Week One: Settling in

Well, it's been quite the eventful week! And already this feels like home. All of those suspicions I had as a little girl, thinking my Aunt Sandy was secretly my real mother, well they've all come flooding back. I'm amazed at how similar we are, especially in light of the entire rest of our family. And the similarities just keep piling up. Our mannerisms, attitudes and views on things are all side-by-side. And I don't believe any of the other women in the family besides us has curly hair. You've all seen my famous (infamous?) butt-dance. Well it's time I let you all know that the real inspiration behind that dance comes from this very aunt (seeing her shake her booty around with a gigantic goofy smile on her face is one of my fondest memories of her, hahaha). So obviously you know I'm in good hands, with someone who's got moves like that!  I think it's rare that someone "gets" me as easily and quickly as she obviously does, and I find it awesome that there is actually someone in my family I can talk to as candidly and comfortably as I can talk to her.

And I love living in this house. Everyone is just as much of a dork as I am. It's absolutely glorious. We all randomly hum random songs (even the 2-year-old); often at the same time. And I love it when the three of them burst into song together, singing "Stop! In the name of love". Yes folks, I'ma be just fine. And if that much doesn't convince you, then be persuaded by the power of heated floor tiles. Comfy-living, indeed!

As far as the culture outside the front door, I'm still getting used to it all. It's weird knowing that even though there are tons of awesome shops all around me, making a purchase from any of them would mean braving treacherous language barriers and forging past culture-shock. I think I'm finally (mostly) accustomed to the time difference, but lord knows it wasn't easy! 

Here's a brief recap of the events thus far:

Saturday: arrived in Stuttgart, extremely exhausted but entirely happy. Tried to stay awake as late as I could make it, but passed out as soon as it was practical.

Sunday: took a spin on the Autobahn, then wandered around to see the local sights

Monday: went to Ikea and the mall. Both were very similar to the States', except without all of that "English language" nonsense.

Tuesday: had my butt kicked when I went to the Cross-Training exercise with Aunt Sandy. Nearly passed out, literally. Despite my muscles being sore for days afterward, I'm looking forward to next week's workout!

Wednesday: Got my hairs whacked off, in a nice way.

Thursday: Another workout; Strollercise this time. It's okay that I didn't have a stroller. Not as rough as Tuesday's workout, but definitely enough to make me feel good. 

Friday: Kindermusik with Eli, then hours spent tasting wine and acquiring awesome goods at the Bazaar

Saturday: Spent the day helping aunt's friend put together Ikea furniture and using my eye-for-design. It was nice to be in a creative head-space once again! It'd been a while. Went to dinner at an authentic Italian place with Aunt Sandy, where we had a fantastic time chatting, catching-up and giggling.

I feel like I'm off to a great start. Also! I learned of our plans to go to Paris at the end of May for a whole week. I am so looking forward to that! In addition, there's talk of me visiting London to see my cousin, perhaps Barcelona to see a friend, a beautiful castle not terribly far from here, Stonehenge, and a few other awesome things. Color me super-excited.