Happy 2013!

I celebrated my first German New Year two years ago in Hannover. I have since then tried to explain what it entails to those that haven't seen how the Europeans bring in the New Year. Complete chaos is an ok description. But nothing does it justice. There are fireworks going off on every single street, not done by the city, but by the local citizens. With fireworks bought the week before from every convenience and grocery store in town. It's not a cheesy short 20 minutes of fireworks, either. Nope, they go on sporadically all day on New Years Eve, picking up after dark and concluding with an hour long finale at midnight. Yes, an hour of what you get excited about for the 5 minute finale on Canada Day or the 4th of July back home.

I know what you're thinking, drunk people lighting off fireworks? That sounds pretty dangerous! Your damn right it's dangerous, we saw at least two times Monday night where groups of walkers had a misfire shot in their direction. I don't disagree that it is dangerous, but it is also a helluva lot of fun. This year, we went to a beer hall right on the Hamburg harbor. And it was my favorite New Years in Germany thus far. Imagine: along with the fireworks, boats are everywhere in the water, lit up, and constantly honking their horns.

Actually, don't imagine it, just watch this video and get a taste of bringing in the New Year German style: (the excitement over the New Year results in a pretty shaky video).

And it's already the 4th of January! I firmly believe that silly quote, "Time flies when you're having fun!" We have been having a lot of fun lately and I feel like if I blink, time will cruise by faster than Kev does on the ice. We had visitors in town for two weeks and it felt more like only a few days. Man, did we keep them busy with Christmas plans, hockey games, New Years celebrating, touring Hamburg, and they even squeezed in a three day trip to Salzburg, Austria. If the holidays weren't enough to celebrate, Doughboy popped the big question in Salzburg so we got to cheers to an engagement as well.


The team has been doing really great lately. They are currently in 4th in the standings and sitting only a few points out of first. We have good news personally with hockey, too. It was made public recently that Kev has re-signed for another year here. Hamburg will continue to be our hockey home and we are incredibly happy about it. For most of you back home, the work day is almost over, so have a good weekend! Tschüss!!

My apologies...

I have been a very bad blogger lately. A couple weeks without a sweaty Saturday post and this post still isn't one. I'm sorry for not writing, but I am not sorry for why I haven't wrote. We've been pretty busy living life that I just hadn't had the time! So, I'm going to rewind in my head and fast forward through the last few weeks for you. This is what has been happening in Hamburg lately:

-Had a cookie decorating afternoon with the ladies and kids

What a spread!

-Horst and Gale came into town, Freezers won their game that night

-Attended a surprise neon-themed birthday party for one of the girls

-Hosted a late Thanksgiving feast for the Scherenbergs (I have no pictures, sadly)

-Worked

-Attended another Freezers win

-Went to Lübeck for some more Christmas market festivities

 

-Went to some German classes, skipped some too

-Took part in some of the Scherenberg family photos, although Bea is making me wait until Christmas to see them! I did get a preview though.

so sweet!

-Freezers won again, Kevin with a goal, team moved into second place

After Kev's goal

-Had some good runs, had some crummy runs, had some average runs

-Went to the Christmas markets downtown again, happened to see a parade while we were there

-Freezers lost and moved back into third place

-Horst and Gale flew back to Canada

-Attended the team Christmas dinner

-Worked some more

-Got our Christmas tree

-Started Christmas shopping way too late

-Did a corny photo shoot with Kev for the paper and was interviewed about my marathon training

"Hamburg's Sportiest Couple: Love, Ice, and Marathon"

-Almost finished Christmas shopping

That is where we are at these days! There have been no hockey games since December 9th and it has been a nice break for the boys. Play resumes on Tuesday at home against Ingolstadt. This week doesn't get any less busier as I have some Christmas things to finish, a girls' Christmas party on Wednesday, and we need to get ready for our next visitors. Kevin's friend from home, Justin, and his girlfriend, Jocelyn will be spending Christmas and New Year's with us and we are very much looking forward to it! I hope your holiday season has been off to a great, stress-free start! Tschüss!!

Sweaty Saturday... and a Hockey update

I don't have much to talk about for sweaty Saturday because I didn't get much running in this week. The week began with me getting locked out, so no running then. I got a run in on Tuesday and then woke up Wednesday morning with some pretty swollen lymph nodes and a bad cough. I have gotten this sickness every single winter ever since having a bout with mononucleosis when I was 16.

