No, it's true, we are still alive and thriving.

Am I the worst blogger in History? Quite possibly.

Je suis vraiment desole. (With accents.)

Right, now you can guess that I'm trying to pick up a bit of French. Italian is in the queue, and if I can understand basic questions and provide elementary responses by the time we leave for vacation in four weeks I'll be overjoyed.

But to business; and explanation is in order I suppose. Not an excuse, just the honest reasons I haven't been writing.

1. We moved. I don't know if I've written since that fiasco, but I'll just say that the Process of Moving is awful. An international move was somehow easier than the trip from an apartment to a house fifteen minutes away. This is probably because someone else paid for everything to be packed and shipped and loaded and unloaded in the first situation; this time we ended up frantically moving heavy boxes and cleaning for 20 hours a day, several days in a row.

2. We had a party. A housewarming barbecue, to be exact. Obviously it took a lot of effort to get our home to look comfortable and presentable for our guests. The party was really fun and I'm glad we were able to throw it prior to the departure of some of our friends from Germany to the states.

3. We had to watch our shows because when you have a DVD full of action-filled goodness you can't stop watching. Friends was nearing the end, Smallville had all kinds of crazy stuff going on, and of course there was So You Think You Can Dance. So yeah, television ate our brains and free time... of which there was little due to point FOUR.

4. Work. My job is honestly fabulous; a little chaotic just now, but great. We just opened a new branch and I'm feeling quite useful and much more knowledgeable than in the past. Also, co-workers are fun. May I just stress how pleased I am that Josh is finally back on the day schedule? I would like to especially emphasize this point: shift work is for the birds. No, actually, birds are too nice to deal with the crap of shift work. Shift work is for arachnids.

5. Oh speaking of arachnids, did you know that they can grow to be AS BIG AS MY HAND? Because they can, and then they can find their way into my house and cause me to lose my mind in a constant panic-stricken, nauseated, fearful state of being. Yes, it's that bad. Even now as I type, I check for spiders every few lines. I need therapy, but those spiders need to die.

I believe this should clear up some of the reasons for my absence, although I do have one last confession: the log-in page for Blogger is all in German and for some reason that bothers me immensely. I can read the simple instructions, but seriously... it's just not inviting right now. I'm so silly sometimes.

As soon as I find my media reader card (or alternatively the cord to connect the camera to the Mac), I will update with some photos of recent events. And I really will work on writing more frequently. I can probably pull myself away from re-watching the new DVD releases of Scrubs, Smallville, and The Big Bang Theory. Hah!

Life is both exciting and hectic.

We are both working often, and conflicting schedules minimize the time we can be together.  Even when we have time together, we spend it rushing through things- making plans, cleaning, trying to see friends and find a moment to relax within the span of a few consecutive hours.  

The better part of our news is that we are finally moving from our fourth-floor apartment.  We found a beautiful row home with a back yard, three floors, three bedrooms, two full bathrooms (by American standards) and even a garage.  As is typical of German homes in this area, the outside is not anything spectacular, but the inside is gorgeous.  We will be doing a self-move in late June, and we're weighing several moving options.  Actually, I've already decided which option I prefer and it involves using the bulk of the moving budget to hire my father as a crew chief and move director, and throwing a fantastic barbecue for all of our friends who lend a hand for any portion of the move.  I'm trying to convince my father that he should let us bring him over here for a few days of work and a few days of vacation.  I am hopeful that he will come.

I am dreaming of the things I'll do in this new house.  First and foremost, I will let my dogs be outside in the sunshine all summer long, as much as they desire, to run in circles and enjoy the fresh air in this beautiful country.  I'll spend time making a small garden in the tiny plot by the front door, and I'll maybe be able to keep some plants alive.  Maybe herbs for cooking.  I want to focus on design and decoration, because for the first time I have coherent themes we both enjoy and I can improve upon them.  Eventually my sister will be here for a while, and I'm really thrilled about her being with us.  Hopefully more friends will visit in the next few years- we'll have an actual guest room for their comfort.  More than anything, I hope that life will feel less disjointed, less temporary in this house.  I want to meet more people and speak German and go on walks through a village and buy bread from the Barbarossa down the street.  

