Ok, first I'm gonna have a bitch session about my shower/hot water heater. The shower from hell seems to have declined in the past week since we left and can no longer hold a constant temperature for longer than a minute. So, every shower consists of me turning the shower on to an ok temperature, getting in, waiting to hear the hot water heat kick on, nearly getting scalded, turning the knob toward cold (ever so slightly). Then the water turns colder and colder until the goose bumps are so bad I can hardly stand it. Thus, I turn the hot water up (ever so slightly) and wait for water to get so hot I can hardly stand it. Then I get to repeat the up and down process about 8 times. It really, really sucks.

The solution, thus far, has been taking a bath and having a quick rinse with the shower nozzle afterward, but the more pregnant I get, the tougher it is to get up out of the bath tub. By the end of nine months, I'm either gonna give up and really stink or chuck this damn thing right out the window of our apartment and insist that the landlord get a new one! Anyway, here's a new pic for all those of you that didn't get to see me last week - I'm at 29.5 weeks.

What a whirlwind of a week. With a baby shower, Thanksgiving, a crazy dog to babysit and many KU games to cheer/scream about, I'm pooped! It was great to see everyone in the States, but it went way too fast. Strange to go from surrounded by everyone to being back in Munich by myself with Finn as my only companion. He's a pretty good one though. His tail was wagging so hard when I went to pick him up that I thought he may injure himself. That and he's not upset by my new nocturnal behavior - guess I'm still on Kansas time zone.

It was also odd to arrive in the Munich airport at 8am and not recognize the place. I forgot that they setup a little Christmas village and skating rink outside between the main terminal and the car rental/S Bahn (train) area. It appears the Germans have their Christmas look in full swing because some mysterious lights are now gracing our street at night as well. I may have to visit the Christmas market this week and buy you all really cheap German Christmas goodies with the little money I have left after this past week. Ah, crappy stocking stuffers, the true meaning of the holidays :)

Anyway, here are a few pics. One of the baby shower and one of the new nursery (in Lawrence)- thanks to Dad and Margaret for the help painting and getting the crib all set up and ready. And thanks to everyone for the shower gifts! I had to make three trips up the apartment stairs because the suitcase was like an overfed tick just waiting to burst and was too heavy to carry up with everything in it. Bet my neighbors had a good laugh at the Crazy Pregnant American Lady when they saw me hauling armloads of miscellaneous baby paraphernalia in (breast pump, blankets, toys, etc). Let the good times roll ;-)

Oh and I'm also happy to report that the bar below our apartment seems to still be doing good business at midnight on a Tuesday. I'm up here chair dancing as I type. Way cool retro tunes at the favorite bar... Just wish they sold food - very hungry and ran out of time to go to the store before they closed. Guess you know what I'll be doing at 8 am tomorrow!

We were in Dublin for the past few days and it was great. I saw St. Patrick's and Christchurch Cathedrals, Dublin Castle, the National Gallery of Ireland, Natural History museum, Trinity College and St. Stephen's Green - very neat city. I also had tea, scones and some yummy pastries and bread. My Nana would've loved Dublin and all of it's bakeries and cafes. I loved it too. I couldn't get enough being able to speak English - can't wait to talk your ears off in the States next week everyone!

Other good news, Finn did very well at the kennel, so I feel much better about leaving him while we're in the States next week. They said he was "sehr gut und freundlich" (very good and friendly) - I'm so proud :-)

Take care all!

Well, we've had our first snow here in Munich. Woke up this morning to 30 degrees and snow on the cars and bushes. It's not been quite cold enough to stick to the streets and sidewalks, but it's been snowing off and on all day. So, maybe tomorrow. In other news, our dog is officially a serious world traveller. He now has an EU pet passport - fancy stuff.

Ok, so last week was 70 degrees and this week we have highs in the 30s. What the heck!!! We may be frozen out of Munich and have to return to the States early ;-)