When I was in University, this sickness would stay around for a week or more. I was almost always in the middle of track season and there was no way I would let my smokers cough interrupt that! I wouldn't miss a practice, let alone a meet. Just medicate a bunch and all would be well. So it makes perfect sense to me why it always lasted so long. And although I'm training for the marathon now, I don't mind taking some days off to really allow myself to get healthy. It sure worked too, it's been only three days and the cough is almost gone and was able to do a short, easy run today. Yoohoo!

Hockey has been going pretty dang great for Kev's team. They have won 7 of their last 8 games including a big win last night against Berlin. The Freezers are currently sitting in third place in the league with a game tomorrow. A game that you can all watch! I'm not sure if that link will work, if it doesn't: go to the league website, www.del.org. Click on the "Krefeld Penguine-Hamburger Freezers"on the right side of the page under Live Videos. The game will be at 10:45 a.m. for the WI folk and 11:45 a.m. for you Markham people.

From last night's game

I will be with a bunch of the girls tomorrow and their children watching the game and decorating Christmas cookies. Cookies that I must go finish! Tschüss!

A new direction!

First off, some completely random Hamburg Happenings:

The boys won tonight in a shootout. I thought we had it in the bag until Nürnberg tied up the game with 3 seconds left. THREE Seconds. They just had to give us a thriller tonight! Thankfully, it ended in our favor. 

For the first time ever, Kev and I hosted a dinner party. We (or should I say, I, can't say Kev slaved in the kitchen the entire day ;-)) made a mexican themed feast for 10 people! That's a lot for our little apartment to hold. Not to mention that I can never host a dinner and not go all out. We tried our best to make sure we stayed with in our theme. Even down to the San Miguel beers. Alright, that means we already left the theme, San Miguel's are Spanish not Mexican. At least we were within one language!

our table setting for 10 (4 couples, and 2 of the single guys)

I am really looking forward to the team's "post-Halloween" party on November 4th. Halloween was a highlight of my days at BGSU and I like to think I had some pretty great costumes. After not having a party at all last year, I am really looking forward to going all out this year. We have decided what we are going to be, and have most of our supplies for our costumes. You all will have to wait until after the party for the big reveal!

The first league break is coming up soon after our Halloween party. So far, we are thinking of Prague, Czech Republic, although nothing has been booked yet.

The next city we may be crossing off the list!

I have been thinking for a while now what direction I want to go with this blog. As much as I enjoy being able to update everyone back home on our lives here in Hamburg, writing solely "life updates" gets repetitive for me. I need a change!

As most everyone that reads this blog knows, I run for fun. Well, most of the time I don't think it is all that fun, so we'll just stick with running is a big part of my life. Therefore, I have decided to start a new "feature" tomorrow, called "Sweaty Saturday." It will be a chance for me to bring another part of my life into the blog. It comes at the perfect time as I just registered for my first marathon today, the Hamburg Marathon in April, 2013. Check back in tomorrow! Tschüss!

Freezers live stream!

I am by myself again today as Kev is on the road for tomorrow's game in Krefeld. I have plenty to keep myself busy with because I need to get this apartment ready for the potluck I am hosting tomorrow for the rest of the girls. We will be having dinner here and then watching the boys game live, and you all can watch too!

Photo: Hamburg Freezer's Facebook page

Tomorrow and Sunday's game will both be streamed here.

Tomorrow's game will be on at 12:25 p.m. for those of you in the Wisconsin area and 1:25 p.m. for those in the Toronto area.

Sunday's game will be on at 10:45 a.m. in Wisconsin and 11:45 a.m. in Toronto.

Tschüss!

The sweetest moments...

I missed the hockey game tonight due to work. The guys pulled off an exciting 4-2 win over Wolfsburg. Kev started the regular season off with an assist! I will update more tomorrow but want to leave you with the precious photo I captured with the kiddos after we got inside today.

And... we're back!

It's about time I started blogging again, don't ya think? It's already been over 2 weeks since I have made the move back to Hamburg. The adjustment was such a breeze this year, but I guess that is a huge perk of being able to come back to the same city!

Kev came over three weeks before I did and did a great job getting the apartment together. Other than unpacking my clothes and doing some cleaning, it was the easiest move I've ever done and our new apartment feels like home! We are incredibly happy we moved. We are now closer to the rink, the Scherenbergs, and only a hop, skip, and a jump away from the necessities. No joke. It is only a 3 minute walk for me to get to the bus stations, train station, grocery store, drug store, etc.