I had resigned myself to staying in the apartment for the next two years, and once I let it go the house of our dreams- in the location we desired most- became available.  I should let go of things more, that's when all the good stuff happens.

What Began on March 26th and Lasted Until April 1st

March 26, 2009
Today marks the beginning of our first-ever couples detox week. For one week we are going to severely cut back on our use of electronic media. We are going to complete projects we've discussed for ages. We are going to eat healthier meals at home.

"I might die, just so you know," my tech-savvy husband mentions casually over a plate of fish and whole-wheat pasta. I think to myself, a risk I may be willing to take.

Why a detox? We're not talking about a liquid-diet detox, but rather a new approach to life that will (hopefully) allow us to enjoy the little moments together, to savor hobbies that we've been ignoring, and to spruce up our disheveled home. I suggested the detox, of course. This may have been an easy guess. What you might not have expected was a willing response from my husband. I suspect that the reality of the changes we'll both have to make are just now occurring to him, part way through our first day, and that last night when he agreed so quickly he was just trying to help me feel better about the things that I've lost control over. As long as we both approach this week as a team, I'm sure we will both be fine. Perhaps we'll even be more satisfied with our lives! One can hope.



Day One

Starting, I feel a bit nervous. Already today I've found myself desiring time on social networking sites, and in the moment between focused tasks I've nearly walked to the computer, mindlessly, to begin surfing. This may be more difficult than I imagined. Josh also says he's not sure if he can do this, but that he is going to put forth the effort. He's reading as I type, which is a good sign and something that he has always loved but often neglected. I'll be thrilled if he finishes some of the books I picked up for him on my last trip home to the states.
***
We accomplished so much today, I can hardly believe our success. We moved our large bookcase to the front hallway, and I created a list of every book we own for cataloging purposes. Josh helped Matt build his new computer, adn we cooked dinner for four. The evening moved forward quickly with Trivial Pursuit and friends. To our surprise, though, it was only 8:30pm when they left- what to do with the rest of the night? We read books. What an enriching day.

Day Two

Today began with a scare- I found Trixie with what I thought was blood covering her paw, and spread over her fur and the bedspread. After fashioning a tourniquet from a washcloth, I realized that she was not bleeding. She broke through the casing of a red gel ink pen and her fur was stained, her paws still covered in the wet ink. Not blood. Trixie is lucky that she is so adorable.

Other than my eventful morning, I spent my day working and enjoying more time with friends and my husband in the evening. It was still difficult today to avoid the computer and the television, but I have already felt less compulsion to sit in front of either machine. Josh said he was able to clear his mind and relax this morning, which is apparently difficult normally because his mind is racing. One day away and he's already feeling more calm. I think we're seeing progress!

Day Three

I worked again today, so while I'm at work I feel like I'm breaking our rules because I have to use the computer to process all of my work. However, I usually let myself read online news titles during quiet times, and I've stopped doing that. Also, a co-worker almost spilled the beans regarding the outcome of an episode of a show I missed, and I asked her not to elaborate in front of me. Everyone looked at me as if I had five heads when I told them about our "detox." It's not that strange, right?

Day Four

I had so much free time today! I spent time in the kitchen pre-cutting veggies and making an Italian cream cheese spread for my sandwiches this week. I've been taking lunch to work and my body can already feel the difference. It occurs to me that if I always spent more time doing things like cutting up vegetables or pre-cooking healthy meals, it would be easier on a day-to-day basis to eat very well.

This afternoon, Kara joined me for some fun with stamping and craft products. We both made beautiful to-do lists for ourselves. It was both mentally stimulating and relaxing simultaneously. It would be so nice to be creative with friends more frequently.

I think Josh is cheating at work (he's been talking about computer parts he wants to buy that he found online... hmm) but I'll let it slide because he is still following our guidelines at home. I hope he finds this experience as rewarding as I have so far.

Day Five

We ended up cheating tonight, together, but there was a pretty good reason. We decided that the real underlying goal behind this detox is for us to do more engaging activities together. One of the things we really enjoy is watching "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and discussing the warped plot lines. There's just something about theorizing together that totally works for us, so we allowed ourselves to watch the most recent episode. Watch and discuss. We're still completely avoiding the internet at home, so this is the picture of success for the two of us. I was not sure we'd even make it this far.

