Snow :))

... yes we finally got some snow and the kids are having fun with their sleighs :)) I am at work and no customer has found its way to me ;-) That is rather boring .... and time goes by so slow then :-( Well I won't give up hope ... ;-)

Nothing new so far ... my mood is quite good and so I got nothing to complain about ;-)

Lazy ....

.... yes that's what I have been .... not really due to my decision, but due to my not so good health right now :-( ... but I hope it will improve soon :-) This afternoon I will go out walking with the kids and feed the swans and ducks nearby :-) The sun is out, it is cold and therefore the perfect weather for it :-)

What's on my mind? Well nothing really *lol* .... not so much in the mood for writing I guess ;-) Should find me another subject in my english papers and talk about .... but that can wait :))

Here is something for you all to try and it really is amazing ;-)

forced marriages

.... ok here comes my abridged version of the article that we have been working in class for quite some time ;-)

Forced marriages is a big problem among the indian population in England and Jasvinder Sanghera has written 3 books about this!
Four of her older sisters were taken to India and forced to marry men they have never seen before. All were caught up in domestic abuse and one of them even comited suicide! She ran away in the age of 15 to escape the same fate, then set up the charity "Karma Nirvana" to help women and men and to bring this subject into the media. She herself has faced public abuse and death threats in doing so! Her family broke with her and if it wouldn't have been, that her daughter got engaged to an Sikh, whose mother brought up her children to be independent and respectful to different values, .... she would have never been encouraged to travel to India. Sanghera was welcomed with open arms by the family of her daughters fiancè and that gave her enough strength and inspiration to seek out a long-lost half-sister of hers in India. This half-sister, as the only one in her family, welcomed her and even invited her to attend her wedding as to make up for all the family members that turned their head away when they see her.

By the way, Sanghera herself converted to Christianity but still honors the identity of the Sikhs. This can be seen by the typical steel bracelet that she is still wearing.
She wrote her 1st book in 2007 to expose rape, domestic abuse, honor killings and suicides among forced marriages. It was a bestseller and brought the issue into the media and even if the 400 survivors of forced marriages, that are being brought back by the foreign office of the UK are still just the tip of the iceberg!

She says, the average victims are girls aged 14 to 19 and the most dangerous time for them is usually the summer holidays, where they are being sent to India to be forced to marry. Or another example she tells about this 14 year old girl, that has called the hotline for help. This girl wasn't allowed to do anything with her friends and was threatened to be sent to Pakistan to "sort her out" .... as it was done with her sister! This sister was then forced to marry and afterwards brought back home. Some girls then have to sponsor the application for visa for their husbands to come and stay in the UK. Those girls are being raped, beat up, etc. etc. ... and don't get any help from their families .... and even if they die in those marriages - this is their duty! They have no way out or it would dishonour their families! What is also incredible, it is not only an issue of the poor and uneducated indian people in England ... no it is among ALL of them and if they escape and get caught, they even have to fear death .... and if they survive, it is hard for them to receive proper help. Lots of authorities in the UK don't know of the powers they have, to protect victims. For instance, Courts can take the passports from family members that fear to be taken abroad to be forced to marry.  Between 11.2008 and 02.2011, 293 orders were made to protect girls from this fate and over half of them were under the age of 16 .... some as young as eight! So in May 2011 it at least was recommended that forced marriages becomes a criminal offence and even if hardly a family member would prosecute his/her own family, it is definetely a progress in prosecuting domestice violence especially if the victim withdraws its complaint....! So if the victims will realize that they have done nothing wrong, they may will be encouraged enough to follow Sanghera's lead, tell their stories and help other victims.

As Sanghera says, she does not agree that forced marriage and honour killings are cultural issues and that cultural acceptance does not mean one has to accept "honour violence" in any way and that in no culture abuse should be accepted!

My rèsumè: I did not know that forced marriage was such a big issue in England ... in the asian world, yes ... - but one wouldn't expect it to be as big in the eastern world. However it reminds me of the turkish population over here in Germany and those honour killings that are on the news ever so often! In my opinion, no one should be forced to get married - in no country and domestic abuse should always considered as a crime - no matter which culture one has! There should never be an acceptance of rape, family violence, death treaths or honour killings. Neither should any person be abused by people that are supposed to be loving, trustworthy and caring ..... like family!