I can blame my lack of blogging a little on being busy. I went to see the Scherenbergs the day after I flew in and have been working since I got here. It was such a shock to see how much Hans and Ida have changed over 3 short months. Ida grew so much is now walking (or should I say running!) and Hans is a lot taller as well! I begin my German classes next week but am happy to say I have picked up right where I left off when it comes to the language.

Ida and I out for a walk

A festival was held downtown over the weekend in Hamburg. There is a great big lake in the middle of downtown and the "Alstervergnügen" was held along the entire perimeter of the water. I love outdoor festivals, anything that reminds me of Summerfest, Riverfest, or State and County fairs back home are good in my books! The Alstervergnügen had live music, drinks, every type of food one could imagine, a ferris wheel, children's activities, and more. We had dinner and spent the evening there on Thursday. We intended to wait for the fireworks over the water, but left about an hour before they shot them off.

The festival was held on the perimeter of the Binnenalster

one of the (many) bars at the Alstervergnügen

I was able to see Kev play in his first home game yesterday. It was a very exciting game against Berlin which ended in our favor after a shootout. After the game, there was a fan party and autograph session complete with an AC/DC tribute band. Since the weather was beautiful, the party was able to be held outdoors.

Kev represented at the fan party!

ACDC tribute band

The Freezers currently have a 3-2-1 record in the European Trophy and are standing at 3rd in their division. The European Trophy is a pre-season, Europe-wide tournament. Kev has left me home alone again as he travels to Finland today for a game against the Oulun Kärpät tomorrow. He has one final European Trophy game on Saturday and then the boys will begin to kick off regular season play. You can find European Trophy news and the live "ticker" for the games here. I have today off (of work and running!) so its a holiday for me like it is back home. Happy Labor Day and Tschüss!

Nothing like a little Taco Bell in Germany!

We just finished up Easter weekend here! Easter is big here in Germany with Friday and Monday also part of the holiday, so the only day stores were open was Saturday. Had to plan ahead! Kev had his final team party on Saturday night, so he has no further obligations with the team before we leave. I didn't go to the team party, but I heard there were a lot of people there. I had a quiet dinner with the chicks since our time is winding down together. One is already gone!

Kev played a teammate in a 1 period NHL match

And won... oh, Horst and Gale must be so proud!

 Sunday, we headed over to the Scherenbergs for an afternoon of coffee and cake. They had set up a great easter hunt for us and the weather cooperated so we were able to do it outside. We had a great afternoon with them and Kev held Ida for, not the first time, but finally longer than 10 seconds! Bea and Oli took some photos, so we have them to thank for the following ones:

Precious!

Hans would have found them all if we would have let him!

the finished baskets

Getting along!

As the title says, we treated ourselves to a version of Taco Bell tonight. Eating actual Taco Bell is impossible since there are none in Germany, however, my pinterest obsession has led me to homemade crunchwrap supremes! If you haven't heard of pinterest, check it out. But only if you have a lot of free time, it can lead to a serious obsession. I digress. Back to the crunchwrap supremes!

We gave them a try tonight and were not dissapointed! If you don't have a Taco Bell nearby (which most of you do) or are looking for a way to shake up taco night, give it a try! You don't need any different ingredients, other than perhaps some nacho cheese spread.

Looks the same!

 Yum! I'll leave you with the recipe, which is totally adaptable based on your taste. Tschüss!


Homemade "Crunchwrap Supremes"

Ground Beef (we used 1/2 kilo and had left over meat)
Taco Seasoning
Soft Tortillas (bigger the better!)
Tortilla chips
Sour Cream
Nacho Cheese Sauce
Lettuce, Tomato, Onion (anything else you like on your tacos!)

I didn't use measurements for anything because everyone likes their tacos different!

Brown ground beef and mix with taco seasoning. Microwave soft tortillas for a bit to soften. Spread sour cream on the tortilla (we found it folded/stuck better with sour cream up to the edges!). Layer as follows: ground beef, nacho cheese sauce, tortilla chips, lettuce/tomato/onion. Fold edges up and fry for about 30-45 seconds on each side (I buttered my pan a little before each one). Enjoy!!!

