Halloween US Embassy Style

Once Eddie's friends at the US Mission found out he would be visiting Vienna over the Ambassadors infamous Halloween party, we were lucky enough to be added to the guest list.

Ramses and Cleopatra

Clint and Lisa picked up our invitation and then hosted  drinks at their place before hand. Clint mixed up some Halloween specialties like Bloody Blood Orange margaritas and coffee flavored Criptinis.  Which was the perfect cure to Eddie's jet lag (he flew in from DC that morning.)

Stars and Stripes

We arrived at the Ambassadors house shortly after the party started. Wow does he know how to throw a party. There were plenty of servers walking around with trays full of drinks and delicious cocktail food. Everything from pasta, shrimp, chicken, pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie. I blame today's headache on the cute little old man who was constantly filling my drink up.

 

The most dangerous man at the party

Delicious pumpkin pie

At the end of the night the Ambassador announced best costumes. 

We danced the night away in the basement where the Ambassador had a dance floor with a DJ.Overall it was a fantastic night with friends.

(This blog is dedicated to our friend Clint)

FIGHT LIKE A GIRL!!!!

What would you do if someone told you that you had a monster growing inside of you? Something you knew little to nothing about...Something that seemed to be out of your control? 

My beautiful friend April has just been diagnosed with HER2 positive type cancer. They found it in her breast and lymph nods and after doing a scan of her body, they have found spots in her lungs. She is afraid right now and trying to learn as much as she can about this monster growing inside her body.  

It is hard news for me to hear especially when I am so far away from her. I want to be there to hug her and help her in any way possible.

The only thing I am able to do for myself right now is take a step back and stop panicking. Helping her to look at the positives to have enough strength to begin this fight.

The positives we do know: 

1. It is NOT in her bones, liver or brain and this type of cancer responds well to chemo!
2. She has an amazing new husband that is doing everything possible to ease the pain and worry that she is carrying around with her.
3. With a load that big and being far from Canada she has an amazing support system of friends in Dubai.
4. The power of a positive mind (mind over matter) staying strong mentally to keep herself strong physically.
5. Educate yourself... learn as much as you can to fight it and be a support
http://www.macmillan.org.uk/
 
I have a long weekend coming up in two weeks and am trying to arrange a trip to Dubai. Of course my passport is expiring in less than 6 months and the UAE does not let you into their country if this happens.  At the moment I am crossing my fingers and hoping the new one I've ordered is expressed back to me by next week.

My amazing mother who is currently in her own battle with breast cancer just had her last radiation treatment yesterday. she is still receiving chemo every three weeks and will be until January 2012. She has been so strong through all of this.  I know she will have some wonderful advice for April.

April is 34 years old and a healthy/ fit young woman and this goes to show that cancer just chooses anyone.  We all have to live in the now and appreciate ever day we have our health.  It is definitely making me think about healthy choices, but more importantly everyone woman should find a good doctor and be getting yearly exams. I know that April is going to give this cancer one hell of a fight!!!

36 hours in Skopji, Macedonia ( Passport retirement trip, country number 42 )

Eddie and I went to Skopji, Macedonia to play in the 5th annual US Embassy Soccer Tournament. Before this weekend if you would have asked me to locate Macedonia on a map I would have struggled a bit. I knew it was part of Eastern Europe, but had no idea what countries even bordered it.  I'm still not exactly sure how to recap my time there or better yet, explain the aches and pains of trying to get there on Friday. It was definitely a trip with a comedy of errors.

I met up with Eddie and a friend for a beer after work to celebrate the weekend and kill a bit of time before heading to the airport. The storm looked like it had passed and some sun and a beer were exactly what was needed to start the weekend off right. After an hour of relaxing we headed to the airport. I was excited to use my passport for the last time on country number 42. I can't believe 10 years of traveling, 6 visas and 170 stamps has gone by so quick.

It was a short and painless ride to the airport, with our boarding passes printed and only our carry on luggage we were into the terminal and trying to locate our gate. You can imagine the shock on our face seeing this...

WHAT... CANCELED??

