I’m excited to have Susi of BocaFrau here today!

She’s my second German guest in as many weeks. Did you know that I’m half German? Of course, I’ve never been there and don’t know all that much about the culture and traditions. I should definitely meet up with Susi and Kerstin some day…I’m sure they have tons to share.

Unlike Kerstin, Susi made her way to the good ol’ U S of A and is now residing in the land of sparkling blue water and sunshine with her husband and three kids in Florida. I get so jealous of her Instagram pictures (follow her there @bocafrau) because there is often a gorgeous, welcoming pool involved!

Susi has a recipe link-up every Thursday and picture link-up every Sunday that you should check out.

Welcome, Susi!

Before I begin my post I have to say thanks to Greta for including me in her Great Expectations lineup. I did not expect that and was very happily surprised when she asked me if I would like to contribute. I said yes of course, who wouldn’t? 🙂 Of course, I thought I would have this ready to go long before now… but I am a great procrastinator and here I am at the last minute. I blame it on summer hours and having three kids at home!!! 🙂

Where do I begin? I found this wonderful quote about expectations and it is so telling.

“If you expect nothing, you can never be disappointed. Apart from a few starry-eyed poets or monks living on a mountaintop somewhere, however, we all have expectations. We not only have them, we need them. They fuel our dreams, our hopes, and our lives like some super-caffeinated energy drink.”

― Tonya Hurley, ghostgirl: Homecoming

I always say that I live my life with very little expectations and thus am prepared for when things don’t go as planned… but in my heart of hearts I do have expectations about things in my life.

One thing, however, I never in a million years expected when I was growing up… becoming an American citizen and living in sunny South Florida.

I grew up in a tiny village of about 1200 people in the former East-Germany. I didn’t have any worries, celebrated when the wall fell and Germany reunited and finally had my very own Barbie doll. My childhood was by many standards idyllic and happy.

I had many friends, in school and out, I was part of a dance group, rode my bike to the lake in the summer, went cherry picking with friends and to dance clubs every chance I had. I really didn’t have a worry or care.

But as I got older, and had to make choices regarding my education and which path to choose, my thoughts would wander to what was to come. I didn’t have any real goals as to what I wanted to be when I grew up or where I wanted to be. I figured, I would finish high school, find a vocational program and hope for the best. Things in our part of the country weren’t going so well… jobs were hard to come by and our futures looked dim.

Well, it seemed, unbeknownst to us my parents were wondering what our future would hold and started making plans…

Plans that would move me a world away from what I was used to and knew — to somewhere unknown and foreign… the sunny shores of Florida.

I thought, no, I expected I would grow old in Germany, get a job, maybe get married and do a little travel around Europe. Basically, follow along the same path my parents did. I saw myself going for coffee at mom’s, just like she did at her mom’s.

I didn’t expect to live in beautiful South Florida, married to my American husband, have three awesome kids and become an American citizen myself. Who would have ever thought? Not me, and more than likely not a lot of people I grew up with.

And yet, here I am… living a life I never expected but love so much!!!

You can (and should) follow Susi on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+. Also, follow her blog. You won’t regret it!