Auf Wiedersehen

We leave Germany tomorrow.  Here are a few of the things,  that make us smile to remember in addition to all our new friends.

In no particular order…

rahmjoghurt

fresh fruit and vegetables sold on the side of the road

kirsch zeit

signs that tell you how many spots are left in a parking garage

orderly predictable traffic (albeit very fast)

a truly international and loving church

hebamme services

ahhh, italy.

a kind boss who gave me freedom to pursue my research.

a generous foundation that funded all of my research endeavors.

slovenia, eh, you’ll probably be okay.

gas stations that look like bojangles.

the brenner pass

apfelschorle

the full and complete exploration of the culinary possibilities of pork.

the eishaus

tasty, inexpensive, and very strong coffee

crusty bread

airport showers

der beck

krapfen

tulips

stroopwaffeln

ein maβ radler- a seemingly manly way to drink a mixture of beer and sprite.

the berg beer festival with colleagues and friends.

exposed wood on houses

shelter from the 24 hour us news cycle.

euro exchange rate

rolladen

living above a grocery store/post office/bakery

streuseltaler

flower boxes

narrow streets

british english

butterbrezen

apfeltasche

biergartens

the mighty ka!  some might laugh but it has crossed the alps six times and driven from the dutch coast to croatia, from the french jura mountains to prague, and all points in between

cool cloudy summers

cloth balcony covers, so you don’t have to ever really find out if your upstairs neighbor is naked on his porch or not

bayern ticket

monday mornings at aldi

sommerrodelbahn

augustiner brau und biergarten

did-münchen

ill-behaved monkeys at the münchen tierpark

dachau and being reminded what people are capable of

weltmeisterschaft street celebrations

schtop!

public urination

biergarten tables

meal planning

bilingual laughter

yellow fields

bike paths in the wald

dr. kellermann

pink vines

knitting

cheese

schneeballen

bayern

visiting friends and family

archaeopteryx

bauch

take root festival

hot air balloons

appetizers with bibs

croatian coastline

egyptian hospitality

lake geneva

erlangerin

world cup

tea parties

skype

yorma

running sushi

counting on people to say what they mean (whether it is easy to hear or not)

megavideo

people magazine

convection oven/grill/microwave

learning to bake and cook

kid’s praise

the kids

curry (except in mexican food)

“tierpark!”

bike trails

pommes mit mayonnaise

after eight

carepackages

fuzzy-haired babies

a more objective view of american culture

rome

learning to really budget

multi-lingual  praise at church

pfandflaschen

gelbesacks

robust and energy efficient construction

windows that tilt in and open like doors

asien imbiss

bakeries everywhere!

short multi-colored couch

u-bahn und s-bahn

kaffezeit with wagih

kaffee und kuchen

trematodes and their nefarious activities in the mediterranean and north seas now and in the past

grado, italy

fürthemare

monday night cell group

solnhofen

international pot lucks

windmills

balsamic vinegar

expat community

daniele, paola and marco

lederhosen

singaporean curry

tuesday morning bible study

weihnachtsmarkt

the wald

fans

vuvuzuela

beth moore

old lady huntley

canals

the pear in florence

german driver’s license

laugen

movenpick

real olive oil

vera bradley sightings

wild pigs

henhaus

fish pie

facebook chat

chambéry, france

bike lanes

red sleeper

esther

sweet older guy from down the street

yellow diamond  signs

jango

nbc news podcasts

dirndls

playgroup

four, five, seven and now nine hours of sleep

princess skirts

strollers with shocks

nap time

fearful parking

mentos

sale papers

sommerrodelbahn

rothenburg odt

calorie counting

poppies

gertie

technology void

inclining beds

rewe

the frau

italian agriturismo

elterngeld

callantsoog, netherlands

ice age horses from the russian steppe

thirty day shred

no right on red

kardstadt

tiny white onsies

hanging clothes as exercise

re-learning to drive a stick in germany

Love to you.  Tschüssy!

Sleepy Time Videos

Here are a few videos we have recorded over the past couple weeks.  It is crazy to think that our precious little girl will be eight weeks old on Monday.  We are having the time of our lives.   

These first two videos are similar, but each shows some different facial expressions.  We took these when John got home from work one evening. Lydia usually swings for the last  little bit before she feeds.  Sometimes she falls asleep waiting.  She is really adorable when she wakes up from a nap.   Enjoy!

This video was taken last night when Lydia was putting herself to sleep.  She has recently discovered that there are two hearts hanging from the top of her bassinet.  These hearts  seem to give her great joy.  If you listen closely you can here her little voice.  She has discovered she can "talk" to us.  Stinkin' cute, I tell you!