How could our connection flight through Zagreb be CANCELED? What were we going to do if we couldn't get a flight that night to get us to Skopji? Would we make it in time for the tournament to start at 8:30AM? The flight was canceled due to a mechanical problem. We (I) panicked a bit and told the lady how we had to be in Skopji by 8am.  She realized that the Zagreb was not our final destination and began the processing of rerouting us. To my surprise, the woman helping us found a flight leaving that night, taking us through Budapest and getting into Skopji a little after 1am. Thank God!... before that we were contemplating the 11 hour drive.

We had a few hours to kill at the airport so we headed across the street to one of the hotels to have a better choice for dinner. That is when the thunderstorm rolled through. We tried to wait it out but ended up running back across the street in the pouring rain when we saw our flight said "go to gate". You can only guessed what happened next... Yep, our flight was delayed and the gates on the ground floor were flooding... Now the concern was making the connection in Budapest. We took off 40 minutes late and by the time we landed in Budapest we hit the ground running (literally) we ran until we found the first desk for the Hungarian airline (Mave) we made it just in time and got to our gate as it was boarding.

yep the airport is flooding...

Budapest airport... trying to get boarding cards for a flight leaving in 20 min...

I'd never been to one of the Balkan States before, I knew I was in for an experience. When we landed at the Skopija "Alexander the Great" airport and walked from the aircraft right into the terminal.  Eddie just happens to have a friend who lives there so he picked us up and we stayed at his place.

the smallest airport in the world

Unlucky for us we drew the first match of the day and had to play on the wooden gym floor for our first two games. That is about the way our luck went for the rest of the tournament. We were the only team that was 100% American. The rest were giant Balkan men that are security guards for the Embassies. Needless to say, we lost our first two games 0-4 and the second two 0-1. There was only one other girl in the entire tournament but I think we both held our own against the men.

The 11 Embassies from Eastern to Central Europe

Team Vienna

Macedonia is part of the former Yugoslavia. It is an interesting country because it has a slew of Orthodox churches,  but it also has a number of mosques dating from the Ottoman period.  I only spent 36 hours in the country but it was long enough to see most of this small town. Here area  few of my favorite pictures from the weekend

The sports complex

The communist style apartments 

men sitting around playing chess

Delicious Slovak beer- Lasko Dark

a view with the controversial cross on the hill

everything is sooo cheap

near the castle with a view of one of the mosques behind me

yikes these dresses were so awful

typical Balkan dancing at our group dinner

They can't get enough of it. Most of our team jumped in too

What's in your food? You might want to find out!!

Yikes! Have you ever seen the movie Food, Inc.? If you haven't, you really need to! It might just be one of those movies that actually causes change in your life. At least, I hope it is. I can say that I will honestly try to make as many changes I can when choosing a meal or a snack. I had no idea the way meat and food in the US and around the world is massed produced and pumped full of hormones. Not to mention the quality and standard of food processing/meat packing plants and the amount of food that is contaminated with staff...the strain that is resistant to most antibiotics.

We have tried to look for grocery stores and markets that sell "Bio" food and meat and vegetables that are grown naturally. Animals raised without hormones and chickens that have free range and can walk on their own two legs because they don't have massive breasts that only allow them to take two steps before collapsing onto their own legs and not being able to bare their own weight.

http://www.takepart.com/news/blogs/hungry

http://www.foodincmovie.com/about-the-issues.php

Mallorca, Spain

When we found tickets for less than 90euros from Bratislava To Palma on Ryan air, we couldn't turn it down. I loved spending this years girls trip on the Island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean. I had always heard of Mallorca (or Majorca) and have plenty of friend's who have visited the island, but wasn't exactly sure where it was located in relation to the rest of Spain. I was surprised to see how close it was to Barcelona. It was small enough to have a mountain and beach vacation at the same time.

Anika, Lisa and I arrived on Easter Sunday late in the evening. We rented a car and drove from Palma to the west coast for the first two nights. Our hotel was just outside Valldemossa. The map makes the island look huge. We were surprised when we were able to drive from the airport to Valldemossa in 30 minutes. We spent most of the first day walking around the town and visited the morning market.

Valldemossa

Aroma was the best place to have a bottle of wine and get out of the rain

I've learned my lesson of never saying "I wonder what would happen if..."  Not two minutes after saying "I wonder what would happen if two tour buses had to pass each other on these roads" We litteraly came around a corner and saw the exact scenario. With a slight off road maneuver they were on their way but too bad for our little car. We weren't able to get by on the rocky shoulder. It was stressful but we managed to get by (pulling in side mirrors) and hardly scraping by! We spent the first few days just driving and seeing some of the sights. We really liked the small town of Soller and the drive up the coast toward Pollensa to see the light house.

