Adjusting to Normalcy

Even though we were only in Germany for a few months, in the past 3 years, we have only spent about 6 months in the US. When we first returned from Iraq last summer, life was anything but normal. Chris took a few months off from work to enjoy the summer, so I too felt justified in taking time off from my domestic duties. I spent very little time doing anything that I did not WANT to do. I spent most of my time in my yard and at my pool. We ate out - a LOT and I did no major cooking.
Now - it is back to reality. I have spent almost all of my waking hours (with the exception of my short trip) doing "domestic" stuff. Now, lets just set the record straight.... I have never been, never will be, and have never claimed to be a Martha Stewart wannabe. I have never been one of those women who enjoy watching Rachel Ray or Emeral Live. It's just NOT me..... I have tried to be a "domestic goddess" in the past, but get easily bored. I have had my moments when I was extremely excited about the purchase of a Downey Ball or new vacuum cleaner - but for the most part - I would much rather be doing about anything but housework. I have done so much cleaning, organizing and redecorating that I fear that I am becoming more like a "house wife". Not that it is a bad thing, but I know me and know how quickly I will bore of it.

I am now, on a daily basis - cleaning, packing my sweathearts lunch, ironing his clothes, and I have started cooking again. I have to admit that I am amazed at how much I have forgotten in the past three years. For instance... I totally forgot how much spelt grows when you cook it..... I could not remember if I had to cook the potatoes before putting them in soup (thanks Mom for not laughing too hard when I called to ask)....oh - and most importantly.... I forgot which little thingey you pull on your kitchen aid mixer to unlock it. I THOUGHT I was unlocking mine, but totally freaked out when the beater thingey started spinning around in the bowl with the other attachements in there. I guess I should not have plugged it in first, huh? I also have seemed to lose my touch with my infamous chicken salad. I made some today, and could not remember what I usually put in it. I obviously left something out, because it does not taste nearly as good as it used to.

We are both adjusting to going grocery shopping. WOW! The prices! I have to admit, I miss going to the chow hall and eating - and NOT worrying about how much food costs...

Another thing that is taking a bit of adjusting is driving. Can I just say that I miss the Autobahn? The Autobahn is just so much smoother than the interstates here. Not to mention, you do not have all those agressive drivers snaking in and out of the traffic there like you do here. I have to admit, that I think the Autobahn is much safer than our interstates!

Chris and I are not the only ones adjusting.... Our sweet TaiChi dog is adjusting to not only having us home, but having to share us with the kitty. She is adjusting quite well, but still has some jealousy issues. Anytime we see her acting a little jealous, we just dote lots of love on her and she is fine.

All in all, I think we are quickly adjusting to "normalcy". But then again, what is "normal"?

Busy Busy Busy

We got back to the states on April 8th. We have been busy cleaning up after our little four legged, beady eyed squatters ---- grrrrrr. We have taken the opportunity to declutter and do some redecorating and organizing which is taking more time that the clean up would have. I have already had to mow the lawn twice since I have been back and my flower beds are in dire need of weeding. There is just so much to do around the house that I have not had time to do much of anything since returning to the states.

We stopped and picked up the kitty on the way from WV to AL. She is such a sweety. At first she hid a lot - but now, she just runs all over the house like she is the boss. She and TaiChi are not exactly friends yet - but they tolerate each other. At first she was really scared of the dog - but now, I think the dog is more afraid of her. She is a bit of a psycho kitty - running and jumping and pouncing at all hours of the night. I have had to scold her a couple of times - she had to be taught that getting on the pool table and in my potted plants was a no-no.

I took a little break to fly to Pennsylvania to pick up my final birthday present.... a BMW Z4. I was so excited that the dealership was only a few minutes from my friend Brandy's house. I have not seen Brandy since we were both in Iraq (she went home before me - then moved to PA). It was great seeing her and her husband. She is having a baby really soon and it was fun to see her and feel her belly. I am hoping that I rubbed some baby dust off her and on to me :) She did an amazing job of painting and decorating the nursery. She will make an awesome mommy and Chet will make a great dad too. I was also able to see my friend, Deanna who lives in Hershey PA. I have not seen her since right after I was married (she is the one who baked my wedding cake). Her daughters have grown up and she has a little boy now as well. She has been really busy lately - she has written a childrens book dealing with deployment of a parent. Its a really neat book and I am so proud of her.

Chris just finished a week long CISSP (certified information system security professional) class. It was twelve hours of class per day - plus homework at night. He had Saturday off, but was required to take a 6 hour long test on Sunday. He is extremely happy with his new position with the government.

We finally set up our fish tank. I guess you can say that it is sort of symbolic of us being home for good. This is our first salt water tank and we had no idea that it was so costly. So far, we only have live rock in there. We will be able to add fish and coral soon. I had hoped to have seahorses, but found out that the seahorses do not survive with the fish because they move so slow and can not compete for the food.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Today is my birthday! Happy Birthday to me! I get to celebrate extra long because I start my birthday in Germany's time zone (which is only 5pm the night before my birthday at home) - then I travel to my mom's and go to Eastern time zone - so an extra long birthday for me. And we actually celebrated last week in Switzerland.

And as an added bonus, this is the newest member of our family! She is about 7 months old - a Norwegian Forest Cat. Isn't she gorgeous? We pick her up Thursday evening. We are so excited to get to know her and for sweet Taichi to meet her and get to know her too.

