March "Goodness"

Last year's March blog was named "Madness", this year's is "Goodness". Why? Because a lot of good things have been happening in my life here in the B-E-A-Utiful state of California. The first of this great month for example marked my one year anniversary of having been employed by a great company. As you can tell, I still do not regret that kind of big change I made about a year ago and the small leap of faith that came with it. A few people that I have allowed to get to know me a little closer, that know how uncomfortable change makes me sure wonder how well I coped with the changed the entire job switch brought - ultimately moving to CA. Which, moving to CA, made me be pretty uncomfortable, tired, sad and some other things, but after the initial "settling-in"-phase I could not be happier here! I mean, come on, I have the beach maybe one mile away from the condo, the weather here is 98% of the time grrrrrrreat and I got to keep my job, whereas most people that move to CA do not even have a job when they first get here. The first week of March I also got a phone call, that my request to transfer, yet another time, got approved. That was my teaser good news from the last blog post. I am going to get to open the new club in Marina Del Rey on March, 27th with an awesome team. I am super excited! Westwood's team is great as well, but the traffic on the 405 is ridiculous to deal with every day and I do not know how people here do that every day, day in and day out, without getting frustrated.... Anyway, the new club is about one and a half miles away from the condo and I will get to ride my bike to work every day, YES!!!! Cannot wait! Also, my parents will be here in about 26 days! Whoop! I already ordered my dad's coffee, hehehe, so all is set for them to get here! Rocky got his first full hair cut this past week, so now all his curls are gone, booo. BUT, he looks cute, like a baby-Rocky again!

The only constant that remains is change

Three years ago I had not even packed my stuff at my parents' house for my permanent move to the United States of America. I was still working at the private school as the P.E. teacher till the day before my departure. Three years ago I would have never thought time passes so fast, that I would live in California now instead of in Texas and that my life would be what it is now. Many times have doubts crossed my mind about that huge leap of faith I took as I was 25 years old, but I have never regretted taking it since. I love my life here, now in California and I loved my life in Texas as well. I have a wonderful man by my side that supports me and believes in me. We live in a great condo with an awesome view of the sunset, the ocean and the mountains and my little furry, four-legged child always brightens up my day, regardless of the mood I am in. For some reason, Valentine's Day always marks some kind of change in my life. Or around that day at least. Last year I turned in my two-weeks-notice at my first job to pursue a career at Equinox, three years ago that day marked a new beginning as well. This year, I am not gonna tell yet. Do not want to jinx anything. Anyway, my parents are going to be here in eight weeks and I could not be more stoked!! I cannot wait for them to see the beautiful sunset, the awesome views, going to the beach with them a lot and most importantly enjoy my mom's cooking!

Three weeks into the year....

February is almost here.... That means Valentine's Day AND more importantly my three-year-anniversary of being a permanent resident of the United States of America. I read today that I can send in my application for citizenship after having lived here for four years and nine months, so that will be in 2013..... Um, maybe not then...Anyway, my birthday week came and went and the actual day was nothing special. I congratulated my Jassel at 3pm California time on the previous day and we put Rocky to bed together after. Jassele called me at 9am her time (a lil more humane compared to the Texas midnight 7am in Germany on her special day), and then went back to sleep. On my actual birthday I usually refuse to do anything I do not want to do. So, I did not do anything I did not want to do - like go to work. I never go to work on my birthday. I do not think anyone should! I made myself some birthday pancakes and ate those while on skype with my birthday partner in crime while she was eating cake. It felt weird, because last year was so awesome, I knew though it would be tough to make this year awesome.... Anyway, Aaron came home from work a tad earlier than usual and, oh fun, the electricity went off a couple of times. The first time right before I was about to make my daily afternoon coffee. Sure did not turn out to be a happy birthday girl. And no afternoon-coffee-cake-with-a-candle-to-blow-out-and-make-a-wish either. Cupcakes would have been great, too. I did get a candle to blow out after some complaining though. It was an awesome candle and I made an awesome wish after great dindin at one of my favorite restaurants with one of my favorite people. OK, so that was that. 28, we will talk in two years....... boooo. Today, my fur-child had to get his shots and he took it like a Champ, hehe he. He got three - one in the nose, one in the mouth and one between his scapulas. Poor baby. The one in his nose was the worst. My parents will be here in ELEVEN(!) weeks and I cannot wait!!!!! Too bad my Jassele is not though. I plan on going to Dallas soon or after my parents leave. I need to see my godchild!! And her mommy of course too!!

