Christmas, stateside

So we celebrated Christmas in full force on December 24, and enjoyed a rather quiet and mellow Christmas Day U.S.A.-style with my parents and brother over at my mom’s house. It felt rather like “Christmas on Park Avenue” the way my artistic brother decorated the house with THREE trees (one exclusively for Hannah…I saved her some photos, lol), decorations galore, and enough food to feed an army (one with a very upscale and sophisticated palate!). On the menu at mom’s: Sugar-glazed ham, bolillo rolls, cranberry horseradish mustard, gourmet cupcakes, “magic” bars (well, the recipe’s on the back of most evaporated milk cans during the holidays, but my brother makes them a “magic, magic” way, lol), crab/jalapeno/artichoke hot dip, and tamales. A very traditional El Paso Christmas meal.
Earlier, Christian and I enjoyed bagels and lox at home, with sliced tomatoes, cheese, avocado, red onions, capers, marinated red peppers and mustard sauce (oops, I forgot the cream cheese, or the “sshhhh-meeaaarr,” but all the stores were closed, so we made do).
I will NOT weigh myself today, after the multitude “sneak tastes” of magic bars, ham, stollen, lebkuchen and fondue yesterday. I WILL walk an hour, if my body permits, and wait yet another day, bags packed, body and soul ready, for Hannah to arrive. It’s so strange waiting for the biggest and best Christmas present to yet arrive, and BEING the wrapping paper

Santa came early

WAIT! Before those of you think the STORK came early, NO. Santa did, well, at least in terms of U.S. Christmas. Christian and I had totally planned to celebrate a German Christmas on December 24 and the U.S. Christmas on the 25th, but my impatience and excitement got the better of me, so we mixed the two yesterday and did it all in one fell swoop.
Now, it’s not like today we won’t celebrate, either. I’ve got a lox and bagel spread planned for brunch, and we’ll go over to my mom’s house for Kaffee und Kuchen this afternoon.
But yesterday we opened all the presents, opened the last windows on the advent calendars, chatted for a good two hours on Skype with Christian’s family and watched his brother’s children open their presents, listened to Christmas music on Antenne Bayern’s live radio stream, and made a fondue dinner that was simply divine. No last-minute runs to the mall, fighting the awful traffic; no drunken Christmas parties; no being relegated to the kiddie table at a family dinner; and no Thanksgiving repeat dinner (i.e., turkey, cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie). It was just the two (three) of us, in our quiet little apartment, enjoying our last week or so of “party of two,” and yet looking forward with much excitement to celebrate Christmas with Hannah.
Here’s to a joyous Christmas and New Year to you and yours…

Happy Heiligabend!

… That’s Christmas Eve and in this household, it’s also Christmas, Day One. In Germany, the big Christmas meal, singing, celebrations and present opening are done on this day, and December 25 is a quiet day of rest, worship and family time.

Our Christmas Eve-eve dinner

So, we’re celebrating BOTH, of course, starting today. We’ll do it German-style today, with a celebratory meal of fondue with four different meats (chicken, chicken livers wrapped in bacon, pork and beef) and six sauces for dipping (chick pea, avocado, chutney, Oriental, tomato-based and mustard sauce) with baguette, followed by a smorgasbord of German pastries and chocolates, and of course Lebkuchen and mock glühwein. We’ll listen to a live stream of radio music from Antenne Bayern throughout the day, and Christian will play traditional Bavarian Christmas songs on his guitar later at night. And we’ll open half of our presents today.
Tomorrow it’s the U.S. version of Christmas, with me playing Santa Claus (I’ve got the tummy for it now!). I’m just trying to figure out how on Earth I’ll get Christian’s LARGEST gift (in case he’s reading this) out of the closet and under the tree. I’m going to stuff his stocking full of knick-knacks I’ve collected in the last month, and serve him bagels and lox, as well as fruit and pastries, for brunch. We’ll watch the good old American Christmas videos that I grew up on, such as “Nestor the Long Eared Donkey,” “Frosty the Snowman,” and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Raindeer” before heading over to my mom’s for coffee cake and coffee in the early afternoon. Then it’s back home for a nap and maybe even a workout on the stationary bike, lol.

Yesterday, Christian made the most amazing Key Lime Creme Brulee from a recipe he found in the newspaper. If you haven’t tried this, think about it for the holidays. Elegant, remarkably simple, and wonderfully crunchy and creamy and tart. Here’s a recipe:
http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/17499/key-lime-creme-brulee.html

I was convinced I was going to be celebrating Christmas in the hospital with red and green Jello and a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. But it appears that Hannah prefers the warmth of the tummy for the time being. And since what I eat, she eats, she’d rather skip the jello for a while, lol. She’s up for some heavy duty servings of Lebkuchen, lox and bagels and Dominostein!
Merry Christmas to you and yours!!

