Recap, Reflection and Comparison

I am ashamed.  When was my last post?  Like, a month ago?  Crap.  That was NOT supposed to happen!  I've been busy with, as I like to say in German, "Zeug, Kram und Sachen."  Those are pretty much three different words for "stuff."  I may have also gotten a tad bit lazy.  Just a bit.  It's summer, after all!  And I do have to admit, I was getting a little burned-out from writing almost every day.  But yes, a month is definitely long enough of a break to take!  Since this is my last post probably EVER (gasp!) I know I should have posted sooner and gotten it done with, but instead I've left you hanging for a loooong time.

Let me begin with a recap.  I'll try to sum everything up as best I can, but I'm not promising that I'll remember everything.

Before and After: The Flight Home

I haven't posted in a long time!  Sorry about that!  A lot has happened since I showed you the pictures from our Holland trip, and I'll probably leave some stuff out in this post because I've forgotten already. :)

The Dutch Adventure Begins

I am currently writing to you from the laptop in our rental in the Netherlands.  The laptop has the same keyboard as in the US, and I am having a little trouble typing. ;)

We left at about 9 this morning to drive to Naarden, the Netherlands.  We made a few stops along the way, the first being a city called Nijmegen.  We walked around and took lots of pictures.  As far as I could see so far, buildings were made up of adorable old buildings, ugly middle-old buildings, and interesting-looking new buildings.  The shopping street, however, still had old buildings and an old church.

New Shirts!

Okay.  I know what you're thinking.  Did Julia go shopping again?  As a matter of fact, I did!  Just kidding.  I'll explain the title.

**On a random note, I went to bed at 8 pm yesterday because I was so exhausted after the birthday party :)

What Have I Been Doing Lately?

I know, I know.  I haven't posted in what, three days?  Don't get me wrong, lots has happened, I just haven't had the time (or the mood) to write about it!  This seems to be happening a lot lately.  Sorry...  But part of it is your fault!  I hardly ever get comments anymore, and I feel like I'm writing to myself.  But maybe you don't comment because my posts are boring because I never feel like writing.  So maybe it's my fault after all. ;) Anyway...

Afternoon Adventures

Today I am not going to talk about school because Tuesdays are always incredibly boring in that regard.  I have German, chemistry and history.  It's not a great combo.  My afternoon was a lot more interesting.

By the way, my mom just told me that I should talk more about my reactions to everything instead of just report on it.  She's told me that before, and I did start doing that more, but I guess I slipped back into the I-don't-feel-like-writing-let's-just-cut-to-the-chase type of writing.  I hope I haven't been boring you!

Instead of just telling you what happened today, here is a summary of everything I will tell you about:

Three Days, One Post

So sorry I haven't posted the past two days!  Stuff has happened, but I haven't had time to post or I just wasn't in the mood.  Mostly I just wasn't in the mood.  I also have stuff to do today, so I'll just give you a shortened version of events.

When Two Worlds Collide

Hmmm...  That is a cool title for a book, no? ;)

It has recently been brought to my attention that some of my sentences make absolutely NO sense.  Sorry about that.  I never feel like proofreading, but I guess I probably should. ;)

When I woke up this morning, it was rainy and cold.  There's nothing that welcomes you into a new country better than wet, cold weather, right? :P Luckily, it didn't rain while Lisa and I were biking to or from school.  For once!

Liege!

After our nine hour long class trip to Liege, I am exhausted.  The trip, all in all, was okay.

Since I finally had my camera with me at school for once, I was able to take pictures of how many people ride their bikes to school!

Happy, Happy, Happy, Sad

I couldn't fall asleep last night because all the One Republic songs from my new CD were stuck in my head.  Lesson: when you get a new CD, do not play it over and over again and memorize the lyrics to boot.  I learned that the hard way. ;)

This morning Lisa and I walked to school instead of biking like usual because it looked kind or rainy.  It didn't rain AT ALL.  I'm starting to think that it only rains when I'm on my bike.

Then Lisa invited me to go shopping with her, Sara and Celina in Cologne tomorrow!  Yay!  When I asked if we were going to go right after school, Lisa was like, "We don't have school tomorrow."

Whaaa?

Kleingärten

My cold is getting worse in that I'm coughing all the time.  But my nose isn't running anymore, so that, at least, is good.

Today has been pretty darn uneventful.  Really, all that's happened today was going on a walk and my grandparents' friends come over.  So let me tell you about those two things...

Happy Birthday to Meee.....

