Still Alive... :)

Yes hi there!

I just quickly stopped by to say hi and tell you all that I'm still alive and well. The new job is taking its tolls and in addition to single mommyhood, 60-70h work per week don't really leave time for anything else. The branch has been open for over 2 months now and it's going really well. I actually took a very well deserved 2-day weekend this weekend to spend with Elaine, who is almost 8 months now, crawls around like mad and will start to walk soon. She is still the best baby ever! :)

Last night I celebrated into my "hump year day". 21. August 2011 means, I've been here for exactly 2,5 years now - halfway through to my goal of 5 years and citizenship... It's been an interesting ride and I'm sure it will stay that way. With the new company being a Start-Up in the USA, there are lots of possibilities and at this point, I have no clue if next month I will not suddenly be asked to move.... Anything is possible.

By the way, we also have a tropical storm named Irene out there in the Atlantic right now, whose predicted paths bring it very likely to us. Something to keep my eye on... I did not manage to get hurricane prepared this year, so if it comes, I'll be on the road up North!

Hope all of you are doing great as well! I'll get some back-up for the next couple of weeks in regards to lil E, so maybe I'll be able to post a little more again. Right now, the computer sees me about every 2-3 weeks. All else is done over the phone and for some reason, I haven't found a good blogger app yet... If anybody knows of one, let me know!

Sunny greetings from SoFla! - Jen

Easter Sunday Pic

Elaine is 4 months old now and despite me having to work, I decided to dress her up for her 1st Easter and take a couple of pictures. She wasn't that excited, but oh well! :) I hope you all had a relaxing time off!

Gator Land

Last week my friends Aline & Michael from Germany finally came to visit me. They dropped me off at the airport in Frankfurt over two years ago when I started my US-journey and it was about time to see them again. They're also the first friends who made it over here.

It was a short visit, since last year when they booked flights, I didn't know where I'd be living and so they squeezed me into their NY to LA and Vegas travel plans at last minute. The good thing with my job is that I can just take a couple of days off when I feel like it and so I did to be able to spend time with my friends.

The outcome of this visit: After two years I finally made it to the Everglades, saw some gators and went on an air-boat ride. The drive from Hollywood to the Miccosukee Indian village (planted there for tourist of course) was about 1.5h. Since we went on a Wednesday it was pretty dead. We saw a little gator entertainment show, held a mini gator and then headed over to one of the air-boat tour places. It was nice, but we somehow had imagined to speed through the Everglades from what it looks like on TV, but in reality we were in a boat that fit 42 people and went pretty slowly. We did see air-boats that fit only 2-4 people and those probably go faster, but are probably also a lot pricier.

The alligators were pretty lazy. One thing that was new to me was that they hiss to warn you when they feel threatened.... Just like a kitty cat... ;) The demonstration of how fast their mouth closes on contact made me want to keep my distance though!

I didn't take Elaine with us for this trip btw. I found a registered and licensed home day care and so she spent the day there.

In der letzten Woche kamen mich endliche meine Freunde Aline & Michael aus Deutschland besuchen. Die beiden hatten mich vor ueber 2 Jahren zum Frankfurter Flughafen gebracht als ich mein USA-Abenteuer begann und es war an der Zeit sie wieder zu sehen. Sie sind dann auch meine ersten Freunde die es geschafft haben mich hier zu besuchen.

Der Aufenthalt war relativ kurz, da ich letztes Jahr als sie die Fluege buchten noch nicht wusste, wo ich leben wuerde und so wurde ich noch kurzfristig in die NYC nach LA und Vegas Reiseplanung integriert. Das Gute an meinem Job ist, dass ich mir immer mal ein paar Tage frei nehmen kann wenn mir danach ist und so tat ich dies auch um mich voll und ganz meinem Besuch zu widmen.

Nach 2 Jahren hier unten in SoFla bin ich nun auch endlich in den Everglades gewesen, habe ein paar Alligatoren gesehen und bin auf einem Luftkissenboot mitgefahren. Die Fahrt von Hollywood bis zum Miccosukee Indianer Dorf (natuerlich fuer Touristen dahin gebaut) dauerte 1.5h. Da wir an einem Mittwoch da waren, war es ziemlich leer. Wir sahen uns eine kleine Alligatoren Show an, hielten einen Mini-Alligator und fuhren dann weiter zu einem der Luftkissenboot-Touren Anbieter. Es war recht nett, aber wir hatten uns irgendwie vorgestellt, dass wir viel schneller durch die Everglades rauschen wuerden, so wie man das immer im TV sieht. Das lag aber wohl daran, dass wir in einem Boot fuhren, was Platz fuer 42 Gaeste hatte und somit war das recht langsam unterwegs. Wir sahen auch eine paar Boote, die nur Platz fuer 2-4 Personen hatten und die wohl schneller fahren, aber die kosten dann wohl auch dementsprechend mehr.

Die Alligatoren waren alle ziemlich faul. Was ich dazu gelernt habe ist, dass Alligatoren fauchen wenn sie sich bedroht fuehlen... wie ne kleine Kitty Cat ;) Als uns dann aber gezeigt wurde, wie schnell die ihr Maul schliessen wenn da irgendwas mit in Beruehrung kommt, wollte ich denen doch lieber nicht begegnen.