The light house at the end of the road

We spent our last three days at the beach in Alcudia. The weather finally cleared up when we got here and it was even warm enough to lay by the pool! The water was still too cold to swim.  The Viva Tropic hotel was insanely cheap and newly remodled so it was a perfect deal. We only paid 120 euros total for three people for three nights!

The view from our hotel room

We found an cute little place withe ham and cheese croissants so it turned into part of our morning routine. We rented bikes one morning and rode for about an hour toward C'an Picafort. It was pretty flat and an easy ride.

The beaches in this area are said to be some of Europes best beaches! We decided to have a drink and our favorite appetizer at one of the beach restaurants on our last night. Most of the better restaurants were not directly on the beach.

Patron Peppers

We ate here two night in a row, the Rioja and Pallea were amazing!

I am the WORST Blogger ever...11 month update...

How is it possible that its almost been an entire year since my last blog... What do I spend my time doing that I don't have 30 minutes somewhere in a week to give an update???  I am going to do my best to stick to it this time (fingers crossed behind my back).... but here is what I've been up to the past 11 months, let's catch up and work from current to oldest!

April '11
Spring break is finally here and I am off to the island of Mallorca, Spain for a holiday with my girlfriends Lisa and Anika! I can't wait to share my findings from this tiny island in the Med.

belated birthday trip to ROME! I just can't get enough of Italy. I love Rome in the spring. April is artichoke season and a trip to the Jewish ghetto for a Roman Jewish Artichoke is a must. I loved catching up with some old friends and eating dinner at the restaurant from the movie Eat Pray Love!

The restaurant from the movie "Eat, Pray Love"

March '11
Birthday number 31! It came and went... starting to get used to the fact that I am getting old. A murder mystery party was a fun twist for this years celebration. It is always nice to have good friends over. If you haven't hosted one of these dinners you should try it sometime!

This was a busy month for Balls..The masquerade ball for a Monday night was perfect! Finding a mask the night of was a bit of a disaster but it all worked out in the end. A table in a smaller room with a band that loved to play Cha Cha tunes was a lot of fun. The Irish ball was a disappointment this year. It felt like a bad wedding reception and when the music started at 1am it was an Irish band singing American oldies, disaster!

Steph, Sarah, Lisa -Masquerade Ball, Hofburg Palace '11

A trip to Berlin, Germany at the end of the month was perfect timing to get a break from Vienna and see a city with so much life and history. I can hardly believe the history this city holds. Not to mention being caught in the middle of a flash mob pillow fight.

A section of the Berlin Wall

February '11
Ski Week! I actually spent an entire week in the mountains skiing. I have realized that snowboarding will always be something I love (to hate)! I skied most of the week and enjoyed it for what it is (the thing I have to do before lunch+beer and Apres ski at 4:00)

Schladming, Austria

The IAEA ball was another main event. i loved my dress this year but it was too crowded to dance in the main ballroom and just not as good as the previous year.

IAEA Ball 2011,  Grand Ballroom

Hofburg Palace red carpet

January '11
2011 is here! It was a quiet New Years at home. Unfortunately an ice storm got in the way of our plans to have my sister Maggie and her husband over, and the flu knocked out my other sister Sara. I guess this year was meant to be quiet.  I've also learned to leave myself a longer connection when flying back to Austria. This is the second time I have spent the day sitting at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam after missing my 1 hour connection.  Ball season in Vienna began! We are going to six balls this year. The Philharmonic was extremely elegant and I couldn't believe how beautiful the Musikverein looked. A bit too crowded to dance but it cleared out enough by 2am to be able to move about the floor with only a few collisions.

Philharmonic Ball Vienna, Austria 2011

December '10
 Christmas season in Vienna! That means: Christmas markets, Gluwein, and Christmas trees! Eddie and I got another giant tree, this one was even bigger than last year... pushing the limits at 15 feet. The best part was the natural decoration found between the branches, a birds nest...perfect for a baby Jesus, ha, we had fun with that one.

We found a winner!

oops, helps to open the doors before you tie the tree down

Let's see what she looks like!

