Kinder Eggs

Before Nik left, his mom gave me a chocolate egg from Germany. They are called Kinder Eggs. Inside there is a little toy and sometimes there are toys that you have to put together. The toys can be very intricate, so they are not allowed in the US due to being a choking hazard. Kim, my roommate said, " Kids in the US aren't smart enough to handled them." That made me laugh. Since his family has traveled all over, they had brought some back from their last trip and Gail happened to have one for me and Nik. I opened mine on the way up to Portland. The chocolate was delicious, but I was a little disappointed that my toy didn't do anything cool. It was just an egyptian princess holding a pot of something. I did, however, find it kind of sentimental that Nik and I opened the egg together and he was in fact going to Germany soon. I decided to keep the little thing, just as a reminder of that time.

Well, this morning I was talking to Nik online and he holds up this same little toy. For a second, I thought he must have grabbed it before he left because he wanted it, but in fact he found it in the house he is living in. I couldn't believe we have the same one. There are so many of these toys the odds of having the same one is rare. Now it means so much more to me. He was sweet by saying, "It means good fortune and safe travels for us." I think he was just indulging me, but it was very sweet and a huge coincedence.

Btw.... Nik is doing very well in Germany. He is all settled in and loves his new place. He has his own room and he shares a house with 4 other guys, including Danny (his American teammate). They practice Tuesday through Friday, coach teenage kids Tuesday through Thursday and play a double header every Saturday. He had his first game the first day he got there. He caught the entire game and hit 2 doubles and made a run in. I am so very proud of you Nik.

Check out his blog at Baseball, Beers and Bratwurst

New Home

Yesterday I moved into my new home. I have three roommates, a couple (Sean and Kim) and another girl from Austria (Martina). Funny thing is Martina and Kim speak German, so they might be able to help me with my speaking skills. They are all great people and very welcoming. The house is in North Portland or St. Johns neighborhood. It is a cute up and coming neighborhood with delicious coffee shops, fun places to hangout, many parks to take Wanda and friends near by.

The great thing about this living situation is they do family dinners many times a week and they cook everything from scratch. Also, everything they eat is organic or grass fed. This is going to be a great set up for me, because then I will have the chance to make new friends and feel like I am a part of something in Portland. Yesterday, I wasn't sure what to expect when I moved in, but it turned out to be a fantastic day. Martina went with me to Ikea, so I could get some sheets, hangers and other little things, then we met up with our friend Wanda (pronounced Vunda) and took the dogs for a short run/walk through Cathedral Park. Cathedral Park is under the St. Johns Bridge. It is beautiful and we were lucky to have the nice weather.

Afterwards, Martina and I made dinner. We made chicken stuffed with spinach, goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes and garlic. She also showed me how to make a delicious garlic hummus. Our meal was fantastic and it was definitely a great way to start off at a new place.

So many new things, it is weird to think about how different my life is. Things are coming together though, one step at a time. 

And... He's off

Nik took off yesterday morning from Portland airport. He and his buddy Danny met at the airport at 5 am. Danny played with Nik in college and he is going over with Nik as a pitcher for The Untouchables. The plan was the guys were supposed to fly to Chicago, Toronto, Vienna, Dusseldorf, then take a bus to Paderborn. Well... they got to Chicago which was supposed to be a quick stop and were kicked off the plane. Their flight had been canceled to Toronto. Yikes!! So, Nik spent the day in Chicago trying to figure out how they were going to get to Paderborn. Finally, I am sure with help from his mom, she owns a travel company, he found a flight to London, then onto Dusseldorf. He should be arriving sometime today.

Nik and Danny practicing before their departure

I on the other hand did not do so well with the farewell. I was really bummed to see him go. I will be just fine though, I have some really exciting things to look forward to. I am just waiting until they are set in stone, before I announce them on my blog. So far I am loving my new city, Wanda is too. I should have an update soon on my new home, school and a possible job. 

Moving to Portland

The time has come for me to move on from Reno. That's right, I am moving to Portland. This has been something I have been working towards for quite awhile. I packed up my little Subaru with as much stuff as it could hold, minus a space for Wanda, Nik and his gear for Germany. As you can imagine I didn't have much space. No worries though, I plan on getting situated (find a place to live, a job and get school squared away) before I head back down and pick up the rest of my stuff.

Poor Nik and I have had sinus infections and he lost his voice, so we have been two sickly people trying to get healthy. The funny thing is, whenever he laughs it sounds so funny, I start to laugh, then he keeps laughing and basically we can't stop. So, most of our ride up to Portland yesterday consisted on these uncontrollable laughter attacks. In other words, we had a great ride. Also, along the way, we spotted a gigantic rainbow. I have never seen anything like it. This rainbow was touching ground about 50 feet from the road and about 300 yards on the other side of the freeway. I like to think it was a good omen for my move. Or, maybe I am just going to find a pot of gold.

