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!
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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)
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| 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.
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| IAEA Ball 2011, Grand Ballroom |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| We found a winner! |
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| oops, helps to open the doors before you tie the tree down |
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| Let's see what she looks like! |
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| Can you find the birds nest? |
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| Away in a manger a nest for a bed... |
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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!
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| Maggie and Matt's first Christmas in their new house |
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| 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~!
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| 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.."
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| Do&Co for dinner... |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Hotel room with a castle view |
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| 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...
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| Wine festival |
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| Kevin and Lauren |
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| 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!
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| Do I look Austrian... or like I serve beer for a living? |
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| Munich couldn't handle us! |
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| 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!
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| Boulder, CO "The Sink" |
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| Drinks at the top of the W |
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| No better place to spend your last day in the US! NY City! |
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| 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!
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| Building a big apple in the "Big Apple" |
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| 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!
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| Welcome to God's country |
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| 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.
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| Bryant Lake Bowling Alley Reunion |
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| The original Starbucks in Seattle with Jill and baby Ella |
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| At the finish of the Ragnar relay Washington |
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| 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:)
