Saige has Soul

Well, my daughter has officially become a paid worker (and it doesn't involve running after kids and wiping noses). Saige is literally at her new place of "employment" as I write this. It's so weird to say that out loud. We were not looking for it, we weren't talking about it, nada. It came upon us like most things do...as God's intention. Being in the hotel, we have been going to dinner most nights and Friday was no exception. I Googled some restaurant reviews in the KMC (since I was in desperate need of something different than rustic German dishes) and Touch of Soul was on the list. "Family atmosphere, Southern American food, English speaking".


Sounds perfect! So we ventured off and the minute we walked in, I felt the South all around me. The rooms were sectioned off like a house, the American Flag was hanging all over the place, portraits of Soldiers old and new were framed throughout, and there she was...Mama West.


She immediately walked up to us and said "Well hey there honey. First time?" we said yes and she said "Well welcome...and sit where you like" Two seconds later she was introducing herself and telling us we may want to sit away from the mirror cause she knows "that baby's gonna wanna touch it and it's wobbly...not his fault, he's just a child and children like to touch." I was instantly drawn. She was no nonsense.


I could tell I was gonna be making many trips in my future. The menu was simple...fried chicken, ribs, fried pork chops and all the fixins...plus real.sweet.tea WITH ICE! On the front page of the menu, Mama's bio was there for all to see. Child to a family that cooks, and a culinary graduate in French cuisine.


Her passion was to show her love through feeding people. And she was the only cook for the whole place. One waitress and her. Talk about a personal touch.


I thoroughly enjoyed my pork chop, smothered cabbage, green beans and mashed taters. It reminded me of the many southern places we visited while living in GA. So good! Once we were finished, we said our goodbyes and went to pay...I should have known that Mama wasn't about having a credit card machine up in there. She didn't even sell liquor. So, George took the boys and hunted for a Geldautomat (ATM) while Saige and I sat at the front table and chatted up Mama. She told us her story about how she moved here in '95 to help her single father son raise his girls. 15 years later, her grandkids are graduated from college and Mama runs Touch of Soul in Ramstein. She explained that she loves it here. "It's like the old fashioned way of living, that's not all fast." Boy am I glad she stayed. The three of us girls were there a good 15 minutes laughing and talking about anything that came to mind. As George pulled up, we said thank you again. Out of nowhere, Saige blurted out something that shocked me instantly..."You know if you ever need any help here, I would love to work here." She continued to say, "It's so fun here". Mama's response, "Can you come by Sunday?" I felt like I was in a tennis match watching this go down. After the awkward smile I had on my face, I said "Well, what would she do?" She just wanted her to help make drinks and help Michelle (the sole waitress) out since she had to come in late. Saige was grinning ear to ear. Mama had told us in our chat earlier how impressed she was with our kids and she could see the love within our Family. I think she saw what I already knew...Saige is a gift to have in your life. So, they went over some details and times. She will come in on Friday and Saturday evenings for a few hours (She can't work on Sundays typically because of softball). And get 5 euro an hour (about $7.50). A little padding in her pocket and some good Mama wisdom every week. How could I say no to that? I didn't. I know she will enjoy it and do a great job. I can't wait to hear about her day when I pick her up. In the meantime, here's some research on Mama and her Touch of Soul. I know my peeps (Saige's other moms) want to get the 411 on this action, too. It takes a village you know. And Mama just moved in!!

I'm peeved I didn't have my camera at dinner...but it looks like I'll have more chances to snap these two hard at work soon!

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=140&article=49069

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=23108901

Proud Momma,

Foodie Friday

I'm sharing with you this Foodie Friday, my Easy Peasy Taco Hot Pockets! I threw these together the other day (I started late so I was not feeling a massive mealtime throwdown). Anyway, It starts with the meat...ground beef of course and taco seasoning.

After that is cooked and mixed together, I unrolled some store bought pizza dough and rolled it out. Once you roll it, you cut it into 8 sections...

Yummy goodness isn't usually happening in my house without cheese. Sprinkle the cheese (I use colby/monterey jack) and whatever else you want to add. I could have really went to town here, but since I cook for the only humans on Earth with ultra-sensitive palettes, I keep it simple (and crowd pleasing). I would have added blk olives, extra onions, maybe even some corn to mine).

Once you have added the meat atop the cheesy mountain, you must fold one side over and crimp the edges with a fork (or a play-doh cutter). Sorry these are messy looking, I told you I was in a hurry....geez!

