What I Learned in 2012

*No matter how much cute workout gear I buy, it's useless unless I actually use it to go to the gym. I won't.
*That despite what anyone tells me, I do not enjoy hiking, it is not fun, and my idea of a good time is not walking up a mountain in the rain. No matter how pretty the view at the top may be.
*That cherry glühwein is disgusting.
*That I like German ketchup more than American ketchup.
*That a friend who leaves vodka on your doorstep when you're having a bad week is a friend for life.
*That buying nail polish on clearance at the lingerie store will not end well.
*How to take off glittery nail polish.
*That no matter how many people tell me to read a book, if I'm not interested in it, I still won't. 50 Shades of Grey, I'm looking at you.
*That when I grow up, I want to be Alex Guarnaschelli.
*How to sometimes get Marriott rooms for cheap in Europe using eBay. (if you go to eBay.co.uk and search for Marriott under holidays and travel, lots of times the individual Marriotts will put up auctions for 1-3 night stays with breakfast included)
*That nail polish really is the new lip gloss.
*How to be able to spot the really good German wine in the store and not just buy what has a pretty label on it. (The trick is to look for this symbol at the top.

VDP is awarded each year to the 200 or so best wineries or individual wines in Germany. If you see a bottle with this exact logo on it, you know you have something good in your hands. And it's not always fancy, expensive stuff either. I've seen VDP bottles for as cheap as 6,50€ or so in the grocery store.)
*That someone up there is looking out for my husband. 
*How to make vodka gummy worm shots. (I swear I'm not a total lush and had non-alcohol related moments in 2012 as well.)
*That after being convinced that costume jewelry just was not for me, after discovering Bellevue Newport, I realize that I was wrong all those years.

Weekend Craziness

I had intended for this to be a post chock full of pictures from all of the Christmas markets we've been to and things we did over the weekend, but the universe had other plans for me. Yesterday, while we were at the Trier Christmas market, my iPhone was stolen out of my coat pocket. I am not shocked at all that this happened, the market was beyond packed and it was impossible to move around so it really was a pickpocketer's dream. TLS tried using "Find my iPhone" to locate it, but it only works if the phone is in a data connection at the time, and whoever took it, turned the phone off.

I am beyond upset for several reasons. First of all, I am seriously hoping that our renters' insurance will cover the phone because needless to say, we don't have several hundred Euros to spend on a new phone at the moment. Second of all, I had a lot of pictures on the phone that weren't on the cloud, so I am upset about losing them. Third of all, I am a chronic listmaker. I had lists on my phone of things to buy at the store, packages I was expecting, packages to send out, holiday cards to send out, etc. Now, I feel lost without my phone. I am trying to recreate the notes in my planner, but am having some difficulty doing so, which is making me very flustered and upset. To add insult to injury, I bought myself a cute iPhone case at the Kate Spade cyber sale which is supposed to come this week. Oh the irony.

I have been beyond upset and trying not to cry since this happened and in need of cheering up. Has this ever happened to you? Were you able to get it replaced through your homeowners' or renters' insurance?