Elaine habe ich uebrigens zu diesem Ausflug nicht mitgenommen. Ich hab eine registrierte und lizensierte Tagesmutter gefunden und so verbrachte sie den Tag dort.

Well Hello Roller Coaster...

... long time no see!

Although this isn't really true, as my life has been a steady roller coaster ride for the past 6 years, I went down the vertical loop with high speed once again.

On Monday, I win a trip to the Bahamas...

On Tuesday, my car breaks down in the middle of 5-lane I-95, 6 days short of it's 2 year anniversary with me and up to now, I was soooo proud that it was well worth it's money... hmm. Of course I had my baby on board, but luckily also a German friend loaded as we were on our way to visit another friend in Pompano Beach. If I would've been on my own I would've probably panicked and gotten another cry-episode as this seems to be quite normal lately... Maybe some left over hormones from the pregnancy or just the fact that it can be quite hard at times if you have to figure everything out on your own and don't have a massive support system around you.

So what happened!? As I was driving in the beautiful sunshine, we were coming up to a traffic jam caused by a 2-lane closure about 3 miles ahead of us. There was no way out. After about 15 minutes of a very slow stop and go, I noticed some "smoke". I thought it was a truck next to us, but upon paying closer attention, I realized that it came from underneath MY hood and that it was more steam than smoke. Okay, now trying to move over from lane 4 to lane 5 before the engine would blow up (you know, crazy thoughts when this is the 1st time that happens to you...), was the goal. I did manage and had enough brain left to head for the bridge ahead of us. Hello!??? Baby on board! You definitely don't want to be in the sunshine that heats up cars in no time down here. So I found myself a shady place right next to the median and 5 lanes away from what I would have considered the "safer (right hand) side". Luckily for us, due to the traffic jam, cars were not speeding by as quickly as usual and we were able to put the thoughts of being hit by a car going 70+mph aside. Now I believe we all know by now that when your car breaks down on the highway, you're safest by climbing over the guardrails and waiting for help behind them. It does get a little difficult though, when you have an infant with you and the median behind the guardrails where you stopped is covered by bushes, small palms and other shrubs and you have no blind faith that there is no poisonous snake or other wild animal hiding, waiting to bite you.

Okay, okay, I do realize this seems very unlikely, because why should this wild, mean creature wait just for me in the bushes of a very loud 10-lane highway median!? However, my education in regards to Florida's dangerous wildlife could be a lot better and so all I was thinking was "alligators, Burmanese pythons, teeth, bite, bite, bite...". We stayed in the car! I did take a look underneath the hood though, where some fluid container was shaking due to the boiling fluid inside. Impressive! Never seen that before, but it was very clear that this engine had completely overheated. Back inside of the car, I was very happy about the little sticker Pepboys (like ATU in Germany) had attached to my windshield after my last oil change and it read "Need a tow? Call..."

I needed a tow. I called (didn't know who else to call). 50 minutes later the tow truck arrived! At the sight of my baby, I noticed that the driver started thinking and thinking and thinking, but didn't say anything. I somehow figured out that he was worrying about how he was going to get us off the highway. Luckily, I had arranged for our Pompano Beach friends to come pick us up and when I mentioned that, he was VERY relieved. The reason why: Apparently tow truck drivers down here are forbidden by law to take infants on board. He said if caught, it would mean a $1.000 fine and he didn't want to risk that of course.

Well, my friends came and picked us up. Interesting picture, seeing a highly pregnant woman (she's 38.5 weeks) with her very tall husband rescue two chicks carrying a baby... :)

I ended up having to get a rental car and have no news yet on what is wrong with my car, but I guess it is safe to say: There goes my tax refund! :-/

This much about "My life is a roller coaster" and another 1st in the USA... actually another 1st ever! Always wondered what it would be like to be one of these broken down cars stranded alongside the highways of this world... now I know and I prefer not to have a rerun.

To be continued.... :)

Still waiting...

For those stopping by for baby news: I'm still waiting!

I think after all the working I did, my baby decided it is quite nice & peaceful inside of me now and she wants to stay a little longer. I'm trying to not get too grumpy over that, but of course it is getting time for her to come out and her staying inside means I'm booked into hospital for a couple of exams to see if everything is still working the way it should and those exams mean quite some extra Dollars, which I'm obviously not happy about!

By the way, I do have insurance through my employer now... but I don't really know, if you want to call an annual premium of $1.250 for outpatient care and $2.000 for emergency care "insurance". It's a joke!!! That's like one blood test and one time opening your mouth for the doctor and listening to your heart beat and the premium will be used up. So it's obviously not paying for the exams I have to get done.

I was encouraged by my health care professionals to apply for Medicaid once more, now that I'm off work, just in case if this pregnancy will end up being delivered in hospital due to the length of it etc., so wish me luck that it'll be successful this time round.

Will keep everyone updated & if I don't get a chance before then: A MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!

End of Hurricane Season

The last day of November officially marks the end of the hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean. Although we had one of the busiest storms seasons in history, the USA were very lucky this year to not have been hit along its shorelines. Only Tropical Storm Bonnie made a small landfall in South Florida, but that was really nothing to be concerned about.