P.S.  If you are not on Facebook and would like for us to send you a link to the pictures we have posted there just let us know. We don't mind at all. 

Overwhelming Joy

A minute ago I (Laura) got up from the computer and walked around the apartment. I went to the window and the refrigerator and even peeked in the bathroom.  I don't really know where I was going.  I find that I do this when I am experiencing overwhelming emotions.  I am so thankful that today it is JOY.  I have so much of it, in fact, I don't know what to do.  I thought it would be helpful to write and share this joy with you.   I am speechless, humbled and so very thankful.  Here is a look at our joy, one of the many reasons why we praise a living and loving God. I am overwhelmed by this gift. Most often when I begin to pace the apartment I figure out that I need to cry out to God.  Thank you, Jesus, from the bottom of who I am.

I hope you enjoy the videos from our doctor's appointment this morning.

Oma and Opa, I think this wave's for you. 

Here's a sample of the heartbeat.

Back Injuries, the Ecology of Robert Paine, and St. Paul

About a week ago I injured my back while cycling to work. I am thankful that it was not a serious injury. In fact, it was triggered by such a seemingly insignificant action that it is amusing to me that I was hurt at all. I was taking a few back streets through town to avoid traffic, and I was approaching one of a few rather busy intersections along this route. So I slowed down figuring that I would have to stop and wait. When I was close enough to look in both directions I saw traffic coming and I continued to brake. Upon further consideration I decided that I could outpace the oncoming cars so I started to pedal again. This amazing display of athletic prowess triggered a pain in my lower back that took my breath away. I made it through the intersection OK (obviously) but I had to stop on the other side to get myself together. The next morning I went to the doctor and she was fairly generous with the medication. After a shot and a prescription I was on the way to feeling a bit better. The difficult part is getting out of bed in the morning. Once I'm up and stretched out I feel OK. It’s just getting out of bed that is not so fun.

I do not say all of this to complain. I have a lot to be thankful for. In fact, this episode has had an unforeseen benefit. I typically feel the call of nature about 6 am. I usually get up, go back to bed, and sleep a while longer. However, the current dramatic, and probably comical, routine required for me to get out of bed is such that I do not want to do it twice in one day. So I am now getting up and going to work a good bit earlier than usual. The end result has been one of the most productive weeks I've had in a long time. It typically takes me quite a while to put together a manuscript, but I think I set a new personal record for producing a first draft. The old saying in academia is true. We must “publish or perish” and now is the time for me to publish a lot.

This unpredictable benefit due to a seemingly negative event reminds me of the classic ecological study published by Robert Paine of the University of Washington in 1966. Paine worked in the rocky intertidal environments along the west coast of North America.

I was fortunate enough to spend two summers during grad school working in the rocky intertidal environments near Friday Harbor, Washington.  All those white specks are barnacles in the upper portion of the tidal zone.

The most oft cited portion of this particular paper is the experiment he set up with intertidal invertebrates along the Washington coast. He began by observing who was eating whom in this environment. This allowed him to construct a food web to illustrate predator-prey relationships. At the bottom of the web were chitons, limpets, mussels, and barnacles. These critters at the bottom of the web competed for space on the rocks and typically ate algae growing on the rocks or food floating in the water. At the second level of the web was a predatory snail which ate the mussels and barnacles. At the top of the pyramid was a starfish, Pisaster ochraceus, which ate all the other animals.

My friend Jim holding an odd six-armed Pisaster.  They typically have five arms.  Notice how its tube feet allow it to hold relatively large rocks.  This strength helps it pry invertebrates off rocks in the ocean.

In June of 1963 Dr. Paine set up an experiment to see what would happen without this predatory starfish. He kept the starfish out of an area 8 meters long and 2 meters high along the rocks. He also observed an area adjacent to the experiment where he did nothing to alter the environment as a control. Very quickly things began to change since the starfish was no longer there to eat the critters living on the rocks. By September of that year the barnacles started to take over the experimental plot and covered 60-80% of the space. By June of 1964 the mussels began to push out the barnacles and dominated the experimental area. Since the mussels were the dominant occupiers of space they pushed out the algae on the rocks. This caused the chitons to leave because they ate the displaced algae. In the end, the diversity of the experimental plot decreased from 15 species to eight. Dr. Paine concluded that a moderate amount of predation actually served to increase biodiversity in local environments by limiting the success of the top competitors for space. What can be seen as a negative phenomenon, predation, can actually produce a healthier more stable ecosystem.

