Across the World!

Doreen has officially left for a month on her long work journey.  If you didn’t know, D got an awesome opportunity to go to London, and all across Germany to train her co-workers on a web tool.  What an opportunity heh?  Thats what I am thinking too, as a bonus she gets to see her family not only once, but twice!  I am so happy for her, she put so much hard work and late nights into this project and it sounds like it is going very well!  When she returns in early April I hope the cold weather is gone and we can enjoy the midwest Spring.

As for Doreen, she has completed a few cities of the training and this weekend she is heading home to see her family.  I know her family is very excited to see her, can you imagine going every 6 months without seeing anyone in your family? I give he a lot of credit!  I can only imagine how many pictures she will have, i may need to grab a drink or two when she shows them all to me.  Her only dislikes have been living out of a suitcase and she says being away from me. However, she gets to talk in her native tongue and eat the food she very much enjoys.

Babe, ich liebe Dich und zu halten, die großartige Arbeit! vermisse dich!

I wish i was able to go see the twins in Chicago with the Taseffs, but unfortunately i wasnt able to due to work and a basketball commitment.  The worst part of it all, the opposing team didnt even show up for our basketball game!! I hear they had a blast and i have been reveiwing the pictures all week.  Its amazing how big and smart the twins have got and I can not wait to see them next weekend eating the famous new Reagle Ribs!

Since D is gone, i have started painting a room at a time.  Fortunately for me, my mom is an awesome painter and teacher and we did the guest bedroom together.  Thanks Mom for all your help, we shared many laughs and the outcome is amazing!  I hope Doreen likes black for a guest room.  Just kidding, we colored the room Rejuvenate, it is a warm green and it looks amazing!  I never knew how much paint makes your home feel like home until we painted that room.  Hopefully soon we will be moving to the next room to paint, my office.  Any suggestions on colors?

Also, last night Dad, Damon, and I went down to the 38th street to visit alta for a bit before we headed to the Q to watch Bowling Green vs. Ohio U in a MAC tourney game.  Of course, the better team won, Bowling Green.  My dad and I have gone tow watch them play in the tournament three years and we have never seen them win.  I wear Brown and Orange with pride today.  I hope they make the tournament, just like our CLEVELAND STATE! Go Vikings!!!

Alta is awesome too, she is always smiling and giggling and wants to be read as many books as possible.  Also, Congrats to Ash and Damon who are welcoming their 2nd child in June, a baby boy! Mitchell Thomas Taseff. Oh what an honor.

Hopefully the next post will be from Doreen blogging from Deutchsland, and hopefully for us the post is in English!!  MISS YOU BABE!!

What a great day!

Today is a very special day …

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MITCH!!!

Yes, it’s a big day for him, he LOVES his birthday J

Last night, he was counting the hours, minutes, even seconds until midnight. It’s the cutest to see him like that, so happy and excited. We have dinner plans for tonight and tomorrow; plus a few surprises. Oh, and gifts of course. I can’t wait for him to open them. This will be a great weekend, celebrating Mitch all weekend long.

60 Minutes Lunch Break

What all can you do in a one hour break?

You could eat lunch, watch TV, take a hot bath, even take a nap …

or you can shovel snow for 60 minutes!

Today, I chose the last option after all the snow that has come down since last night.

Because we don’t have a fancy snow blower like EVERY one of our neighbors and using a shovel takes a lot longer I got to finish only half of our driveway. I decided to clear Mitch’s side so he can actually get into the garage after a long day of work. Awe… J

 

I don’t remember the last time I saw this much snow! Who would’ve thought snow shoveling is a workout. The first 30 minutes are somewhat fun, but after that you start feeling muscles you never felt before. I know I’ll be sleeping good tonight. Why did we want a long driveway again?

 

Here’s a picture of my lunch activity today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Few Pictures From Lange’s Wedding

Let it Snow!

Yes it is winter…

Oh how fast it can come down!  I was enjoying my nice, week long annual work meeting in Phoenix when I received a phone call from Doreen, this is how it went:

M: what up

D: we got a foot of snow, we dont have a snow shovel and I can’t get out

M: Oh come on, a foot of snow?