Belgium, Luxemborg, and Misc Trips

Today is our last day in Germany ~ so I decided to combine all our previous trips I had not blogged about. Most of the time, while Chris was working I had nothing to do. I did, however take a couple of trips without him while he was working. The first trip I took without him, was to Zurich Switzerland with the USO. One of our friends that we met in Iraq is now stationed here in Germany. He went on the trip with me and after the trip, he went with Chris and I to dinner before taking the train back to Kauserlatem. Zurich was nice - but no where as nice as it is in the Alps. There was a very pretty water falls on the way - Rhine River Water Falls. I loved the atmosphere in Switzerland and we enjoyed the normal touristy stuff while there. Later I took another USO tour to Strassborg France. It was nice, but no where near as nice as Paris!



Chris and I took other trips to Luxemborg and Belgium. We loved Dinant Belgium. It was a very romantic place. We visited the Citadel and strolled the streets by the water of the evening. It is a very beautiful and romantic place. We had dinner at a cafe overlooking the water - it was gorgeous.



Preparing to leave tomorrow to return home is bittersweet because I have loved the travel in Europe. I am., however excited to get home and return to normal life. I would guess that Chris and I will not want to do any traveling for a while once we return home. We will probably spend lots of evenings curled up on the couch watching movies. I am anxious to have a kitchen again! I am anxious for the lazy summer days by the pool. Yes, I will miss this place - but I will be extremely happy to be home! I am sure that sweet TaiChi is anxious for us to return as well.

Amsterdam & Holland

We went on a trip to the Netherlands and enjoyed Holland and Amsterdam. Unfortunately, it was a bit too early to enjoy all of the tulips - maybe someday we will be able to travel to Holland for the blooming of the tulips! Holland is beautiful even without the tulips blooming. I loved the old fashioned wind mills - much more pleasant on the eye than the modern looking ones. And of course, what is a trip to Holland without watching them make wooden shoes. Amsterdam was great. I was fascinated with the "coffee shops" and "smart shops". I wanted to go in to a coffee shop and ask for a menu to bring home and scrap book, but I did not have the guts. We also passed the redlight district - but did not venture in to it. One of the hightlights of the trip for me was visiting Anne Franks house. That has always been a story that fascinated me and it was surreal to be in the actual annex where they were hiding. Of course, where do you think we had lunch? Hard Rock Cafe of course. It was much too short of a trip and it is on our short list of places to return someday.

England

In March we flew to England for a few days. London, Paris and Amsterdam are our top three places we have enjoyed visiting. London is an amazing city. They have the best public transportation. I am not sure why anyone would want to drive there - but they obviously do, because the traffic is horrendous. While there, we took a train to Stonehenge. That was an amazing place to go - I like that it is a huge mystery of how the stones all got there and were arranged. I personally think it was someones idea of a great April fools joke - but who knows... We rode the London Eye which was a lot of fun. The view was amazing from up there! And of course we had lunch at the Hard Rock in London.

The Hills are Alive.... in Austria!

OK - so, I had NEVER seen the Sound of Music until I came to Germany. We actually even own the video, yet I had never watched it. Chris talked me in to watching it for my first time while in Stuttgart. I actually have watched it 4 times in the past 2 months! Now, for me, that says a lot. I am not one to watch a movie more than once. I think I can count on one hand the number of movies I like to watch over again. I absolutely Loved the Sound of Music! What a neat story! Well, coming to Austria without going on a Sound of Music tour is sort of like going to Paris and not seeing the Eifel Tower. So Chris and I went on the Sound of Music tour. As if I was not already singing all of the songs enough - now, I was surrounded by people who were also singing the songs - going to places where EVERYONE was singing and dancing. It was so much fun! We hopped up and down the steps, danced around the fountain and patted the head on the dwarf just like the von Trapp children did when they sang "Do Re Mi" We went to the cathedral where Maria married the captain. We saw the lake where Maria and the children capsized their boat, saw the tree lined road where the children were hanging from trees and even danced in front of the gazebo where they sang the song "I am 16 going on 17". It was fun to see so many people being care free and dancing and singing. It was kind of like a Grateful Dead concert only without all of the happy pills - lol. I had the best time - it was a really neat tour. The next day we went to visit the birthplace as well as the childhood home of Mozart. I guess I am not cultured enough, because to me, that was not nearly as much fun as the Sound of Music tour! We also got to go visit Chris' grandmother that he has never met. She lives in Austria - about 1 hour from Salzburg. We had a wonderful time getting to know her and learning more about Chris' grandfather whom he never met before his death. It was a fabulous trip!

APRIL FOOLS!!!

This is my very favorite day of the year! I absolutely LOVE April Fools Day! I must admit that it is not quite as fun as it was when my dad was alive. We were relentless with each other. The last couple of years he was alive, we called a truce. Instead of fooling each other, we fooled my mom! My poor mom..... Anyway, I have earned myself quite the reputation. So much so that my family will not answer the phone if I call on April Fools Day. Poor Chris had endured many a pranks from me on April Fools Day. He has returned a phone message from Mr. Bear - only to learn that he was calling the Zoo! He also returned a call about a box someone had for him, only to find out he was calling the cemetary. Not to mention the time that I included the marina on my prank and had them call him at work and tell him that someone was vandalizing his boat. Yes, I have had quite a bit of fun with my darling husband over the years. I was even able to team up with a coworker one time and prank our entire office. One girl had everything wrapped in tin foil - while another had her entire desk wrapped in saran wrap. Balls were removed from the mouses so they did not work until replaced, keys were taken off the keyboard and switched with other keys. Then, we took everything in the cubicles of two guys and switched them to each others cubicle. We took post it notes from the managers desk and used her pen to write "April Fools" at each cubicle. Of course we set up the manager by doing nothing to her desk. Yes, it was a great day. This year, I guess since we are in Austria, there will not be any one for me to play tricks on. We will be going to visit Chris' grandmother, but since neither of us have ever met her, I don't think it is appropriate for me to pull a prank on her. Anyway ~ hope everyone has a FUN day today! APRIL FOOLS!!!