Day Six

Today we made good use of our extra time and rearranged the majority of the furniture in our apartment. I am totally loving the new vibe we've created. We finally put our furniture to good use, divided spaces in a more design-centered way, and created more functional space. We've also been using this time away from our computers to negotiate the sale and purchase of electronics. We've decided to switch to a new iMac computer, and use Bootcamp as our dual-boot option. We'll sell most of our other systems to get rid of some of the clutter and time-suck the lurks around every corner of our tiny living space.

Day Seven

We ordered our new computer today! This is no April Fool's joke. If only overseas shipping didn't take so darn long. All of this time away from technology has given us some great perspective on what is important and what we enjoy. We can agree to sell things that we don't really need, and not to buy other things that will hinder us from pursuing our joint and personal goals. Our apartment has never looked better, despite the red room being unfinished. Our kitchen is clean and stocked with healthier foods. I think we both feel more at peace in our hearts and minds. Once past the initial compulsion to check every web page in my bookmarks, I felt free. This was so easy to do, I can't believe it took me this long to try.

Post Detox

I am finishing this entry a few days past the detox, but I'm going to post it on the last day of the official detox week. In retrospect, a technology detox is absolutely something I'm glad I tried. We have already made plans to detox every month for some period of time. When you enjoy technology, you can find ways to use it and apply its functionality to every aspect of your life. This can be a great organizational tool, but it can also cause you to forget about other important things. Connecting with family can end up on the back burner. Focusing your mind on one project- like reading a great book or making a card or even just cutting up vegetables- becomes so difficult when you constantly inundate your brain with the multitasking expectations of television and the internet.

I don't like myself as much when I'm addicted to technology. I don't enjoy my husband's company when his mind is stuck on the television or what he read on the internet. Returning to a more simplistic existence has done wonders for us both.

A short list of things accomplished in one week:

- Successfully completed 25 years of life. Began undertaking of 26th year.
- Wrote essays on a topic I've never studied, received high marks regardless of knowledge deficit.
- Sang ABBA songs in France and Belgium.
- Walked well over ten thousand steps per day while visiting the major tourist attractions of Paris.
- Ate a genuine Belgium waffle. Subsequently obsessed over potential frequency of visits to Belgium to consume aforementioned waffles.
- Photographed my father posed as Napoleon in front of the Butte du Lion at Waterloo.
- Saw Luxembourg while the sun was shining.
- Spent so much energy remembering French phrases that, upon return to Germany, I am still saying "oui".
- Bathed two rambunctious, unappreciative dogs.
- Discovered location of a portrait taken of my great-great-great grandfather. Potential for family history research suddenly multiplied by about one thousand percent.
- Came to realization that I'm probably too old to continue watching America's Next Top Model; also realized that I need not stop because I love reading Four Four too much to give up on the show altogether.

I will actually review our fabulous vacation, perhaps even in a timely manner, but for now I'm off to bed so I can be a productive and reliable member of society tomorrow. Being an adult has some lame points.

Improvements

I just spent about two hours trying to make improvements to this blog. I've added topic tags, so if you want to know what I consider annoying (doltishness) or how often I allude to the weather in Germany (weatherbug), those topics are but a mouse click away!

I'd really like to change the look of J&B in Germany. When you read a blog, what kinds of features do you enjoy? What kind of layout is appealing? I'm going to work on this in the coming weeks; I'd -love- to hear your suggestions.

Grüße und die Fortschreibung

OH my gosh! Where did February go so quickly? What was the hurry?

Too bad, I guess. I think February is a godforsaken month anyway. My husband celebrates his birthday today, so that marks pretty much the best day of all, and the rest seems like a waste. I probably feel this way because February weather, in my experience, is always miserable. Every day I dream about living in Austin, and about how "cold" will mean, oh, 50 degrees. Ice will scare everyone else, but not me! I'm accustomed to black ice, snow, snow coated in ice, freezing rain- the full spectrum of bad driving weather. I can clean off my car in mere seconds because I know which way to push the snow to achieve maximum vision. I will be a lion among ants when I live in a place that fears the prospect of a frost. It will be glorious.