Trip #1 in 2012

2012 is one week old. It started out great. Last Sunday, on January 1st, we went to the beach with Champy. It was awesome! We had about 24°C and there was sooooo many people out and about at Venice Beach, less than a mile from our condo. There even were people laying out in their bathing suits. Since that particular beach is not a doggy beach we only went on the pier all the way down and Champy sure did not like all those people. Wednesday night we went to New York City, NY on the red-eye flight through San Francisco. We stayed till Saturday morning and went back to Los Angeles around 12noon. It was a great trip. It was colder than at home in L.A., but that was fine for three days. Thursday after we landed we went to check in at the hotel and then grabbed some breakfast around the corner, since the place Aaron really wanted to take me to across shut down. The other place was fine too though. After that was nap time. Though we had a really comfortable flight from SanFran to NYC travelling is tiring. Later on that afternoon, we met with Eileen, a co-worker from Dallas, and went to Katz's Deli for a sandwich! It was good, plenty of meat on there. Aaron and I checked out PURE Yoga and the Equinox around the corner from the hotel and I grabbed a delicious cupcake at "Crumb's" for later on for dessert. Around 7pm I made myself comfortable at the hotel with my red velvet cupcake and the remote control and snuggled up in bed. All my shows started back up and since Aaron had a social meeting with co-workers I enjoyed my shows in NYC, instead of on the Tivo at home. Friday I wanted to take a yoga class at a club, but I woke up too late and kinda had to hurry to still get breakfast somewhere. My plan was to go to Niketown from the hotel and grab some breakfast halfway, but since I did not leave the hotel till about 10.40am, I decided to go back to the place from the previous day to make sure I would still get some breakfast food. After I had fed myself I did go to Niketown because I was on the quest for some new unique sneakers. Disappointment. Booo. It is ok though. I got some new workout pants and then went to H&M to check out their new stuff. Grabbed some coffee and another cupcake (hehe he) on my way back to the hotel and met with Aaron around 3.30pm in the lobby. We switched hotels for that night and went to the "W" downtown, right by Ground Zero. That sight was very memorable, very amazing. We had a view of Ground Zero exactly from the hotel room. Had dindin at the restaurant downstairs after we met with an old high school friend of Aaron's and went to digest our delicious food in the hotel room. Saturday morning it was time to get to JFK to see if we could change our flight, but the direct flight was full. Off to SanFran then it was. Lucky us, we had a mother with three girls in the row next to us, whereas one of the kids (assumed around 2 years old) was being breast-fed while everybody boarded the plane on an AISLE (!) seat and then afterwards would not shut up screaming for even five minutes. The other girls were maybe four and six or so. We had a free seat on our row, so I went to the window seat and Aaron was on the aisle seat. That mother had some nerves! She woke up Aaron to ask if she could put her child down on the middle seat, half on me and the legs were on Aaron's lap, waking me up as well in process, and I had slept so good, and then waking up Aaron multiple times afterwards as well. It had been funny, because during boarding there were some guys who were making fun of the whole situation and so on and they had wished us good luck. Well, that had probably jinxed it. Six hours later we were in SanFran and hurried to get off that plane. Fortunately we were able to catch an earlier flight to LAX and this time there were no screaming kids in our immediate area. Phew. Champy peed on himself as we got home, he was so happy to see us!!!

2011

It is the last day of the year 2011.

2011 marked a lot of changes. I left the comfort of my established first job as a personal trainer and started over with a great company - still as a personal trainer, but on a way higher level. I stopped teaching group exercise classes. I learned a lot more about the fitness industry and studied a lot due to the new company, which offers classes for continued education. I got another tattoo with my Jasmin on our birthday. We both got the same thing. I also left the comfort of my Texas. That was a big one. I have started to like California now, but it was a struggle. Moving also meant starting over yet again with my job. Thanks to the great company I work for that was made easier than I thought, because I could just easily transfer locations. I went to Germany for two full weeks and "dropped off" my foster puppies. Roxy and Rocky were my little puppy projects for ten weeks and then they found new mommies in Germany in form of my sister Jasmin and my mom. I became a God-mother to a beautiful baby girl. Kali is my best friend's first child and she is adorable, a very happy baby. My car burned out in May and hence I got a new one. That was an experience I would not want to do all over. We went to Las Vegas for a wedding on 11.11.11. My parents booked their flight for their very first trip to the States. My aunt and uncle came by for a four-day-visit with their two girls during the summer time.
Here is my year in pictures.

