A new perspective on giving

Today is a day where I'm just writing what's on my mind…you've been warned.

This morning I'm working on finish our giving for the year. BK and I are not good about giving throughout the year, so we usually end up assessing things at the end of the year and giving then. That's okay though, it works for us right now. As the family CFO, it's my job to look at what we've done thus far and propose what else we should do.

People give for many reasons, and no one reason is better than another. For me, it's been an interesting year that has given me a different perspective on giving. For the first time since graduating from college I am not working in the field of social work, which has been really different for me. Early in my career, I was bringing home a very measly paycheck and considered the fact that I worked for what I did my way of giving back. Then after a few years passed, I would want to give to whatever cause I was working for, usually giving BK a hard time that he should be more bought into this or that, just wanting him to find something.

I found that for the first time this year, I was able to objectively step back and look at what really mattered to me. I know I keep mentioning myself, but BK has his own reasons for giving to what he likes as well- you can ask him if you want his perspective. For me, I discovered that it was really important to give to organizations that had impacted my life and that I view as helping make me into who I am today. There's also a component of me wanting these organizations to be around far into the future so they can continue to have a positive influence on generations to come.

This hit me when I was listening to someone from one of the organizations speak about why people should give. He said he wasn't going to try to convince us about why we should give, but that we knew what this organization did and the impact it had on both individuals and the community, so if we felt called to give we should, and if not…the organization would still be here doing what it does. I'm not sure why this spoke to me, but it did, and he was right, I did know firsthand what this organization has done and will continue to do.

BK and I both realize we've both been extremely fortunate- not only in our life together, but also over the entirety of our lives, always being (more than) provided for, having loving families surrounding us and being able to experience things many people only dream about (just to mention a few). Considering this, we should give back. It's the absolute least we can do. Time, talent and treasure- these are things that organizations typically need from people. If you can't give one, try to give another. We're not so good at the time right now, but I'm sure this will change too as the years go by.

You may be wondering who we give to. That's not important and you're missing the point. I would just encourage you to think about what matters to you and go from there. You'll figure it out. It took me a while, but I feel like I finally have…at least for now.

Christmas markets in Colmar

Yesterday BK and I went with some friends to Colmar, France to visit the Christmas markets. It's still kind of weird to me that we can just hop on a train and be in another country in less than an hour. The weather in Basel and the surrounding areas has actually been pretty good- highs around 45 or so, but sunny!

Colmar train station

It's a nice walk from the train station to the middle of the city and you pass some interesting buildings on the way.

Former palace, now government building

Water tower

Colmar is an Alsatian town, is very charming and is known for its "petit Venice", with canals going through the middle of town. Our first stop was a late lunch at a restaurant that served regional specialties that was very near one of the canals. If you venture to Colmar make sure to make reservations at a restaurant, as they are nearly impossible to get into without one!

Colmar canal

The whole city is decorated for Christmas, which makes it seems like there is a fair going on all month long, with rides, craft stalls, food stalls, mulled wine, and lots of lights everywhere. Colmar has many little shops that offer handmade, local goods ranging from food to textiles to clothing. Most of the streets in this area are off limits for cars, making it easy to get around.

I thought I would post the picture below…every time I try to get BK to pose for a picture with me right now, the first thing he does is stick his "belly" out toward mine for the photo. We missed the one where he was doing his pose, but you get the idea.

Colmar street

The city looks completely different at night with everything lit up. After our lunch we just explored the town, stopping in random stores and stall along the way, with AH, CH and BK enjoying some mulled wine and me enjoying some hot chocolate. Here are a few pics of the rest of our time there.

We caught the train back to Basel around 7 and headed home. Unfortunately, that also meant that we were then getting BK ready to head to the US for ten days before I get there. 

So, it's just me and the boys this week…we'll keep ourselves busy walking, finishing Christmas shopping, wrapping up things for the year here, various appointments for Baby K and spending time with friends here before heading to the US for Christmas.

Christmas, Christmas everywhere

Today has been a bit of a long day, but I think it's mostly because I'm still not sleeping all that well. Jet lag is a killer to get over right now. Although, waking up in the middle of the night, I have discovered that Baby K likes to move around a lot during that time.

I continued with my Christmas baking, finishing my gingerbread dog cookies and also making cream cheese-filled snicker doodles. Everything seems to have turned out really well, and I'm excited to give these to BK's team. My only quandary now is: should I make something bigger for the entire group that works in the same proximity and with his team, or just stick with his team. They're used to me bringing something on workday five, but there's usually enough for way more than his team. Depends on how fast I'm moving in the morning.

Here's how my snicker doodle baking went down. I don't seem to choose very simple and tidy recipes, but like I said, they turned out well, so I'll happily clean up my mess for a good end product.

Snicker doodle dough, cream cheese filling and cinnamon to roll them in

Prebaking stage- they have to chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes

Cooling on the counter

Cream cheese filled middle

I have to say, I've made these a couple of times, and I really think these were the best result I've had yet. They are soft and chewy and have a quite a bit of the filling in the middle. Yum! I saved a couple for BK and I as well.

The other baking project I finished earlier tonight was icing my gingerbread dog shapes. I didn't get too crazy with the icing- it's just simple white icing, but it looks good and adds a little something to the plain cookies. Now I just have to decide how to festively package these together.

Icing on the dining room table

The other fun thing I did tonight was go explore the Christmas markets happening in Basel right now. In various squares around the city, small booths with crafts and handmade items have popped up, and everything is now decorated for Christmas. I met my friend EJ in one of the markets and we (she) enjoyed mulled wine and winter punch, then had a great dinner at one of the little restaurants that was set up. After dinner we walked around to some of the other areas to see what else was happening.

Here's what Basel looks like during the Christmas season:

Mulled wine stand

Barfusserplatz

Freistrasse

Munsterplatz

That's about it for today…I'm calling it a night. I was hoping to stay up until BK got home from work, but no such luck this month-end. It's always a relief when workday four comes and goes for another month :)