Auf Wiedersehen . . .

I will be flying high over the Atlantic by the time most of you read this. What a wonderful adventure this has been for my family. I have appreciated all of you coming along for the ride with me (and suffering through my fantastically UGLY cards! Just goes to show that ALL of us start from meager beginnings . . .) I took this photo two days ago when we were visiting the Speyer Cathedral . . . just as breathtakingly beautiful as so many of the places we have seen while we have been here.





Okay, now for a REAL card . . . one you have NOT seen before, and one I had a GREAT time creating. This is all thanks to the infamous JanTink (once again). She posted the most fantabulous tutorial on her blog which you can see here:

Marvelous Magical Marquee Card Tutorial

I called her up after she posted it and praised her magnificence (to which she laughed and agreed). It was her first attempt at a video tutorial and I think she did a splendid job.

Here is the card from the inside . . . I wish you could see how cool the embossing looks . . . I took several photos but was not able to capture the whole magnificence just right . . . sigh . . . I do know, however, that I WILL be making another one of these babies! LOVE it!!

Stamps: Cheep Talk
Paper: Old Olive, Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Whisper White
Ink: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Basic Black, white gel pen
Accessories: Elegant Bouquet embossing folder, 1 3/8" circle punch, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" square punch, 1 5/8" Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, Spellbinders circle Nestabilities (or you can use a circle scissor)



Which reminds me . . . speaking of Jan and wonderful cards and all . . . don't forget that the monthly Control Freaks Blog Hop is this Sunday, September 20. We have some Freakishly Awesome stuff to share with everyone!! I love bein' a Freak!!



And ..... here I am EATING again!! This was actually one of the most YUMMIEST things I ate. It was a piece of cake that had a meringue on top filled with fresh currants. Oh-my-GOSH!! It was sooooooo good! It will be filling my dreams (aka HAUNTING me!!) for months to come!! I need to learn how to BAKE, people!!!

HATE It When That Happens!

So .... while we were in Heidelberg the other day, a photographer took advantage of the fact that we were all tourists and took a photo of our tour group (this was for the castle tour). Anyway, he took two photos. This is the finished product. And, mind you, this is the ONLY picture I have from our trip where our whole family is in it (after all, SOMEone has to bow out to take the photo - and that is usually ME). The dude on the second row in the blue shirt and the bald headphones guy are NOT part of my family, they were just on the tour with us. (That is the tour guide in the back row on the left - she was darling). But, I digress . . .

As I mentioned the photographer took TWO photos. Then, WHY is it that he picked THIS one??? It seems pretty good from this photo (which is actually a photo of the photo, since I don't have a scanner with me). BUT . . .





Wait for it . . .





Here it comes . . .




MY EYES WERE CLOSED!! (And so were Elke's - she is standing directly behind me.) WHAT??? Wouldn't you think they would pick the BEST photo of the WHOLE group??? TWO of us had our stinkin' eyes closed!! I knew that was going to happen. While we were waiting for him to snap this one the sun came out from behind a cloud and shot us in the eyes. I thought, "I HOPE they pick the first photo, 'cause I think my eyes were closed on that last one!" Odds were NOT in my favor, I guess. Not that it mattered to the photographer, 'cause he sold TWO of them to us (one to me and one to my mother in law). I wonder if they pick the crummy ones just to see if people will buy them anyway? Apparently the answer is YES. They must just like to watch us squirm!!


Check this out . . . they sell ice cream here about every third shop in the tourist towns (and I can't even COUNT the number of ice cream shops I have seen elsewhere!! I thought WE ate a lot of ice cream in the states!!). But, who WOULDN'T want it if it looked like this??? These guys put "31 Flavors" to shame!!


We actually had some of that blue stuff. It was DELISH!!! I wanted to try some of the Waldmeister (the bright green one), but chickened out. I looked it up on the 'net last night and I guess it has kind of a nutty flavor - somewhere between hazelnut and almonds. May have to try it before I go if I see it again.




Here are Devan and I eating our cones (he is trying his best to make dorky faces in every photo now . . . and is succeeding!).





We went to the Technik Museum a couple of days ago. My husband was in HEAVEN, I tell ya!! They had every sort of car and flying machine you could imagine (including Russia's first attempt at a space shuttle - it never made it to outer space). It was really cool. Here I am pretending to pilot a submarine - we walked through one that they had there. I could NEVER live on one of those babies. TOOO small and cramped!! (And with all those bodies in close quarters I can imagine it doesn't smell very good, either!!)