All I want for Christmas is.....

Figured I'd blog this month, too. 'Tis the Season for giving and love and cold weather.... I am in California, so drivers here are mean and it is not really cold, hehe he. I really miss my family and Christmas at my parents' house so I decided I'd go home next year for Christmas. My mom always buys a whole bunch of Christmas goodies for the Holidays and I cannot wait to eat it all. Last Sunday we had our company Christmas party and it was nuts. They rented out a club in downtown Hollywood and everybody from all the clubs in South California was invited, including the Sports Club L.A. peeps. There was so many people there, it was crazy! They had an open bar and food and great music! We had a lot of fun! Of course the party was the talk of Monday at work the next day. I cannot wait till 2012 and it is close! My parents will be here in April and I get to go to Germany for the holidays!

Oh dear holidays.....

'Tis the time of the year, when I really start to get sad and miss my family. December and Christmas and all that always makes me miss my family more because my mom and I used to cook together and make the Advent calenders and all that jam, it is just more family time around that time of the year. Last year my Jassele was about to come in a week, but not this year. This year it is just going to be Aaron & I, Champy, the beach and the palm trees, LOL. I have come to like California a little better now. Our condo is getting closer to become a home and I know my ways to work and back and know where I run my errands and all that. That makes a big difference, especially when I do not have to pull out my GPS for everything. The weather today is beautiful outside today - 81° F. Last night we walked(!) to a restaurant for dindin, that was great. Then we went out in Hollywood and saw Jack McBrayer from the show "30 Rock" and Chris D'Elia from "Whitney". They were just like non-TV-personalities, walking around, minding their own business. To me, that was a big deal, because they were the first "famous" people I have seen here since I moved here five weeks ago. Today, I talked to my parents and I am so excited, because they will be here before I know it. I mean, it is still not going to happen before April/May 2012, but they are SERIOUSLY coming to the States!!!! Jasmin might not be able to come next year though, but that is ok. I know I will be going to Germany for a little bit, probably ten days towards the middle of the second half of the year. Rocky is doing great - his stitches get taken out tomorrow. He was out of it for about two to three days, because he had been put under and because he was scared and so on, but now he is his old self, jumping around and squetching his toys till Jassele takes it away from him....

Viva Las Vegas!!

Jen and Justin are married!!! Whoop! Congratulations! For that lovely event Aaron and I got to take a break from California this past weekend and made it to Las Vegas, Nevada, to share this bond for love with Stacie, Majik, Derrick, Brett and some other people, but most importantly Jen and Justin! We stayed at the Palazzo and the Vdara and had a great time with friends! The part I loved most about this group of people is that though it has been a while, it felt very intimate and there was a feeling of trust with the conversations that went on during the trip, that made it unforgettable. Overall, Las Vegas is Las Vegas and I think without anybody getting married there and requesting our presence I will not go there again really, but it was definitely worth going! I had a great time! On another note, Rockyli is getting snipped this coming Friday (poor baby) and he loves playing in and with the falling leaves. We wanted to go Dallas, Texas, for Thanksgiving, but it is not going to happen. Boooo! Tomorrow is my new club's 6th year anniversary party, so I think that is going to be a lot of fun. We changed the time last weekend and as the days get shorter and darker I start not liking this time of the year. It makes me want to lock myself in the apartment and just snuggle up with my Champy, hot chocolate and a blanket. Oh ya and Aaron would be nice too, haha. Christmas is close! Starbucks brought on their holiday cups on 11/01 and I had my first holiday cup drink in Las Vegas AND they even spelled my name right!!

I love the invention of cruise control in my car!