In much more important, relevant news- today is Josh's birthday! Now we will be the same age for five days. It's an exciting time of year for us. Making things better is the upcoming visit from my family. They will arrive next Thursday, and we're planning to see Luxembourg, Brussels, Paris, and then I'll go back to work while Josh takes them to Stuttgart, Munich, and Karlsruhe. I am über-thrilled about this vacation.

I'm also thrilled that I finally got enough motivation to bookmark a special characters shortcut page. This new information allows me to tell you that Trixie's new hobby is shredding paper, and I think she may have gotten a €10 bill and destroyed the thing- that's a thirteen dollar loss! Silly dog!

A final note- my cousin Lucy started a blog focused on natural and organic beauty products, and I am a contributor on the site. I've only managed to write one review thus far, even though I have a list of about twenty items I will review in the coming months. Please take a moment to check it out; we are both pretty passionate about Toxin Free Beauty and I think the blog is shaping up to be very interesting and informative. It might save you a breakout, super-sensitive skin, or even money one day!

Tschüß!

First Snow

I always love the first satisfying snowfall of the season. It happened today, or perhaps last night is more accurate. I've been up all night, still suffering from jet lag and trying to find a way to get back on a proper schedule for this time zone. My goal today is to stay awake all day (I've been awake for about 16 hours so far) so that I can pass out soundly tonight. Wish me luck!

Now, some may know that I have been on the go recently. I spent two wonderful weeks visiting family and friends in the states. If I missed you this trip, I'm sorry. I was thankful for the time I had and the people I saw, but there are always more places and faces I long for when the journey is through. Many thanks to Margaret, who selflessly traveled to the middle-of-nowhere in central Pennsylvania to spend time with me. We did visit Baltimore's inner harbor, and the historic areas of Philadelphia, so hopefully the time in the country was not too prolonged or boring! I love going to Carlisle for the beauty, but I will admit that I become incredibly tired of the slow pace before long. I guess I'm just a city person at heart- for this portion of my life, at least.

I do submit my apologies for the tardiness of the Ireland posts. The photos are all available on our picasa page, but I have yet to focus my thoughts and type them out into coherent sentences. Currently I look at photos and experience a series of excited thoughts, like "ooh!" and "beautiful!" and "let's go back!" These do not a travel blog make.

A few more pieces of news... I was told that the right-hand pain waking me up and causing me to be a walking zombie for the past weeks is actually carpal tunnel syndrome. People say I'm too young for it, or how did I get it; I don't disagree and I don't have a clear answer. I'll just say that if you look at my life activities- working in offices and coffee shops, playing the piano, writing, using the computer- it is not extraordinary that I have this problem. Thankfully, with the support of a restrictive brace while I sleep or do repetitive activities, my symptoms are nearly gone.

Josh took an important new class last month and was named the honor grad for the session, which will mean a temporary duty trip to California if the funding is approved. I'm so proud of him and excited; he'll make it to California before I do, and that is a feat considering my ravenous desire for travel.

I'm looking for master's program both online and with satellite military campuses. I hope to go back to school next year. I have also come up with an idea for a book, and while I need to do a good amount of research (hopefully no-one else has already written what I am considering), I am excited by the prospect of a long-term project.

Lastly, and most exciting is the news that we will be adding a new member to our family this weekend. We are adopting a second beagle, a 20-month-old girl named Trixie. We may try to modify her name. She is beautiful and sweet and Maggie plays with her so eagerly. We are thrilled to finally have found a pet who will be a good fit with our family, and I can barely wait for her to arrive. Of course, I will post photos as soon as we get her settled.

Until then, ciao!

So Much to Blog

The holiday is over, and now I must organize my many thoughts into intelligible blog entries! In the coming days, look for a full review of our very first experiences in Ireland. For the time being, a very hearty endorsement of the beautiful island, welcoming people, and delicious food, must suffice.

In shorter news, we finally have our brand-new car. Our very first new car! In case you missed the earlier notes, it is a 2009 Ford Focus, and it's completely fabulous. It handles smoothly, is spacious, includes some sweet technologies, and the best feature- it is shiny and new. Now we can each get to our respective work places without the constant hassle, and without begging people for rides all the time. Josh can finally pull his weight in the carpool again. Thanks to those who put up with our vehicular shortcomings in the past few months!

