My Once Upon a Time...

Today marks my 5-year anniversary in the US. On one hand, I feel like I’ve been here so much longer and on the other hand it feels like I just left my tiny village in Germany last week. It’s been a great five years and I have so many reasons to feel blessed. I still love this country with all my heart and it’s very hard for me to imagine moving back to Germany (don’t tell my Mom that though ;)). Germany seems like a totally different world to me now and on some level I feel like I’ve lived here longer than I have over there. There are so many things I love about the US and I could go on and on about it. I probably have said it 584 times already, but I will say it again, there are still days where I feel like I’m on vacation here. 25 years of living in a village of constant clouds, cold and rain will do that to you, you know? But, in retrospect, the first few years of living here, I was kinda in a honeymoon stage. This was the perfect country to be living in and whoever said diffe...

The moment I immigrated to the US I was 100% sure, that I wanted to become a Citizen, once I was eligible to apply.  When I met other Germans here, it was a common topic we would talk about, who wanted to stay here, who wanted to go back to Germany, who wanted to become American and who didn't.  It sounded like it was very hard to get dual citizenship, but I always said, that I would still become American, even if that meant I would have to give up my German citizenship. (Totally feeling stupid now for thinking like this back then) And I never met anyone who shared my opinion on this. (Duh...that shouldn't really surprise me, they were all smarter than me!)  I remember the day like it was yesterday, when I finally changed my mind. It was Ellie's 1st Birthday Party and the topic came up again and this time, I really listened. Listened to the reasons the other girls listed why they would never ever give up their German (or Austrian) citizenship and all of the sudden it...

So much to be thankful for this year. A roof over our heads. Enough food on our table. Jobs we love. Health. Good Friends. But most importantly: FAMILY! I'm not only blessed with my german family, but also with my american family and when it's hard to be away from your loved ones at home, it's good to know to have a place where you're just as much part of the family as everyone else, like you have always belonged there. I am thankful. I love the holidays and Thanksgiving is just the beginning of my favorite season and I'm eating it up. This weekend, I tried to take it all in. Family Time. For me, it doesn't get better than this. Everyone in one room, playing games, cooking, talking...I just sit back and smile. I love this. And when everyone meets at my favorite place in the world (Katie's grandparents house in Mexico, also known as my "happy place") for Thanksgiving, then it really can't get any b...

I’m one of those people who change occupations frequently. When I was 16, I wanted to become a Kindergarten Teacher. I went to school for four years to make my dream come true, but 1.5 years into it, I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do. But you know, I’m not a quitter, so I stuck out the remaining 2.5 years and graduated anyway. After I returned to Germany from my Au Pair Year, I wanted to go back to school to become a Social Worker and so I did. I actually could imagine myself working as a Social Worker after my graduation, but fate had a different plan for me and I won the Green Card. If you've followed my blog since then, you know what happens next. I work as a nanny, then decide to become a Realtor, work in a Restaurant, sell Yellow Page Ads and FINALLY start working for the Home Shows. With my track record, it’s a wonder I've had this job as long as I have, 3 years now. And what’s even more a wonder is the fact, that I still love it. LOVE IT! You might wonder why I ...