Mondays .....

oh how I hate them ;-) Well, I hate to get up so early in the morning, after a weekend of sleeping in ;-) Well a few more weeks and the kids have "carneval-break" and will be off school for a week ;-) The kids are tired too every morning and even Roxy doesn't want to get up *lol*

Today I had english class again and I miss my "old" teacher .... :-) Guess I will not go to the second course .... less people will join and therefore it will get much more expensive to the ones, that would continue! My english also isn't as bad, as to where the course would do me that much good to spend over 100.- Euros on it! Well I'll see next monday, how many people will join and then make up my mind :-)

So whats new .... guess, not much ... I'm hanging in there ;-) Gonna do a little english homework and then the laundry *lol*

Yes ...

I' m feeling better today ... my mood has improved for some reason, I don't know ;-) At least we are getting a little snow now and thats something I love :-) Other than that ... nothing new, nothing on my mind, maybe next week I will have something to write about ;-)

Where ....

.... is the sun or the snow .... but leave me alone with this stormy, rainy weather!!! I hate it - I get weather depressions from it ;-) Let it be frosty and sunny and I will be happy .... I am not asking for spring yet ... no, I would be totally satisfied with SUN and "icy temperatures" ;-) Yes, the snow should crunch under my feet ..... "cry" ... I want SNOW !!!!!

Not much going on in my mind .... guess, cause I am not in such a great mood ... so today only this small blog post .... as soon as I feel better, I will post more ;-)

It's been one of those days ....

guess everyone has them once in a while and today is mine ;-) One little thing needs to happen to just ruin ones whole day .... which it normally wouldn't ;-) One looks in the mirror and suddenly feels 10 years older, as where have those wrinkles came from ... they were not here yesterday! The skin pale, old looking, the hair just a mess and "lovehandles" where there shouldn't be any .... ;-) Yes it is NOT my day ... and on those days, I think it is not my year ;-)

But the sun is shining, and Flo has NO homework to do and so I will take the kids out walking :-) Hope this will help to improve my horrible mood .... or it'll may even lure out the good hormones, which are hidden quite good ;-)

At least I've put on makeup to cover my "gray" skin and tonight I got a hairdresser appointment ... hopefully by then I will be feeling better :-) Now I am making myself a nice cup of latte machiato, sit outside in the sun, smoke a cigarette and then, after Roxy will got her first homework done, we will leave ..... :-)

Hunt down your dreams, baby ;-)

.... lol, yes this is what my dd wrote to me on a post on facebook ;-) and RIGHT she is ... but at my "age" ... one sometimes forget, to just do so ;-) It seems the older I get, the less I dream .... ;-) Well I got a few left ;-) like I definately want to see the Grand Canyon sometime in my life, preferable not in the age of 70 *lol* ... rather quite a bit earlier :-) I want to go to Venice .... at least once and walk where Commisario Brunetti has walked ;-) I want to travel England and Scotland sometime and visit the scotch distillery ;-) I want to see the pyramides sometime and ride a camel ;-) .... so yes I got a few dreams left.... ;-)

Most important dream though is .... I want to have grandkids .... LOTS of them and they all have to live close by .... so I can do things with them and spoil them :-))

Last saturday ... I had to work till 16.00 hrs and Sammy asked me over whatsapp if her "Muttertier" wants to go to the movies with her to watch "ziemlich beste freunde" ... a french movie with really great critics :-) First thought was .... hmm ... I had plans to just have a relaxing bath after work ..... but then "hunt down your dreams, baby" came into my mind and I thought, hell - why not - it is always a big pleasure to do something with my older kids and so I said "YES" :-) Believe me, we had a great time, eating nachos with dips and were laughing 2 hrs thru ... This movie is one of the best I have ever seen .... tears rolling down my cheeks the whole time .... and I don't regret a second of it :-) For sure, this movie I will buy on dvd as soon as it comes out .... ! I came out the movies and just felt HAPPY all over and god, was I in a good mood all night long :-) Guess I need to be much more spontaneous again ;-) So next time, Sammy asks me again to watch a movie ... I will do so, without a thought and we'll go out for dinner as well :-))