Two weeks ago I was still packing up our apartment in Dallas with Amber and Kali. Though I have talked to Amber almost every day, I still miss her and Kali. I do hear her screaming requesting milk too. Well, I did start working at my new location last Thursday, on October 27th instead of on Monday because our pod was not supposed to get here till Monday. I figured since I would not have anything to move in and unpack I might as well go to work. Well little did I know...... Aaron surprised me with movers whom he had move our stuff from the pod to the new apartment on Friday. So, I could not not go to work. I did both on the weekend. I finished with the kitchen on Friday night, did the closet Saturday after work and the shoes Sunday after work. Halloween weekend, go figure. For the last three years I have always ended up doing the closet(s) on that weekend. Oh well..... A lot of the things at my new location at work are different. Others are the same. I do have to admit though, that I do miss my Preston Hollowers..... It's just a different vibe, and I am not judging, it is just different. On Thursday we are going to sin-city, Las Vegas. Justin and his Jen are getting married. That is my first trip to sin-city and I have no idea what to expect. The year is almost over, too and that means not too long and I will be one year closer to the 3-0. My little foster doggy babies seem to be doing great. Jasmin sends me plenty of videos and pictures of the little fur-monsters every day and I cannot believe how big they have gotten since I had to leave them in Germany.

A German in SoCal

This past weekend was THE weekend - the move weekend. During the entire last week, at least I feel like it, I ran errands in order to prep for the big move to Southern California. I spent most of the day Friday and all day Saturday with my Godchild Kali and her mommy Amber. They even spent the night. Friday night I got my hair done and had a feeling Aaron would surprise me. But to our disappointment he was not at home as we got to the apartment around 10.30pm. Well, 2.45am, door swings open, lights turn on, who sticks his head in the door? Aaron! Saturday we basically packed all day and Sunday morning I left around 10.30am to go to my half time stop spot in El Paso. I think I was already in New Mexico, but I am not sure. It took Champy and I around ten hours I think and we were tired! We saw the sun go down and some pretty sceneries. A couple of times on the entire trip it was weird to see signs that read the following "PRISON AREA - DO NOT PICK UP HITCH HIKERS!". And all of a sudden there was one, just one time though. Monday morning we got up at 7am and were back on the road at 7.50pm. We had to stop a couple of times to get gas and go potty or refuel on the caffeine side, but overall we drove twelve hours with a very undisturbed average of 72 miles per hour. Yayayayaya, I know..... Well, if the speed limit said 75 we went 80, if it said 65 we went 70. I saw multiple people getting pulled over but none of the highway patrol cars stopped for us. We drove all the way through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and then some in California. I honestly gotta say the road conditions in Arizona are way better than in New Mexico.... Champy sure did not like his little seatbelt harness, so every time after I strapped him in there he waited for us to be back on the highway and tore himself free of it. That was okay though, because he stayed on his seat on his little doggy bed. Also, he did not like the sun shining on him while he was trying to sleep, so he went underneath the doggy bed for periods of time. Overall, it was a long trip. Not as bad as I anticipated, but I sure do not want to it again so soon...

Two more weeks in Dallas - OR - Yet another new chapter is only two weeks away....

Two weeks are really no time at all. I was in Germany for two weeks. They passed fast, but the two weeks before I left - they sure did not pass fast enough. What really is two weeks? Nothing. I am going to be working the full two weeks, kicking some a$$ at work and I still have tons of other stuff to do. By the way, we are selling some furniture so if anybody needs anything let me know please and I will send you the link with pictures of the items. So that is one thing. Getting rid of some of our belongings, then I want to spend as much time as possible with my friends in Dallas. Yesterday, for example I spent most of the day with my precious Godchild Kali and her mommy and some of her family. Next weekend one of my good friend's sons has his very first birthday party, so I get to spend some time with little Zachary. Also, we have a company picnic Friday afternoon, so that will be fun as well. I will have to clean the apartment for move-out day, which I will have to do the week after this week, and oh ya, spend some time with my baby Champy. Then I have to run some errands before our trip. I have to get a leash thing for Champy, that I can attach on the seat belt, since he will be "road-tripping" with me. I already found a hotel midway, so we can take a break and get a good night's sleep before we drive the second half to our new home in California. Also, I have to get my car checked, should be fine though, just maybe a car wash and an oil change with tire rotation and all the good stuff before we drive those 1,400 miles to the Golden State. I am a little anxious about the change, since I do not really like change, but I know I will be fine once Champy and I will be there and we have our new routine down.

Going Out West - OR - Home Is Where The Heart Is

This past weekend I went to Los Angeles, CA, to check out Aaron's new and my soon-to-be home. It was really nice. One of the best weekends with the man this year. Friday afternoon I flew out there with the new awesome Virgin America (seriously, they are great; quick, entertaining, young) and Aaron picked me up. We drove around a little bit after dropping off my luggage and had dindin. (Here is the not-trainer: best chicken sandwich ever at "Fatburger" in Marina Del Rey!!) Then, we went by a bar in Venice, Nikki's, and stayed there till about 2am. The DJ was ridiculous, his music was so awesome we could not leave. Saturday we went to one of the clubs out there and Sunday I went to another one to check out a yoga class. We also looked at a couple of apartments and then had an awesome dinner with a walk right by the marina. Very relaxing weekend. It is always sad to leave, but oh well, it is only really a "see you later"!

