took a break, back now

No real reason for it. Just had nothing to say and needed to unplug for a bit. Didn't want to put drivel out there just for the sake of blogging, you know? It seems the past few weeks have been a series of foibles. What's happened so far?

*It may seem common sense not to drop your brand spanking new iPhone in the toilet, but somehow, I managed to do it anyway. After it sat for days in a bag of rice and silica gel, it is still messed up. I keep on losing the signal and the screen is messed up. The other day, I hopped into the shower and it was at 95%. When I got out, it was down to 59%. In the span of one shower. My showers are long, but they aren't that long. Needless to say, I am back to using my old iPhone. The one that won't actually make phone calls. Until we can get to the Apple Store in Frankfurt and hand them over a big bag of money so that they can give me a new phone. This won't be for a while. Joy and rapture.
*We knew our fridge was cold, but did not know just how cold it was until today. I opened the fridge and everything was covered in a brown sticky liquid. Gross. Could not figure out what it was until I started digging for my speculoos and chocolate ganache tart and found brown ice slush and an upside down can of Coke Zero lying in the fridge that had exploded. Again I say. Gross. TLS took this as his cue to turn down the fridge. I was sad because at that moment, I realized just how badly I wanted that Coke Zero. Sad face.
*You know how I know I've lived here long enough to truly considered myself a resident? A friend of mine just came back from her honeymoon and spent a few days in Berlin. She kept on saying bad things about Germany and how much she hated it and how it was hell on earth, blah, blah. A year or so ago, I probably would have agreed with her. Today, I found myself sticking up for a city that I have never been to and telling her off. Only I get to make fun of my country.
*A friend of mine posted today that his friends in Germany got a Jack Russell puppy and it was too much for them and they are looking to get rid of him. (Bad people.) It is no secret that I want a puppy so badly that I can pretty much taste it. It is also no secret that I am deathly allergic to anything that has hair or fur on it and isn't actually human. Including the so-called hypoallergenic breeds. Jack Russells are not hypoallergenic. Sadly, the family was looking to get less than what I currently have in my bank account for him right now. I came darn near close to making the biggest impulse purchase of my life today. My husband sat there and hyperventilated for a solid 5 minutes after I told him that. I figured that with the case of Tricare and allergy shots, it was easier to beg forgiveness than to ask for permission. He didn't. So sadly, no, we are not getting the puppy. Yet.
*For my birthday, TLS got me the silver camera charm from Pandora for my bracelet to celebrate my new DSLR camera and the fact that I had taken several hundred pictures with it in just two days.

The other day, I was heading out with a friend and was rushing out the door so I grabbed my bracelet and figured I'd put it on in her car. In true Masha fashion, I could not for the life of me remember if I had unplugged my hair straightener so I decided to go check. I noticed something shiny on the stairs, and when I went down to pick it up, it was one of the Pandora charms that had slid off my bracelet. I put it back on my bracelet and checked to make sure that everything was still on there. My camera charm was gone. :( Insert panic here. I retraced my steps twice and could not find it. We went off on our merry way with the charm in the back of my mind. TLS came home from work and we decided to retrace my steps. No luck. I was seriously upset. I like that each charm on my bracelet tells a story and even if we did buy a new camera charm, it just would not be the same. Today, we went to get noodles for dinner. When we got home, I decided to retrace my steps again. Because doing something on the 102nd time will produce different results. Clearly. And you know what? I was right! It must have rolled under my friend's car and then another car parked in that same spot. I did not see it until that spot was free again. (Thank goodness we didn't park in it!) Just goes to show you. And now I know to get a safety chain for it.
*Today, I found the memory card from my old, old camera from when TLS and I were dating and decided to go through it. All I can say is 1) we were such babies then, and 2) thank goodness I got a much better camera. I mean look at this gem:

/Tower Bridge

Also, why you should never ask drunk tourists to take your picture:

I'm thinking that this will be the front runner for our 2012 holiday card