Anne's Weblog

I’ve already admitted that I LOVE the Pioneer Woman (or Ree Drummond to be precise). Her blog os truly amazing, her photography is very cool and her recipe are to die for. Now she  published her first cookbook and I – of course – bought it immediately.

I opened it and I was smitten. It contains all of the features that make her blog so special. Amazing pictures of cowboys, cows, horses, dogs… Great recipes with step by step photography.. Lots of stories about ranch life and her transformation from city girl to ranch wife.

The only thing I find a little bit sad is that there are not so many new recipes. She published mostly recipes she used for her blog before. As I looked at all and every recipes on her website, of course I know  them all. But maybe that is just me and I am a stalker. Could be true…

There is a second cookbook I love. Jaden Hair, the creator of Steamy Kitchen, published a cookbook with 101 simple asian recipes.

I haven’t cooked anything yet, but I definitely will this weekend. Especially the Shrimp Pad Thai and Mum’s Chinese Steamed Fish are on my list. I also want to try to make all these “packed” specialities, like dumplings, egg rolls, wontons. Oh, I am getting hungry!! I only had some store bought dish today, I was too lazy to cook. So it’s only understandable that I CRAVE some good food. Tomorrow, or the day after… Yum!

There are literally staples of books next to my bed with all the books I read in the last few weeks, I am reading currently or plan to read in the very newr future.

Donna Cross – Pope Joan

This is the last book I received from my good ole friend Amazon. I literally couldn’t survive without Amazon. I think I order something every week. I want to watch the movie and it is my rule (ok, I am not always following it…) to read the book first. That’s why I ordered it and I do want to start it right after finishing my current book.

Sometimes – I have to admit it – there is nothing better than curling up on your bed and read a romantic novel. Last Saturday it was Susan Elizabeth Philips – What I Did for Love. Shame on me and my cow… But it was such a great read and after reading from morning to evening I finished the book and it entertained me quiet good.

I love traveling and I love reading about the journeys of others. Expecially Africa has a special allurement to me. I can’t wait to go on a journey to explore the “dark continent”. I am sure I will love it. One of the books I “ate” recently (finished the 500 pages in one day) was Frank Coates – Roar of the Lion. There is no English cover, so here the German cover.

Then there was – of course – Julie Powell’s Julie & Julia. Loving it! I read it before watching the movie and I was stoked. I just loved reading it and I loved the movie as well.

Currently I am reading a book of a German author, called Hardy Krüger. He’s one of the most famous actors of my country and in recent years he wrote about all his amazing journeys. The book I am reading is called “Die andere Seite der Sonne” (The other site of the sun). It contains lots of short stories of different countries.The first one was about a woman and a raven in Ireland. The second one is about a flight from London to Nairobi. Very interesting.

I truly love reading. It’s the best “activity” of the world. It empowers your creativity and your inner eye. It helps your fantasy and just about everything. I can’t really imagine life without books. People who don’t understand the magical power of books are truly poor. It’s sad that some people don’t read, they truly miss a great opportunity.

Ok, now it is definitely time to admit that I didn’t live up to my “wish list” from the beginning of June. Especially one point bugs me. That I wasn’t able to shoot every day. I did some shootings, yes, but I didn’t took my camera out for shooting every day. But this is the only way to make sure that you have enough practice. So this is definitely one point that I need to work on. It’s not that I am not passionate about it, I am, but life is getting in the way too often. I need to get my priorities right. But the last three weeks with my new job I was running around like a headless chicken.

As everyone who reads this should know, I want to improve my shooting, especially regarding people photography. I need to organize my free time properly. It will be tough in winter, because when I am out of work it is already dark, but there are other possibilities as well. I just can try shooting different things at home or whatever. I am sure there are many possibilities.

Far from that I still try to write, but I wasn’t lucky so far. Again something I need to focus on. Instead of watching “Gilmore Girls” in the evenings, I could write articles or continue writing on my book. I think or at least I hope that I will be able to organize my time properly in a few weeks when the newness of the job has worn off. But at the moment it is crazy. Truly. So many meetings, so many things to learn and to read. All is really interesting and I am enjoying my time, but it is a lot.

So wish me luck that in a short time I will be able to fulfill my wish list. Enjoy life!

… having flu I am sick since Monday.

… having a boss who is a complete moron (the one from my old job, my new job is still heaven).

… reading everyday in the newspaper, how the conservative and the liberal party ruin the social base of this country.

… shoes that hurt my feet.

… running noses.

… unfaithful friends.

… to realize that I’ve grown out of my circle of friends.