Indeed.  Today was my birthday!  Is my birthday!  Will be my birthday for a few more hours!  Just kidding!  I started this post yesterday, on my birthday, but didn't finish it until today.  Honestly, I wasn't expecting much of my birthday.  I've already gotten a LOT of presents, like my Kindle and my schoolbag in Germany, so I wasn't expecting many presents today.  But I definitely have enjoyed my day!

A Trip to the Picture Book Museum

We spent the majority of the day today in Troisdorf.  I'm not sure how you spell it.  Anyway, we went to a picture book museum there.  It was in this old building that used to be part of a fortress thingiemabob surrounded by a moat.  The moat is still there, but, unfortunately, there was no bridge that can go up and down, just a normal stone pathway across.

The Truth About Old People

Today was my grandpa's birthday. :) His is exactly one week before mine.

The morning was just a calm morning including breakfast, replacing old flower bouquets with new ones, and reading.  The first rose bouquet of the year has been picked. :) The last phase of flowers are starting to die, being replaced with the new ones, which is always exciting.

In late morning/early afternoon, we opened presents.  My grandpa got a book from my family, a book from my cousins, and a book from my grandma.  Yep, he likes to read.  I, however, deviated from the book theme and gave him this:

A Laid-Back Day

This will be a fairly short post. :) Today was my second day home alone.  Everything went smoothly, and I didn't manage to lock myself out of the house or anything. :)

The morning was one of those nice, quiet mornings where you get all of your crap done and then relax.  First I read in bed for an hour, then ate breakfast, did some homework and a workout, then returned to my book and the internet. :)

At about three my friend Nadine came over.  I showed her the entire house, and then we went shopping.  I love shopping. :) We biked because the weather is, for once, being nice to us.

Babies + Towers = Happy!

The past two days have been extremely baby-oriented.  I see my adorable cousins once a year, so I'm trying to create enough special moments to last me a year. :) I'd say that it's been working!  They have done so many cute, funny, awesome and memorable things that I can't exactly tell you all of them, but I can show you lots of pictures! :)

Babies: You Gotta Love 'Em

This late morning to early afternoon was pretty miserable.  I had a stomach ache and was laying in bed for about two hours, writhing and twisting from the pain.  Then I puked. :P But after that I fell asleep, and when I woke up I felt fine again, so thank goodness for that.  I have plans for this weekend after all! :)

My aunt, uncle and two cousins came last night, and they'll be here for the long weekend. (no school Thursday and Friday!  Yes!)  Finja and Louisa, my twin almost-two-year-old cousins, are pretty much the cutest things ever.  I haven't seen them in a year, and they've changed so much!  They actually respond to what people are saying now.  I played with them a lot with blocks and stuffed animals, and also went down the slide with Finja on my lap when we were at the playground.  I think they like me! :)

The Sports Events of the Past Few Days

At first I wasn't going to blog about this, but when I realized I inform you about every boring detail of my school day, I should probably tell you about this, just to keep it in proportion. :)

Friday afternoon was Basketball Night at my school.  Each class can put together a basketball team, and each team in its age group plays against each other.

Lisa and I came two hours before it even started.  I really have no idea why.  Some other kids from class were coming early too, so I guess it was to hang out with them.  But since I'm not exactly a social butterfly, two hours with your classmates and not all your friends can be a little daunting.  Most of the guys (and some of the girls) were playing basketball to practice, and the other girls were standing off to the side talking.  We also made a pyramid just for fun, and I got to be on top. :) I don't have a picture yet, but Lisa is going to send it to me at some point.

The Ultimate Friend Day

Here I am, writing to you on a Monday afternoon, not being in school.  Why?  Well, I have Monday and Tuesday off from school–again.  May is an awesome month to go to school in Germany because there are so many days off!  Thursday two weeks ago, last Monday and Tuesday, this Monday and Tuesday, and next Thursday and Friday!  Yeah, it's pretty awesome. :)  This week we don't have school because of a holiday called what sounds like Finxen.  I have no idea how to spell it. :)

But my post isn't about all the days of school I have off, it's about the awesome day I had yesterday!  I commence:

A Long But Great Day

Since I didn't write a blog post yesterday, I would just like to mention the random fact that I saw a kid scootering to school yesterday. :)

Anyway.  Today we went to the market again, but never fear, I have new things to tell you.  Mostly. :)

First I was given the task of unlocking the door and locking it again after we were outside.  I know, this sounds pretty darn easy.  At the beginning, I thought so too.