One year ago...

...we were here. I confess I feel the heart rate go up and the trembles come out when I think of moving like that. I am SO GLAD I am not doing that today!!

So, one year in the US. First, the good:

Laundry is not anywhere near so stressful. (!!!)
I've read a zillion books in English.
I don't have to carry all my groceries on my back.
No bullies in school.
We have Aldi, therefore, we still have access to German chocolate (I can't eat the American stuff anymore--it tastes burnt to me.)
We got summer vacation!

Now, the bad:

Totally sedentary lifestyle! My muscles are always SCREAMING to get out. But we have NO sidewalks. There is a bike trail in town--but I can't fit seven bikes in my car (I can barely fit one), and there is no way over there.
Little Sweetie still hasn't gotten to go to anything like German kindergarten. :(
Moving back is always a huge financial plunge, worse because of the economic climate in the US.
Corn syrup in everything.
The kids have lost so much German, it's pitiful. We have really got to enforce the language issue.

Occasionally I still have moments where I feel like a stranger here, but mostly I think we are more or less swimming along.

The job listings for next academic year will be posted next month. I wonder if we'll be moving next summer?

In the meantime, though--school starts TOMORROW. I'm off to the library (praise books!) and also to try out driving to two different schools back to back. Wish me luck--I haven't had to drop off and pick up kids from two different schools before. I still think we should try to get oldest son on the bus, but DH says he didn't see any bus info when he went to open house. After that, it's DH, me, and three kids (including Lap Boy) at the dentist. I sure hope it goes by quickly. Don't tell the kids, but I hate the dentist.

Two books

In the past 24 hours I've read two very different books:



Fascinating look at just what fast food is built on and how bad it is for you. Not only have I lost all desire EVER to eat fast food, but realizing just what goes into that meat from large meat packers sort of makes me want to become a vegetarian. This should be required reading for all elementary school kids!!

Fun fact: carmine color (used to color Dannon yogurt, for example--also, I think it's the strong pink/red dye you can buy for food) is made from crushed bugs.

The other book was simply lovely:



I liked this one even better than the first one--I liked how the bear and hound were united to work together against the unmagic, and I enjoyed seeing them work out how to be both beast and human. It's got a beautiful cover, too!