Nothing, really

This seems to be becoming my default blog post recently… in the absence of any one thing worth writing a whole post on, it’s all about the little snippets from my every day life. Bullet points that say nothing, really…

• More than a month after we were told my grandpa had days to live he’s still hanging on in there. He’s been moved to a different hospital in the town my grandma lives in (much more convenient!) and my dad said last week that he’s not really drinking any more, so he was going to get put on a drip so he doesn’t dehydrate.
• I’m now halfway through my week of eating peanuts while the boyfriend is away and I’ve discovered that I don’t like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (too sickly!) but I could eat Reese’s Pieces all day. They are YUM! Maybe it’s a good thing I normally try to avoid peanut related foods…
• I don’t know if it’s because the weather has turned cold again or how absolutely crazy work’s been lately, but this week I’ve been sooo tired. I was in bed by 9:30 last night and still didn’t want to get up this morning.
• Once a month, I go out for a meal with my colleagues.  This month’s meal is tonight and we’re going for Asian food. Just thinking about it makes me drool. I see Peking Duck in my future!
• I’ve just discovered that the TV channel SIXX shows an episode of ER at 6:30 p.m. every evening. The other day, I watched the one where Romano gets squished by a helicopter! It’s still weird watching it in Germany (I keep thinking “but that’s not his voice!”), but it’s still fun to watch it… a bit like visiting old friends. Sure, I could just watch my DVDs (I have the box sets of seasons 1-5) but watching it on TV is somehow a different experience… even if it is in the wrong language 😉
• My little brother is coming to visit me in July! I haven’t had a visitor since my sister and her boyfriend came in 2012 (for the Formula 1) so this is very exciting news.

And that’s all from me. I have a few plans this weekend, so hopefully after that I’ll have something more interesting to tell you. In the mean time, if you’re currently trying to learn a language (any language) go and read this absolutely fantastic post by Lady of the Cakes: Language Matters: Do You Sound Like Yourself?

 

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Silent Sunday: Let the peanut eating commence!

Friday Letters

It’s Friday again… finally! Despite my day off on Wednesday this week has been ridiculously long and busy! Hence why I’ve been sort of absent in the blogging world. Again! Never mind, here are some Friday letters for you.

Dear weather. I can’t believe you’re turning bad just in time for the weekend again. It’s like you’re doing it on purpose…

Dear work. Apparantly you weren’t listening when I asked if you could maybe get a little less crazy. Four-day working weeks should not be this exhausting!

Dear red pandas. Seeing you on my way to the train station in the morning always makes me smile. ♥

Dear boyfriend. Tomorrow will be our last day together for a week. Please don’t go leaving any bits of you in Turkey this time 😉

Dear everything peanut. I plan to take advantage of my boyfriend’s absence next week and eat you in abundance. You have been warned!

Happy Friday everyone! Have a great weekend.

If I could have it I wouldn’t be craving it!

I’m sitting here eating a packet of peanut M&Ms.  I bet at least one person is now thinking “so what? I do that all the time”. Ah, but the thing is I do not do that all the time. You see, the boyfriend is allergic to peanuts. Not severely allergic, as in open a packet of peanuts while he is in the room and he will stop breathing, but allergic enough that he may well stop breathing if he accidently went and ate something from the packet. So I tend not to knowingly buy anything with peanuts in. (He’s fine with “may contain traces…” it’s just actual peanuts that are a problem). But I am alone this week, so when I spotted the yellow packet of M&Ms on the supermarket shelf I thought ‘why not’? And so I am now eating peanut M&Ms. By the way, in case anyone was wondering, Jan has been sent to LA by his work – some computer software in a hospital that needs to be looked at. According to him the problems they’re having are probably their own fault but he has to go and sort it out anyway. *sigh* Take my advice – don’t fall in love with a computer scientist!

Anyway…. back to the point.
Have you ever noticed how whenever you really, really want a certain thing it’s something you can’t have? Even if you’ve been shopping that day the thing you find yourself craving at midnight is guaranteed to be something you didn’t buy. Or maybe that’s just me? Either way, right now I have my packet of yummy peanut M&Ms but what I really want to be eating is poppadoms. I don’t even know why. Poppadoms just popped into my head at work this afternoon and now I desperately want to eat them. Unfortunately that’s easier said than done in Germany. Oh, you can get them, but only if you’re willing to pay over 3 euros for them. And the only ones they have here are the type that you have to cook yourself. By cook I mean place in extremely hot oil for a few seconds, causing your entire kitchen to become filled with smoke. Not a good idea if your little cooking space is miles away from any windows. What I want are those ready-to-eat Sharwoods poppadoms that are available in every single supermarket in England. But I cannot have them, which only makes me want them more.

It’s the same with most of the things I miss from home. When I’m in England I don’t feel the need to eat a packet of crisps every day, but in Germany, faced with the choice of paprika flavour or paprika flavour (although I have to admit they’re getting better) I find myself longing for some Flaming Hot Monster Munch. Or Skips. Or Quavers. Or some Worcester Sauce flavoured Walkers. Occasionally I will find myself in the corner of Karstadt staring longingly at the Kettle Chips. If I’m having a really bad day I might even buy a packet. (That doesn’t happen very often though. Not at the insane price of 3 euros. For a packet of crisps!). And then there’s crumpets. And pasties. And pies. In fact, anything savoury that can be packed in pastry (Hails made me feel very jealous yesterday talking about the sausage rolls she’s been eating). And don’t even get me started on Chicken Soup and Bird’s Eye Potato Waffles! Funny how I barely even noticed these things when I could have them every day.