Finding Holiday Cheer

K:

I know it sounds crazy, but I have been craving Christmas craziness. I told Eric the other day that I Wal Mart's crazy crowds are a part of Christmas for me, and that I actually want to go there really bad. I want to go to a mall too and see it all set up for Santa and for Christmas. Is Santa in the malls yet, people back home? When does he come?

Anyway, we have one mall here in Vienna. The rest is outdoor shopping streets and stuff. We also have Ikea just south of Vienna, which has a shopping centre attached to it. So Eric and I went to Ikea today in search of Christmas cheer. Goals of the day:

1. find The Grinch (With Jim Carrey) on DVD. 

2. find the things I need to play out the Christmas decoration idea in my brain (frames, free newspapers, paint)

3. find Christmas decorations and cheer in the malls and crowds.

Each were a happy success. Plus and added bonus: I found the very first thing I want to add on my Christmas wish list (big comfy holiday slippers, and a few others after that as well). It was a fun day full of holiday cheer. Then when we got home we got to watch The Grinch together and drink hot chocolate. mmmm. Loving the holiday season already.

Eric found the first item on his wish list in the Apple Store.

Side note: While we were watching the movie Eric was holding my hand and realised that my engagement ring was missing. So we had to pause and spend like 10 or 15 minutes tearing the bed apart to look for it. On the bright side, we found mold on the wall beside the bed. That was great. (We found the ring too; inside the duvet cover. Don't know what happened there.)

Random Monday Moments

We woke up late today and had nothing planned to do. We also ran out of internet on the weekend, so we had nothing to entertain ourselves, until we went out to Telering to fix that. Here is how we occupied ourselves today:
This was actually the best part about the day, and I can't believe it hasn't happened sooner. We went through the piles of paper and things that have been in this little cabinet since we moved it. It turned out to be a whole bunch of stuff from the guy who used to live there. Some personal things too, like cards and letters and notes to himself and stuff. This guy is apparently crazy and took off on our land lord without paying his rent or bringing any of his stuff. So naturally we read all of them, and had some good laughs while we did. It was kind of fun.

The was the lovely view from the second floor staircase window of our apartment building today.

We went to the McDonad's by our house to steal the internet and catch up on Glee shows. Really funny pop up on our screen. We laughed hard.

We ran into this cool store that sells all juggling and circusy stuff, and so many fun toys.

Don't know if you knew this: Eric can ride a unicycle.

He can juggle too.

He also loves growing a mustache. I would have let him grow one in support of Prostate Cancer Research, but he hasn't mentioned it once during Movember. Which is funny because every time he eats a tomato he mentions how good it is to prevent prostate cancer.

Silly car we saw. I feel like it has a personality attached to it, like in the movie Cars. He's probably old and German and cranky.

Eric's school set up like 6 really pretty Christmas trees out front.

What a random day. We liked it though. It was fun for Eric to have a day off school and us have nothing planned for it. We just hung out together.

Thoughts from Sunday

K:

This morning was kind of a mess for me. I didn't sleep well, I woke up still upset about something from last night, and we woke up kind of late to get to church on time. Eric had to speak and I wasn't even sure if I was going to make it at all, so I sent him ahead. I stayed back and got ready at my own pace, and thought a lot while I did. 

Something you may or may not know about me is that I'm kind of an in the moment, instant gratification type, but sometimes it comes back to haunt me after things settles a little. I almost always have buyer's remorse with big purchases, and often feel the same way in real life situations too. This morning I thought a lot about that. I almost decided that I wasn't going to go to church today, and then I started to think about the consequences of that. I knew that if I missed Eric's talk specifically (even though I was still just a little bit upset with him), that I would regret it later. This thought haunted me and drove me out the door. 

The whole way to church, and while I was there I thought about the ideas of agency and responsibility for our choices. In lots of situations since I moved away from home, since I've been married and especially since I've been in Europe I've had some regrets about the way I've done things or handled situations. Lately though I have thought about this principle before I make the choices, and it has helped so much. I use the phrase "I chose this" a lot. I think to myself, "later will I be happy when I say this is what I chose?". Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes it's no. Today it was no, so I altered my decision accordingly. I went to church, and I'm obviously glad I did. It's not that it was a magical experience that changed my life, but this afternoon I was content with the fact that I could say "I chose this", and not regret it. 

What I do is make the results of my choices my own responsibility before they even happen and then it helps me to make the choices that I won't regret later.

Giving Thanks

 Just when we thought Thanksgiving was lost forever (for this year), our American friends blessed us with two separate occasions to be thankful this weekend. Friday we were invited to celebrate with Spencer and Rachel (from Los Angeles, California). We got to contribute our own very first Thanksgiving dish for a potluck. Katherine was pretty proud of the salad, but then Eric took over and made it better, of course. 

It was a really fun night. We were blessed with good food, great company and a little taste of the Stienblick family traditions. One tradition was these apple turkeys that were a wonderful addition to the guest list, and the other was for everyone to say 3 things they are grateful for (which I think is a popular one). 

K: 

I have lots to be thankful for, as we all do, but that night I could only pick three. So I am grateful for Canada; which was kind of funny because it took being in Austria and celebrating American Thanksgiving for me to finally list that as one of my three things this year. I have always loved Canada and I wear my red and white on July 1st and take a few moments on November 11th to think of those who have made it what it is, but it was never at the very top of my list. This year it is, and I am really starting to get excited about going home in just over a month.

