Hi everyone.  Tomorrow’s the weekend, and guess what I’m urging you to do… go shopping!

By that, I mean it’s time to get rid of all those half-spent, expiring, and stashed up gift cards.  Martin and I found a few that we’ve been hanging onto, and we realize it’s time to part with the cards.  Obviously there are some cards we all love and use instantly.

Yet if you have gift cards that you are NOT using, now’s the time.  Call the phone numbers on the back of them to see your balance if you don’t know.  Just get those things used.

Give them away. Hello little college friends!  Hello retirement centers, homes for disadvantaged people, women’s shelters.  I promise somebody can use your gift card.

Buy practical stuff. Toilet paper, toothpaste, or other regularly used items are a perfect way to spend the odd change left on a lot of cards.

Take a loved one out for lunch. Pick someone who would never expect a surprise, “Hey!  Want to go to lunch?  My treat.”  Or plan a date or big get together.

Purchase gifts. Don’t buy people clutter, of course.  But maybe there’s something that you know they’d love.  Someone gave you that gift card.  What better joy is there than giving and passing on that gift?

Catch the rest of The Decluttering Project right here.

01.  Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I make these chocolate chip cookies.

02.  Whenever Martin feels overwhelmed, he works on airplanes.

03.  Those probably aren’t the best forms of stress relief in Germany where (1) there are no chocolate chips and (2) we have no access to airplanes.

04.  What?  You thought I’d say it’s bad stress relief because then we EAT the cookies?  Okay, that’s true, too.

05.  I owe you a tour of our house.

(stay tuned next week)

06.  There have been a lot of cookie making and airplane working hours late at night around here.  The good news is that 95% of the cookies go straight to the airport.

07.  Martin was on the phone with a client who had to go all of a sudden.  For 20 years, this man has been taking care of this abandoned bear that would never have survived as a cub in the wild.  Wanna know why the man had to go so fast?

The bear got a bloody nose.

08.  I visited this old fashion candy shop where they make their own taffy (above), carmel, chocolate, fudge… oh my gosh.  You just reference this town, and everyone assumes you’re talking about the candy shop.

09.  And it’s totally acceptable (and expected) that the kid in your heart will totally take over in this town – no matter who you are and how much your bike can grumble.  These Harley motorcyclists probably have about a pound of candy each in their lime green bags….

10.  Two bluebirds have made a nest in front of our house.  We love to watch them and throw them the spiders we catch with jars in the house.

11.  We do not throw them the last of our taffy.

12.  Here are two quotations from It’s a Wonderful Life that you might love thinking about:

“You know George, I feel that in a small way we are all doing something important, satisfying a fundamental urge.”

“Each man’s life touches so many other lives.  When he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”

Thanks to those of you joining me + Gadanke on Facebook.  Tomorrow prepare for a little decluttering assignment!

This is my little sister.  She has a secret wish and an enormous talent.

She makes the most amazing and beautiful cakes and cookies (like her own wedding cake!).  Then she goes and teaches people in her community how to do the same.  Then – my gosh – people just fall in love with her sincere heart.

She secretly wants to make cake + cookie making and teaching her career.

There are so many questions in her mind.  Can I really do this?  Will people love this?  Where do I start?  Those are huge, fearful doubts that we all have.  As women, it is SO EASY to put our hearts and passion aside in an effort to please and take care of everyone else.

Fears come splashing and banging into the room.  And if we’re not careful, we let them win.  We take the easy swim.

But my sister and I decided we’re not going to let them win.  She’s my biggest Gadanke cheerleader.  And I want to be exactly the same for her because that’s what sisters do.  It doesn’t matter how many miles apart we might be (usually in the thousands) – we can fight those fears that say we’re not good enough.  We all can.

So this weekend, we released our fears.

We were filled with hesitations.  But we let them all go.

Okay – maybe it didn’t quite go like that.  The fish cookie actually jumped out of my sister’s hand and right into the lake where it proceeded to “swim” away.  Maybe it was trying to tell us something.

Can you all do me a favor?  Will you help me cheer for this special young woman?  She and her husband are moving from their college town to take on “the real world”.  It’s my best friend, and I just want to help her follow her heart as YOU have helped me to do.  What are some fresh-out-of-college, follow-your-heart bits of wisdom you can share?

Don’t forget… you’ve got to try these homemade marshmallows and graham crackers my sister and I made last year.  She brought them to the lake this year and oh-my-gosh!

And wowzers – here’s a flickr collection of just some of her sweet projects.

Hooray!  Hooray!  Today is part of a 3-day weekend in the United States.  It’s a quiet day on the internet… a good day for housekeeping.

What?!  Housekeeping?  On a holiday weekend?

Yep!  As far as I know, the grocery stores in Germany are open.  So a little business today is totally okay and totally legal in Germany.  Plus I think you’ll like to know…

Gadanke has a Facebook page!

