Alright, It's not perfect. you have to click on "Launch Stand Alone Player" to hear my list. Please do. By the way, it's a game: Which one of these is not like the other? Which one of these do not belong?

More Pictures

Hey, I know it's been a while since you've heard form me, but I've been staying away from the internet on purpose. I just waste time when I'm around it as evidenced by today. I spent most of the afternoon and evening getting a playlist together and couldn't get the stupid thing to post. Huuuhhhhh!

Anyway I wanted to share these pics with you. I was sitting in my living room on Friday, working, when I looked outside and realized i better get out there and document fall before it went away on me. It's gotten really cold and rainy really fast. It actually snowed last Saturday, although nothing stuck. The pics are mostly of my spent garden and my neighbors plants that fall over over mutual fence. I really love the ones of the broccoli blossoms and I'm upset I couldn't get one with the worm in focus.

Oh, well, I have often refered to myself as The Photographer Who Can't Be Bothered to Take Good Photographs. I'm more of a point and shoot and hope for the best type. I do have a small tripod, but I mostly use that for family shots while on vacations. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my Macro lens? Thank you Kevin-I love you more, most of the time.

Okay, that's enough time suckage. Back to the mysterious life of an expat wife. (Equivalent to an International Woman of Mystery (or is that Misery, I forget)) By the way-Mer, you should know that it's me writing because I refered to myself as a wife/woman. hehhehhhehehhheeeeee Love you!

HELP I NEED SOMEBODY

Hey you guys, I need help! I've been trying with all my might to get my Playlist on my blog. It's driving me nuts!!!!! I got the code, and then blogger won't accept it, or it doesn't have the songs on it?!! Any clue what I'm doing wrong?

Pumpkin Carving

A few years ago, we started carving pumpkins at my dads house. It was always a blast. Then all the boys moved away. Patrick to Utah, Marcy and I to Slovakia and John to Idaho. The girls are still in Arizona, but I'm not sure if they still do pumpkins.

Marcy and I kept up the pumpkin tradition in Slovakia. They don't really celebrate Halloween here, but it's still fun. We invite the young, single adults from the Branch and the missionaries. Tonight was the third year we've done this. The fruits of our labor:
Missionaries and members hard at work. Robert, the one sitting on the floor, is a member and also our neighbor.

Bremen and my pumpkin. While I carved the face, Bremen picked up a knife and started slashing, digging on the sides of the pumpkin. He said he was making "scars and scratches".


Do you have a favorite? Bremen likes the elf one the best. I was also quite impressed with that one. It was made by Elder Sorenson ... without a pattern. Not bad.



Oh, by the way, you can see Elder Sorenson as the lead in the following Mormon movie http://www.turnaroundmovie.com/.

Since learning that he's an actor, he now has to come to Primary anytime I need someone to act like a prophet, Bible character or whatever. Lucky guy.

America's Test Kitchen ... My Box

Bremen has always enjoyed cooking. Thanks to a recent birthday gift from Laura and Dad (to me), Bremen is also now an America's Test Kitchen fan. He and I could sit and watch episode after episode. He will even make me pause the show while he runs to the restroom. His favorite of the 2007 season is the Grilled Shrimp. I like the Chicken Parmesan.



I don't know about everyone else, but I had a box when I was a kid. Everything I put in this box meant something to me ... even if it was just that I thought something was cool and I wanted to keep it. I still have this box. It's taped up, sitting in my office in Arizona with a bunch of other boxes waiting for me to get back to Arizona.

Every few years or so, I'd open the box and relive the memories (or wonder what the heck I saved this for). It's been 2 1/2 years since we've moved to Slovakia and since I've opened the box. I don't remember everything in it, but will enjoy going through it again when I get back. I do remember some items ...

• Railroad tracks from a train set my dad had built when I was maybe 6 or 7 years old. It was a cool train track with a tunnel through a mountain and everything. Well, the train is long gone, but the tracks remain. Maybe Bremen and I will rebuild it together someday.
• Model airplane engines - there is actually a debate over these. Dad claims they are his, but I swear he gave them to me. Sorry, dad ... you're not getting them back.
• Rocks - a few cool rocks that I've found over the years. I intended to turn most of them into jewelry or something, but who knows ... maybe when I'm older.
• A bracelet or two - yes, I was an eighties kid that wore bracelets. No, they were not frilly or pink or anything like that. They were quite manly (if that is possible)

Well, the purpose of all this is that I realized the other day that Bremen has a box of his own. It is for his special things. Here is a picture and a list of items and why I think he includes them in his box ...

• Big round rock tied to a string - given to him by a vendor at a flea market in Austria. He loves to wear it around the house.
• Wallet - where he keeps his allowance. Money = toys or candy. Clear enough.
• Flashlight - I agree with this one. Flashlights are cool.
• 3 Chapsticks - if you know Marcy, you understand this one. He got this from her. Marcy must have bought thousands of these over the course of our marriage. They are everywhere in the house or car or ... well, everywhere ... but she can never find one every time we are passing a 7-11 or Circle K.
• KootieKiller - what little boy wouldn't want KootieKiller?
• Picture of him when he was a baby - he likes to sometimes hold this and look at himself. He loves stories about things he did/liked as a baby.
• Winnie the Pooh statue - obtained in Rome while on vacation. They had vending machines for these things everywhere. Bremen asked for a Euro every time we passed one so he could have another.
• A rock made with wire to look like a fish - I don't know about this one, but it is a craft that Marcy is trying to learn. He loves his mommy.
• Whistle - he complains that he can't whistle with his mouth ... "like daddy". With this he doesn't have to worry about it.