I have a couple of other cards to share with you, but since they each require multiple photos I am giving you a break (after all, you don't wanna be here ALL day!!). I will show them to you later, I guess.

We are off to do a little bit of shopping as we are leaving tomorrow morning. Where DID the time go??? This has surely been the most amazing trip-of-a-lifetime for me!! AND I am bringing home the BESTEST souvenir of all . . . my baby boy!!!

Ahhhh, Heidelberg . . .

Every day I keep thinking, "This has been my FAVORITE place!!" I honestly could not say that one is my most favorite, but the day we spent in Heidelberg yesterday was WONDERFUL!! The schloss in Heidelberg (the castle/palace ruins on the hillside) was just SPECTACULAR!! Our guide at the castle was terrific, and I learned SOOO much!! I could have spent two days there, easily . . .


We also toured the apotheke museum (that would be German for "pharmacy"). I seriously started to get giddy!! I kept thinking, "Holy cow!! A room like this would be a crafter's DREAM!" All those little drawers and shelves!! Ahhhh, Heaven!!!



You can see the schloss (castle) on the hill behind me. The whole entire city was so picturesque and beautiful. Those early Europeans really knew how to choose their real estate, I tell ya!! We have been so fortunate with the weather, also. It was overcast yesterday, but we never really got any rain (which I hear is pretty lucky). So much to see and do that rain could hardly spoil it anyway.

We have seen many castles, palaces and churches. We have also visited many kloisters (monasteries). We went the kloister in Maulbrun a few days ago. Soooo lovely. There was a musical trio practicing in the chapel there (a violin, clarinet and piano) while we were walking around the grounds. Honestly, could it GET any BETTER? The music was sooo beautiful and the surroundings were amazing . . . a truly wonderful combination. We saw several wedding parties there as well. What a glorious setting for wedding photographs!!


Ron, Devan and I climbed the hill up to the schloss in Heidelberg. (Our friend, Elke, my father-in-law and mother-in-law all took the tram to the top.) Devan didn't REALLY carry me up the hill . . . we were just mugging for the camera. I need all the exercise I can get, baby! Especially if I keep running into . . .



. . . delicious things to eat like this!! (I got this slice of heavenly cake in Bad Urach!) I can say that I have enjoyed every pastry I have eaten (except, of course, for that chocolate-covered snowball thing that tasted like cardboard in the middle - it was the first thing you saw me eating several posts back . . . it's okay, though, 'cause the chocolate on it was good!)


We have been staying with a close friend of our family since Saturday near Karlsruhe (her name is Elke - she is in the picture above). She is the most INCREDIBLE cook!! Better than ANY restaurant we have been in, that's for sure!! She took us to the most glorious park on Saturday afternoon. The flowers and trees were breathtakingly beautiful. I really enjoyed that day as well. There was a palace there and some other really incredible-looking buildings. Lovely sights around every corner . . .

Which brings me to the long-awaited-and-promised UGLIEST card I have EVER made!! I remember having an idea in my head when I made this. Too bad it couldn't get past the brain barrier . . . it seems to have gotten lost somewhere between the picture in my head and the tips of my fingers!! Isn't this just AWFUL??? C'mon, admit it!! It's HIDEOROROUS!! (Good adjective from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" with Jim Carrey! LOVE that word!) I don't even own that stamp set anymore . . . I shamed it so terribly with this card that I couldn't bring myself to ink it up again . . . EVER!!

I will have a little more to share with you before we fly home on Thursday . . . actually, I could fill PAGES of blog posts with photos, but I will spare ya the slideshow!!! Have a wonderful Monday!!

Thanks, Jan!!

Where would I be without my lovely friends to point out when I have made a BIG boo-boo??? Thanks to Jan (the infamous JanTink!) for pointing out that I have posted my latest Freak Swap card TWICE now (I will be watching YOUR blog very closely from now on!)!! She is blaming it on the schnapps (which I can honestly say I haven't touched!), while I can truthfully say it is a combination of jetlag and waaayyyy tooo much pastry!! (WAIT!! Did I just SAY that??? TOO much PASTRY??? Naaaahhhhh ...... no such thing!!)