Much more to come, as I have so many thoughts to blog, but so little energy with which to type. Working opening shift at the coffee shop will do that to a person.

Obviously I've been busy, or I would have updated this blog a week ago! After six long, painfully-unemployed months, I'm finally a member of the workforce once again. I'm making "individually handcrafted" drinks at the new coffee shop at the Enlisted Club. So far, so good! Mostly I'm thankful to be out of my apartment sometimes, to have a way to meet people and earn some extra money. Coffee is not my career choice, but it's kind of nice to know that I've developed a skill that can be a side job at any time in my life. Thanks to 7th Street Starbucks for my education. :o)

Along those lines, it looks like we'll be keeping Josh's Honda. It's going to be too much hassle for both of us to work with only one car. If his schedule were more average we could probably figure something out. As it stands, we need the car at conflicting times. The vicious cycle begins- you want a job, so you need a car, and then you need your job to keep the car. I hate cars so much. In the end, I hate being unemployed more, so we'll own two cars.

Like so many others, we've been enjoying various Olympic competitions. We have yet to catch the gymnastics! Mostly, we've watched water sports- swimming, diving, water polo, and lots of rowing. I caught some of the equestrian events; Germany took a gold medal in one division. We also saw that GREAT basketball game between the US and Spain! I've never been very interested in sports, so watching Kobe for the first time was really eye-opening for me. He is an incredible athlete! So fast! So good a slam dunking! Did I mention, fast?! I actually enjoyed that game, especially the first half, when the score was very close.

Speaking of the Olympics, my little brother (Tim) looks like Phelps!

Phelps

My brother.

Well, I swear he looks more like Phelps than this picture makes it seem. They have very different noses, but Tim tends to let his hair get all messy, and he looks older now (the photo of him is from last December).

Maggie is finally getting to run free over here, thanks to a few friends with backyards. She's also getting to be more socialized with other dogs. It's so great to see her running around at full speed (and gosh, is she fast!), chasing sticks and digging holes and being a hound. She's also much more vocal about things now; she's been barking on and off the entire time I've been typing. She doesn't get the "mom's working" concept. It's all about her, all the time. :o)
Here, she's getting some help before a walk. We've also discovered that she HATES to be wet, and I don't just mean after a bath. She and I have been stuck in a few rain showers during walks, and I've never seen her so angry with me! Being wet is obviously not cool.

I can't think of anything else to write, so I'll stop. If Josh has something to share, he'll do it soon. Take care!

Goings-On

Josh has been working a lot lately. His training days are longer than ever. It's getting to the point that I feel I hardly see him! Thank goodness the mids-shift is almost over; only a few weeks more!

We're most likely buying a new car. Ack! It's a 2009 Ford Focus, dark metallic gray, with lots of great features.

It's a four-door car; we're trying to prepare for down-the-road things, if you know what I mean. I'm both excited and nervous. This is the first new vehicle I've ever purchased; in fact, it's only the second vehicle I'll have owned. It's also the biggest thing we've ever purchased together!

Our two-year anniversary is just a few days away. I don't know if we'll do anything on the day; Josh works of course. We are making plans for a trip to Dublin in mid-September to celebrate.

I've been trying to navigate the rough waters of employment, through the Air Force. They are so disorganized, and this is the most work I've ever done to get a job. The dumbest thing is that it's not even a great job; it's just part-time work at a coffee shop so I'm not home alone all the time. I basically have to fill out the application for a security clearance (listing the exact locations I've lived in for the last seven years; every school I've attended; every job I've had including periods of unemployment; people's middle names, etc)just to work in a coffee shop!! And I have to get a physical, but the office in charge didn't have a doctor and wasn't expecting one until September, so they had me calling all of these other places. When I tried to explain that Occupational Health didn't have a physician, I kept getting the run-around; no, call this person or that person. It took a week of phone calls to finally discover that Occupational Health had 1) given me the wrong appointment date for paperwork (I have no way to get there b/c Josh works) and 2) actually was in charge of getting my physical set up after we completed the paperwork. I can't wait to just have the job and be done with all of this!