… to be told “We meet in a small circle nowadays, not alone” just to realize, that these people just don’t want to meet me alone, everybody else is fine. Good friends…

… friends who try to make you feel like a bad friend just to find out that they are the bad friends in the end.

… people who didn’t speek with me for ages and then shoot me a mail or call me just to be the same arrogant people they’ve been five years ago. Not to confused with friends I haven’t seen in ages, but are still considered friends.

… slimy people of the social democratic party who want appear to be nice, but all they are is slimy. And if you then ask me for a coffee this is just pathetic!

Well, I think I am hating enough for the week. I wish you a great weekend. I’ll drink some hot lemon now and hope to be healthy soon again. xoxo

… the movie about Coco Chanel. What a woman!

… colleagues who give flowers as a welcome and ask me which color I prefer for my paper.

… colleagues who tell me in the morning: I cooked coffee for you.

… my sister and her best friend who were so excited to go to their first press premier. Buddy Holly, that’s something.

… people who enjoy discussing politics and are very passionate about it.

… people who tell me, my job choice was right, because my new colleagues are amazing.

… people who say: You are OUR new…

… opening my door and see flowers and sweets on the table.

… the flowers I got for my birthday. Every morning I see new blossoms or new buds that’ll soon be blossoms.

… thick milk foam on my coffee.

That’s what I loved this week. I’ll tell you more next week. Enjoy your day and celebrate!

Yesterday I started my new job and was welcomed with some pretty flowers and some nice chocolate. They definitely know what I like…

The first day was calm. I read newspapers to be up to date with what’s on in the city (which is part of my job, incredible…) and then I read some documents for work so I know about all the current negotiations and the major politics of the party. In the evening we went to a meeting where I got to know all the people I’ll work with in the future. It was pretty cool.

Today was almost the same, but without the meeting. I need to read a lot in different themes. My overall theme is “social life”, so I read about schools, health care, sports, culture… So far I find it pretty interesting. It’s a major improvement to my last job, in my opinion. So far I have a lot of fun

These are the flowers of my colleagues:

Last weekend I attended a salsa/samba-workshop, which was really fun. It was cool to learn new dances and to be able to swing my hips, which are quiet stiff as I have to admit. I don’t like that fact too much, but I think it is a common problem in western countries. Dancing salsa and samba require that you are flexible in your hips, your shoulders, everywhere to be precise. Learning these techniques – we trained a long time to roll and swing the hips – might be very helpful for an overall new feeling of your body. At least I think, I am walking with way more grace after the ten hours of dancing.

And that’s where it gets ugly. I can’t remember if I ever in all my life did sports for ten hours straight on two days and don’t be misleaded, dancing really IS sport. After the first day I was a wrack, but I paid for the second day as well, so I managed somehow to get out of bed and go back to track. And it was really hard to complete the day. Today my body is sore everywhere. Even in parts where I didn’t know that I had muscles. But on the other hand it is an amazing feeling to accomplish such a task. I had a lot of fun, even though it was kind of a masochistic fun, I have to admit. I am proud of myself now. I managed it somehow. I don’t know how to be honest. But there seems to be much more strength in this body of mine than I guessed.

Yesterday were elections in Germany and unfortunately the wrong parties – from my point of view – won. I see bad things coming towards us and I am not sure if I really want to live in this country in the coming four years. I still hope it won’t be too bad, but in the end I know that’s false hope. Neoliberalisms reared it’s ugly head last year and I really can’t understand how people can fall for it again. Stupidity? Maybe, but still the voter decides… With just 70 % it’s not very legitimate though. We will see what the next four years are bringing, but I can’t imagine – even with the big fantasy of mine – that it can be positive.

On Thursday will be my first day in the new job and I really can’t wait for the new challenges.  That will be good, I am sure.

That’s it for today. Hope you all have a great start to this new week.

Today is my mom’s birthday! She’s definitely the best mom on this planet. I really, really couldn’t imagine my life without her. She’s not only my mom but also my friend (although sometimes she mixes those two roles up a bit too much). I know when she’s around nothing can go wrong. She is the reason why I am able to take risks, because I know she is my safety net. I couldn’t have gone on that long journey without her help and her visit in Costa Rica was definitely the most special time on that trip. She is my rock.

I’ll never be able to give back all the things she’s doing for me, but I try. Every year on her birthday my sister and I cook a lot of special food for her party. Last year one of the dishes was Jamie Oliver’s Spicy Pork Ribs. I don’t eat meat, so I didn’t taste it, but everyone was completely smitten. The mixture of orange juice, lemon juice, spices and honey seems to be a blast. For today I am looking for an equally amazing dish. I am not quite sure yet, but maybe I am going to make some Roastbeef? Anyone having any suggestions? It has to be something that doesn’t need to marinate all night long and a cooking time less than four hours. Thanks for helping a girl out!