Californication

Ok, ok, ok.... I guess we need to change the name of the blog to "A GERMAN IN CALIFORNIA", or "AN ANGEL IN THE CITY" (get the reference?? "City of Angels"), or something else. I am open to suggestions. Oh, why?? Because this German in Texas is moving to L.A., California in two months. Hmm, other than those minor news.... I got back from Germany about a week ago, only to find my house tv- and internet-less, but obviously that glitch is fixed now. Germany was nice, but I am really not "home" there anymore. I missed my Champy and everything, which is hard to read for my family and friends in Germany, I know. But i miss them, too, when I am over here. Where am I happier though? Here, in the U.S., that's why I decided back in 2007 to apply for my Greencard. Ha, I am one of those people now, too, who can address someone as my roommate, hehe he. The babies are doing great in Germany, though Champy still has not forgiven me, I think, that I left his bestie Roxy there and came home with only toys for him as bait for him not to be mad, but I do not think he can oversee this one. My mom totally amuses me with stories about the little fur princess whenever I talk to her and Jasmin sends me tons of pictures and a video daily (please do NOT EVER STOP) to keep me updated on my little projects. Parting with them was VERY, VERY, VERY HARD! I am still sad and I miss Rocky's pig-sounds and Roxy's whining at night time when she wants to snuggle. Friday I am going to L.A., California for a visit. First time to the West Coast of the country..... it was about that time! Cannot wait!!

halftime....

One week later and it is raining in Germany - urgh! Last Friday the pups and I went on our journey and everything went awesome - till I got a text that my flight from Frankfurt to Hannover was cancelled. There was some air traffic jam, so most of the inland flights got cancelled, but I took the train to Hannover, which worked out better anyway. I felt sick to my stomach as we landed in Frankfurt, so I was happy to take the two and a half hour train ride with the pups. We all took a nice hour long nap and relaxed on the very spacious train! Other than that everything went really awesome with the pups. I aniticipated some trouble, but there was none. They did not really make any noise and I think they slept most of the flight anyway. Since I have been here I have seen most of my friends and family and have still spent a lot of time with the pups, since I have to leave them here. The weather yesterday was awesome. It was nice and sunny - perfect for a BBQ at my parents' house after a long day at a fitness convention. I had to do three(!) hours of yoga! One hour "open your heart" in the am and then two hours of "contact" yoga, which is yoga with a partner. My back is so sore today, it is ridiculous! Over all, the week passed pretty fast. I really miss my Champy though!

ANTICIPATION - or - :-( soon it will be time to give my foster puppies to their real mommies :-(

So, today is Monday. Friday I am going to Germany - with the pups. This past weekend I ran all the last errands, including picking up the babies' health papers (and paying for them), dropping them off for their first haircut and finding a carrier for them big enough so they both fit in there. I got it all done. Now, I am not sure if I will be allowed to take the babies out on board, but I really do not give a $h*t. The bag is ok in size, but I still feel bad. Plus, it was really fun to search for a bag that takes in account the dimensions that the airlines allows - impossible!!! They are ALL bigger! Anyway, so August was a pretty busy month. We had class at work for the next trainer level, with all the tests and weekend classes, as well as a kettlebell certification workshop over ten hours and I also turned in a case study for the promotion at work. All while being blessed with poop most of the mornings for one week, before I finally changed the pups' feeding schedule and fixed that issue. It is always fun to either come home to dogs covered in $h*t or to wake up to pups covered in $h*t. Their breed (shih-tzu) takes on a total new meaning with those sort of fun surprises. No, but seriously. I got the pups as they were eight weeks old. They will be 18 weeks old in two days and I am really gonna miss them. They have their own smell, their own ways of doing things and are just so adorable. On the other hand, I am gonna miss my Champy as well sooooo much while I am in Germany. That will be the first time I will be separated from my baby for two full weeks, sniff sniff. I hope he will not be traumatized, with his mommy AND his favorite play-mates leaving.