While I've really enjoyed being home these past few weeks, I don't have the necessary wires to upload my pictures. This makes me sad because I've been fortunate to see so many good friends, as well as family, and I'll have to wait until we go back to Vienna before I can show how much fun we had!
We fly to Vienna on Jan. 2 with my brother and sister-in-law who will stay with us for 9 days. Leaving home is easier when family goes with us! We plan to see Prague and Budapest with them, and it will be quite nice to be together. And, for anyone who is curious, Taylor will not be joining us on this adventure.
Happy New Year to all!
I made it back to the US safely and was surprisingly not as tired as I imagined I would be. I spent two days in Nashville before heading to Houston, which is where I am now. It's so good to be back with friends. I am reminded of how sweet it is to "be" with friends. Talking on the phone is sufficient, but it's completely different and refreshing to be in each others' presence.
Michael has another review this week and will be home on Friday! We are both so excited about having time with family over the holidays. Speaking of family, I saw my niece, Taylor some before coming to Houston. I will share my favorite story of Taylor, and I promise it will be worth reading even though I don't have pictures on this post. :)
Characters in the story: Mom, Dad, David, Sara, Taylor, and me.
Setting: lunch at Jersey Mike's.
It was Saturday afternoon, and we met for an early lunch so "little miss Taylor" would be home in time for her nap. Taylor is smart. She knows how to push the limits so lovingly set by her parents (David and Sara)...especically when grandparents are around. Taylor had settled on sitting in Bubby's (my dad) lap and continued to eat her sandwich.
For some reason, Taylor thought it would be a good idea to slowly stuff her mouth full of bread. In the process, she dropped crumbs on Bubby's arm. She was cleaning the bread crumbs off his sleeve, when she quickly realized her mouth full of bread was not a pleasant situation. David and Sara, seated at the opposite end of the table anticipated her next move, knowing her solution to this problem.
Sweet little Taylor proceeded to turn Bubby's hand over in the shape of a cup, and before anyone else knew what she was doing...out of her mouth came the soggy bread. That's right, she spit it right into Bubby's open hand, so conveniently ready and waiting for her.
The uncontrollable laughter drew attention to our family in the restaurant, but we didn't care. The situation was surreal enough that we were trying to grasp the reality that it had even happened! Oh the joys of having niece who has no problem being the center of attention!
In celebration of completing my German class and Michael having his mid-review, we decided to take a weekend trip to Germany. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew we would have a good time, but I must say that our experience far exceeded my expectations. I'm not a museum goo-roo by any means. The thought of spending hours in an art gallery is not appealing to me.
However, my attitude towards museums in general has drastically changed after this trip. We were fortunate to visit 3 museums, all of them unique and educational. We also were able to squeeze in some shopping--always a good addition to a trip!
I'm trying to be creative with my photo-collages, and I must give credit to Michael for this idea. His projects necessitate an understanding of the location, so he spends quite a bit of time manipulating maps. Therefore, this suggestion was naturally his first. Either way, I think it turned out well. I realized we didn't take any pictures of "us." Oh well. We'll do better on future trips!
My countdown continues...since today is almost over, I can say I only have 6 more days until I fly home! And, as you can see from my last post, I'm going to incorporate a little German into my blog. I'm sure you can figure out what the title of this blog means in English. If not, ask a friend.
For several weeks, we have seen Christmas lights being hung in the streets, but they had not been turned on. A good friend of mine was studying abroad here this fall, and she was anxiously awaiting the beautiful lights. Unfortunately, the lights came on the night they left! I wanted to post these for her, but I also knew others would enjoy them as well.
We've been listening to Christmas music, which is making us even more excited to be coming home soon! My count-down has begun...9 days. We had a wonderful time in Germany last weekend, and I will have those pictures ready soon. Weihnachten kommt!
During my parents' visit to Vienna, we spent a weekend in Paris. Unfortunately, the public transportation was on strike, so we endured more walking in the bitter cold weather than we anticipated. Regardless, the trip was memorable, and we enjoyed sharing the experience together.
These pictures are a brief summary of our adventure. My dad and Michael were avid photographers, which I appreciate. Their passion means one less thing for which I am responsible. For those of you who prefer a description of each picture, scroll down; and, remember you can double click the image to make it larger. 
Top left going clockwise:
-Notre Dame cathedral
-Eiffel Tower illuminated (Luckily, you can also see the blur of an Asian woman who darted across the street in spite of oncoming traffic. Michael was proud of this picture.)
-Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
-Eiffel Tower
-Stained glass inside Notre Dame
-Dad, Mom, and me
-Arc de Triomphe
-A bridge we liked because you can access the main part at two different places
-Michael and me with Notre Dame in the background
-Eiffel Tower
-Interesting building with a "green" facade (The exterior was wet from where the plants, grass, etc are watered)
-Les Invalides
-Interior of Notre Dame
-L'Open Tour bus (This served as our taxi for the weekend!)
-More stained glass inside Notre Dame
-Notre Dame cathedral
-Michael and me
-Champs-Elysees
A few more funny details of our trip...The first day we went by the Louvre but decided not to stay because it was getting late. The next afternoon we arrived at 4:30 thinking we could finish our evening enjoying the exhibits. To our dismay, they were closing at 5:00 due to the transportation strike. However, at least we realized this (by reading the MANY signs posted) before buying tickets, unlike another guy who was practically begging for a refund. I don't think they felt sorry for him though.
Another missed sightseeing excursion happened the morning we left. Due to long lines and it not being our top priority, we waited to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately, it was very foggy that morning! On the other hand, the temperature had dropped and it was windy, so we weren't too upset.
Two more days of German class. Michael's mid-review is also on Thursday. Then, we are headed to Germany for the weekend!
Today in class we learned about German phrases related to the size of countries/cities, population, etc. After we participated in a class exercise, we paired up to discuss our individual countries and the related statistics. My partner, Marina, came to Austria from Italy. We handled the assignment well and did as we were instructed.
One of the ladies in another group is from New York (we will refer to her as Linda). Since Marina and I were finished, we listened to the other students' discussions. I was participating with Linda's group as they were asking her questions. My utter disdain for Linda's ignorance was validated when she doubted the accuracy of my answer to the question: "how many states comprise the U.S.?" She adamantly believed there were 51, if not 52, states...starting with Puerto Rico.
Additionally, my teacher asked me if Texas was larger than Austria. My response, of course, was, "yes, it is much larger." Linda, confident in her knowledge of geography, once again questioned my response. Unbelievable! I tried to contain my frustration at this point, but it is hard to endure the consistent stupidity when second-guessing questions which are not even directed towards you. However, I behaved myself.
For those of you who know me well, I do not like being told I am wrong. On the other hand, how gratifying it is when, in spite of facing opposition, my answer is confirmed through Wikipedia that Texas is, in fact, 8 times the size of Austria!
It just doesn't get much better than that. Job well done.
Yep, my sister-in-law is pregnant again, so we will have another Whitfield grandchild in June! I hope no one jumped to conclusions by the title of this post; however, it would be funny if you did. Not cruel, just funny.
Michael and I are both so excited that David and Sara will be having another child, and we hope Tay-Tay enjoys it after the baby arrives. Since she is the 1st grandchild for both families, she's had quite a bit of attention, to say the least. Here are some pictures of Taylor (and David) from Halloween. Isn't she the cutest lady bug?! (I borrowed these pictures from David and Sara's blog.) 
My parents are coming to visit for Thanksgiving, and we are headed to Paris this weekend! I'll post pictures after we return--Happy Wednesday!