Wrapped-up; First DEL Season

Well, it's over. The hockey season that is. Kev's team lost on Friday to end the first round of playoffs 4 games to 1. You never want to end on a loss, but the team has a lot to be happy about, having a sigificant improvement from last season's 11th place finish. As for Kev, he is happy about how his first season in the DEL went and is excited to work his bum off this summer in preparation for next season. After participating in a 4-day-drink-your-face-off "bender," it won't be too long before he is back to working out hard again! Since I participated in a bit of a bender myselft, I'm excited to start working hard on the summer bod again! Especially since I decided to run the Hamburg marathon next year (my first one!), so I want to have a great training year for that! To wrap up the season, we have the Freezer team party on Saturday, and then it won't be too long till we have to say our goodbyes. This is my first season with Kev and I've definitely formed my own bonds here, so there will be some difficult goodbyes for the both of us!

We intend to stay in Hamburg until the end of the month. That way, I can continue to work a bit longer, and we can have even more time to explore parts of Hamburg we haven't yet gone to. I have a bit more free time as well, since after my last set of lectures ended, I am finished with the German course for the year. We also have plans to drive on over to Amsterdam for a few days to cross out yet another city on our travel bucket-list.

Kev has re-attempted the bourbon and brown sugar salmon recipe and came through with some amazing results. Shannon and I left him and John to fend for themselves in the kitchen last night, and boy were we impressed! Salmon, oven-baked asparagus, and couscous cooked in a yummy chicken broth. Ok, we may have had to give them advice here and there, but they did some serious work! You all must try the salmon at home, so good!

Looks good, doesn't it!?

 

Bourbon and Brown-Sugar Salmon

2 salmon filets
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. Butter
1/4 packed brown sugar
1/4 Bourbon

Directions:
Rinse salmon fillets, pat dry, season with salt and pepper.
*Melt butter over medium heat until it foams. When the foaming has subsided, stir in brown sugar until a sauce is formed. If sauce is too thick, add more butter. Cook salmon fillets in brown sugar/butter sauce for 3-4 minutes, flip the salmon, and pour the bourbon on the salmon. Cook for another 4-6 minutes until salmon is done (time varies based on thickness). Serve and pour remaining sauce over salmon (it carmelized and was so good!).

*Recipe itself is from Esquire's Eat Like a Man Cookbook, but I had Kev slightly adapt it in the way it worked for him. He made a point to me that the butter "needs to be at a perfect temperature." I can't help but laugh a little when he says that, but whatever works for him, as long as the fire alarm stays off!

Have a great Hump Day! Tschüss!

Making of Pre-game Show

Early on into my blogging, I posted a video of the introduction to each Freezer home game. Well, on the team's Facebook Page today, I came across a video that shows how they made the pre-game show. Although the narration is all in German, I'm sure you will all get the gist! If anything, you'll see it at a better angle than in my video! Kevin is sending me to tonight's playoff game with the playbook to record some more action. The guys are down 2-1 in the series so be rooting for them today! Tschüss!

Friday, the Freezers clinched 5th place and a spot in the playoffs!

According to the teams facebook page, The guys already know that they will be playing the 4th place team, Mannheim. The first game of this quarterfinal round begins March 21st!

Article Translation!

Finished! Termine! Done! Is it a perfect, exact translation? Not a chance! Do I care? Not one bit! For those of you that don't know, Kev had an article in the arena magazine this past month (see here). I had been attempting to translate it to English so our family and friends could understand it. I would probably have given up if I hadn't promised Harry/Pop (Kev's grandpa) that I would finish it for him. By Wednesday night. Well, it's now into Thursday here, but thank goodness for that 6 hour time difference because it is only 6:30 p.m. (or 5:30 if we want to do Wisco time!) on Wednesday back home! I made the deadline. So here it goes and no one is allowed to make fun of me for things that sounds silly, I did my best! :-)

Kevin Schmidt - Hamburgs Next National Player? (Kevin Schmidt came in the Summer from the second division club Hannover Indians and has in a short time been considered by the National Coaches)

It was October 21, when national coach Jacob Koelliker took a seat in the O2 World for the first time and looked for himself at the potential national player of the Hamburg Freezers. By the 3-2 victory against the Hannover Scorpians, a man stood out, who hadn't actually been on his radar. After the game, Koelliker asked the GM Stephane Richer about Kevin Schmidt. Not without reason: the defenseman is one of the rising starts of the current season. Many believe the new addition will make the jump to the national team. Certainly, the statue allows DEB Schmidt to become a national player in the middle of 2012, he must be an active pro for 2 years in the nation before he becomes eligible for "Team Germany."