After you cook them at 350 for about 15-20 minutes (or until the crust is the perfect golden color), pull 'em out and get out your sour cream & salsa (that's what I did) while it cools. Perfect for kids and yummy enough to please the hubby.

I have made ham and cheese, turkey and broccoli, and next I think I am going to try this with spinach and chicken. YUM!!

Channeling my inner Rachel Ray,

Home Coming Together

I had this whole post written for Foodie Friday about my lunch adventure with Steve...it was a good one, too. AND THEN, I went to upload the pics and they were M.I.A.! Not on the camera, not on the hard drive, not on the laptop or desktop. The Cyber Monkey took them, I know it! So weird...

Anyway, I still have plenty to say that isn't related to food.

This past week, there have many things going on. The obvious was our peep visit (did I mention that more of my peeps need to jump on the bandwagon and get their arses to Europe...our guest bed is calling...and HELLO, it's Europe!!). Back to my story...after Stevie E and J left, I had to take Teage to "gyumsticks" (his interpretation of the word...so precious), and I finagled some waaay better photos that day.


He was such a good listener, that he was the only one to receive two stamps that day...I was like "Really??"
Stick it and Stretch....


He has never had a problem with heights...GO TEAGIE!


Saige had homecoming week going on, too. In spite of my own anxiety preparation, the school does a pretty good job of easing the kids and parents into THE Dance of the Fall. Each day of the week, they dress up according to the spirit theme. Tuesday was wacky tacky (she looked neither wacky nor tacky I thought...unless you call 3 necklaces and some leg warmers tacky. I thought it looked like any other trendy person on the street). Wednesday, was PJ day (again, my kid walks downstairs with some black sweat pants and her Oki All Day tee on...not so PJ-ish to me). Thursday, it started to get a little weird. It was "Gender Bender" day. Hmmm....I don't remember that ever being something our school had. Sounds good to me and she took it and RAN!! After scouring her dad's closet for some "boy jeans", she walked into my room looking like this....


I thought "OH NO, bring my daughter back!! I cannot be invaded by all boys up in here!!" All kidding aside, she looked like she finally got the idea of spirit week. Since the boys had to dress up as girls I thought for sure the boys would back down. I mean, how many boys do you know that would hike their skirts up and model the stilettos?? Saige reported that afternoon with pictures to prove that the boys went ALL OUT!! Make-up, midriff shirts, bras, and minis. Far cry from our school days. I was happy to hear it though. It means more and more kids are self confident. LOVE THAT! I guess being a girly girl really is desirable to the male species. I wonder if George wouldn't mind squeezing into a....oh wait this is a Family Blog, not Diane's headspace! Back to the Fam Bam goodness...

I also made my way to a new town this week...Saarbrucken. My Itouch had a brainfart and decided to freeze up and crash on me. When I tried to call tech support, they told me I had to take it in to the nearest Apple provider...which is in Saarbrucken, about 60k away (not that this is breaking news, but the Itouch coded, I gave it mouth to mouth, and it is now doing just fine) Back to the drive...I popped in my trusty Garmin, strapped Teage into his Chico and off we went.

Man, did I say this out loud yet?....this GPS thing is like GOLD!! Who knew the hype was so dead on!! It sends me onto many unknown adventures and I could care less where I end up because home is only a fingerprint away. I have it set for Dr. Nightmare to talk to me sometimes....George sets it to the British heifer Serena. What does that voice have that British Daniel's doesn't...lol! Anyway, I found a mall on the way, some riverboats and of course, tons of food stops. I didn't have the time on a Friday afternoon to visit all these places, but with my steadfast GPS I will be back out on the road again in no time, with camera in tow.

Next up for the week was the middle school's Fall Carnival. I had no hand in the planning of this event, but I was more than happy to help man one of the many game booths. Meet your Bean Bag Toss Maestro (that was for you Farrah)...

The boys had a blast...especially when they got their faces painted. Teage wanted a Batman mask (that is what he is going to be for Halloween)...

and JD requested a skeleton (I beefed him up in the editing room with all the wounds & vampire eyes)!

While I was there chasing after bean bags, I also met someone that lives in my village. She has two smaller kids, but seemed pretty nice. It would be nice to know one of my neighbors I guess. So far the only one I've met is the guy across the street, Axel a.k.a Red "cause I'm a redneck". His words! I've never seen this guy when he wasn't fuming alcohol. However, he does have the up and up when it comes to getting oil and firewood. I'm sure he would have porchtime with me, but I'm not that desperate yet...errr, YET!