Thanks, Sammy for such a great evening .... and the wonderful "bathbomb" ... *kiss* :-)

Today I am not feeling quite so good ... dizzyness and a few  little heartproblems bothering me and I hate to feel this way, hubby now has to drive me grocery shopping, just because I feel afraid to drive then :-( I will start taking my heart vitamins again and hope that it will get better then ... I mean it isn't not far as bad as it was last year january .... but it sure ain't good either :-( So diet is out of the question right now .... gotta wait, till everything is good again and then start :-)

What a morning ....

.... well last night, the electricity fell out and when I set my alarm clock again, I set it wrong :)) ... so this morning the kids and me "slept in" .... ;-) Well I called the school, got them ready and well, they were 30 minutes late at school :-)

So today, my day starts an hour late, but thats o.k. ... got one more hour to sleep and that felt good ;-) What are my plans for today ... well, tonight I have to go to work as well as tomorrow morning .. but I love my work and my customers :-) Got to do some chores around the house to do and then well ... go to work :-)

Well whats on my mind for a new post ..... I was just sitting outside smoking a cigarette and thinking about the i-net ... and how it has changed our lifes! Or talking about mobile phones .... it would have been so great to have one back in my young days :-) When I was about 18/19 ... I had to sit in my appartement and wait for a phonecall ... - we had phones with a line still, not those "fancy" ones, that one has now ;-) So if we were expecting a call or hoping for one, we had to stay at home and hope "he" calls .... ;-) Now, the girls just go out, still have fun and well if he calls, he can reach one literally everywhere ;-) Or the internet, not talking about social networks .... I mean we had to handwrite a letter, post it and then if one was quick in writing back it still took at least a week till one had a reply :-) Now we just type an email real quick or chat ..., maybe attach a few pics and the reply is almost instant :-) It is so easy now to stay in contact with people all over the world :-) I remember my grandma writing letters to her son in africa on real thin paper, so it would not be too expensive to post it .....! God she would have loved internet to keep in touch :-) Or the social networks ... got to admit I am a facebook addict *lol* .... but it is so easy to stay in contact ;-) I know what my kids are doing *gg* .... where they are and if they are having fun, besides staying in contact with them by phone or personally ;-) One can share things so easily with everyone one cares about :-) O.K. ... social networks have their bad points also ...got to admit that ;-) One must be carefull, but other then that .... I love it :-) I love the new smartphones, I have i-net everywhere at any time, I twitter, I blog, and so on ;-) Also there are so many useful apps, that really make life easier and one has more fun :-) Now I pull out my smartphone when I shop .... and not my piece of paper, where I usually got my shopping list written down ;-) I have an christmas list app *lol* ... where I put all the gifts in for everybody, where to buy it, how much it will cost, etc. etc.! God I LOVE my apps ;-) Or another favorite one: whatsapp ... I can chat with my friend in the US, we share pics and have a laugh :-) ... and well .... yes I wish I had one back in my young days ;-) Of course we had fun too, without all this ... we HAD to go out to meet people, call, write or whatever to stay in contact and yes we missed phonecalls, but hell, if it was important enough, the person would try again ;-)

Well the bottom line is: I enjoy all the new stuff that is around now .... and wish I would had it all back then too ... but who knows, if one would have had the same fun ;-)

rofl..... :))

John and Jill were about to go into his apartment, and before he could open his door, Jill said, "Wait a minute, I can tell how a man makes love by how he unlocks his door."
John says, "Well, give me some examples." 

Jill proceeds to tell him, "Well, the first way is, if a guy shoves his key into the lock, and opens the door hard, then that means he is a rough lover and that isn't for me." 

"The second way is if a man fumbles around and can't seem to find the hole, then that means he is inexperienced and that isn't for me either." 

Then Jill said, "Honey, how do you unlock your door?" 

John proceeds to say, "Well, first, before I do anything else, I lick the lock."

