Pickles vs. Rona - 3:0

Yes, that's right! 3:0... I loose against pickles here!!! I mean I always loved pickles, this has nothing to do with the pregnancy (just FYI). I finally found very good tasting pickles in the German section of my super duper market... and now I'm having a fight with them for nights. They won't let me open it up!!! I try and try and try... not even after a bunch of tries they let go. And I have such a taste for them! That's not fair :(... so I have to wait until Frankie comes so he can open it up for me. Normally I'm not that weak but somehow this glass is glued together and my cool glass opener must've gotten lost in one of my many moves during the last view years :(. Now I'm just staring at them... maybe they get embarrassed if I watch them for too long and they let go :)... I could try that one... haven't thought about that tactic yet... see how delicious they look???
I have to admit... living with 'me, myself and I' is pretty funny *lol*. 

I get these emails every day that inform me about the babies development and what it can do now and stuff like that. How my body changes... (not that I don't notice *hihi*). So a few days ago I got this message that the baby can hear my voice now! Not yet the outside voices but mine!!! Ui, I thought that's critical... I can't say the 'f' word anymore and have to watch what I'm saying now... no arguments and screaming and stuff (I don't scream anyways... but you know...). So they say if you sing them a song over and over again, they'll remember that special song when they'll be outside of the belly. How interesting is that? But I don't wanna sing one song over and over again, that's kind of boring.... so this morning I drove to work and was thinking... in a good mood (yes, I'm a morning person) and music was playing... I was just singing along... and thought... HEY, I'm gonna make that baby become a Morning Person as well. So every morning when I drive to work now I'm gonna sing along so the baby can hear me rocking and so it just has to become a morning person, don't you think? Frankie will love that *hihi*... It also adds up to become a rockstar eventually :).

We'll find out if it works when it comes out. If it comes out with the hands over its ears it has had probably ENOUGH from my singing and I'll stay the only morning person in the house... 

I still have some more news... it doesn't stop today, isn't it? ;) These are kind of sad... but you're all cheered up now so I can give you the bad news. We didn't get the house :(. But it's ok... either way there will be another one (much better and greater) waiting for us to get bought or we're just staying in the Condo and wait. Who knows... maybe there's a good reason behind it that we didn't get it... who knows ;). I just was a little sad but I got over it already... let's get on with life :).

Baby is doing well as always. 

I was teasing my pregnant coworker today because she had McDonalds for lunch today!!! She's not eating very healthy in general and she knows about it  but doesn't care either. It's her own choice ;)... 

My belly almost looks as 'fat' as it was looking a year ago... still doesn't look like a 'cool' baby belly... but I'm not rushing it either... it will be big enough sooner or later and then I'll probably complain about it anyways how difficult it is to carry this big belly around  *lol*. I don't really care right now how it looks, main important thing is that the baby is feeling ok, gets what it needs in there and is having a blast hanging around with me :).

No news on the house yet!

Jup... and still... no news :(... but at least our agent updates us every day that there are no news yet! Yesterday he said they're waiting on the seller's response... maybe we'll hear something tomorrow! How many more days do we have to wait?

Other houses that we looked at seem to drop their prices already :). So maybe we should just wait until school starts again, when families don't want to move anymore and then there'll be a great deal for us. 

... but first... we're going to wait for the colorful house to get accepted or rejected! Wish us luck :)

Food Steamer

I went shopping :)... and found this cool Food Steamer for a good price at ALDI and thought that might be a very good investment. Very healthy and keeps the vitamins in the veggies instead when you boil your veggies, you'll loose most of the vitamins. I'm very excited to try it out... one step towards being a better cook *lol*.
Once I've settled down in DET, I need to find all my cool grocery shops ;)... ALDI and something like 'Valli's International Foods'... (that's my favorite right now. You can get sooo many different kinds of fruits and vegetables, a bakery, where you can get rolls and a meat bar... almost like at home! And they have a little German section where you can get Schwartau Marmelade und leckere Gurken usw.). So I'm gonna check out the DET area what they can offer me :) and if anything... I can still go shopping in CHI when I have to be here for work and drive around with a big cool box in my car *lol*.

Big compliment

Good Morning guys,

just yesterday I went to the movies and saw: Julia & Julie. It's about two women in different times trying to find a reason in their lives by cooking great dishes and 'write' about it. It was a very good movie and had everything in it. After the movie was over the whole crowd was clapping their hands. It really was a good movie, you should go and see it :). Now I totally wanna attend a cooking class *lol* (I need to improve my cooking a little... specially the seasoning... and getting more ideas about what you can do with what)... the woman in the earlier days was writing a cook book, and the woman in the 'now' was cooking her way through THAT cook book and was 'blogging' about it. I was just smiling about that she was blogging it... we with our blogging not knowing who might read all this... it's amazing. But I still love blogging :).

