Jelle and Crash

I had a migraine last week, an aura migraine which causes me to loose my eye sight and makes me extremely sensitive to light and sound.  The best cure besides prescriptions (which I didnt have) is to drink black coffee.  The caffeine is suppose to constrict the blood vessels and help with the pain (which is like an ice cream headache for hours on end), anyways the caffeine caused me not to sleep and my brain basically turns to mush when it passes.   So, that night I was thinking about the Heidi and Spencer After Shock we were all trying to download to watch, and then I thought about how people call them Speidi, and then I came up with a name for Elle and James: Jelle and then Craig and I: Crash.  

Anyways, James and Elle came to visit!  It was great to have family there for Christmas and it was awesome to be able to spend some serious quality time with these two.  Craig had a busy schedule so for the first part of their trip I played tour guide, first stop Christmas Martket, duh. 

homemade potato chips!

gluhwein

first time eating Austrian Food!!!

So happy, oh gluhwein

Before the game I decided to take them up to the Hungerburg Christmas Market, Meg showed me this place last year and its has the best view of Innsbruck, a tad chilly but so worth it!

A trip up to seefeld was the perfect place to spend Craigs only day off, we were all able to really enjoy The Woods, think we are becoming regulars.

soon to be sisters!

soon to be all Switzer's!

Craig, why so confused?

Brothers!

Schnapps

The Woods had the most outrageous unbelievable DJ. I have never seen one person consume so many beers and schnapps, he was loving life getting the crowd going playing the most ridiculous American songs, might have to get him for our wedding. 

It was my favorite night;  great drinks, weird music, and tons of laughter.   

We decided the next day that we all needed some fresh air and headed up to Praxmar for some aggressive snowshoeing.  Elle and James took another route because Craig was trudging up the mountain like he was on fire, I wobbled behind him in a deep sweat the entire time but the view was as always breathtaking.

Favorite animal, minis!

Oh and we watched some hockey too!  Although for Elle and I the games consisted of us chatting about wedding things (we are both getting married this year!).  It was so nice to have someone to bounce ideas off and stress out with, thanks Elle for reminding me ours is coming up soon 

 Amber from Teen Mom was at the game

Martha aka for 2014 Mary Berry (English food writer)

I did some decorating to get us in the spirit.

It is a little bit of a challenge when your living room is painted and decorated like the Caribbean.  Last year we received gifts from our landlords and we did the oh shit, we didnt get them anything!  This year Craig came home with chocolates and champagne for them and I was like YES!!!!!  They are going to love it we did so good.  Then we opened our door to get homemade cookies, and an expensive bottle of champs (we went with brut, so not classy) anddddd two champs glasses with our names engraved in them, so outdid and so grateful!

I ate all the cookies, no I am not being that girl thats like omg I ate all the cookies and only had one like I seriously ate them all, Craig maybe had 2.  So good, and no I dont feel guilty.

James and Elle would have been happy with anything I cooked, but when you are cooking a holiday meal it adds pressure because you want to do it well and then you have guests so it HAS to be edible. Being abroad its hard to find classics, because their classics arent the same as ours.  You have to improvise and make alot of it from scratch (aka no stovetop) for others this might seem nice oh I get to be creative etc for me its overwhelming.  But everyone really enjoyed it, or thats what they told me.  No one was in the bathroom for hours = success.

Christmas day we went with cinnamon sweet potatoes, broccoli, A TURKEY, stuffing, fresh bread, homemade gravy, and finished it off with apple strudel. Cooking a turkey is no joke, I had help cleaning it and stuffing it (thanks James).  I tee-peed it with tin foil.  It said to baste it every 45 mins.  So after the first hour I was so excited to rip the tin foil off and see all the juices and smell the wonderfulness.  Hmmmm there was no juice and the thing was basically still raw, I had a serious OH SHIT moment.  

No Griswold moment, and it eventually it turned into the turkey I was expecting. 

For Christmas eve we thought we would do Austria food, and got this insane pork belly thing. Oh man it looks scary but it was AH-MAZING!

Thank you James and Elle for visiting us, I had a blast and what great memories we will all have for the rest of our lives!!! Oh and my last blog post I was saying how I had to make a dough 2013 ornament, Elle got us matching personalized ones, love her!

Unfortunately, on their last day I got some bad news that my Grandmother wasnt doing so well, and had gone downhill in the past 24 hours.  Everyone was trying to keep it from me, and I had to reassure them that I wasnt going to be irrational and hop on a plane.  I lied and thats exactly what I did.   

I missed the weather (way more snow here then Austria) look at Aliza's car in the back

When you decide to live in Europe you obviously make the choice of moving away from your family, and it is definitely worth it, its the one time on our lives were we are able to be selfish and travel the world.  But when I heard the news I never thought twice about flying home, I did not care if it was going to take me 20 hours (which it did) family always comes first, and there was no way I was going to let them go through this alone.  Also, I am obvi not working so if I could come home and babysit Max our dog, then thats the least I can do.  

I got to see my angel Isla, who instantly took all my sadness and pain away.  She has done this for all of us through this tough time.  Craig has also been amazing, when I first told him he said lets go home, not well I have some games and its gonna be expensive it was like lets do what we have to to make the situation better.  I cant thank him enough for being there for me and my family.
.

She was the women every women wants to be.  Beautiful inside and out, smart and witty,  funny, an amazing mother of 4 successful children and 10 grandchildren, and a supportive and loving wife.    Her and my Grandfather built a beautiful life from nothing. Hard work was her motto, and you can never have to many shoes (i will be walking down the isle in a pair of her vintage Ferragamos).  A caretaker by nature, and a pioneer in the nursing world.  I can only hope I grow up to be half the women she was. 

My Grandmother has been battling dementia for some years now.  I had made several trips in the last year alone, I would sit in my car outside and cry.  I would get into the elevator holding back all of my sadness, because I knew when I saw her I had to make the best of it and be strong, because she was the strongest person I have ever known (my mother is exactly like her). I would think why would God do this to me, and you become so selfish crying for yourself, thinking I just want my Grandmother back.  But, I had to put my own feelings aside, because all the heartache was worth it to see her smile when you talked about her children and grandchildren.  She would be in and out, but when she told you she loved you, when she cried when you were walking away, when she smiled when she held Isla, you knew that you might have made her day a little bit better even if as soon as you walked out the door she forgot that you were there.  

She was cheated out of her last years on earth.  It is such an awful disease and it takes a strong family to see past the pain and try to make the best of it.  I will never forget the last time we saw her, most of the family was there, she seemed so happy. 

 Every time after I left her I asked God to take her to heaven.  To let her be at peace, healthy, and to join Poppy.  He has finally answered my prayers.  I thought it was going to be alot easier, but I get that selfishness back, I just want her to tell me the story of how she met my grandfather, about all the trouble my mom and aunts and uncles use to get into, I would give anything for one more normal day.  She will always be with us,  will always be in our hearts, and will continue to be loved by all of us everyday for the rest of our lives.  Rest in Peace.