Thank you Hurricane Season 2010! May the next one treat us just as nice!

Now it's up to some cooler temperatures in SoFla. We might get down to 8-10 C in the next couple of nights. During the day time they still expect more than 20 C though, so all is good. Looking at a lot of snow pictures on Facebook from friends in the UK and Germany, I really wonder if we'll get such a winter as the last one as well down here. Let's see! At least my winter clothes will fit again by then or actually be a little loose, since I'll be smaller than pre-pregnancy :).

Now off to work! Wishing you all a great December!!!


Der letzte Tag im November beschreitet das Ende der Hurrikan Saison im Atlantik. Obwohl wir eine der stuermischten Saisons in der Geschichte hatten, waren die USA dieses Jahr sehr gut dran und ihre Kuesten wurden komplett verschont. Nur der tropische Sturm Bonnie traf hier in Sued-Florida im Sommer mal kurz auf Land, aber das war nicht wirklich erwaehnenswert.

Vielen Dank Hurrikan Saison 2010. Moege die naechste genauso nett zu uns sein!

Nun sind wieder ein paar kuehlere Temperaturen dran hier in SoFla. Es kann in den kommenden Naechten bis auf 8-10 C abkuehlen. Tagsueber werden aber immer noch Temperaturen um die 20 C erwartet, also ist alles gut. Nachdem ich mir etliche Schneebilder von Freunden aus den UK und Deutschland auf Facebook angeschaut habe, frage ich mich echt, was wir wohl dieses Jahr fuer einen Winter bekommen und ob er so kalt wird wie der letzte. Wir werden sehen! Zumindest passen mir bis dahin meine Wintersachen wieder oder sie werden sogar ein wenig zu gross sein, da ich "kleiner" aus der Schwangerschaft kommen werde, als ich vorher war :).

Nun wieder auf zur Arbeit! Wuensche euch allein einen schoenen Dezember!!!

Deserted....

Where did the last month go???

I came back from Sweet Home Alabama on 19. September and since then it feels like I wasn't "here". I mean, I was here, as I was working and sleeping, but it seems like nothing else was accomplished. Weird!

Anyways, HELLO WORLD!!!

I still exist, I have not had my baby yet (7 weeks to go) and I'm still working full time with double shifts and all that stuff. I was very proud to have made my final payment to the birth center on 6.October! In my opinion it's quite an accomplishment to pay over $4.000.- all by myself in less than 5 months on top of all other bills, so that's why I'm proud :). I'm just glad that through the course of my live-in relationship and marriage in Germany I mastered in budgeting. I track every incoming and outgoing cent and although it is sometimes a pain and I'd love to just spend money without having to think so much about it, it definitely helps. I didn't have to budget during my first year over here in the States, but it's good to see that once you learned the "How to" you'll always be able to adjust.

Florida weather has turned beautiful once again. It's mainly sunny and warm now and not so hot. I don't really want to do a forecast for the winter, but two weeks ago it was already a lot cooler at night than last year, so we may have a similar one than '09/'10. Or maybe it's just me!!! I didn't want to believe my buddy Chris (the illegal German that got deported last year), when he told me I would run around in sweaters come fall and not go to the beach and swimming anymore, when I've been here 2-3 years, but he may be right. I was last swimming on 30. September and the water felt quite cold... it was definitely a lot, lot warmer than the Baltic Sea where I grew up though. Just another adjusting thing I guess....

Pregnancy wise all has been lovely. With all the working and running around I have to do, I guess God decided to spare me of a huge bump and just gave me a small one. Although I get jealous of big baby bumps from time to time, I'm quite content with the way it is, as I know if I'd be bigger, I wouldn't be able to work the way I work right now and would probably already have the receptionist position at the front desk at my work - which would cut my income in half.
However, it can get a little annoying as well, to be so "small". We have a new general manager taking over as the old one will be opening up the new store in Orlando. He's been with us for a month now and there's been a lot of times I waddled past him (in the beginning of the shift I usually don't waddle, it's more at the end) or rubbed my belly in front of him. Today I worked at a Barmitzvah and the GM was in charge. He came into the party area before the party started and asked me to please tug in my shirt. I was like ???????? and said "I'd love to Sir, but I'm wearing maternity pants (the once that cover the belly), so it's impossible." Then he looked at me like ?????? to which I responded "Well Sir, I'm 8 months pregnant!" He thought I must be crazy! My co-workers had to confirm that it is really so and that I'm only one week behind in pregnancy as one of my managers. Needless to say that manager has gained 50 lbs already and has a big-big baby bump to which compared I apparently must look just a little chubby.

The reaction of the GM amazed me though as I figured staff issues like "this" would be discussed at the manager meetings they're having 2-3 times a week and all the other managers know about it. I know these kind of "staff issues" were definitely discussed at the last company I worked at in Germany... Maybe it's due to the fact that I haven't asked for special treatment yet. A girl that just found out that she's 8 weeks pregnant already asked for a transfer in job positions which was granted from one day to the other, but I'm still working as usual, so it's not that obvious. I just hope they all remember that I do have a due date!!! As "party season" is approaching, we as waitstaff are not allowed to request time off between 1.November and 15.January, meaning they count on every head to be there and work, work, work. Well, one of these days it is out of the question that I will have to leave very, very quickly or won't come in at all. :) There better not be a manager that day that will be like ??????? ;)

Last but not least for tonight (gotta go to bed, early work tomorrow): Here's a bump picture I took Tuesday at 32 weeks and 3 days :) Where's the baby hiding!? :)

SoFlo Time-Out!

