Guten Tag!

I'm actually on my way to bed, but I wanted to post a quick note to let everyone know that I made it to Vienna safely & I'm having a wonderful time! I'm typing on Missy's laptop right now and everything is in German which is making things a bit difficult for me but that's all right. I'm visiting my friend Missy & her husband Kai. He is a pastor here in Vienna and they have an intern right now whose name is Ludwig. Today the four of us hopped on a train and went to Durnstein, a small town east of here. We had a picnic by the Danube, took a bazillion pics and ate grapes right off the vine from the vineyards that were all around. Tomorrow the boys are back to work and Missy and I are going to explore the city. My German is hopeless, but I do have some new vocab to share with those of you I will see when I return home. Some of the new words come complete with sign language complements of Ludwig.
Gute Nacht (which I have learned has to be said with the right amount of throat scraping or you don't say 'good night', you say 'good naked' - oops!)

My Birthday Cake

Anybody out there have a fabulous pumpkin cake recipe? My birthday is tomorrow & I want a terrific pumpkin cake. Help me out! :-)

They're Baaccckkk!

Every year at my work place we have a big swarm of cicada killers flying around. They are a little intimidating at first because they are big & look like they could just get mad enough to sting you to death. But according to Wikipedia (and they are always right as we all know!) they won't sting people. This is the 5th summer we've had them outside the door and flying into our windows & so far no one has been attacked. It is hilarious when delivery guys come to the door. They get as close to the door as they can & look over their shoulder at the cicada killers with fear in their eyes. I'll answer the door & they come running in usually demanding to know what in the world kind of hornet we've got flying around. It's probably not very nice that I get a jolly out of their fear, but I just can't help it!

A Poll Question

I was wondering if my readers would like to weigh in with their opinions, horror stories, happy ending stories, etc. concerning blind dates. Unleash & let me know the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Ahhh...the weekend!

Just like everyone else out there, I love a good relaxing weekend. I had to work both jobs on Friday so I didn't get off to a fabulous start, but I went to bed & fell asleep reading (my favorite way to sign off for the day b/c I sometimes have lots of trouble actually getting to sleep). I got up early Saturday morning & headed out to get some square donuts. That's right, square donuts. They are somewhat of a novelty & point of pride for my hometown. They are also essential food for yard salers. Autumn & her two sisters, April & Abby, were having a yard sale on Saturday. So I took them the donuts & found some great bargains for my niece Madison. Then I was off for a run. Three miles down & then I spent a few hours cleaning & messing around at home, including a run to the farmer's market on my bike. One quick shower & a stop for an iced cappuccino & I hit I-70 East. I headed over to Indy to visit with Heidi (Coston) & her boys for the afternoon/evening. She's 8 1/2 months pregnant with their third son & I did my best to wear her out & walk her around so that she could maybe go into labor (her idea). Didn't work. But I did find a great bargain on a pair of jeans at the Gap & I also found a great tour book of Ireland (hopefully next year's destination).
Today I enjoyed a wonderful time of worship & communion at church. My pastor has been preaching out of Micah and this morning's text was Micah 6:6-8

Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

An excellent reminder that the Lord is more interested in my obedience than my sacrifice or worship. If only I would love the Lord as I ought, obedience would fall into place. Definitely something to ponder.

After a nice dinner with my parents I met up with Stew & Mike. I went to high school with these 2 brothers. Stew was in my sister's class & Mike was in my class. We've all been friends since band camp of my sophomore year. They are also my bike riding buddies. We set out on a ride around downtown with a special objective. The city has put together a parade of colts (just like they had the bulls in Chicago, the horses in Lexington, etc.). I've seen some of the bulls and most of the horses, & now I've seen all of the colts. This is where the Colts football team comes for their training camp so it's quite appropriate that we have colts all over town, don't you think? We took some pics for your viewing pleasure...

Amish Friendship Bread

Chris, one of my co-workers, went to our Indy lab last week where one of the techs had brought in starters for Amish Friendship Bread. He brought one back for me because he thought I would like it. I think that actually translates into, "If I bring a starter back for her maybe she'll make it & bring it to work & feed me!". I don't mind all that & I'm ok with baking it & taking it in to work for the guys to munch on. My only reservation was that I wouldn't be at home this weekend to "mush the bag" & release the air bubbles. So I put the big ziplock bag in a bowl with a lid & left on our trip. My concern was that the air would build up & pop the ziplock. Here's what I found on the kitchen counter when I got home tonight.

Kentucky 2007

This weekend my family got together (I know, again!) & went to visit our cousins in Kentucky. I hadn't been down to Beaver Dam since I was 17 years old. My cousins have both gotten married & had children since the last time we were all together. We had such a great time! Friday night we gathered at Shana & Daniel's house for a cookout & then we went to David & Linda's to soak in the hot tub (decadent!). Saturday morning Shana, Beth, & I got up at the crack of dawn to go work out at the fitness center - there's nothing like breaking a sweat all together! Then we loaded up & headed out to Rough River Dam State Park where David & Linda keep their pontoon boat. We spent the rest of the day toolin' around on the boat & swimming. All of the kids got an opportunity to drive the boat (with Captain David's assistance) & they just loved it. A powerful storm rolled in late in the afternoon & it sent us scurrying for the marina. I managed to lose my favorite Splashin' Safari visor to the wind. Before I knew what had happened, it was off my head & sinking in Davey Jones's locker. Very sad.
Today we just hung out at the house, played some cards, & went for a walk in the rain. Then it was time to head home already. Now I'm gearing up for a long work day tomorrow. Back to reality. At least I like my reality 9 days out of 10!