Sanni´s Project 365

My regular blog´s name is Coffee 2 go - the name came into my mind because I´m addicted to coffee.

There are several little helpers in our home supporting my love for coffee quickly, like this Espresso machine, which helped me to get my morning power for several years.

It´s pretty old and I confess I´ve tasted more enjoyable coffee than this little helper comes up with. I also enjoy Café au lait or Latte Macchiato lots and producing milk froth seems to take ages.

To make a long story short - this is a kind of "Good bye"-picture. A friend informed us today my "Jura dream machine" is ready to be ordered the upcoming Saturday! Yeah!!! Coffee Jitters!!!

A book reads the better which is our own, and has been so long known to us, that we know the topography of its blots, and dog's ears, and can trace the dirt in it to having read it at tea with buttered muffins. ~ Charles Lamb, Last Essays of Elia, 1833

To me Sunday evenings are the best time to chill. A warm bath, deep conditioner, a body-peeling, face pack and all the other girly stuff... candles, a cuddly blanket, pjs and a good read... *sigh*

I feel sooooo relaaaaaxed =)

Happy Sunday ya all!

Aaaah... weekend - we took today of to visit the fleamarket in Dusseldorf, Germany. We haven´t been there for ages by reason of bad, no, horrible weather. Today has been quite warm (10°C / 50°F) - perfect "fleamarket-weather"... and perfect weather for an additional shopping trip, where we found this beautiful white orchid (which now brings some spring fever to our home ♥ )

My parents visited us today. It´s been a while since we saw each other (about 2 weeks) and I missed them badly. I was slaphappy to see them today ♥

Please let me introduce my mommy (Miss Elli) and my daddy (Papili):

The picture was taken from the upper floor. I apologize it´s a bit grainy by reason of zooming and frozen fingers. We´ve been out for a walk just minutes ago. It´s still stormy. Miss Elli´s hairdo is a subtle hint, while Papili´s hairdo doesn´t care about the weather anymore *wink*

Bonus (brought to you by pregnancy hormones, what else *grin*): We´ve had some home-made "Topfen-Strudel" with our coffee - that´s strudel filled with vanilla flavored fromage frais, plus vanilla sauce and cherry sauce. Yum...

One thing I dislike about pregnancy is that those hormones bring my sweet tooth on. I could gorge over-sweet stuff the whole day.

In other words: The doc told us we have a 75% for a baby-girl.

I tell you we have a 90% chance for another long-run diet after that little one will be born.
Until then I´ll indulge myself with Italian Tartufi, Trufas Claire de Lune and Lacasa Trufa chocolate from Spain... and the Ghirardelli squares I ordered today. Ugly, huh?

Oh, how I hate the weather capricorns in Germany. Yesterday has been a quite nice and unforessen warm day, while it´s (again) freaking cold, stromy and rainy again. I planned posting a picture of my exploding head, but it didn´t burst, yet.

However, I´ve been home the whole day, doing this and that, but I spend most of the time designing a website for a acquaintance who wanted a homepage matching to his online-shop. Normally I prefer to come up with something new instead of adapted designs (especially if the existing design is... well... let´s say... odd). That´s why I didn´t stop after my work was done. I continued to create a new template for Pimp Your Blog, the blog where I present some new handwritten xml layouts every now and then.

A whole website including coding and text + the new blog layout + the unpleasant weather = Sanni is tensed up.

The best medicine is to grab my favorite yoga DVD, the new yoga pillow I couldn´t resist to buy yesterday and... relaaaaaaaaaaaax:

Bonus: This is how Pimp Your Blog looks like right now. What do you think?

We´ve been out for some shopping fun today. One store had a specail offer: soap bubble tubes - a trip down memory lane... Oh, the lovely childhood memories...

soap bubbles



I´ve had so much fun to make soap bubbles, watch those shiny bubbles and see them *poof* burst when I was a little one. I still enjoy this procedure, but I´ve had lots more fun watching Luis discovering soap bubbles =)

YAY! Obviously I´ve been to the Linkin Park "Minutes to Midnight" Concert in the Koelnarena, Cologne, Germany today. The Meet & Great was such a blast - those guys ROCK!!!

It´s time for breakfast - including a moist and filling Bircher Muesli that kick starts the day. Bircher Muesli is a fresh made granola, originated in Switzerland (introduced about 1900)

Bircher Muesli is a freshly prepared mixture that includes that have been soaked fruit juice, as well as finely grated or blended apples, Other ingredients commonlyincluded are additional grated or chopped fresh fruit (e.g., bananas, berries, grapes, mango), dried fruit, milk products (e.g., yogurt, cream, condensed milk, fromage frais, quark, cottage cheese), lemon juice, ground nuts, seeds, spices (especially cinnamon), honey, and muesli mix. Delicious and healthy...