After 6 months (well, 5 months and 29 days) of working 5-6 days a week despite being pregnant and all the other circumstances and not taking any time off, I think I more than deserve a little time out. :) And it is finally here! I'm leaving the two furballs alone at home for a couple of days and will jump on an airplane in the morning! I already miss my two babies and I don't know how I will cope without them, but I know Tanja, my German friend, will be taking good care of them, so I shouldn't be worried.

I'm not going anywhere exotic this time (I wish!), but to my regular inside-USA time-out spot ;). You guys can't believe how ready I am to leave South Florida and all that comes with it behind for some days.

I'm all ready for this feeling......

BYE BYE!!!

Helpful Furballs

Yes, it's us! Since Mommy is working so hard every day and also trying to grow "our" Baby E, we thought we would help out a little bit. While watching the green gecko that lives outside of our apartment on the wall, we noticed a big brown truck stopping in front of the house. A guy with a brown uniform then carried up some boxes and we heard him drop them off in front of our door. Man, we were curious!!! Unfortunately, we couldn't see or sniff anything through the door, so we had to wait a couple of more hours until Mommy came back home. She finally did and brought the boxes inside where we started inspecting them right away. While she dropped down on the couch, we were able to open one side of a box and climbed in. Was a little dark in there and everything smelled so new. Mommy was afraid we would break something, so she got up to see what we were doing and what was in the boxes. We already knew! :) Lots of useful things for when Baby E gets here. We are very excited already, as we can hear what the little one is doing, when we snuggle up to Mommy's belly. We know she will be a very nice sister, because she never kicks us when we snuggle or run across Mommy's stomach. Now excuse us, we have some more work to do and gotta tear up these boxes!!! Good night world!!!
Smokey & Diamond

Ja, wir sind's! Da unsere Mutti immer soviel arbeitet und nebenbei auch noch "unser" Baby E gedeihen laesst, haben wir uns gedacht, dass wir mal ein wenig mit anpacken. Als wir heute so auf dem Fensterbrett sassen und dem gruenen Gecko zuschauten, der vor unserem Apartment an der Wand lebt, sahen wir einen grossen, braunen LKW vor dem Haus parken. Ein Mann in brauner Kleidung brachte dann ein paar Kisten nach oben und wir hoerten, dass er sie vor unserer Tuer absetzte. Was waren wir neugierig!!! Leider konnten wir durch die Tuer hindurch nichts sehen oder riechen, also mussten wir noch ein paar Stunden warten, bis Mutti wieder von der Arbeit heim kam. Das tat sie dann auch endlich und brachte die Kisten in die Wohnung, wo wir diese auch gleich naeher untersuchten. Waehrend sie auf die Couch plumpste, gelang es uns eine Seite einer Box zu oeffnen und hinein zu kriechen. Es war ein wenig dunkel und alles roch so neu. Mutti war besorgt, dass wir etwas kaputt machen wuerden, also kam sie um zu sehen was wir so treiben und zu gucken, was in den Kisten ist. Wir wussten es schon!!! :) Ganz viele nuetzliche Sachen fuer die Ankunft von Baby E. Wir sind schon ganz aufgeregt, da wir hoeren koennen, was die Kleine macht, wenn wir uns an Mutti's Bauch kuscheln. Wir wissen schon jetzt, dass sie eine liebe Schwester wird, da sie nie nach uns tritt wenn wir kuscheln oder quer ueber Mutti's Kugel trampeln. Und nun entschuldigt uns! Wir wollen noch ein wenig weiter helfen und die Kisten muessen noch zerlegt werden. Gute Nacht in die weite Welt!!!
Smokey & Diamond

Random Picture of 2010

Tanja, Chad (best man at Tanja's wedding) and me (4 months pregnant) at the end of June 2010 at Wet Willies @ Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood during a small day/night getaway which included chilling by and inside the Hard Rock Hotel pool, eating out, some gambling and some nightlife fun with major dance action at Murphy's Law (Irish Pub). Was a great day/night out!!!

The Appearance of the Bump

Only 97 days until Baby E is supposed to say hello to the world and still she is hiding inside of me instead of pushing out and letting everyone know her mommy is pregnant and didn't just have a couple of doughnuts too many!

Well, with 26 weeks and 1 day gestation, I finally went shopping for some maternity work pants today, as so far, due to the lack of bump, I was still wearing all of my pre-pregnancy clothes. While trying some pants on, I was also messing around with some random shirts I had picked out when strolling through the aisles.... and hey, all of a sudden I noticed that in that one outfit, (and by pulling the shirt back) a mini bump was visible! Of course I had to take a picture as proof! :)

Apologies for the randomness of this picture inside of a changing room, but moments like that need to be captured :)

Das Erscheinen der Kugel

Nur noch 97 Tage bis Baby E der Welt "Hallo" sagen soll, aber nach wie vor versteckt sie sich in mir, anstelle sich herauszudruecken um der Welt schon jetzt mitzuteilen, dass Mami schwanger ist und nicht nur ein paar Donuts zuviel gefuttert hat!