The second thing I am grateful for this year is Austria/Europe. It was kind of fun that while I was working on getting these pictures up I was listening to my holiday playlist, and Josh Groban's Thankful came on. I listened to the lyrics and one line describes perfectly how I feel about Europe right now. He sings "and even though this world needs so much more, there's so much to be thankful for". Personally, there are a few things I would like to change about Europe, to make it my own comfort zone, but there is also so much about it that I love. I love being in Europe and all the things I get to see and do and learn here. It makes me a little sad to be going home in just over a month. (I just can't decide how to feel). 

Which brings me to number 3. I am grateful for learning. I love to learn. Many of you know how much I miss being in school, but this semester has been an experience I could never replace with things I'd have learned in a classroom. There is just so much I did not know before I came here, and there is just so much I wish I could learn before I go home. I love learning about language. I love learning about art and culture and history. I love learning about business from Eric when he comes home from his interesting classes at school. I love learning about new people I meet; their stories and their personalities. I love to learn and am grateful for the opportunities I have to learn, and the people I know who teach me so much.

E: 
It was tricky, but I managed to find 3 things that I was grateful for too. First I am grateful for time. I think that it's wonderful that so many things that we have to go through are temporary. Sometimes when things are hard I find strength in remembering that time will pass often the hardships slip into the past. Second, I have gratitude for the 'eye(s) in the storm'. When I find life difficult, it's nice to get those short breaks once in a while. Third, I am grateful for Katherine. Often Katherine is the source of those breaks while I struggle with life. She is a good companion. She is patient and forgiving of me , and she is kind a sensitive. I guess I have things to be grateful for and I am.

***

 Another thing we are both very blessed and grateful to have in our lives is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has taught us so much, helped us so often, and led us to some really wonderful relationships and friendships. Saturday night we got to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Vienna 4th ward. This ward is interesting because it is an English ward, in a German speaking country, so we meet with people from all different countries, cultures and walks of life. For this thanksgiving party we got to enjoy foods and dishes from all of these cultures and countries. We ate some really great things. This evening we got to hear from several members of the ward, through music. It was a blessing to hear great songs and to be reminded of great principles we are so blessed to know. 

First the young women sang A Child's Prayer, but I was a part of that, so there's no picture.

The primary children taught us a wonderful lesson with the song Follow the Prophet.

Parviz bore a beautiful testimony of how God helps him through his struggles.

All together we sang a very favourite hymn: I Know That My Redeemer Lives.

Royce graced us with a wonderful version of Ave Maria on his violin.

The missionaries of the ward sang Joseph Smith First Prayer and taught us about the restoration.

Some brethren from the ward sang for us Book of Mormon Stories, a well loved primary song.

The young men (and Eric) sang Did You Think to Pray for us, accompanied by Royce on his violin.

We really have met some really great people here in Vienna.

Steenbliks | Us | Parviz holding baby Ezra Morgan | Morgan

A piece of pumpkin pie. The perfect way to end our Thanksgiving celebrations.

First Takes on Friday

K:

So last week I was reading someone's blog, and thought to myself "does anything ever go wrong in their lives? how does she have all those amazing things to take perfect pictures of every single day?". 

(Don't worry, this is not a post about all the hard times and tragedies that Eric and I are facing.) 

Here are some of the ridiculous things that came up through our lenses recently; when angles, settings, faces and timings went very wrong. 

 

A routine day...with mail!

E:

Some people have morning rituals or routines. Here in Vienna, I've created a routine that is very typical when the morning schedule allows it... and I'll admit, most morning schedules are so loose I could wake up at noon and eat breakfast for lunch. Proudly, I woke up at 9:00 this morning. With plenty of time I followed my typical routine. To start, I shower. Part way through, I temporarily turn the water off to apply shampoo and body wash. (Katherine says it's better when I use soap and so I kindly oblige.) It's not a claustrophobic friendly shower, you see. I consider myself kind of clever, turning the water off to overcome the space issue and preventing the soap from washing away before getting it spread all over. I'm a simple man finding self actualization through solving the basic yet fundamental problems in life. So, first in my relaxed routine: an eco friendly shower-- satisfying my wife's request and building self confidence. All clean I move on to breakfast. French toast. I think that today I ate my 739th piece of french toast. Don't misunderstand me, I am fond of french toast, and far from becoming board and removing it from the routine. It's easy on the pocket, delishous in my mouth, and provides me with enough calories to last till lunch. A perfect application of the cost benefit principle. That's the usual morning routine.

Today we went to the Belvedere. It is a magnificent building. Tragically the tiered fountains were drained for winter and everything was dead and brown. The court yard would be quite the scene in the summer. 

It was a short visit since Katherine and I were freezing. It's about as cold here as it is in Calgary. We warmed up some on the tram before battling the cold a little more. We also saw a church, St. Matthews I think. It was beautiful, but poorly lit. I was impressed with the amount of gold plating in this church. Over all not my favourite, but a worth while stop.

I love mail, and today Katherine and I got mail. Katherine's mom sent us a package. Included was a lovely letter, nicely covering the families progress and catching us up on life under the Pinsent roof, and expressions of endearment. The other part of the pack age was our birthday presents: hand crafted matching his and her leather pockets with zippers. Katherine's was purple featuring lips and mine was black with a brown moustache. Katherine found a second smaller pocket in her pocket and I found some cash in mine. It was a pleasant parcel to receive. Thank you Mama and Papa Pinsent

K: 
Thanks Mom and Dad. They look great! It was really nice to hear from you in your letter. I love getting mail, and this was really exciting, and fun. When we figure out what to use them for, we'll send pictures. Love you both.