platoon, 268th Signal Company, 72nd Signal Battalion. Mannheim, Germany -- 1998

And my own Humvee:

And a really awesome platoon sergeant who really took me under his wing. 

If you can believe it, we're STANDING inside that foxhole!

Signal Ball 1998, Heidelberg, Germany

I have some really fond memories of my time in the Army. I didn't like the super-early hours, and I never did get used to running for PT, but I did learn and I did grow a lot. Plus, being stationed in Germany was an awesome way to soak up other cultures and travel around Europe! I won't re-hash everything here, but you can read more about it in a post from 4 years ago: http://heckledtrio.blogspot.com/2008/11/veterans-day-ruminations.html

Happy Veteran's Day!