"There aren't many good German Offensive-defensemen and Kevin is still young. He has a promising future for himself," says Richer. Schmidt himself takes such praise with much goodwill if equal to knowledgeable about the national team topic, almost a little embarrassed. "It would be an honor for me, to be able to represent my country on the ice. And I fully admit this is a goal I pursue," says the German-Canadian, who has a German passport since 2010. His father, Horst, was born in Stuttgart and emigrated at the age of 3 months to Canada. From there, the Schmidt family pursued ice hockey, now the career of their 25-year old son. The defender regularly reports to his parents and especially his brothers, Jamie, Michael, and Matt, who all played hockey, how well it is going for him with the Freezers and how much he likes and can learn from Ex-NHL-players Schubert and Traverse. "My family, of course, is very happy for me. It was a big step in the DEL and I'm very happy that I'm off to a good start here," says Schmidt, grateful that he gets so much ice time and is able to be in the Powerplay. "I want to justify the trust of Benoit Laporte. I work at it every day."

It was already clear to Schmidt at a young age that hockey would take him to Germany, sooner or later. Due to lack of perspective in North America, he moved to Germany in 2010. Actually, it was hoped by the defensman, he wanted to make the direct jump into the best days of German ice hockey. In retrospect, he is glad to have taken a detour in the second division. "It was good to gain experience on the big ice surface. Perhaps the direct jump to the DEL would have been too great. The hockey is just different here than in North America," says Schmidt who achieved 11 goals last season for the Hannover Indians. (I couldn't understand the next sentence but it said something about not yet scoring a goal in the higher league but waiting to do so and is still a hit in the Freezers jersey.) "The guys naturally joke about my stoppages (?)," says "Schmidty," as his colleagues call him. "In which: So I'm not completely without a goal. In the game against the LA Kings, I've finally taken care of a goal!" he makes clear. "That was a very special moment, I will probably report (?) for a long time: Jerome Flaake saw me at the far post, passed, and then it was easy!"

Similarly, it was easy for the defensive talent to makethe move to the Elbe. With girlfriend, Autumn, the 25-year olds like to explore the city, go shopping, or enjoy a coffee. "Hamburg has a great history, amazing architechture, and is just worth living," says Schmid, who grew up just outside of Toronto and is an avid supporter of the Maple Leafs. So it's not surprising that the high-school-graduate was early on skates. At three years old, he took his first steps on the ice. He practiced on a frozen lake with hs grandfather. As a teenager, Schmidt also tried in the meantime to be a Lacrosse player. "Who knew, I would become as well as professional. But today, I am happy about my career as a professional Hockey player," says Schmidt who makes no secret of hw ambitious he is. He's part of a team that has a chance at the title, he says. "And that, I always dreamed of. That was my goal!"

SO! I'm so glad that's done. It's just too bad that I have to thank Google Translate way more than I had hoped. Sorry about things that sound silly or completely incorrect. It's definitely not the perfect translation, but I hope it is close and even more, I hope you all enjoyed my attempt! Seeing as it is now almost 1 a.m. and I'm exhausted from German, I'm headed to bed. Gute Nacht!!!

Less than a week will be the New Year!

We had a pretty fantastic, jam-packed busy weekend (which is why it is almost noon and Kev is still in bed!). Kevin was away Thursday and Friday for a game against Mannheim (won in a shootout) so I was on my own to play Christmas music and bake and cook for the weekend. Since they bussed to Mannheim, Kev didn't get home until after 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning. He didn't sleep well on the bus and couldn't fall asleep when he got home right away which wasn't great since I then got him up at 9:45 a.m. to go to the Christmas Eve skate organized by one of the other girls.

I was dangling all over Kev before this shot

It wasn't mandatory to go to the skate but we were glad we did because it turned out to be so much fun! I even got out there with a stick in hand and passed the puck around and took some shots on net. Hard to believe that after almost 4 years around Kev, this was my first time messing around with a hockey stick. Actually, it was probably only my second or third time even on the ice since we first started dating! It was so much fun though and there was some food after and a secret santa exchange for the kids. We had to leave the skate early in order to make one last trip to the grocery store before they closed for the weekend. The stores here closed at 1 p.m. Christmas Eve and didn't open again until today, so we really had to plan in advance! Nothing done last minute around here! Kev napped in the afternoon and I got things ready around the apartment for our guests that evening. I cooked a ham for the first time since we were having another couple over for dinner. After dinner 2 more couples came over for drinks, snacking, and to play some silly games. Even though we all miss our family this time of year, it's great to get together with all of the other couples that don't have family visiting as well.