It is supposed to be a nice and hot weekend and I was looking forward hanging out at the pool... but I woke up this morning, and it's raining and it's cloudy!!! Hello??? Where did the sun go? I think no pool time for me this WE :(.

Tonight the German Girl Club is meeting at Steph's place for a BBQ. This time no special German BBQ, we just bring stuff and Steph will throw it on the grill. I look forward to that, I have a taste for 'Bratwurst' for weeks already... oh by the way, I should quickly take them out of the freezer!!! - Ok, done, hope they'll unfreeze until tonight!

Back to the original reason of blogging this post :)... I got a very big compliment yesterday from my boss and boss (I kind of have two - one boss I report to and then one boss who I work for as well but he just needs to know what I'm doing and I don't have to ask him for vacation and that kind of stuff). So anyways. I had my meeting yesterday with both of them how we're going to proceed with my job from DET. Sandra and I were figuring everything out already that I will go back to admin more and less travel and she'll take on the lead and goes out more. But my bosses didn't like that at all! Because apparently they told me, my big strength is to interact with clients and go out to clients!!! And they don't want me to go back to admin! WOW... if they think that's a big strength of mine, how do they think about the rest of my work? Because I thought that that is the one thing I need to improve a little more... I was impressed and very happy about that compliment :). So we're going to 'split up' our region a little different that we thought. I'll support the national accounts. The good thing about that is, that the national sales guys are so educated that they go out by themselves most of the times and they take us with them very little (less travel for me). But then if they need us, it will be big accounts to go to and support = lots of work and very interesting projects! Right now I have so many different projects going it's very interesting and fun but also very busy.

First when I left the meeting I was very disappointed because I'd like to be there for the baby and don't be traveling so much. But at the other hand, this compliment was huge and we can work it all out. I have a great team that I work with. I'll have to travel to Chicago at least twice a month to also do my other half of the job (QSHE). I have made a plan already and I'll meet with my one boss again next week to figure out the big accounts so they get assigned to me and then I'm good to go to move ;). I think I'll start working in DET August, 31st because I still have to work on another project that I'd like to finish first before I move... 

And by the way... no news on the house yet :(... I guess we have to wait until next week. The news better be good ;). 

Baby is hungry now... I need to eat something. Did I tell you that the baby is a very good one? One of my coworkers is pregnant as well (3 weeks behind us) and there is always something that is not going well with her... yesterday she was throwing up all day! Poor girl... she must've a little rebel in her belly... our baby is so easy going :). Hopefully it won't get my gens in regards of discovering that drawers can be emptied though!!! My mom was so embarrassed she couldn't take me out to friends anymore because I was emptying all their drawers as well *lol*... must've been fun though :). Or going camping... sneaking into another tent and emptying their pots and pan while the owners where gone *lol*... from what I heard about my first few years I was a very good baby but as soon I as started walking... they needed to run after me all the time because I was doing something again what I was not supposed to do *lol*... 

... still no sign

Waiting is always the hard part, right? Yeah... we haven't heard anything yet from the house. They keep us waiting, how uncool is that??? We both don't think that we're going to get it but still no 'rejection' information. We'll see...

Other than that nothing really happened. Work is very busy for me... had my first sales call all by myself because the sales guy from NYC couldn't come. I enjoyed it a lot... I should move into sales *lol*. Just kidding... 

Baby is doing great, some days very hungry, some days not really hungry. We're having fun together. It's starting to grow and is making me fat!!! But I can still cover it kind of so nobody can really tell. Funny thing is... within the last year I just lost about 25 pounds... now I'm going to gain it all back on! How uncool is that? Good thing about it though... I didn't have to buy so many maternity stuff yet :)... it all still fits ok! Everything has its good and bad side I guess.

Tomorrow I have my talk with my boss again how we're going to do everything when I work from DET and also WHEN I can finally move :). Did I tell you that already? My brain is kind of not working right. I forget things and stuff... the baby is sucking out my brain cells... not fair :(... I need to train my brain somehow. I get a daily newsletter on the baby and they suggested to play sudoko (!) it's a number game. I have no idea how that game works... I think I have to try that though... if it's getting worse I won't find my way back home anymore *lol*... this kind of 'Brain loss' unfortunately is one thing that comes with pregnancy... I just don't wanna become stupid!!! I want my whole brain back once the baby is out :). I'm not going to give up my brain... no way *lol*... I'll fight for it *lol*...