Bircher Muesli Recipe
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes or less

Ingredients
3 cups rolled oats

1 cup pitted dates, chopped

½ cup sultanas

½ cup dried apricots, chopped

½ cup raw almonds

2 cups milk

150 g vanilla yogurt

1 tablespoon honey

fresh fruit (apples, grapes, pears, etc.)

Method
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
- Mix well.
- Cover and refrigerate (if possible: overnight).
- Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy! =)

My grandma used to say:"A tea-celebration can cure everything..." - whenever she felt bad, having a sore throat, bellyache or was in need of break she took time to boil a teapot full of delicious tea. She digged out her tea set made of fragile china, sipped the hot tea and relaxed.

Granny and I have a lot in common. I don´t own a fragile tea set - my teapot is made of glass, I use a tea glas and my tea tube... but whenever I have a kind of bad day I´m having a tea celebration to calm down and relax, like granny Anni did.

Little Luis has been to the ER today. We were informed his Grandpa, my poor Daddy, is suffering from pneumonia, my mommy, Frank and me have a bronchitis and Luis also didn´t feel well last night and this morning.

The pediatrist was off for an early weekend, so we decided to have the docs in the hospital should have a look at the little one´s lung. He´s got a cough, a cold and a touch of fever, but Luis doesn´t have bronchitis or pneumonia. He came home with a detailed record and medicaments, like Prospan cough syrup and Paracetamol suppository.



Bonus: We´re so glad Luis is okay - he looks a bit like a weird professor today, but he behaves as ususal... everything has to be explored, like the (empty) box of this delicious tasting cough syrup =)

The broad-leafed trees in our part of the world have lost all their leaves during the past months. It´s usual that the leaves are falling in very large amounts by the end of fall. Even the parks seem to be grey. I love going for a long walk in the parks or forests from spring to fall when everything looks so colorful. But I also enjoy nature in the winter when the air is crisp. It´s also nice to have a look at those things you only have the chance to when it´s winter:

Okay, the weather got me... I have a big fat cold *cough*, but I felt I have to create something today. So I sewed a little "I ♥ "-pouch for my mobile. To make sure the mobile doesn´t get infected, too, the pouch is made of warm and cozy felt and...



... well, okay. I learnt something not-so-new today. Don´t try to be creative when you´re not feeling well. Even a 10- 8- 6- 5- year old is able to come up with a better outcome *LOL* However, my mobile won´t freeze ;)

It was a dark, stormy and rainy day in my part of the world - no one wanted to leave the house, even the furry diva Jersey only went out for two short walks. I´ve had a dentist appointment today for a so called "pregnancy prophylaxis", including a professional tooth-cleaning with periodontosis prophylaxis and scaling. Now, back home - we think it´s the perfect evening for DVDs and sweatpants, lots of blankets and candles =)

Today´s photo was taken at about 4:30 in the morning.
I couldn´t sleep - and while I was roaming through our home (strictly NOT heeding the fridge) I found Luis sleeping in this position.
My inner mommy soul told me: "This is far too cute to miss" - and so I took a picture without flash, just to make sure Luis won´t be awaken by his stupid mom, snapping some pictures of himearly in the morning =)

My family - that´s Frank, my beloved hubby and best friend, our little son Luis, the little Hamster 2.0 growing fast inside me and Jersey, the furry diva.

She is a 5 year old chocolate Labrador who mostly behaves like a real diva, except food and/or treats are involved. Jersey loves all kinds of treats but she´d do almost everything for a carrot, especially those violet carrots from the wholefood shop. She doesn´t even care about me taking a really silly picture of her =)

We´re celebrating Jens´ 30th birthday today. His birthday was back on Jan 7th - I promised to take a picture of him on tonight´s party. So I proudly present Jens, unwrapping the present I posted a picture of on Jan 7th:

Aaaaaaaaah! *sigh*
I bet you´ve heard my sigh of release all over the Blogosphere.
Today we´ve finally made it! All Christmas stuff is removed, boxed and stored. Our corridor looked a "bit" messy before all those boxes were brought downstairs...

Luis obviously likes to share his current favorite meal with you: meatballs.
Meatballs are easy to pick with your little fork, especially when you prefer using a pastry fork instead of the little fork of your own baby cutlery. Meatballs are also easy to grab with your little hands. Honestly, it´s a bunch of fun to pick the meatball with a fork, but the meatballs tastes lots better when you eat them like (baby-)finger food. Who cares about messy fingers??? Huh? Luis? No way! Me? Neither! =)

Bon Appétit!

HA! Fun-pic alert. This is a bird´s eye view snapshot of fast-growing pregnancy belly.
Do you realize something is missing???



Right... I´ve lost my feet sometime during the last weeks *LOL*
Bye, bye, pretty heels and boots - I´ll miss you. Looking forward to see you again in June... *bwahahaha*

Sanni´s Project 365 proudly presents:

Most of my 3D-friends are either guys or gays, but Steffi is one of my few girlfriends - obviously.She´s one of a kind.
We´ve had a chick´s night today - for a special reason. Steffi needed a little cheering-up. The young man, formerly known as her boyfriend, a.k.a. jerk, chucked her yesterday in the evening without any warning... via sms - after a 8.5 years lasting relationship. Unbelievable, but true.