D: Um yeha, come home

Well I didn’t exactly rush to the airport or anything (actually went to get a drink), but i did feel bad for Doreen! While i was enjoying nice 65 degree weather in Phoenix, D was witnessing and living her first REAL snowfall in many many many years.  To say the least, D did a great job purchasing her first shovel and clearing the driveway!  Has anyone else been in the situation in which all your neighbors have these expensive heavy duty snow-blowers and you are hauling your butt just to get HALF of the driveway completed? Well, when i came back, that’s exactly what happened! to be precise, my neighbor snow-blew his driveway, went inside for about 30 minutes, came back out and did it again by the time i was completed! Oh well, some purchases just have to wait…….

The past month has been very busy (as for most) from the three Christmas weekends with the family and friends, to the awesome wedding of Brian and Gretchen Lange! Congratulations, you two are so much fun and perfect for each other.  We also had a great New Year’s with friends in which we got a free limo ride home for the establishment. 

Doreen has been awesome in preparing for the wedding; in the past two weeks we’ve got a rehearsal dinner place, photographer, florist, baker, and many more (I can’t keep up!).  D, mom, and Ash went to a bridal show this past weekend and got some great ideas and recommendations.  I know D really appreciates their input and help in all of this, and I would like to thank you too. 

Hope everyone had a good start into the new year, 2009 will be great!

CONGRATS Mitch!!!

Mitch had a very busy work week, but it was all worth it because he HIT QUOTA! After just 6 months of starting in this difficult territory he has succeeded and reached his goal for the year. All of this hard work paid off. It’s indescribable how happy he is! I am extremely proud of him!!!

GO MITCH!

 

I’ve returned from a business trip to Columbus, where I met my new team. It was a good time and we had a lot of fun.

I’m excited and ready for a change in jobs, though I will miss my old teammates; Tom and Connie you guys are the best ever!!!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOREEN!!!…and Mike!

This may be a long posting, go grab an alcoholic drink/bottle and your reading glasses!  I am going to start the blog with the most current news and work my way back to the time when we were homeowners for only one week…..

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DOREEN! As you all may know a very special person had their Birthday this past Friday, December 5th.  The birthday day started off with a wonderful surprise from Radica, who bared the cold and surprised Doreen in coming to Cleveland to surprise Doreen on her Birthday!  FYI, Radica lives in Texas! To say Doreen was surprised is an understatement. I wish you could have seen Doreen’s face when she saw Radica walk in the door….it looked something like this:

 

 

Also, Doreen got to speak to her family members in Germany for her Birthday, which is always a treat and makes the Birthday girl very happy! For the Birthday we started off with a nice dinner at Crocker Park where Doreen and Radica caught up from the missed time the past two months…the food was delicious and the memories will last a lifetime.  I sat there and was angry that the restaurant didn’t have Christmas Ale (if you have not had a Christmas Ale, please do yourself a favor and order some from Great Lakes Brewery).  Ok i wasn’t angry, but I was definitely dumbfounded.  After dinner, Doreen and Radica headed to a wine bar to catch up some more, from what Doreen told me it was 3 hours of nonstop talk and laughs.  It was great to see how happy Doreen was on her Birthday….while they were at the wine bar, i headed to Dover Gardens to witness some of the best karaoke in Cleveland…..when I say the greatest, I mean the most pathetic singing of all time, but the best part is the people think they are good singers.  However, I must say I have never been one to get up there and sing so I do give them credit and respect. More to come on Dover Gardens in a bit….

OK i have come to realization that women do not think their Birthday is just one day, but rather a week or a weekend.  For instance, on Saturday morning Doreen asked me to get the newspaper since it was cold outside.  Instead of saying “Mitch can you go get the newspaper?”, it’s more like “Mitch since its my Birthday weekend, can you go get the newspaper?”  I love it. I can not wait until February, for all mankind I now pronounce male birthdays are for a month…to bad mine is the shortest month. 

On Saturday D and Radica headed shopping and touring around Cleveland before the Birthday party night for Doreen and Mike!  First, we headed to Beer Engine where a lot of people met up to eat and grab a few drinks before we headed downtown to Cadillac Ranch.  A normal trip from Lakewood to Cleveland usually takes about 10 minutes, but because the snow was accumulating and the ice was forming it took us more like 30.  I bet Radica was surprised!  Cadillac Ranch was a great time, watching people ride a mechanical bull is hysterical and I can do it for hours.  Happy Birthday Diamond, you old man! Oh and many thanks to Susan for coordinating the whole night, it could never have gone so smooth without you!