“Driving (er, flying) Home for Christmas…”

My hubby’s over Cork, Ireland, as I write this sentence. I guess by the time I’m done with this blog, he’ll be a few hundred miles into the Atlantic ocean, heading home!!!!! Gotta love FlightAware.com, the real-time flight tracker service, for showing me exactly where Christian is at all times.
He’ll be home at 9 tonight, wayyyyy past my 8-months-pregnant bedtime and, since the airport is (of course) on the opposite side of town, I am going to just head on over in that vicinity in the early evening and do some exploring. I’ll hit the mall, World Market, Marina’s German Bakery, Make Room for Baby, and finish off with an Eggnog Latte (or four) at the East Side Barnes and Noble before I head on over to the airport to people watch the last hour or so before he arrives.
My nesting and hoarding has paid off… I’ve stocked the freezer full of Stollen, German chocolates, our holiday turkey, homemade fruit bread (my pathetic attempt at “Stollen”), brownies, beef, Kinder Buenos… oh, and some obligatory healthy food like spinach and liver.
I’ve also (GASP!!!) completed ALL of my holiday shopping…but then again I say that all the time, before I realize, “Oh, I really need to get (fill in the blank) a gift, too.” Any excuse will do. But for the most part, all the gifts are wrapped (using, I might add, a LOT of the gift bags and bows I got at my baby shower. I’m dreaming of a PINK Christmas, lol).
At the Christkindlemarkt at Fort Bliss last weekend, I went nuts for the nuts… got Christian his fave sugared almonds along with an obscene amount of chocolates, and the almonds sit at his desk waiting for him. He’ll have to wait on the chocolates. Tonight we’ll have a brotzeit with Brezen, smoked whole trout from the Markt, slices of Gouda and Emmentaler, olives, sliced/spiced tomatoes, Senf and some Pancetta. One gift I asked for was a Brotzeitteller to go with the one I got Christian a few months ago. I also requested (and am getting!!!) a whole bunch of women’s magazines from Germany, facial masques for relaxation from Schlecker, Bebe baby products, Penaten baby products, and a Steiff toy for Hannah (a precious snail!)
My baby gets back tonight, my baby gets back tonight, my baby gets back tonight… and my other baby is being very good and patiently waiting. Whew!!!!!

Oh so thankful!

This is the season to reflect back and take a deep inventory of what we are grateful for, what we can and should make better about ourselves, and sharing our good fortune with others. Even if we’re not basking in material pleasures, even if we have issues in our lives that we are trying to change, even if we think we don’t have time to spread ourselves too thin … we can reach out and help others.
I’m a late bloomer… but I DID bloom, and very recently! Comes to show there’s a time, a place, a reason and a season for everyone. I’m testament to that.
What I’m grateful for this season:

1. The impending arrival of our precious, unexpected, miracle daughter, Hannah.

Ultrasound photo soon to be replaced with her hospital photo!

2. The restoration of my health this past year.
3. My adoring and adorable, pillar-of-strength, gorgeous, practical, insightful, utterly intelligent, witty, gentle and dedicated husband…without whom (1) and (2) would be possible.
4. Family spread all over the globe, literally.
5. Having everything I need and realizing it is everything I want.
6. Getting a new perspective on life and actually being able to see things through a child’s eye once again.
7. Getting to celebrate both German Christmas and American Christmas this year.
8. Maternity leave has been pretty friggin’ great
9. Friends who have been there despite my ups and downs, not judging me or deserting me.
10. New friends who have given me so much wisdom and life skills this past year.
11. Having a husband who can cook, and is coming home from Germany TOMORROW (!!!!), who will get me away from this last two week’s horrible meals of Lean Cuisines, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and nuked potatoes…

The last of the Lean Cuisines... thank god

12. Knowing it isn’t worth it to hold grudges, harbor jealousy, compare myself to others, dwell on the past or fear for the future.

This little piggy went to the Markt

No, my dear friends, that IS how you spell Markt, when you’re talking about the German Christkindlmarkt at Fort Bliss, where I spent the good part of Saturday doing the last of my Christmas shopping for stocking stuffers. The “piggy” part? Oh, let’s just say I did my share of sampling of the plethora of holiday goodies offered by vendors selling items such as Lebkuchen, smoked trout/salmon/herring sandwiches, Stollen, sugared almonds, goulash soup, a room-full of cakes and pastries, bratwurst, jams… if it was German and reflected the holidays, chances are you could find it.

Dad takes on a bratwurst sandwich

Bootie included: two knitted purses (one a green Edelweiss, the other black and red with ladybug buttons…both filled with German Christmas cookies; an imported table runner with Bavarian blue and white bordering and smiling ducks; two Stollen, some Dominostein chocolates, Lebkuchen, and a whole smoked trout (which I’ve promised to save for Christian to share with me when he returns from Germany). Granted, some of the vendors weren’t selling German items (for those who miss going to the “mercado” in Juarez but value their lives a bit too much, there were vendors selling Mexican handcrafts, as well), but for the most part it was a very decent replica of the sights and smells of the real deal. It certainly was a treat to be immersed in the culture, language and cuisine, even if I DID get a little sunburn on my face and had to call 911 for an elderly woman who fell and hit her head right next to me (she is okay, thank god).
I couldn’t go to the Christkindlmarkt at Rohr, or at Abensberg, or Regensburg or Frankfurt as I did last year (I hit all four of those, some more than once)… but at least a little of them came to ME.