My New Favorite Least-favorite Movie

PAYCHECK starring Ben Afflicked and Uma-gosh, I can't believe they pay her for this Thurman

What does it take to make a bad movie? A few key elements always seem to be present.

1. 'Smell the fart' acting-Thank you Joey
2. Repeat the main characters problem or question at least four times and maybe it will sink in-audiences are stupid.
3. Ignore the science in 'science fiction'.
4. Thinking about the story during the writing process really slows things down.
5. If something doesn't make sense-just add more flames.

Other movies I can't believe I wasted 2 hours of my life on:

1. Van Helsing
2. Reign of Fire
3. The Transporter (this is one long fight/car chase scene-I swear there's 30 minutes where no one speaks because they're too busy fighting.
4. Snakes on a Plane (your mother should be proud Sam), although it's just one of those titles you have to see.
5. Starship Poopers (It's really Starship Troopers, but I don't think anyone will notice)
6. The Brothers Grim

By the way this came about, because Kevin aquired some movies from a friend and they were given to us in a way which we had no idea what Paycheck was about, so we started watching and then I was mesmerized by it's stupidity and had to watch it to the end. Kevin swears we'd actually seen the movie before and I blocked it from my memory, but I doubt it.

Shopping List

Elise recently put her shopping list online and a few people gave her a hard time for it. I think it was quite interesting. Doesn't it say a lot about a person? It's kinda like looking at a persons CD/DVD collection, magazine subscriptions, garbage, etc.

So, to follow her lead, here is my shopping list ...

• Diet Pepsi
• Fresh Milk (not the boxed stuff that has a shelf life of 3 years)
• Pasta (any kind - for Bremen)
• Chicken (from Austria, Marcy doesn't trust the Slovakia stuff)
• Diet Pepsi
• Ground Beef (good luck finding this)
• Eggs
• Quark or Tvorah (sorry no translation in the US, doesn't exist)
• Diet Pepsi
• Canned tomatoes (diced, pureed, etc)
• Refried Beans
• Flour tortillas
• Salsa
• Cheese (Emmentaler, Cheddar, Gouda and Parmesan)
• Bread (also from Austria, but I really don't know why)
• Diet Pepsi
• Lion Bars
• Chocolate Kinder Surprise Eggs
• Meat Sticks (don't ask, it's for Bremen)
• Yoghurt (all flavors, including chocolate and so many of them that they don't all get eaten before they go bad and need to be thrown out)
• Diet Pepsi
• Frozen blueberries
• Cucumbers
• Pepper

And finally ... Diet Pepsi (but only 'cuz they don't have Mt Dew)

Slovakia

It was in 1989 that Slovakia (Czechoslovakia) overthrew the communist regime. Anyone in their mid-thirties or older has a good understanding, or at least an opinion based on experience, of what it was like to live under communist rule.

I was recently discussing the differences with one of the managers at work. As a child growing up under communist rule, he remembers going to the grocery store and having a choice of oatmeal, cornflakes or puffed rice for breakfast cereal. Now his children have 10-15 options to choose from. I told him that in the US there is usually a whole aisle dedicated to breakfast cereal. His comment ... "I like cornflakes."

Another individual at work commented that there was no poor, no one was without food, a place to live or a job. Children were protected, they were the most important asset of the country. Parks ... there were children's parks everywhere (a good number of them still in use today). Parents would take their children out to play in the parks everyday.

I grew up in the 80s, Ronald Reagan era. Communism was the worst evil in the world. Everyone living in a communist state hated it; they were miserable and led the worst kind of life. Then again, the propaganda over here was the same ... a lady at church was surprised to learn that Ronald Reagan was actually a beloved president. She thought he was the devil himself.

I'm not saying people loved Communism. The opportunities people have now are far greater than they could ever imagine. If you are committed, hard working you can accomplish anything. This would not have been possible before. But there are always two sides ... unemployment of 16%, homeless on the streets, people/children in line at soup kitchens, etc.

There is a member of the church in our branch, probably the oldest member in Slovakia. She is the kindest, gentlest lady you could every meet. She brings little candies for the kids every Sunday. As she lives a good distance from Bratislava, she can only afford to come to church every other week. Bremen has learned her schedule and runs into church looking for her the weeks she is supposed to be at church.

She has been a member of the church for over 60 years. In a recent talk, she shared some of her experiences with the church. She has lived through everything; Nazism, Communisum, 'Socialism with a Human Face', Soviet domination, Czechoslovakia rule, reestablishment of the Slovak Republic, etc. and "through it all the church was there. No matter the system of government or the rulers in charge, the Church will be here."

I enjoy living in Slovakia. I love the country. I love the people. While my home is, and always will be the US; I'm grateful for the opprtunity I've had to live her for the last 2 1/2 years.

Don't worry, I still plan on moving back home someday. I don't think I can stay away forever ... I like being able to have Froot Loops one day and Cinnamon Life the next.