We ended the “Birthday weekend” with a trip to Mom and Dad’s on Sunday where of course Mom NEVER dissapoints with her home cooking! More to come on that too.  Thanks Mom, Dad, and Maggie for the hospitality, great food, wonderful presents for D,  and warm house!  Great stuff…

Thanksgiving was a treat in itself with the nieces, nephews, and cousins.  Mom cooked a wonderful meal, filled us all up on her delicious Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green beans, etc.  She is definitely the best cook I have ever been around and somehow someway she makes it look so simple. Doreen and I take mental notes every time she cooks. It is amazing to me how a family of all grown-ups can be expanded so quickly with all the newcomers the past few years.  Congratulations to Kate and Rich on their beautiful baby girl, I can bet money on her becoming an Ohio State grad!  Cayden and Maddy were absolutely wonderful, we wish they lived closer so we can see them more often. Maddy still seems to able to melt everyone’s heart by just giving “the look” and Cayden is a comedian and can make anyone laugh for hours.  One of the classic moments of the weekend was Matt, Nicole, Doreen, and I went to Dover Gardens late on Thanksgiving for some Christmas Ales.  Of course, Matt always likes to let everyone know he has entered a place, yells “Christmas Ales aorund” as loud as he can when he walks into DG, oh the looks on the bikers and regulars was priceless.  I am laughing just writing this thinking of that memory.  I won’t go too much into the Turkey Bowl in which all of the friends play a football game on Thanksgiving morning.  To summarize the game in one word, sore.

Other memories from the weekend were we had our whole family and friends over to the house in Avon.  It was a first time entertaining at the place, even though it was stressful (ok only i was stressed, D was calm), it went off great.  I guess alcohol, Wii, and laughs can never go wrong!  Also, Doreen and I headed for a road trip to Bowling Green University for a night in which my cousin Collin, aka The Drain, turned 21.  Congrats bud! It felt great to be back at BG, eating stuffed breadsticks, drinking Busch Lite, and of course Ziggy’s!

Now onto the house.  I have heard from many family members and friends the infamous line, “once you get a house, you will be forever busy”.  That’s the darn truth.  We have come a long way in the past few weeks, some of the new additions have been: blinds, captain’s seat (man chair!), plants, Christmas decor, wall paintings/pictures, kitchen table, ottoman, bar stools, grille, etc.!  Does it ever end? We have had a lot of fun learning how to do ‘things” ourselves.  Yes, believe it or not we can work a 16v drill now!  The ground has been covered by snow, but about 2 weeks before it snowed, our grass started to pop-up….so exciting. Supposedly, the seed has hibernated until the winter and we should see some major progress in the Spring.  Speaking of lawn, Ashley I will take a lawn mower for Christmas, thanks. 

Other things that have kept us busy is shopping for the house and Christmas, work of course, oh and we got the privilege to babysit Alta the past Thursday.  It was awesome, she played and giggles the whole time.  She definitely has a personality that is amazing and so much fun to watch.  That’s right, who was the first people to put Alta to sleep by themselves? Doreen and I! Ok, it was more Doreen, who bathed her and all, but i got to read the book…..is this my cat? no this is not my cat…..is this my cat? no this is not my cat.  I am thinking about writing children books, all you need is three lines, and for instance the last line in that book is “yes this is my cat”. 

We are looking forward to Alta’s 1st Birthday coming soon, Matt, Nicole and the kids returning to Cleveland for the holiday, family Christmas in Columbus, New Years Eve, house shopping, and WEDDING PLANS! Maybe the Browns can win a game in the meantime, but at least we have the CAVS and Lebron! WOOOHOOO! Go Cavs…

thanks for reading, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOREEN AND MIKE!

Home Sweet Home…BRRRRR

Ok things are starting to settle down….

The past two weeks Doreen, Klaus (dad), Dirk (D’s bro), and I drove over 1,200 miles from sunny Irving, Texas to even sunnier Cleveland, Ohio! Ok that was a lie about the sunniness, but it was funny.  The drive was long, but yet Doreen and I made it fun by talking about all of our plans coming up in the next year…new house, wedding, getting settled, the winter, etc..