For the time being, I am staying at the Little's house. Gus and Colleen live in Beaverton in a great home, with their new puppy Ruby. Ruby absolutely loves Wanda so they had a great time of wrestling when we first arrived. Nik and I headed downtown for dinner at our favorite restaurant, Jake's Famous Crawfish, and had a late happy hour meal. We are really doing a great job enjoying every last minute together, and it truly has been a blast.

I am very excited to be up here. I love this city and am looking forward to calling this my home. The ocean and Mt Hood are an hour away. The architecture and vibe of the city are incredible. It is a bike and environmentally friendly city and the culture is very kick back and easy going. All of these attributes are right down my alley. My main goal while I am here is to finish my undergrad and hopefully my masters. I will keep everyone posted on everything that is happening (I am sure there is going to be a lot to write about in the near future).

Bay Area for the week

Since Nik is leaving soon (off to Germany), I have been spending quite a lot of time here in the Bay Area. I has been beautiful everyday, around 70 degrees and we have had a wonderful time. We have done many things, but mainly we have just been trying to get some quality time in. Last Thursday we watched the San Jose Sharks (hockey) win an outstanding game against the Predators. They were down until the 3rd quarter where they made 4 goals, including an amazing backhanded goal. 

His parents were here over the weekend so, it was fun getting to spend some quality time with them. We walked the Lafayette Reservoir twice and went to one of Nik's baseball games. He is the coach for a 14 and under team for Moraga. Gail made lamb one night for dinner and we had a fantastic time telling stories, laughing and enjoying being together. On Monday, Nik and I took the trip down to visit Nana. We enjoyed catching up, going to lunch and picking oranges and lemons from her trees. That night his brother and sister in-law (Steve and Susie) made us dinner in the city. Steve made a mean tri tip, (probably the best I have ever had) mashed potatoes, asparagus and Nik made pazookies for dessert. Food comma for sure! 

(Bad photo. I'll blame the iPhone)

For St. Patrick's Day we went into the city again to hangout with his brother. Nik had a late baseball game that night so we did not get into the city until about 9 PM. I didn't mind though, I really enjoy watching him coach. We went to the neighborhood Irish pubs and had fun hanging out with some new french friends. It has been a great trip. One I am not looking forward to ending. 

Paderborn Untouchables

Well, it is official. Nik has been recruited to play professional baseball in Germany for the Paderborn Untouchables. He will be leaving on March 26th for 6 months. Playing professional ball has been Nik's dream since he was a little boy starting baseball on the Reno Little League Team, the Padres. I remember playing against him when I was in first and second grade on the Giants and the Astros. He was fortunate to play in college for the University of Portland in the Division One League as their starting catcher and one of their top hitters. He then coached for 4 years during grad school and is now having this incredible opportunity. He will be the starting catcher for The Untouchables. The Untouchables have dominated the Germany baseball league since 2001, winning every championship. I am very happy for him and his opportunity and I will definitely be making a trip out there to watch him play. Nik will be starting a blog to document his journey while he is there. I will be sure to post it on my page.

http://www.untouchables.com/

Paderborn is located in North Central Germany. It has a university and is a huge town for American Sports (baseball, American football and volleyball). It was founded in 795 by Charlemagne and the population is over 144,000 with approximately 10% students. 

Congratulations Nik!! 

I am very proud of you. You will do so well and I can't wait to watch you play.

The Great Race 2010

Well, the Lathams, the Reskos and I made it. It was quite an adventure, lots of laughs, hard work and a beautiful day. The race was 30 km (around 18 miles). It started uphill and continued that way until the 11th km. I was on my own in the beginning, because I started in a different wave then everyone else. So, getting to the top took a lot of mental strength. It proved to be very challenging especially when everyone, including kids around 10 to adults in there 70s, was passing me up. When I arrived at the top, I could hear Sarah and Zach cheering for me. It truly made my day, to hear people you know rooting for you. Our friends the Fairchild brothers were up at the top as well. The 6 of us skated our way through the rest of the course, laughing, falling and cheering each other on. 

At the finish, there is a gigantic down hill. A little sketchy to say the least. Sarah and Zach made a quick run for it, while I stopped at the top to regroup and then head down. It was a funny sight to see, people coming down this hill through the finish in a full snow plow. Mom and Ben were there to cheer us in and we all hugged and congratulated one another. 

We waited for the Reskos to make their decent through the finish line. Sarah was the lucky one who actually got to see Willie and Jenna arrive. Apparently, Willie was a very good nordic skier growing up and he decided to tuck (point it in a tucking position) the last hill. As he made it through the finish line he could not stop and demonstrated a yard sale to the crowd (meaning he fell and all of his gear came flying off). The crowd gave a loud cheer and the announcer stated that, that must be the way people do it up in Idaho. Jenna made it down carrying her skies and decided next year she would cheer us on from the side lines. 

Afterwards we enjoyed lunch and relaxation in the sun. It was a great adventure! One I will remember for a very long time. Thanks Lathams and Reskos for coming down to Tahoe to share this great experience with me. I had a wonderful time.