Nun war ich heute mit 26 Wochen und 1 Tag Schwangerschaft endlich mal shoppen um mir Umstandshosen fuer die Arbeit zu besorgen. Bislang war ja die Kugel nicht vorhanden, so dass ich weiterhin meine Vor-Schwangerschaftskleidung tragen konnte. Waehrend ich ein paar Hosen anprobierte, hantierte ich gleichzeitig mit ein paar Shirts rum, die ich so beim Laufen durch die Gaenge eingesackt hatte.... und hey, bei einem Outfit (und nach hinten ziehen des Shirts) wurde eine Mini-Kugel sichtbar! Natuerlich musste ich davon ein Beweisfoto machen!

Entschuldigt die Wahllosigkeit des Bildes innerhalb der Umkleide, aber solche Momente muessen festgehalten werden! :)

Single pregnant immigrant without health insurance in the USA.

Sounds scary!??? It sure is... BUT ONLY, if you're me and you base your decisions on the bigger picture.

Now before anyone thinks I'm stupid for deciding to start a family in the first place, knowing that I would probably have no health insurance covering maternity: We both were well aware of that and before the "We" picture collapsed, everything in regards to that was talked about and a plan established. Only problem: "We" is no longer existent, which makes it more complicated.

I believe it may be quite interesting for the 0.0001% of legal immigrants that will ever be in the same shoes to find out how the whole "pregnant - no insurance" thing works over here.

Looking at the market of individual health insurance, pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition, so once you are pregnant, chances of getting a health insurance plan are veeeeery low. Even if looking for health insurance in that market BEFORE getting pregnant will prove challenging, as there's a lot of fine print and maternity is usually not covered. If you want it covered you start out paying a lot more each month, as pregnancy/maternity is quite expensive for an insurance provider. Just the plain natural labor and delivery without complications and interference in a US hospital bed is likely to cost $10.000,-. Caesarean sections will of course be more and every drug you need will push the bill higher.

Best situation to be in: Get great health insurance from your employer and your life will be much easier. In an employer based health plan, pregnancy can not be labeled a pre-existing condition as there's some legal protection going back to the 70's for that. But not everybody is that lucky!

So let's be the one not having insurance coverage like me. What are the options?

The answer is simple. Not many!

Option 1: You're very fortunate and qualify for federal Medicaid support.
Problems: Medicaid for pregnant women is income based and even if you qualify due to your income... You have to be a US-citizen or a permanent resident of the USA for at least 5 years to qualify, although in some sources it says as greencard holder being pregnant you are exempt from the 5-year bar. All I know is, I was denied :(

Option 2: Pay cash!!! Whoop! As cash is still loved by doctors and hospitals, you will be able to negotiate and get better rates than an insurance provider. You may "only" pay 50% for example of what an insurance would be charged. However, that would still be a lot if you don't belong to the rich and famous.

I was "lucky" enough to have noticed a highway billboard in my first months over here that advertised for a birth center. It is an alternative to hospital care and usually the cheaper option. In my case I found a birth center run by an OB/GYN and a midwife (vs. others where there are only midwifes) and although I'm still having to pay for my care in cash, the package including prenatal care, labor and delivery and postnatal care, will "only" cost me around $4.200,-, IF everything goes without complications. In addition to that, I'm looking at a completely natural birth. Drugs for pain relief? No such option!

May sound scary for many again, but since my birth center has an OB/GYN licensed to operate in the local hospitals, I'm on the safer side. In case of complications he will deliver my baby out of a hospital without additional charge. I would only have extra costs for taking up room and equipment in the hospital then, but that is where Emergency Medicaid for pregnant women could kick in and that is something I would be eligible for.

Now as I ended up on my own, I'm paying everything by myself, which is tough. Quite obvious if you don't make the super big bucks and all of a sudden find yourself with a $740.- extra bill each month on top of your regular bills. But what doesn't kill me, makes me stronger! :)

By the way, there would be an option 3, as some of you may question how illegal aliens get their pregnancy health care. Yes, I could just go to the hospital and demand prenatal care which they couldn't deny me. My problem with that: Within the last 18 months I established quite a nice credit score. Getting care from a hospital and just not paying my bills (like a lot of uninsured citizens and legal as well as illegal aliens do) does therefore not work for me. I rather work my pregnant butt off and pay cash for my medical care, than ruining my credit by not paying those hospital bills and having debt collectors chasing me. I may need my good credit for something once baby girl gets here.

Well, long enough post about that topic! Cross your fingers for me as there is still a lot to figure out in regards to my near future.

By the way....

according to my 17 week scan, baby is a GIIIIIRL!!! :)
In one hour I'm officially celebrating half time. 20 weeks will be over!


Ach uebrigens,

laut meinem 17 Wochen Ultraschall, ist Baby ein MAAAEEEDCHEN!!! :)
In einer Stunde feiere ich dann auch offiziell Halbzeit. 20 Wochen sind dann um!

