My blog is a place where I come to hang out and socialize and relax - which is exactly why I usually stay away from opinion posts. Sure I have an opinion - on just about everything - and I also know that there are lots of other opinions out there. And while that's fine with me, I don't want my blog to be a place where people shame, judge or diss in any way. I think there should be way more respect and way less judgement in this world.

That being said, I have to interrupt my blissful Countdown to Freelance to give you a piece of my mind (but first my latest countdown picture: look, I even put lipstick on for you! See the whole album on my Facebook page).

Just in case you didn't know - I quit my job and will be working for myself as of September 1 (I know, right?).

Obviously this calls for a series of celebrations and I started this weekend with an iced chocolate, or Eisschokolade as we call it in Germany.

It's chocolate milk with lots of vanilla ice cream in it and whipped cream on top (like the real stuff, not cool whip). As I was enjoying it, it occurred to me that this must be what happiness tastes like.

Chocolate-milk-covered vanilla ice cream, topped with whipped cream, which starts hardening just a bit where is touches the ice cream. A little morsel of all those elements in your mouth - I'm not gonna say it's better than sex, because it isn't - but it's pretty damn close.

My husband definitely did not marry me for my cooking, but the baking is an entirely different story - I love to bake.

There was a time when I actually hated baking, mainly because it involved my kids wanting to "help"; that was definitely a deterrent for a few years... Now that they are old enough to either bake themselves or help for realz, we whipped up a few yummy things lately, like this Blueberry Streusel Cake.

We're a little more than halfway through summer vacation (4 weeks and 13 hours left to go, but who's counting?) and I thought it would be a good idea to revisit my summer bucket list and reflect on how the summer has gone so far.