I’ll be posting behind the scenes photos, offering special shop discounts and sales especially for Gadanke’s Facebook audience, and other little goodies.  I’d like to share links and ideas over there to help with capturing stories and documenting life’s adventures.  That way Making This Home can keep true to its roots, and we can still get all the yummy Gadanke gossip.

So you ready?  Can I meet you over at the Gadanke Facebook group right now?

Everyone dreams of a romantic, fairytale adventure right after getting married, right?  Today we have a fabulous guest visiting us.  Lisa and Drew – two fabulous Americans moving to Germany as I write – thought their adventure into a new home and new world would be oh-so-dreamy.  But oh the irony of our dreams!  I think you’ll just absolutely love what Lisa has to say.  Take it away, Lisa…

* * * * * * * *

Two months after Drew and I got married we moved to Aix-en-Provence, France. We were there for a year- I was there to study and Drew had found a job teaching English in a local elementary school. As moving abroad has its challenges, it definitely wasn’t the yearlong “honeymoon fairytale” that we had dreamt it would be, but it was surely memorable!

One of the most memorable parts of our year in France was the little (about 400 sq ft) loft apartment that we called home. We found the apartment online before our arrival in France. After a brief email exchange with the landlord, who supplied us with photos of the place, we signed a one-year contract and crossed our fingers that everything would turn out OK.

As if that wasn’t pushing our boundaries enough, we took things a step further… In order to save ourselves a ton of foreign wire fees with our bank, and as we were able to negotiate a nice discount in the rent by doing so, we ended up paying for the entire year’s worth of rent up front. Sight unseen.

It was a huge leap of faith. (And, in hindsight, probably not the best decision- but we were young and on a tight budget and it seemed like a good idea at the time.)

For the most part, the apartment met and exceeded all of our expectations- it was in a great location, had huge shutters (that really worked!), and it was decorated in a very charming Provençal style. The perfect little home for a newlywed couple.

There was one thing, however, that turned out to be a huge, not-so-perfect, surprise for us… the height of the ceilings. My husband Drew is tall- 6’4” to be exact, and I’m not too short myself, measuring in at 5’9”. So when we walked into the apartment for the first time and realized that the ceilings in the majority the place (basically in every room but the living room) were shorter than either of us stood, we were presented with a unique challenge.

I won’t lie- it was frustrating at first- heads were bumped many times and tears were shed. But instead of pouting, sulking and letting it ruin our home, we learned to adapt and to laugh about it.

We bought a plastic stool for our bathroom so we could sit as we showered, made good use of a rolling chair to get around the office / bedroom loft area, and, we discovered a new way of cooking by sitting on a stool as we mixed, sautéed and grilled.

After a while we got so used to the various ceiling heights that we forgot about the fact that we were constantly ducking and swatting as we went from room to room. It almost became a little dance. Squat-Duck-Sit-Stand-Squat-Duck-Sit.

In the end it was a unique experience that we still look back at it with fond memories and a few giggles. We learned a lot from living there and grew a lot as people from the things we learned.

I’ll leave you by sharing a few of the life lessons our apartment in France taught us…

Takes Chances –You are stronger than you realize- don’t be afraid to push your own boundaries and expand your comfort zone.

Make Mistakes. Embrace new experiences and all the challenges that come with them. When things go wrong (remember our low ceilings?) take a moment to acknowledge it and be upset; then, find the laugher in the situation, pick yourself up, and move on.

Enjoy the Moment. Over analyzing the past, or worrying too much about the future can cause you to miss out on the present. Focus on taking things one step at a time.

Be Yourself. (This one’s a biggie!) Comparing yourself or your home to others is dangerous. Everyone’s journey is unique. Learn to love the life you live (and the home you live in).

* * * * * * * *

Isn’t that crazy?!  Do you think you could manage like Lisa and Drew did?  I think they picked up some amazing lessons, and I’m so thankful for Lisa, giving us peek into their old place.  You too?

Let’s just hope their ceilings are a bit more comfortable when they arrive in Germany.  As a tall couple ourselves, Martin and I have some great news for the adventurers : German beds are wonderfully longer than American beds.  No feet hanging off the end!

We had to stop the car.  I saw cows grazing in a field of daisies.

It felt like a dream world.  Then again, whenever I slow down and notice the little things, wherever I am feels dreamy.  That’s the great thing about choosing to rush less.

Do you ever go on walks?  I love taking long walks in the morning.  I think my best ideas come then.  Walking to German class in Berlin solidified it for me.  Everything about my day is better if I find a way to walk where I am going.

No ipod.  No cell phone.  Nothing but open eyes and an open heart.  And sometimes a camera.

Being in the car, spotting those cows?  That was after a long, long hike in the mountains that I showed you earlier this week.  And here are some pictures of my favorite walks in Berlin.

Oh – some tips on the benefit of walking. Here’s hoping for less rain and thunder for more walks.  When do your best ideas come?