Weekend Greetings

Squishy face Clifford found his permanent home last weekend. He was adopted by a very nice couple from Miami who had met him at a dog festival and had fallen in love with him. Saying Goodbye was a little tough, but I'm very happy for him and Cliff is such a gentle soul, he was very happy to see these two people and especially excited about riding in a car again. He just loves it! Andrew asked me this week to foster another dog, but I denied it. My cats are pretty happy about having the place to themselves again and this new Bully would be pretty big. He weighs in at 91 lbs where the usual Bully weighs 53 lbs and according to his description he might have a couple of rough edges. Since bulldogs are so incredibly hard headed, I momentarily don't want to be in a position having to restrain this heavy fella! Maybe a smaller one will come along soon. If that's the case, I probably won't say No!

Faltengesicht Clifford hat am letzten Wochenende sein permanentes Zuhause gefunden. Er wurde von einem sehr netten Paar in Miami adoptiert, die ihn auf einem Hundefest kennenlernten und sich in ihn verliebten. Der Abschied fiel schwer, aber es freut mich sehr fuer ihn und Cliff ist eh so ein genuegsames Kerlchen, der freute sich, als er die beiden sah und besonders auch uebers Auto fahren. Das macht er ja am liebsten! Andrew wollte dann die Woche schon den naechsten Bully zur Pflege aufnehmen. Das habe ich aber erstmal abgelehnt. Meine Katzen freuen sich wieder ueber die "sturmfreie" Bude und der neue Bully ist ziemlich gross, wiegt fast 42 kg waehrend das Normalgewicht fuer Bullys bei 24 kg liegt und laut Beschreibung hat der auch so einige Kanten. Da Bullys so wahnsinnig dickkoepfig sind, moechte ich den schweren Kerl momentan nicht baendigen muessen. Vielleicht wird uns ja bald wieder ein kleinerer angeboten. Da sag ich dann auch nicht Nein!

Cliff chillaxing and Cliff up-side-down enjoying his belly scratch!

Since I look slightly pale for Floridian circumstances, due to all the sleeping, I'm gonna lay down by the pool in a minute. As I'm not having a bump yet (other than my regular bump *smile*), I took a quick picture last night after work. I bought this dress in England in Spring 2008 and to be honest, it never really fit. Now I dug it out of my "winter- & other clothes" luggage and... Surprise! Can't hurt to have such a "Before" picture for the motivation afterward.

Well, the sun is shining, the pool ready for me! I'm wishing you all a great weekend!

Da ich durch das viele Schlafen schon ganz blass ausschaue fuer floridianische Verhaeltnisse, werd ich mich dann jetzt auch mal an den Pool begeben. Da ich noch kein Baeuchlein habe (ausser mein normales Baeuchlein *grins*), hab' ich gestern Abend nach der Arbeit noch fix ein Bild gemacht. Das Kleid hab ich im Fruehjahr 2008 in England gekauft und ehrlich gesagt, hat es nie wirklich gepasst. Nun hab ich das mal aus meinem "Winter- und andere Klamotten"-Koffer gekramt und siehe da... Ueberaschung! :) Das kann ja mal nicht schaden so ein Vorher-Bild fuer den Ansporn hinterher zu haben.

Also die Sonne lacht, der Pool ruft! Ein schoenes Wochenende in die weite Welt!

Hurricane Season No. 2... and revealing the big news ;)

Time is flying by. Today is already 1. June again, which means it's the official start of the Atlantic Hurricane Season. This will be my 2nd season and while we didn't see any storms last year, this year we might not be as lucky. Changes are taking place in the Atlantic and since I'm no scientist, I won't go into detail and leave the explanations up to the experts, but it has something to do with the weakening of the El Nino phenomenon. The water of the Atlantic is therefore heating up in many parts which helps major storm systems to form more easily... if I understood that correctly ;)

Well, I'll knock on all the wood around that we have another great season like last year, but a lot of "native" South Floridians believe that it's about time for another hurricane to hit, especially when looking at the recent developments with natural disasters... earthquakes everywhere, a tropical storm hitting Guatemala and other regions down South pretty hard this past weekend etc.

Besides that, I still don't have much to tell, as I wasn't doing a lot other than sleeping and working... which does have a reason! :) We're not only adding furry friends to the family, but also a little human being, that, if everything goes well, will join us at the beginning of December. 1st trimester is completed and since it was planned, the only surprise will be, what it will be - boy or girl! :)

With that in mind, I do admit that I believe that my days in South East Florida are counted. While it is great to live here as single, raising children down here is nothing I can picture right now. That has a lot of reasons: too many fake people that are all about money and connections, too much violence and crime, too much air pollution, preschool teachers that hardly speak English and me not being able (or wanting) to pay for the "elite private white schools", housing prices and salary levels that don't match etc.

I don't know yet where the road will lead us, but I'm excited for it.

Greetings to all my friends and family!!! Picture taken today - a lil tired but happy!

Die Zeit verfliegt mal wieder. Heute ist der 1. Juni und damit einmal mehr offizieller Start der Atlantischen Hurrikan Saison. Das wird nun bereits meine 2. Saison und waehrend wir letztes Jahr keinen grossen Sturm gesehen haben, koennten wir dieses Jahr nicht soviel Glueck haben. Es gibt Veraenderungen im Atlantik und da ich kein Wissenschaftler bin, lasse ich die genauen Erklaerungen mal lieber den Experten, aber soweit ich das richtig verstehe, hat es mit der Abschwaechung des El Nino Phaenomens zu tun, was den Atlantik nun in einigen Bereichen aufheizen laesst und das wiederum beguenstigt das Entstehen groesserer Sturmgebiete.