We have been busily driving around, hiking around and climbing everything everywhere!! After my "scared stiff" story the other day, I have one to top it!! See the picture above? I am sure you cannot even BEGIN to tell from it the perspective that you are missing . . . this is the Ulm Chapel (the "Munster" or as I called it the "Monster"!) in well . . . Ulm. It's major claim to fame is that it has the HIGHEST tower of any cathedral in the WORLD!! And you guessed it . . . my husband and son made me climb ALL of the stairs . . . that would be, ummmmmm, like 768 of 'em!! Okay, okay, I know you are thinking, "768 doesn't sound so bad!" Let me help you with the perspective here, friends . . . that is like 530 feet . . . or, assuming that the average floor in a building is something like 10 feet . . . WAIT! . . . let's be conservative . . . let's say the average floor is 15 feet . . . doing the math, that makes this freakin' tower something like 35 freakin' stories high!!! Not only that, the last 10 or stories or so are straight up in this skinny-little-bitty-teeny-tiny tower! By the time you get to the top there is a little passageway that two skinny people can barely pass each other on. YIKES!!! I nearly peed my pants!! (Can I say that here??? Guess so . . . it's MY blog!!) My son took some video of me freakin' out on the freakin' tall tower. I may have to upload it and share it with ya when I get back home. Needless to say, THIS photo is of me pretending that I'm not freakin' out!!! Notice how the view (or as I refer to it the "death drop" is to my BACK????) Sheesh!!

And THIS is me having ICE CREAM THERAPY after I came down off that freakin' tower!!! Aaaahhhhh ..... so nice to lose one's anxieties in something really, REALLY fattening!! And I SWEAR, my freakin' knees were knocking for at least a half an hour after we came back down!!! I must be NUTS to let these guys talk me into my worst nightmare! I have to say, though, that everything else we have climbed or looked down from has seemed MUCH less freaky after Ulm . . .

So .... now that I have shared a little more of my trip, I am going to share a card that I know I have NOT shared before (you can check me on this if you want to Jan-my-dear . . .)

As you can see, I finally got some SU cardstock for this card. Unfortunately, I still hadn't found any mojo at this point. And the first color family I bought was Bold Brights? Huh???? I practically NEVER use Bold Brights!!! Why didn't someone tell me that NO ONE uses their Bold Brights much (except for maybe Real Red)???? YIKES!!! Guess I thought I was being practical . . . whatever . . .

Like I Said . . . One Pastry at a Time!!

I am trying to type English on a German keyboard and am feeling rather retarded! Hopefully this post won't take me too long to create!!

I am going to be too big for all of my clothes by the end of this trip!! Man-oh-man am I enjoying all of the backerei goodies!!!(I am learning a LOT of German as well!!)




Here is a picture that Devan took of me and my husband at Hohenschwangau (King Maximillian's castle). I have really loved going to all of these amazing old castles. I only wish the walls could talk! What stories they would have to tell!!






I took this picture of the fam on the edge of the Bodensee (which is also called Lake Constance). I still can't figure out how things get translated around here ... how in the HECK do you get Bodensee from Constance??? I still have waaayyyy too much to learn!!



Isn't this just soooo tempting??? The fancy backeries over here (conditorei) are just packed FULL of luscious stuff (are you drooling yet??)! Now you can see why I am having such a difficult time passing them by ...


Today we are going hiking. I'm not quite sure where, as I am the only one here who doesn't fluently speak German, so I have just learned to roll with the punches! I am sure it will be wonderfully beautiful, wherever we end up!

I have a couple of cards to share with you as well. This is a card I made for our most recent Control Freaks swap (I figured it was time to share an UN-ugly card). I am excited for fall...I am sure I have mentioned ZILLIONS of times before that fall is my favorite time of year! I used a "joy fold" on this one. Love that! I also "rock and rolled" the leaves, but you can't tell from this picture because this is the prototype I made and I hadn't decided to really do it until after I made this. I haven't seen all the swaps from the other freaks yet, as they came in the mail right after we left! Something fun to look forward to ...

Stamps: Autumn Splendor, Grateful Greetings
Paper: Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla
Ink: Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Modern label punch, large oval punch, paper distressing tool, clear rhinestone ice brad, kraft taffeta ribbon, horizontal slot punch


And last, but certainly not least ... my ugly card. I was STILL desperately in need of a color wheel, don't you think?? (I am still saving my most ugly card for next week ... trust me, it's BAD!!)