Kev and some teammates

Christmas card worthy!

Christmas day we got up to have a mini-Christmas together before we headed to the Scherenbergs for brunch. It was really nice to spend Christmas with them and we got to experience a very typical German brunch. There was a cheese plate, bread plate, fish plate (cooked but cold), a cold cut plate, along with different spreads and fish salads. I don't eat food like this often so I was excited to try everything and I really enjoyed it! Kev isn't a big seafood (especially cold) fan, but Oliver made him some scrambled eggs and bacon so all was good! Han's really loved the Freezers gear we gave him and we came home with an amazing Hamburg book. We were there up until Kev's practice in the afternoon. When Kev got home later, we had about a 3-4 hour date with Skype which was absolutely amazing. We were able to talk to all of Kev's family and all of mine. We even got to see my dad, brother, Suzzanne, and Sheridan open their presents from us on camera! Pretty cool, what would we do without Skype!? We really missed everyone but were lucky to be around so many great people this time of the year.

Hans gets picture shy but loved his Freezers stuff!

Ida, the next Mrs. Clause

She is so precious!!!

Yesterday was a bank holiday here as well, so the Freezers had a game. We were pretty lucky it was a home game too. The guys won and are alone in 4th place in the DEL now. Kev has 2 more games yet this week, one tomorrow and Friday. I have the rest of today and tomorrow off and it is back to work for me on Thursday. My classes have been on break this week also, which has been a nice vacation so far. Anyway, that's all for here! I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day for all you Canadians! Tschüssy!

All I want for Christmas... is the German language to be easier!

Kevin had an article in the monthly arena magazine this past month. After sending some home for family members, I thought I would try to translate it without typing it all into a translation website. Not only for our family to actually be able to read it, but also because I thought it would be good practice for me! Well, I'm more than 2 hours into my process and I only have a bit over 1/3 of it done. As much as my German improves with my class and spending time with Hans, this attempt was quite the awakening that I am still extremely raw and basic. I don't even know more than one tense to speak in! Not to mention that there are so many different ways to use a word and specific ways to have a saying. I'll keep trying for everyone but in the meantime.. here are some photos of the article!

 

I have already been able to attend 2 Christmas parties... in addition to the markets, so we are still feeling festive over here. Over a week ago, we had the team's party with all of the sponsors, team management, players, wives/gfs, and even some fans I think. It was at a beautiful hotel near the Reeperbahn and was such a great time! It started with speeches by the head of the fan club and some of the management (which they translated in English also so we knew what was going on). The speeches were all extremely nice and everyone seems very proud and supportive of the team. They had an amazing spread of food and after the speeches were done, the drinking began! Being a "work" party, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was so much fun and even a little wild!

Kevin's back-up career to hockey: a rockstar

Last night, I went to one of the other girls, houses for a Christmas party/Cookie exchange. Her home was beautifully decorated and there was a great spread of food and wine for us all. We had a gift exchange and all in all a great time together! Her husband, Serge, made an appearance to serve us our champagne.

what a trooper!

Our food and cookie spread at the end of the night

I'm by myself tonight since the boys are playing in Berlin. They are currently in a 3-way tie for 4th place in the league. The standings are pretty close, but hopefully we get a big W tonight! We have a pretty busy rest of the week coming up as well also! Kevin leaves Thursday for his game on Friday against Mannheim. Saturday morning, we have a Christmas Eve skate/potluck with the rest of the players and families. Saturday night we are having another couple over for dinner and drinks. Sunday is Christmas (holy moly, already!!) and we are headed over to the Scherenbergs for brunch before Kev's practice that aftenoon. And the day after Christmas, the guys have a home game. Busy busy! I still have a tiny bit of Christmas shopping left and lots of cooking and baking to do! The Christmas markets close on Friday as well, so I'm obviously dying to get down there at least once more before they close. I don't know what I'm going to do without them when January rolls around! Anyway, have a great week everyone, tschüss!

And since I may not blog again this week,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

FROHE WEIHNACHTEN!