Nun, ich klopfe auf alles vorhandene Holz um mich rum, dass wir so eine entspannte Saison wie letztes Jahr haben, aber viele "Einheimische" Sued-Floridas meinen, dass es langsam wieder an der Zeit ist, dass uns ein schwerer Hurrikan trifft, besonders wenn man sich die Naturkatastrophen der letzten Monate anschaut - Erdbeben ueberall und nun auch schon ein grosser tropischer Sturm der Guatemala und andere Laender im Sueden am Wochenende stark getroffen hat etc.

Ansonsten habe ich auch weiterhin nicht viel zu berichten, denn ausser Schlafen und Arbeiten mache ich kaum etwas... das hat aber auch seinen Grund! Wir vergroessern die Familie nicht nur um Fellknaeuel, sondern nun auch durch ein kleines menschliches Wesen, dass, wenn alles gut geht, Anfang Dezember zu uns stossen wird!!! :) Das 1. Trimester ist bereits ueberstanden und da es geplant war, wird die einzige Ueberraschung sein, was es denn genau wird :).

Damit im Hinterkopf, gebe ich zu, dass ich denke, dass meine Tage hier in Sued-Ost-Florida gezaehlt sind. Waehrend es sich hier als Single gut leben laesst, kann ich mir momentan nicht vorstellen, hier Kinder grosszuziehen. Das hat etliche Gruende: zu viele "falsche" Leute, die nur auf Geld und Kontakte aus sind, zu viel Kriminalitaet und Gewalt, zuviel Verschmutzung in der Luft, Vorschullehrer die kaum Englisch sprechen und mein fehlendes Geld (bzw. Wille) fuer "Weisse Elite Privatschulen" zu bezahlen, hohe Mietpreise und schwache Lohnlevel die sich nicht vereinbaren usw.

Ich weiss noch nicht, wo der Weg uns hinfuehren wird, aber ich bin gespannt!

Gruesse an alle meine Freunde und Familie. Obiges Bild ist von heute. Ein wenig muede, aber gluecklich!

He's back!

Yes, it's not your screen that's blurry or anything... Cliff (remember, the bully!!!?) is back with us, his foster parents. After he got adopted from somebody in Naples last weekend, they didn't even keep him a day and drove him back to the rescue. Apparently they had two older pugs that didn't like cute Clifford too much. Well, go figure! You bring a new dog into an established bond between other dogs and people and you think that doesn't take some more adjustment (and work from your side) than just a day??? Some people are soooo stupid! Sorry!

Anyhow, he has it great here with us and we'll keep it that way until the rescue finds someone for him that really cares. You couldn't ask for a greater dog. He's good with cats, other dogs, small children, loves to ride around in the car, gives high fives and didn't have any of the usual English Bulldogs problems yet (requiring eyelid-lifting, skin treatment, respiratory surgery etc.). We had our first family outing (Andrew, Cliff and I) to Toss Up Salads today and he was great!

Besides the dog, there's not much happening! SoFlo is getting hot again, we're both working and Smokey has his crazy moments while Diamond loves to lay around in the sun ALL day!!! Smokey discovered that there are some geckos living on the roof and the outside walls of the house and so he sits on the window sill all day nagging about them while they crawl by and he can't get to them. Very funny to watch!

Me and Cliff today!

Ja, ihr habt nicht etwa was aufm Bildschirm.... Cliff (der Bully) ist zurueck in unserer Wohnung und bei uns, seinen Pflegeeltern. Nachdem er letztes Wochenende von jemandem in Naples adoptiert wurde, behielten die ihn nicht einmal einen Tag und brachten ihn zurueck zur Hilfsorganisation nach Fort Lauderdale. Die haben wohl zwei aeltere Moepse, die den suessen Clifford nicht so mochten. Naja, ist ja auch ziemlich viel verlangt, dass ein neuer Hund mit Sack und Pack in eine bestehende Gemeinschaft aus Hunden & Menschen einzieht und es nicht ein wenig Eingewoehnung und Arbeit von Seiten der Menschen bedarf. Manche Leute sind echt ein wenig verpeilt!!! 'Tschuldigung!

Egal, ihm geht es gut hier bei uns und wir werden das eben so lange aufrecht erhalten, bis er von jemandem adoptiert wird, der es wirklich gut mit ihm meint. Man koennte sich echt keinen besseren Hund wuenschen. Er ist gut im Umgang mit Katzen, anderen Hunden, kleinen Kindern, liebt es im Auto rum zu fahren, schlaegt gerne ein mit seiner Pfote und hatte bislang keine der typschischen Englische Bulldoggen Probleme (Augenlid-Straffung, Hautbehandlung, Operation der Atemwege etc.). Heute hatten wir unseren ersten Familienausflug. Andrew, Cliff und ich fuhren zu Toss Up Salads und er benahm sich sehr gut!