..... just the kind of joke I love ;-)

just real quick .....

.... NO ... have not spend the last half an hour in front of the computer ;-) No, now I am freshly showered, dressed, the fire is lit ..... OK .. yes there is still much left to do ;-)

Well, while being in the shower, a thought occured .... I was thinking about me turning 50 next year and weather I should go crazy and celebrate my last year in my 40ies ;-) But then, I thought ... hmm - why?! I probably won't feel any worse/better then! Right now I feel pretty much happy and content ;-)

So I started thinking about my youth *lol* ... so at the age of 18-23 .... and what was so great about it.....! WELL .... breasts didn't have a gravity problem back then ;-) O.k. lets get "serious" ... the greatest thing about it was .... I didn't have any plans for my future ... I had only plans for the next weekend *gg* ... I had goals, yes ..... as to have enough money to keep my small appartment, my car and still go out partying and that my money ain't shorter, then the month lasts ....! I had no goal as to make much more money to be able to go on vacations or to afford lots of new clothes ...or a house some day ;-) Somehow that all seemed pretty unimportant to me :-) The only thing I really wanted for the future was .... to get married and have kids some day .... and well, this I have achieved ... even two times *lol* ... !

Guess times were easier back then too .... it was easier to find a job! Rent, car insurance and gas were a LOT cheaper. The cars simple and easy to repair .... even I could change the airfilter or fill in water into the cooling unit.....! Yes, I knew what was what, when I looked under the hood ;-) Or .... what I miss too ... one didn't seem to be scared or worried as much as when one gets older .... God, I did so many crazy, brainless, dangerous things .... I am surprised I survived those days ... but back then, never even the smallest thought came to my mind, that this or that might even be dangerous ;-) Well .... at least I knew, that my kids should NEVER do any of the things I did back then ... and that it would give me heart attacks ;-) Guess I had an idea .... that my life was quite crazy ;-) 

And now ... I worry too much, I am too scared to fly .... too scared to start my nordic walking again ....! Last has a reason though ... it may sound funny ... but at the time it scared me ....! Some ugly idiot showed my his naked ass .... and he even wore a white, lace string tanga .... grrrr ... it looked NASTY ;-) Well what I mean is, back when I was young I would have just laughed about it and never even spent much thought. Now it scares me enough, that I do not go walking alone on my favourite tour .... because there is hardly anyone walking there and thats why I liked my regular tour so much! One could say, find yourself someone to walk with you .... but this I do not want, I hate to have to talk for 1 1/2 hrs to someone, when the greatest pleasure about walking there, is not to have to talk and just give my thoughts room .... :-)

So what have I learned .... enjoy every stage in life - 20s, 30s, 40s and even the rest of it ;-) Certain things get better ... some get worse .... but thats o.k. .... I concentrate on the good changes .... and shit, they sell wonderbra's everywhere :))

Arrrgh

.... starting to have a little heart problems again .... guess I should start moving or whatever ... haven't had problems for quite a long time ... so it really surprises me today! Maybe since the wheather is going to change or..... I just have no idea! But I hate this feeling .... feels a little like getting dizzy and a little like pressure on my chest, heck ... it is hard to describe .... but I sure DO NOT like this feeling!

This morning I wanted to get a early start on everything that needs to be done ... but then I did turn on the computer and was searching for new, interesting blogs .... well BIG dissapointment ... seems all I could find were blogs were women were sewing, kniting, crocheting, or even loving to COOK *lol* ..... and this is NOTHING I am interested in ;-)

Then checking back on facebook to see if there is something new .... all you see is ads ..... how to quit smoking, how to loose weight, get back into sports, etc. etc. .... every beginning of a new year it's the same ;-) No I will not quit smoking ... why - well .... because I do not want to .... if I would want to, I could .... but I like to smoke ;-) Sports .... yeah ... maybe in spring, now it is much to cold outside for me ;-) .... diat .... yes - ever since I started it this new year, I put on 3 more pounds .... guess I should go back eating chocolate instead carrotts, to loose some weight ;-) So NO, dear WW you will not get my money ;-) What else this morning .... I got no motivation to even get dressed .... still sitting here in my dressing gown, feeling a little cold .... should have made a nice fire earlier .... so I shouldn't complain and get my ass moving ;-) At least I just got up, got me the rest of the coffee .... last cup I always have without sugar and milk ... somehow the last cup needs to be this way! It's not hot anymore ... just warm and maybe warm coffee makes one look beautiful too .... at least my hopes will die last ;-) and what does one need, when one drinks coffee ..... a cigarette ;-) I'm going to make me one now and smoke it on my cold patio outside AND THEN I will get dressed and start moving ;-)