Can you find the birds nest?

 

Away in a manger a nest for a bed...

 Home again for the holidays. It was nice having my sister Maggie there but Sara had to work. Sara showed up on the 27th so I was happy to have her around for the rest of the holiday. I love getting together with the high school friends for our Christmas brunch! So many wonderful babies around now to celebrate with too!

Maggie and Matt's first Christmas in their new house

Christmas Brunch with the Sibley crew

It is hard seeing my mom dealing with breast cancer, but she has a good diagnosis and breast cancer will soon be a thing of her past. She is the strongest woman I know~!

The Finzen Women

November '10
My mom came to visit! LOVED traveling with her again. She helped out with the soccer trip to Switzerland this year. An overnight train with a group of middle school girls is an interesting task to complete. Fall break finally arrived and mom and I were off to Turkey for a long holiday. Istanbul was an incredible place to spend 5 days, there is so much to see and do. But the most magical part of the trip was 3 days in Cappadocia! This martian landscape is a must see and the 6 am Hot Air balloon flight is well worth it~

After my mom left, Eddie surprised me with dinner at Do&CO and a trip to the famous Vienna Opera House. We stood with my mom to see part of Madam Butterfly so it was nice to actually go and have a seat with a translator bar. The Barber of Seville was excellent! "Figaro.."

Do&Co for dinner...

Vienna Opera House

October '10
When in Austria... learn how to Waltz! There are so many traditional balls during the winter in Austria. So we decided to sign up for dance lessons and give it a try. Cha cha, tango, two-step, waltz, we are getting the hang of it.

I even have professional shoes!

Eddie's dad came to visit. We decided to go away for the weekend to see a little more of Eastern Europe. A three hour drive brought us to Czesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. A gorgeous view from our room and a tour of the castle and local brewery.

Hotel room with a castle view

Ed and Eddie looking down on the city

September '10
School starts and here I am teaching Kindergarten again! Coaching soccer makes up for it! Visitors help too! Kevin and Lauren came from NY at the beginning of the month and we spent the weekend in the mountains ofSchladming (3 hour drive from Vienna) and went to the Dachstein Glacier. We stumbled across a wine festival in the town, so when in Rome...

Wine festival

Kevin and Lauren

At the top of the glacier

OKTOBERFEST round II! Anika and I headed back to Munich for a long weekend to celebrate Oktoberfest. I LOVED having Katie and Zac join this year!

Do I look Austrian... or like I serve beer for a living?

Munich couldn't handle us!

Paulaner Tent

August '10
 Colorado for a few days was a highlight! A night out in Boulder and a quick drive to the mountains for a run down the Alpine slide. Washington DC for a quick visit, followed by a drive south to Pennsylvania for a wedding and a flight up to New York in time for a nice dinner with Kevin and Lauren, Chipotle and a stop at my favorite Ice cream truck near union square (http://www.biggayicecreamtruck.com/) Good bye USA see you at Christmas!

Boulder, CO "The Sink"

Drinks at the top of the W

No better place to spend your last day in the US! NY City!

seriously... so good!

July '10
No better way to enter the USA than a stop in New York with my favorite Australian! Spending the 4th of July in Minnesota at my aunt and uncles house (no better place to celebrate). Hanging out with Maggie at the New Target Field to watch the Twins, meeting her adorable puppy Boomer and seeing her new house! 

Building a big apple in the "Big Apple"

Twins game with Maggie at the new Target Field

Heading to Alaska with my dad and Mary to Visit Sara and have a run around the Kenai peninsula. Loved watching the world cup final in a small bar in Homer~! It was wonderful catching up with Darcie and meeting Chris too.  I can't wait for the trip next summer!

Welcome to God's country

Halibut fishing -Homer, AK

Go go go! Dubai reunion in MN, Trip to the Pacific Northwest to run the Ragnar Relay in Washington with Lisa, a quick visit to Seattle to See Jill and her beautiful family and to Portland, Oregon to see Sara and her beautiful family.

Bryant Lake Bowling Alley Reunion

The original Starbucks in Seattle with Jill and baby Ella

At the finish of the Ragnar relay Washington

Sara and baby Sammy in Portland

June '10
End of School and my toughest year of teaching! Hello summer and watching World Cup South Africa on the big screen:)