This in turn put me in mind of something St. Paul wrote to the budding church in Rome:

…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. – Letter of Paul to the Romans, Chapter 5

So we can see the parallels which suggest that negative events, whether in nature or in the course of human lives, can produce unpredictable positive results. Let me clear, I do not think that I am suffering. I have not been persecuted by the Romans and no starfish has ever attempted to eat me…though one did pin my friend Rich’s arm to the bottom of a sea table for about a half an hour one time in Friday Harbor.

So what will I do when suffering does come? The realization that an important goal is unattainable? The sorrow in the trials of infertility? The death of a close family member? Am I really supposed to rejoice? My hope is that when suffering does come I will remember the lessons learned from my injured back, Robert Paine, and St. Paul. I should not just endure, but rejoice in suffering, gain endurance, grow in character, and revel in the gift of God’s love.

Summer Bobsled!

Today we went with some friends to the small town of Pottenstein in a mountainous area called the Fränkische Schweiz, or Franconian Switzerland, about an hour north of where we live.  As you can see, it is a beautiful place.

One of the best things about Pottenstein is the sommerrodelbahn.  It is sort of like bobsledding in the summer time!  There are two tracks you can take to the bottom.  One is a cart on wheels inside a bobsled-like track.  The other is more like a roller coaster car which runs on rails.  The top speed is about 40 km/hour, and it is so much fun.  Here we are waiting in line.

Check out some of our footage from the bobsled-like track.

 Perhaps this can be one more way for us to entice you to come visit us!

Welt Meisterschaft

    Being in Germany for the World Cup (or as they call it, Welt Meisterschaft) is a pretty cool experience.  Last Sunday Germany played England in a heated match.  There is a strong sense of competition (read no love lost) between the Germans and the Brits when it comes to football, so we went downtown to take it all in.  This is what we found as we trekked back to John's office after the game.  As you may know Germany won.  Super Deutschland!

This first video was taken just a few minutes after the game concluded.

Cars were able to pass along the street with no problem in the beginning.

You can see how full the streets became after only a few minutes.  This picture also shows one of the useful things they do differently in Deutschland: the digital sign with the changing numbers tells you how many available spots are left in each of the three neighboring parking garages.  Awesome, right? 

Soon enough this was the center of a huge celebration.

 

German good ole boys?

 

In case you forgot the score....

Even the Polizei had their face painted...and didn't seem concerned about hundreds of people blocking the main road through town.

So much fun...

 

Be sure to grab your vuvuzela and tune in at 2:30 (EST) on Wednesday 07 July to cheer for Deutschland as they take on Spain.

Super Deutschland!  Super Deutschland!

Before and During

     Usually when you lose weight you display before and after shots.  Well, I am doing things a little differently.  Since moving to Germany in August 2009 I have lost just over fifty pounds.  I have been waiting months to celebrate this milestone.  The last ten pounds have been very difficult to lose.  I had intended to share many more "during" pictures today but our camera battery died last night.  I have one picture that I think shows my progress the best, but I have wet hair.  Eek! 

June 6, 2009

May 15, 2010

     As it turns out moving to another country and being forced to walk and bike really works as a weight loss plan.  That is really only part of the story though. The first twenty pounds came off relatively easily as we moved here in the summer without a car and were taking public transportation to and from language school in Munich.  The last thirty pounds have taken a bit more work.  Back in January I started emailing my weekly weight to four very good friends.  This accountability is crucial to my success.  

     At some points I even emailed the girls every day to tell them what I ate.  This allowed me to keep my calories in check.  This was a necessary step as I was not at all used to eating in a healthy manner.  I knew I didn't want to have to tell my friends if I ate junk, so I wouldn't eat it.  The way that we eat has changed drastically.  I now plan every lunch and dinner down to the last calorie.  At the beginning of the week I plan seven dinners that can be divided into four portions.  We eat two for dinner and two for lunch the next day.   

     The catch is that sometimes I have cravings.  I actually indulge in those cravings in  moderation.  Maybe that means that I have a bite of this or that, account for it in my calorie counter and move on.  I do not do well knowing that I can only eat certain foods or that I have to avoid this or that.  I have really had to learn portion control.  It is a difficult thing to learn, and I certainly haven't mastered it.

 July 11, 2009

 

 May 1, 2010 

(It was so cold and rainy that day.)

         In January I reached that proverbial low point where I was ready to change.  It was time.  I know that I have so much further to go, but I know that it is possible.  Most likely it will not happen quickly, but that is okay.  I want to be healthy for so many reasons.  I appreciate all of you for the amazing ways that you have encouraged me and celebrated with me.   Today I have earned myself a pedicure.  It has been ten months since my last one.  I am so excited and so are my toes.  I am thinking now about a reward for my next big goal of eighty pounds gone!!!!!!  I am not sure but I think Paris will be a part of the plan.