My last day at work - Pt. 2

After 2 years and 10 months of working here in the US, I am leaving my current company today. I owe this company a lot. I started working for them as an intern at their headquarters, which happen to be in the town where I went to university. I would have never guessed that I would still work for them 7 years later. That they would bring me here, to the US. Open so many doors for me, in Germany AND the United States. Enable me to meet my awesome husband!!! Teach me so much of what I know about the industry (automotive electronics). Let me meet so many kind and talented mentors, colleagues, customers. Etc etc etc.

7 years is a long time, especially when considering that I was still "green behind the ears" when I started working there. I'm an emotional person (you have probably guessed that by now). Change can be hard on me sometimes, all the goodbyes, all the flashbacks of memories in this place or that. But I really am excited too. I have a chance to work in a field I am really excited about and personally think that it's the coolest thing since... ummm... cars?

So there you have it. The circle is closing. I started this blog when I was about to move here to work for this company, and now I have grown -personally and professionally- and well, here we are. Having another Last Day at Work. Closing this chapter, and opening another (still here in the Metro Detroit area).

See you on the other side!

The wedding post

Aaaand....... it's a wrap!

On the weekend after Labor Day we had our big wedding by Lake Michigan. It was SO MUCH FUN!

My favorite part was seeing our friends and family all in the same place, getting to know each other and having fun! It made me so happy! I think the magnitude of this might be hard to understand unless you know that these are folks we have known at different times in our lives, living in different places/states/contexts/countries/continents, and most didn't know each other before our wedding day. It was truly magical!

And to think that during the planning process I was daydreaming about skipping the whole shebang and going with a courthouse wedding only. Boy are we glad we didn't!

Quick husband+wife stroll on the beach during sunset. One of my favorite shots from the day.

You might remember how enamored I am with Lake Michigan. We really wanted to get married there, so we found the perfect spot with a private beach, AND the weather played nice - perfect, actually! It enabled us to stay outside on the deck all day and all night, taking in the beautiful views of the sunset (and later the moon) over Lake Michigan. This was the plan all along, but I didn't dare wish for it in case I jinxed it. Thank you universe!

It was a truly wonderful day, and I am so grateful that so many people were able to make it out there, just to celebrate with us. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everybody who helped make it happen! Six brave souls even traveled all the way from Germany to Michigan, including my grandma who recently turned 80!

This post is getting long, so I will tell you about being married some other time. For now I will say it's AWESOME and leave it at that!

Two years ago today...

... I had a first date. We met in front of a movie theater at 6, went in to get tickets to the 6:30 show, got ice cream at Coldstone, had our ice cream while chatting on a bench in front of the theater, then went in when it was time for the movie.

We saw Hangover II. My pick. My friend said I shouldn't watch it while out on a first date as it's too raunchy. She also said I shouldn't wear what I ended up wearing (grey skirt, pink/orange/green shirt).

Anyway, when we first spotted each other, my heart dropped a little. In his pictures he looked good, but in real life he's an all-American hottie! (Sorry babe, it had to be said.) I didn't think it would be going anywhere, what with him being out of my league and all. (We later found out he had the same exact thoughts about me.)

Watching the movie was fun! We kept sneaking glances at each other and smiling, and also chatting quietly ("Oh, speaking of getting a Mike Tyson tattoo on your face, do you have any tattoos or piercings?"). It was really nice. After the movie, we went to our cars. He said, we should do this again some time. I said, yes we should.

So. After 700 more awesome dates, we have another date this evening. We are going to dinner and then seeing Hangover III. I'm ready! I'm wearing my pink/orange/green shirt, because it's his favorite. Really looking forward to tonight! I can't wait :)

Happy Anniversary!

Two years and counting

I missed my blog's second birthday! I missed Christmas! I missed New Years! I missed the second anniversary of my big move! Things have been pretty awesome around here, but busy busy busy. Of course December is a busy month for everybody, but this last one year really takes the cake! Within only a few weeks, there were several birthdays, holidays, and other major life events that required a good party.

Was that vague enough for you? ;)

Let's try again...




We got engaged!

I apologize for the long absence, and I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season. Cheers to a fresh and new and awesome 2013!