Tschüß!! (That's German for "See ya!!")

Doin' a Quick "Fly-By" . . .

I have been without internet the last couple of days (can you say WITHDRAWAL???) I'm in an internet cafe with my husband and son waiting (im)patiently outside, so I gotta make this quick!!

We are still having a wonderful time!! I am eating my way across Germany . . . one pastry at a time!! LOVE it!! The darn internet is not letting me upload any pix here, so I will have to add some more the next time I have a connection . . . suffice it to say, I have a LOT to share with you . . .

TTFN!!

Can You Say "Scared Stiff???"

Hey-ya friends!! It has been really eventful the last couple of days . . . I was without internet service on Saturday (which would have been Friday night in the States . . . I swear the time difference messes with my head!). Most of the hotels where we have stayed have had internet access (at about 18 euros for 24 hours - which translates into about $27!! YIKES!!). Happily for me, though, is that the hotel we are in today has FREE internet - HUZZAH!! Finally SOMEthing on this trip is FREE!!)

We spent a lot of time on Saturday driving . . . driving and driving and driving . . . the German countryside is absolutely gorgeous, though!! Funny story . . . we have had a GPS with a European data card, which has been GREAT!! My daughter nicknamed the GPS (which is a Garmin) "Garmina" last year when we first got it. It speaks with feminine voice, so that's how it all started. Well, anyway, when we left Salzburg to head for Mittenwald, Garmina seemed to be taking us the loooonnng way around. We tried using "shortest" route and "fastest" route, but we still seemed to be going via China! Anyway, after more than two hours (or was it three?) of roaming the German countryside Devan discovered that my husband had left Garmina in "pedestrian" mode from the day before!! Poor Garmina was trying to find the safest way for us to WALK to Mittenwald (I guess that is why she was keeping us off the freeways!!)!! Our trip progressed MUCH more quickly after that!! hehehehehe!

We went to Mittenwald, which is a charming little town. That is where I was eating that chocolate snowball you see in the picture. Sadly, those things look much better than the taste!! The chocolate on the outside was really good, but the "snowball" itself kinda tasted like cardboard . . . not that I have EATEN much cardboard . . . I just IMAGINE that is how it would taste!! Everything else we have eaten here has been magnificent, though!!

Lots of pictures to share today . . .



Devan took this one of me on the bridge to Old Town Salzburg. I think that has been a favorite place so far . . . (I feel like I am doing the "Cover Girl" pose here - kinda like I planned that breeze blowing my hair!!)







Here I am with my mother-in-law and my husband on the grounds of King Ludwig's palace at Linderhof. BEAUTIFUL!! There were swans swimming around behind us. The palace was GORGEOUS!!




Devan and I in front of the fountains (which only shoot water for 5 minutes on the half hour). I could get used to living here . . . (palace was a bit on the over-ornate inside, but the grounds were SPECTACULAR!!)







Here I am in the arbor archway above the palace . . .







And here is where I get to the "Scared Stiff" moment. My husband took this photo of Devan and I on this little "Indiana Jones"-style bridge way up behind Neuschwanstein castle. Okay, this castle is HUGE - GIGANTIC - ENORMOUS!! It still looks big from this vantage point and we are about a mile away! We went to step out onto the bridge . . . I took about two steps and could feel the boards wobbling . . . and I FROZE in my tracks!! Honestly, I couldn't go one step further!! My knees where shaking and I felt like crying (weenie moment!!)! It took all my strength to back off the bridge! Seriously!! The bridge is teeny-tiny-super-skinny and it was PACKED with people!! I thought I was gonna DIE!!! My husband and son FINALLY got me on there, but this photo is totally FAKE (as in the smile on my face was painted on there!!). Do you see how close my husband was to us to take the photo? There was NO zoom involved in this, baby!! I couldn't get off of there fast enough!! Sheesh!! At least I DID it!!



Which brings me, FINALLY, to today's ugly card . . . seriously, I am going to save the best for last (it is sooo hideous, but you will have to wait to see it for a little while longer!!) What WAS I thinking here? The card in and of itself is okay, I guess, but WHO had my color wheel that day??? I was still refusing to buy SU cardstock at this point . . . this card just makes me laugh!! And to think I was proud of it at the time . . .

Stay tuned for more Germanic adventures! I'll post more as I have internet access (we never know for sure where we are going to end up at the close of the day, so we'll just have to wait and see!)