Any kind of further cheering-up as well as dating offers are greatly appreciated ;)

My friend Jens celebrates the big 3-0 today. The big party celebration will be on Saturday. Of course, there will be a photo of Jens involved in Saturday´s 365 entry. Today I´m offering a peek on Jens´Birthday present =)

We celebrate Epiphany today - the day of the Three Kings, the last day of Christmas. Tomorrow we´ll take down our Christmas tree, so I´ve decided to hurry upstairs, snap a last shot and post a bird eye´s view of our Christmas tree in full glory.

Our Christmas tree of the season 2007/2008 is 11.48 feet (3,50m) high, decorated with 450 little lights, 8 garlands and 400+ ornaments and christmas tree balls.

I´m definitely NOT looking forward to take the tree down and repack these tons of decorations *g*

Tomorrow marks Epiphany - the end of Christmas. The Greek word "Epiphanias" means "uprise, appearance", i.e. appearance of the Lord which was celebrated in the early Christian centuries on January 6. In the 4th century this holiday was shifted to December 25, and January 6 obtained the name of The Three Kings (the "Wise Men," the Magi), or simply Twelfth Day. According to an old legend based on a Bible story, these three kings saw, on the night when Christ was born, a bright star, followed it to Bethlehem and found there the Christchild and presented it with gold, frankincense and myrrh.

To this day, the doorways would be sprinkled with holy water and the initials of the Three Kings -- C+M+B (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar) -- plus the year are inscribed in chalk over doorways in German-speaking countries on the eve of January 6 to protect house and home. (Although historically the three letters are supposed to come from the Latin phrase for "Christ bless this house" -- "Christus mansionem benedicat" -- few of the people practicing this custom are aware of this fact. In many parts of Europe, including Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, the Christmas celebration does not end until this date, now considered the arrival of the three "kings of the orient" in Bethlehem -- and the end of the "twelve days of Christmas" between Christmas and January 6.

The custom of the Star Singers, reminiscent of the travel of the Three Kings is still very much alive in Bavaria and Austria. Beginning with New Years and through January 6, children dressed as the kings, and holding up a large star, go from door to door, caroling and singing a Three Kings' song. For this they receive cookies, sweets or money. Formerly the collected donations went to unemployed craftsmen and veterans, today they go to charities of the church or the Third World.

January 6, the day of the Three Kings, the last day of Christmas, comes with its own traditions, rituals and symbols. Carolers are going from house to house; in many homes the Christmas tree is taken down and in some areas is burnt in a big bonfire. For the children this is an especially joyous occasion because, associated with taking down the tree goes the "plündern" (raiding) of the tree. The sweets, chocolate ornaments wrapped in foil or cookies, which have replaced the sugar plums, are the raiders' rewards.

Our Star Singers where early birds - our home got blessed today:

This is a special invitation to a Spanish night at our place.

Come on over and enjoy some typical Spanish tapas with us - like the Jamón Serrano. Jamón Serrano (literally mountain ham) is a dry-cured ham, which is generally served raw in thin slices. Ours is bone-in:

Besides the ham there will be lots of other typical tapas. Feel free to join us =) - the party starts tonight at 07:00 p.m. - Olé!

If you´ve ever been on a night hike, do you remember how you felt?

I loved night-hiking when I was a little one, especially in the forrests.
Today we´ve been on a "light-edition" of a night hike. We took Luis out to the local port, shortly after sundown. Our mission was to search for ducks - not in order to shoot them, but to feed the ducks with some ciabatta leftovers. Mission completed:



By the way... "lamb´s lettuce with crisp duck breast and lukewarm potatoe dressing" sounds like music in my pregnant ears. *grin*
Maybe tomorrow =)

We´ve been to the gynecologist today - there´s a monthly medical inspection scheduled during the first months of pregnancy here in Germany. Normally we have 3 ultrasounds during prenancy, but my doc knows about the mommy-to-be wishes and made an additional ultrasound in today´s week 15+5:



The little one was sleeping during the "photosession", so we still have to name the fast-growing 0.52 feet, 0.39 lb) baby "Hamster 2.0". Why? Little baby has preferred to show a detailed view of the backbone, but slept with straight legs. Well, there was no "copus delicti" visible - so the chances grew from 51% up to 75% we´re expecting a healthy, but shy lady-hamster :-)

Inspired by this Photojojo story and my friend Desert Songbird´s Project 365 I have decided to join and post picture a day, taken on that day, from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.

So, with no further ado, here's photo #1:

Today´s picture shows our son Luis playing his favorite game "Where is Luis?" - "Oooooh... there he is!" followed by a hug and a kiss and countless repeats of hiding under the blanket.