Postcards from Rohr

My husband’s got our good camera with him back home in Germany, leaving me with our VERY beat-up, very on-the-verge-of-death old Olympus. But that’s great, because that means very clear, in focus and not-washed-out photos that he has sent me from home…to taunt me, I’m sure! As promised, his mom (who hasn’t seen him in almost a year) made him Leberkäse mit Kartoffelsalat for his first meal on arrival. A six-pound Leberkäse waiting for him in the cozy kitchen. Roughly translated, Leberkäse is “Liver Cheese,” but it contains neither. It’s typically served in a roll as a convenient “fast food,” or hot with a fried egg on top. Delicious.
I cried when I saw it Since Christian’s been gone, I’ve lived on Semolina Soup, steamed veggies and cookies leftover from our baby shower. Oh, and today I “shook things up” a bit and made a PB&J… I was feeling adventurous, lol.

It’s snowing like mad in Rohr (i. Niederbayern), Christian’s home town. The town is picture-perfect for the holidays, although Christian will miss the Christkindlemarkt by mere days to head on back here to El Paso. In the meantime, he’s being well fed, he’s getting his rest (one more month before neither of us will get much rest at ALL!!!), he’s playing in the snow with his niece and nephew, and (fingers crossed! ) he’s picking out some goodies to stuff in his suitcase for us, lol. Just a little more than a week until he returns, and I’m counting the minutes…

Went to the doctor for my 34 week exam, and was told my blood pressure is a bit high. Not pre-eclampsia at this point, but enough for me to start thinking of taking it easy, I mean REALLY taking it easy. And laying off the salt. And foregoing that ONE cup (yes, I do have ONE cup) of regular coffee I have each day. And on top of that, I’m getting a cold. And on top of THAT, I had a flu shot today and I feel like I got punched in my left arm. It was too windy and bitter cold to go for a proper walk outdoors today, so I dragged the mini-trampoline out from under the bed and marched in place for 20 minutes while watching the first few scenes of “Sex and the City II.” I think that’s the only way I can finish a movie these days … little spurts. I guess I have pregnancy ADD. Okay, maybe I just have ADD in general, but I can use pregnancy as an excuse for the meantime
I had a “major” contraction while the doctor was examining me today. I didn’t even realize it. He had to tell me I was. That’s not good. I mean, he wasn’t worried and said it was normal, but if I can’t feel my own contractions, how the heck will I know if I’m in labor or not? Well, if that was “major,” I guess I can say I have a VERY high pain threshold. And the doc did NOT change my due date… I STILL have a month and one week to go! Wheeeeeeee!

Home sweet home

Before recently, I never really felt I had a real home. I’d been a nomad for so many years, living here a few years, there a few months, hop-scotching my way coast to coast. I’ll always consider El Paso my ‘hometown,’ of course, because I was born and raised here, but I never really felt “at home” here and, frankly, never really knew what it was to feel “at home.” I was too antsy, too restless and not comfortable just BEING STILL.
The first time I really got a sense of being “at home” was in Germany, staying for months at a time with my husband’s family. There is a drastic difference between American home life and German home life. In short, the home IS life. All celebrations, meals, gatherings and milestones take place in the home. Germans are house-proud but private, maintain their homes immaculately but not extravagantly or in a way to try to one-up the neighbors or show who’s got the bigger, better, newer whatever…. The homes are lived-in yet clean and ALWAYS orderly, smells of hearty meals and crackling fires greet residents and guests alike, and it’s rare to want to leave home constantly to see what one might be missing. In fact, people look forward to going back home!
My nesting phase of pregnancy (I’m 33 weeks tomorrow!!!!) is making me really feel “at home” and trying to create an environment similar to the one I experienced in Germany. I’ll not have the crackling fireplace (are you kidding? It’s El Paso!) but I can simulate it with pine candles and incense. I won’t have a gorgeous view of the rolling hills of hops fields and fiery yellow rapeseed, the sounds of goats and cows or the greetings of “Grüss Gott!” on the cobblestone streets, but I can, and will, improvise! I’m making this apartment, er, home, a warm and inviting refuge from the dust, loud lowriders, smog and roaring trains that typify El Paso living, and I LOVE coming home.
Yesterday I spent a good 5 hours organizing, tidying, simplifying and beautifying our little home, getting it ready for Hannah’s arrival. Having a place that’s 480 square feet does give one a challenge and it really makes one sort out the needed from the unneeded. Prioritizing comes much easier when that is the only option one has.
So, with the space we have, here’s what I could do. Now if I can just figure out a place to put the Christmas tree!

•••

Last night, Christian made mini burgers for dinner, with baguette and salad. I haven’t heard differently from my doctor, but I am convinced my iron levels are low, because I’ve been craving meat like mad. Meat, gingerbread, baguette, cabbage in any way/shape/form, water!, non-fat lattes from Starbucks, oatmeal, milk, Sharon fruit and peppermint bark… yep, those are my current preggers cravings. Heck, I wouldn’t say no to sauerkraut and a latte for breakfast! God, how many more weeks??????