Back to homecoming week.....the inevitable occurred on Saturday...the dance!! Saige made her way to the football games that morning while all the men and I did some flea marketing...love it! After that, she came home and napped until 5 so that I could help her get ready. Once my palms stopped sweating, I started doing her hair and makeup. Yeah I said it...makeup. This is not starting on the regular, but for the occasion I thought it was time...plus it was fun for us. Nick and his parents came to pick her up and he had flowers for her (insert "Awwwww"). His parents seemed pretty normal, so that was good. I took more than enough pictures...against Saige's wishes. She looked beautiful, and GROWN!





I cannot believe I am here in this moment in time with her already. She is going to drive the boys wild here, because she is good girl and knows what she wants. Boys are second to her goals and I admire that. It makes waving the nightstick to the boys less necessary.

While she was whooping it up, we killed time by going to our new fave local restaurant, Porbacher Hof. It is literally two minutes away (that's what Garmin said) and is owned by the brother of our landlord's wife. The place is beautifully decorated and the food is off the chizzle...Here's a couple pics I took in there.



A plate of steak and potatoes later, I was on pins and needles to find out how it went...and to see if Nicky tried to pull a fast one on my girl...I'm just sayin'!! She is no wallflower, but boys are boys, and I'll cut one if I have to! George picked them both up and dropped 'the boy' off at home first. I tried to act like I was just chillin' with Teage when she walked in, but I was dying for her to spill her guts! She answered my prayers and was full of stories about dancing with her friends, trying to drag Nick out there, and taking pictures the whole time. She pulled out the camera and said...

S: "Oh, by the way, we did kiss and I took a picture of it".
Me: "Ummm, ok"
S: "It was nothing bad though, just a quick one"
Me: "Well, did he try to put his tongue in your mouth?"....it's a reasonable question, she's not 5 anymore!
S: "MOM....No, Mom. In fact, I'm glad he didn't try because I wasn't ready for that"
Me: ....Breathing again....

Now, I know she has 'kissed' before in Okinawa, but then they broke up and she had said to me "it really should be worth it 'cause you may not last with that person, ya know?" YES I DO & thank you Jesus for figuring that out!! I hope all my kids stay on this path of cause and effect. It's all about "What'd Ya Learn?" But, overall she had fun and that was what mattered.

That's all for now...I'm still looking for the M.I.A foodie pics, I'll let you know when I find them!!

P.S. Did I mention it is flipping freezing here now?? Try a high of 40's and frost on the ground...my boys wear Winter well though, don't they??


Good thing we finally lit this thing....(and yes, I do have a chestnut tree growing in my backyard)!


Tschuss.....

New Year Antics

Happy Happy, Joy Joy....

Another great start to a new year...2009 is already looking fabulous! The reduced time at work for George during the holidays has been really nice and yet I also find myself wanting to strangle him here and there, too. Kidding aside...I must say that I am going to miss the family freedom we have had while there has been no school (for me or the kids) and limited work in Army world for the past two weeks. We have been sleeping in, staying up way too late, tooling around town, and of course enjoying some yummy food (you know the holidays are all about the good food). But, as we know all good things come to an end and come Monday, it is back to business.

In spite of that reality, we thoroughly enjoyed our New Year's. On the eve, I met up with some girls and did some shopping and coffee. Later on, we did the family thing...going to dinner and then a movie followed by burning things in the backyard.

Teage fell asleep right around 11:30. Poor kid, he tried to hold on.

Saige had to babysit so it wasn't our normal eve without the both of them. We did have sparklers and crackers waiting for her when she got home.

Thursday we spent checking out a few places off base and ended up at Tobaru Koen Park. What an awesome place to take the kids. So far it is the longest roller slide we have seen here. The roller slides ROCK and with a scrap piece of cardboard...you might as well be downhill skiing. We spent the whole afternoon there and had a blast.

OK, so I thought Poquito was going to pass out....look at his ears! He is NOT happy about this.

Saige was cold so she decided to "rest".

Actually, it has been kinda chilly the past few days. I welcome it for sure. It's comforting to be able to get all bundled up rather than sweating your a$$ off on a daily basis. I hope it lasts a little while.

After our outdoor adventure, we came home to prepare for company. Some friends came over and I finally popped open my champagne bottle. Good food and good company...always works!! Of course there was some Wii laced into that visit.

Overall, excellent week!!! Now if I could only find a way to get someone to take down all the holiday decorations for us. That means it's over right?? Can't we just keep it all up til Valentine's Day???

Well, next week I start seeing someone that's gonna train me towards my workout plan. I am officially ready for some life changes....and lookout b/c I clean up real nice LOL!!! Catch you later...Love You All!!