Klaus and Dirk graced us with staying until Wednesday of last week, we are so lucky to have them help us pack up the track, drive across country, unpack the truck, and of course putting things together!  Mo Mann made us a wonderful welcome home dinner, which included one of my favorites, BBQ’s chicken! thanks Mom!  Also, thanks to Dad for sealing our driveay, considering it has rained the past four days we are very happy to have that completed.  All the relatives and friends have made this move so much easier, and A LOT less stressful..thanks to everyone for EVERYTHING!

Doreen and I are learning so much every day about being new homeowners, what do you mean our toilet is running upstairs? My response,  ”Call the leasing office, they will fix it tomorrow”. Oh wait that doesn’t work anymore.  We got a lawn installed a little over a week ago, and every morning it feels like Christmas running outside to see if we have just ONE blade of grass!  To our dissapointment nothing has come up yet, but it better soon before it gets too cold!

We love our house, every day it is starting to feel a little bit more like home….We have shopped a lot for furniture but no luck there either.  Doreen is learning the area, I think she misses Krogers and the warm weather….

We will be putting up pictures soon of the house once we find the box with the camera in it, so please come back soon for them!  Again, thanks EVERYONE who helped in the move in anyway, i could type all the names but it would take forever to do, you all know who you are! 

TSCHUESS and PROST!

New Chapter…

Sorry it has taken so long to update our blog, it has been kind of crazy.  Doreen came to Cleveland for a little over a week and we closed on our house, moved a few things, shopped, cleaned, spent our first nights in the house, and the list can go on and on and on…

Doreen’s dad and brother Dirk made it to Detroit and made the 20 hour drive down to Dallas to help us move later this week!  From the stories I am getting telegrammed, Doreen’s dad is enjoying the United States and amazed on how large the stores are here.  I can tell in Doreen’s voice on how happy she is to have them both here and I can not wait to see them on Thursday! 

On Saturday we will be driving the Penske truck from Dallas to Cleveland, hopefully we can do it in two days!  Thanks Josh for the hook-up with the truck! 

I got to enjoy another babysitting night with precious Alta and her shananagins this past Saturday!  Matt, goodluck to you, he will be running his first Marathon, i hope the kids and the family get to see you finish, wish we were there! What an accomplishment….

I promise to start updating the blog more often, i am sure so many things occured that i dont remember the past 2 weeks.

More news from Germany …

My dad is coming too with my brother! YEAH!!! My dad has never flown in his life, so this will be his first time. I am so happy that he’s getting over his fear of flying and will be coming to visit while I’m still in Texas. Dirk and I are already planning all kinds of fun things for him. I still can’t believe he’s really coming! Wow!

 

Only 2 more days till the weekend, weekends are the best time of the week! AGREE!?!? Hahaha

Our last weekend was pretty eventful, Mitch went to the Indians game with friends on Friday – Go Tribe! Saturday he babysat Alta for the first time, all by himself! Isn’t he an awesome uncle! And Sunday he went onto the big journey to Chicago where he got to spent a lot of time with Cayden & Maddy and of course Matt & Nicole. I’m so jealous, Miss you guys!

 

My weekend was filled with spending quality time with my friends. Friday night was Oktoberfest in Addison with Kandyce, my last time. I went there every year that I’ve been in Texas, always a lot of fun! Saturday started out with a little crisis situation after having an accident with my hair. I really don’t want to get into the details as this experience has dramatized me for the rest of my life. It’s a funny story though, I may tell you one day after a few glasses of wine. J

Saturday turned out to be a great day, when I saw my Dallas co-workers who gave me a very nice going-away party at Tom’s place. Thank you all so much! I will definitely miss you guys!

After a late night, Sunday was all about taking it easy. Isn’t that what Sundays are for anyways? I meet up with Radica for lunch and shopping, love Pei Wei! I hope Pei Wei will ever make it to Ohio, it’s just great food!

Speaking of food, Tammy and I were the test bunnies for Sam’s new fryer on Monday night. And it was actually good; Sam has many talents, cooking is the new one Thank you both for a fun time again!

 

Well, as this week goes on I’m getting more and more excited, only 3 more days until my arrival in Cleveland. After a VERY LONG month I finally get to see my Schatzi again!!! With our house being completed next week and the closing on it, we will have a busy shopping weekend …… OH YEAH!!!