So you all have a wonderful day, be more productive then me and just enjoy the sunshine while we have it ;-)

News ....

after checking CNN just a few minutes ago, I read some news about "my" syrian subject .... Israel is getting ready to give lots of syrian peoply asylum .... since they think, the regime of the syrian government will soon be ending .....! Arrrgh ... now that I wanted to read it again, the whole article is gone .... :-( Damned .... and my memory ain't as good as to be able to recall everything :-( Next time I will blog while I read ;-)

This morning.....

.... I was so tired and after the kids had left for school, I decided to go back to bed again for a little nap ;-) Oh it felt so good to lay in the warm bed and there the thought came up to start this english blog and the topics I would like to write about :-) It shall not be a pure "family blog" ... no I would like to get back into more difficult english subjects like politics and everything else that is going on in the world :-) Back when I was young my english used to be so good, I was even able to translate the Wall Street Journal and now ... "cry" .... but it is never too late to start learning again and therefore I will try my best, read more english books again, start checking the CNN news more regulary and and and .... :-)

Like today I was thinking, lots of people talk about the doomsday in 2012 and somehow I am getting a little scared too and watching for signs that would provoke something happening like this. The revolts in Syria definately come into my mind since I have watched a report about the revolts there last night and if the western world would start sanctions, there is very much the chance that the syrian "government" would start supporting the Al Kaida Terrorgroup more and THAT definately could start a world war .....! So with all the things going on in the whole world right now .... all those people fighting for their rights to have elections, etc. .... there are just too many "hot spots" all over.... not talking about the wheather, earthquakes, tornados, etc....! One just has to wait and see ..... I'm definately paying much more attention to all that's happening right now!

Oh ... coming back to something more "funny" ... I was thinking about those suicide assassins .... and the promise, as of after they die, there will be 40 virgins waiting for them in heaven ..... Shit, if it were me ... I wouldn't want to have 40 male virgins waiting for me .... hell no, give me 40 well experienced, good locking loverboys and I shall be giving it a thought *lol* ... who on earth would want to have 40 guys that don't know what to do .... I certainly don't ;-) O.K. .... don't take me just too serious now .... it's just a little humor on the side .... so this blog post doesn't just leave one feeling too bad ;-)

dictionary ... to whoever wants to learn a few "new" words or need a little help in understanding .... by the way, my english is not perfect - so whoever knows it better, do NOT hesitate and let me know my mistakes ;-)

suicide assassin - Selbstmordattentäter
doomday - Weltuntergang
support - unterstützen
provoke - provozieren, verursachen
virgin - Jungfrau

... here we go ;-)

..... with all the crazy, fun, normal, informative and so on .... stuff that is going in my mind ;-)

Hope you'll all have as much fun reading this blog as I'll have writing it ;-)

By the way .... why "Strawberry's Tail" .... doesn't make much sense or does it ;-) It does and does not *lol* .... it does to me, my dd had once to find a nickname for a forum and came up with Raspberry Paw ... and it sounded so funny and sweet to me and since I can't steel this "copyrighted" name *lol* .... and since I like strawberries better anyway, I came up with "strawberry's tail" .... strawberry's mouth, ears, legs or whatsoever would have sounded too stupid, but tail .... yeah - that sounded o.k. ;-)

Oh and yes a little about me .... I am almost 49 years old, still a little too crazy for my age, mother of 4 kids *gg* and well .... the rest about me, you'll find out eventually ;-)

yeap - thats me ... ;-)

dictionary:
tail - Schwanz
nickname - Spitzname