I wish you a great day! Celebrate

March 2001: I’d finished High School the year before and started a training program. In March I couldn’t take anymore and stopped it. So there I was without a job, but I didn’t want to be unemployed till university started. A friend of mine worked in a communications agency and told me that they are looking for new employees. Nothing fancy, just typing in data. I phoned them and could start the next day. Even though the work was stupid I enjoyed my time there, mainly because of all the great people I was able to work with. I met a lot of great new friends and every time I was there, I had a bunch of awesome people around me. We worked, we laughed, we chatted. It was a perfect students job.

December 2004: The company lost the biggest client in my section of the job. Almost everybody in my department got fired, except me and a second colleague. I don’t know why I was singled out, but I didn’t ask too many questions. I was happy that I could stay. But it was a hard time to see all my friends being fired, including my sister, who worked there as well. Strangely some people, like my then boss, didn’t understand why it was a sad moment for those of us who where allowed to stay as well.

June 2005: A new project started, which caused a major change in my work. From now on I wouldn’t type in data anymore, but be a writer. I was supposed to write articles for a new website of my town. For the first time I could do something really productive here. Something I liked, something that gave me a new perspective. I was already working as a freelancer for a newspaper at that point, but that I could also start writing in my main students job was great!

Since May 2006: I usually worked 15 hours a week. But then two colleagues ended their work in the agency and I was supposed to take over. How could I work my stuff and their stuff in the same amount of time? Nobody of my bosses seemed to grasp that. And so they put new work and new work and new work on my shoulders. It went on and on till September 2008. I was in my final exams, I had to write my 100 pages thesis, but still they put pressure on me. Everytime I said I couldn’t anymore, they said: “Well, then we have to hire a new employee and if we do you won’t have the chance to work fulltime with us when you’ll finish university.” And I bought it. I was so unhappy in 2008.

October 2008: I finished university and started my biggest adventure. I left all and everything and traveled six months in Latin America. That was so needed! I enjoyed every moment of my time abroad and I wish I could leave again. For the first time in three years I was truly happy. I smiled every day, didn’t shed a single tear (well, I did once, because my mom and my sister visited me in Costa Rica and it was very sad when they left again) and was in a constant good mood. Fantastic!

May 2009: I came back to Germany and asked my old boss, if I could start working again. She told me: “Well, now we have a project and you can help me with it. That takes a month. But afterwards I can’t promise if you can work here any longer.” That talk was very frustrating, because I worked there for eight years! I mean, they shouldn’t be that mean. Right? A week later I talked with my boss and said, that if she can’t give me a perspective, I needed to search for a new job. She offered me a job, but said: “It’s not a real perspective for you. This is not what you studied and not what you really want to do. We are going to do this as an ‘transition’, but you should start searching for a new job.”

September 2009: I got a new job offer! The green party offered me to work as secretary general in my town. A big chance! I was so happy when they said, I could have the job. Even before I knew it was a definite “go” I told my boss about it, because I wanted to be fair. But her reaction blew me away. She was so nasty, talking bad about the new job, the new people and said, that I would do a big mistake. And then she said: ” You’ll see very early that you made the wrong decision, but I am not going to hold open your position. If you go now, I will employ someone else and you’ll be on the street when you find out how horrible this job is.” She really disappointed me with that speach. But she also strengthens my decision. Who wants to work with a boss who is that nasty? It’s just sad that my time here will end with a bad touch.

Coming October 2009: I’ll start my new position and I am HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY! I can’t wait for this new challenge. And the best: I need to work 25 % less and get 25 % more money. That’s not too bad, right?

VIRTUAL CHAMPAGNE for everyone! Yay!

My friends gave me a flower for my birthday a few weeks ago. It’s a hibiscus. When they gave it to me there was one blossom, which was already dead. My friend was very sad because I only had a green plant now and the blossom was so beautiful, she told me. I’ve been told that they are only blooming for a few days before the blossoms die. But it had a lot of buds and so I hoped. Although I am not a good “flower mum” I did my best. And it worked. On Saturday the first bud opened and a big blossom in a fascinating color came to life. This shiny yellow! Oh, that is so fantastic! I truly love it. And then the second surprise on Sunday, when a second bud opened. Now I have this amazing flower on my window sill and everytime I enter my kitchen I see the color and I am happy. Even now, while I remember my little baby my heart is filled with joy. Strange, how the little things can have such a big effect. I truly love it.

Enjoy the pics of my favourite flower (at least for now, because usually I prefer sunflowers. Just in case you need to know it )