Very interesting how your votes go by the way... first it was very equal if boy or girl but now the 'girl' is kind of running the vote :). Frank thinks it's going to be a boy because we have sooo many girls in our families... he thinks there is no more girl left... I think it's going to be a girl though :). In the beginning I thought it's gonna be a girl and then everybody confused me with saying we get a boy... so I was on a boy trip. But for one or two weeks now I totally think it's a girl. We'll see... we might find out soon... do you think we gonna tell you??? *hihi* Or should we keep it a secret? I don't think that Frank can keep it a secret for too long :)... I guess we gonna tell you :)

More pics of the house

On Sunday we went back into the house to take one more look, checked out some things and stuff. I took the chance to take more pics :). 

Here the view from the front door into the living room, to the right is a coat closet and then the wing doors to the master suite :)
The living room:
I asked Frank the first time he looked at those houses for a report on the walk-in closets... you know, girls and closets... their best friend ;). Oh well... after I asked him he said there were no closets in the whole house!!! I totally freaked out... that wasn't really the american way of building a home... and I was already calculating how many wardrobes we have to buy!!! He was just messing around with me though... the house has closets and a pretty cool one too. He figured already out that this nice walk-in closet will be mine :)... and he's getting the pantry style closet *lol*... just kidding, he can hang up some of his suits in my big closet as well ;) I'll be fine with that :).
The view from the second level down into the living room, and the wing doors to the master suite
just a little turn to the right and now the master suite entrance to the left and the little hallway to the front entrance door to the right:
A look at the second level: to the left a room with bathroom attached, behind the second door a closet and then another bedroom...
the second bedroom shares a bathroom with the third bedroom upstairs. It's a pretty cool setup. And the area upstairs is big enough to put up some desks or a nice couch in the corner... or just use it as play area:
the unfinished basement... if we'd get this house we might turn this one into a very nice entertainment room with another bathroom and the whole room will get noise protection on the ceiling and some walls so we can listen to loud music anytime we want without waking up the baby or the neighbors :)
Ok... maybe tomorrow we'll know if we get this house or not! I'll keep you posted...

Other than that nothing really happened except it took me an hour longer to drive home yesterday just because some people just can't leave others alone! Traffic Jam 1.) because driving traffic has to watch other people changing a tire on a boat trailer!!!  Traffic Jam 2.) because driving people have to watch what happened at the accident on the other side!!! Traffic Jam 3.) because 4 lanes turned into 3 and people can't 'merge' smoothly, plus we were a little too many cars on the street... boah... that wasn't fun :(... 

But I was very happy that I wasn't in the traffic jam on the other side (going towards Detroit)... there was a very, very long traffic jam because of an accident... and I think they even sit and couldn't drive at all... that must've been horrible. I could drive 5-10 miles an hour at least!!!

Our first house offer and first baby belly picture

Two weekends ago Frank and drove already through the neighborhoods that Frank found out to be a very good one to live in. So we took a peak into the houses through the windows as far as we could. Last week Frank met with our agent and went to see two houses of them from inside (the rest of them were already sold). This one house was in great shape and ready to move in so we put in a very low offer. Just today we got rejected :(... but anyways we went in together today, so I can see the inside... and it was just amazing... I was totally in love with it right the first time :). So we made a second offer, this time higher than the last time so we might be able to negotiate when they come back next time... or they might accept our offer, that would be AWESOME... here some pics from the great house: The formal dining room:
Two color (difficult to see) light and dark purple master bedroom:
Master Bathroom with a great walk in shower...
We have a real Master Suite :)... looks too awesome
The kitchen and 'living' area, kind of weird to have it there... but I got used to it.. the columns on the wall are so great looking. Maybe we turn this living area into the formal dining area and use the formal dining room as a sitting room... we're getting creative here :)
We only need to buy a fridge:
The view from the master bedroom up to the 'kids' area. Three bedrooms upstairs, two share one bathroom and one has a bathroom attached.  
Oh, I forgot to take a picture of the living room :(... ok... oh well... if we get it you'll see a bunch of more pictures, wish us look ;). The colors were just so cool. I think that really rocks the look of the house and maybe shocks others to buy it *lol*. We liked it a lot. And we would have a three door garage. 
And here the baby belly... baby is 9 cm long right now... doing well and apparently it's very active but I can't feel anything yet. Frank was listening to it yesterday and he said he can hear it moving around! Hhhmm... I can't put my ear on my belly...  I'm not that athletic *lol*... but it's cool that he can hear something ;)
We were supposed to meet with our 'maybe' future midwife today. But she got a woman who went into labor today so we have to post phone our visit to tomorrow or maybe next weekend.