My own personal M and M's

Santa Barbara, California (Sept 2007)- I just had to write a blog about the most innovative birthday present I have gotten, to date. It was of course from my loving husband Andreas. He got me my own personal purple and yellow M&Ms with a message in both English and German: NewSimons 4ever, NeuSimons FurImmer. He never fails to amaze me with his ingenuity.

Our new apartment in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California (Sept 2007)- Here are a few photos of our newly decorated apartment (there are still a few things out of place or missing). I just now got all of the stuff off the floor (I can't remember where I put it all though!), with the exception of our road bike boxes. I am still trying to figure out where to stash them! We have two bedrooms (ours is the one with the tan bed), one bathroom, one large balcony and two small balconies (off of each room), over two stories. The area around the apartments is really cute; each group of 8 are placed around a central courtyard. There are a lot of kiddie toys and bikes around and heaps of families to go with 'em! Hopefully you can all come see it for yourself some day!

I'm moving.... AGAIN!

San Diego, California (Sept 2007)- Ok, enough is enough. It's settled. I'm not going anywhere for at least 2 years... I had to rent a 17 foot (5.2 metre) U-haul truck to drive all of my crapola to SB. My brother and I ended up loading the entire thing ourselves (with intermittent help from dad- he tore a muscle in his arm). 25 pieces of heavy furniture, 12 furniture pads and a few thousand bags later, we finish. All up, around 7 hours. When we got to SB, we hired two guys to help us unload.... I still carried things... up two flights of stairs I might add. I'm still sore. My mom, dad, and sister also helped unload, got me settled and took me shopping. They were fantastic. It was tense at times, but overeall, enjoyable; and their help was invaluable. The next goal... a finished house. Stay tuned for house photos once I get all of the stuff off the floor. =)

Day 3 in Cali-for-ni-a

San Diego, California (Sept 2007)- We're still really jet-lagged, but were offered an invitation we couldn't pass up... going to the Del Mar Fairgrounds Thoroughbred Turf Club for the horse races! It was amazing (we've both never been before). My brother got us VIP tickets ($5000 per person for the season) through his bosses. The horses were beautiful and we actually did a little betting (with monetary help from the sibling) and won $55! That was the extent of our gambling! Fun stuff.

Now it's time to get down to business. Moving again, this time to our prospective towns (me- Santa Barbara, Andreas- Michigan), registering for classes, attending orientations, writing lectures and proposals, etc. All in a day's work, all in a day's work (well, not really!).

California Love

San Diego, California (Sept 2007)- We made it home safely. Thank goodness! We left Brissy at 6am to get to the airport 5 hours early, we packed and unpacked our 12, 32 kg suitcases/bike boxes 6 times (yes, it really was 6 times!), and drove to San Diego in Labor Day weekend traffic. It was a long, but fulfilling day, to say the least. It's been great visiting with family over the past few days. We were especially happy to see Aunt Sari who came down from Turlock. The family celebrated our arrival by going to Coronado Island for a buffet breakfast on the beach at the Hotel Del Coronado and playing in the pool of course! The weather was sensational- 30 degrees C. What a 'warm' welcome!