Neben dem Hund ist momentan nicht viel los. Suedflorida wird wieder heiss, wir beide arbeiten und Smokey hat seine auf-(oder durch-)gedrehten Momente waehrend Diamond am liebsten den lieben, langen Tag in der Sonne liegt. Smokey hat jetzt entdeckt, dass da Geckos aufm Dach und an den Aussenwaenden des Hauses wohnen und nun sitzt er stundenlang auf dem Fensterbrett und meckert die an, waehrend die vorbei krabbeln und er nicht zu ihnen kommt. Macht seeeehr viel Spass, da zuzuschauen!!! :)

Happy Easter!

I guess it's alright to still say that on Easter Monday! :))

Everything here in SoFlo is going great, like always. I'm back in a job in the same industry that I had just left, but work less hours than before and it's a corporate environment, so I will actually get health insurance in like 2 more weeks. It is very hard to get around the hospitality industry down here, since it is just everywhere and the money is not bad. I'm still looking around for something else, but I'm not in a hurry. Right now I just prefer the server job over a $10-12/hour office job. Some of you may have heard of Dave&Buster's before. That's my new employer. I've been there almost a month now, have 140 colleagues, it's one exit from my apartment and I really like it. The strange thing is, that I'm somehow reaaally good in this job. :) At Toss Up Salads customers would always tell me that I'm one of the best servers they have met in their lives and at D&B the managers have also already told me that they wish there would be more of my sort. Very nice!

Besides working I'm enjoying the great SoFlo weather again. At the beach or the pool - my tan is coming back!

This Friday my parents will finally come to visit me for a week. After it was impossible for my friend Henry to fly over here for XMAS due to problems with his health insurance who didn't let him fly, this will be my first visitors from Germany. I would really like to welcome some more friends down here... but yeah... I know the difficulties, especially the monetary ones.

Here is a picture from yesterday, Easter Sunday. We had come back from church and lunch and since I had to work in the evening I wanted to rest a little on the couch. Well, someone thought it was very comfy to lay on my back. His front paws were hanging down, but he didn't move for 15 minutes... Nice heating pad for my back, Smokey! :)

Rambling...

I just brought a pilot to the airport... Isn't it usually them bringing us to some place!??? Only 18 more days until I'll be up in the air again! Curacao for 4 days (yes, i finally extended the stay). Marriott Resort and peace of mind, here I come!

By the way, this blog finally has it's own e-mail address:

happyinusa@hotmail.com

Ask me the questions you always wanted to ask. Comment, complain, whatever! :) Mails from tall grown single guys are especially welcome... Haha! ;)

Did I ever mention that I love American sportsbars? The atmosphere is not comparable to the ones in Germany. I'm just sitting in one, Whisky Tango, in Hollywood, FL. Watching guys cage fight and the best moments of today's football games. Since I worked and cruised around with the pilot, I missed it all! Alabama won though!!! That's all that matters.

Anyways, mail me & a wonderful weekend to you world out there!


Dieser Blog hat nun auch seine eigene E-Mail Adresse:

happyinusa@hotmail.com

Fragt mich, was ihr mich schon immer fragen wolltet, kommentiert (ohne, dass die ganze Welt es lesen kann ;) ), beschwert euch (z.B. dass ich manchmal zu faul bin bilingual zu bloggen...) oder was auch immer! Eine Antwort ist moeglich, aber ohne Gewaehr! ;)

WHOOP YANKEES!!!

The Yankees, US pro-baseball team based in the Bronx, NYC, just won their 27th World Series Championship against the Phillies!!!

While I was cruising home from work - both teams tied at that point - this beautiful song came on... and while Rostock, Germany has seen the 1st snow today, I rolled down the car windows, let the 24 °C breeze blow through my hair and sang along!

Whatever my life will bring along in the future, this time right now, living my dream, will be what I will always look back at... with amazement and pure joy!

To the Yankees & their win!



Die Yankees, amerikanisches professionelles Baseball Team mit Sitz in der Bronx, NYC, haben gerade ihren 27. World Series Championship Titel gegen die Phillies gewonnen.

Als ich im Auto von der Arbeit nach Hause cruiste, beide Teams zu dem Zeitpunkt im Gleichstand, kam dieser tolle Song im Radio... und waehrend in Rostock, Deutschland heute der 1. Schnee fuer diesen Winter fiel, kurbelte ich die Fenster hinunter, liess mir den 24 °C warmen Wind durch die Haare wehen und sang lauthals mit.

Was auch immer mein Leben in der Zukunft fuer mich bereit halten wird, die Zeit die ich hier gerade verbringe, das Leben meines Traumes, wird das sein, worauf ich immer zurueck blicken werde... mit grossen Augen und purer Freude!

Good night world!

I'm baaaack! ;)

Wow, almost a whole month has past since my last entry. Shame on me, as I see that a lot of you checked what was going on but couldn't read a thing. Well, I'm trying my best to let you know what happend in those weeks.

Wow, fast ein ganzer Monat ist seit meinem letzten Eintrag vergangen. Schande auf mein Haupt, da ich sehe, dass etliche von euch nachgeschaut haben was los ist, aber nix zum Lesen vorfanden. Nun, ich werde mein Bestes versuchen euch ueber die letzten Wochen zu informieren.