Let's see, what else? I got a hair cut, Josh has me completely addicted to Scrubs, and Maggie is cute as always. This was probably a pretty boring blog to read; I apologize! Take care!

Christmas come early (and other things)

So, you're probably wondering why Christmas came early. Well, I got an XBox 360 last week! I love it. I can't do everything with it that it can do yet, but I hope that I'll be able to soon. I'm still really happy about it, though, because I've been wanting one so long. If you have an XBox 360, let me know what you're gamer tag is, and I'll send you a message when I get online.

In other news, Becky is leaving for the States soon. She's going to be there for a few weeks, so I'm pretty much going to be by myself for a little bit. I hope she has fun though! She leaves in the middle of my next set on, which kind of stinks, but I really think she needs to go back for a little bit, so she can see some people/relatives that she didn't get to see before she left. I would like to go too, but I can't.

I also have a story to tell. Becky, a couple friends of ours, and I went to downtown K-town to see the carnival. While we were there, I went on a ride that flipped upside down. A lot. And what should happen during the last set of flips, but, of course, my PHONE should fall out of my pocket, where I forgot it was! When it came out, the back came off, and the rest fell, mid-flip, to its DOOM! Fortunately, it wasn't quite the doom I had thought. I went up to the counter, and they went to look for the phone. They came back with it, sans the battery, which is kind of important. So I get home, and try to order another one online, but they don't ship to APO addresses (even though their web-site says they do!) So, I called my Dad, who I thought could get me a replacement battery for my phone. As it turns out, he can (thanks, Dad), when he gets back from Mexico in a week. So I had to hunt down an über-old phone that I'm now happy I didn't get rid of. So, yeah, that's my story.

Last but not least, when Becky comes back from the States, she'll have the supplement check from the IRS. So, hopefully, with a little extra saving, we'll get a new TV when she comes back! Yea, HDTV!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, on to the travel portion of my post. Recently, we went to Stuttgart, which was cool, although, kind of an odyssey. We kept getting turned around, and semi-lost, which is fun. Especially with another car following you around (full of friends, not stalkers). But we eventually got everywhere we needed to go, and we ended up staying the night in a hotel there. We walked around downtown with our friends, and saw the castles there, along with the museum in one of them. The next day, Becky and I went to another castle there, which was away from the city proper, which was nice and calm. Before that though, we went to the Mercedes-Benz museum, which was sweet. I got a whole bunch of awesome pics, which are on our picture site, so you should all go see them. After the castle, we started home. And proceeded into yet another odyssey, through the smallest, curviest roads in all of Germany, Thankfully we ended up home all right.

Well I think that's all for now. I'll talk to you all later. Leave some comments.

Long time, no blog

Well, sorry it's been so long. We probably won't gain any faithful readers with such sporadic blogging habits, but please stick around for a bit!

We have been quite busy for the last few weeks. Highlights...

-We purchased our bowling balls and shoes. I don't remember if I already wrote about this, so sorry if there is repetition.

-Went to IKEA with Steve and Kara, and drove in a huge 9-passenger van with the back seats removed b/c all moving trucks were rented out for the day. We named the van Maude. The day was beautiful, so we had a lovely drive through the German countryside. At Ikea, we spent a ridiculous amount of money, but we now have a real bed, two new desks, two bookcases, a headboard, and an end table. It was worth the trip and the cost. The work of getting everything to the fourth floor was awful, and it took a long time to put everything together... but still, it was worth it.

-Josh found out that he is not being switched to another squad at this time. Mids are coming up, but we prefer that to... frustration. I'll leave it at that.

-We bought the exercise bike we've been drooling over for a few months, and it is wonderful!

-The trees here seem to be more bright and green than I've ever seen before. Seriously, they practically glow. It's impressive! Also, I've managed to keep four potted herbs alive for about 2.5 months, and so far my orchid has lasted about two weeks. This is really good, for my track record.

-We are going to babysit some friend's kids for the first time tomorrow. I'm pretty excited, and a little bit nervous.

-And lastly, there are only 30 days until I head west for three weeks of fun. :o)

Please let us know what you're up to! We miss hearing from people!

Short Updates

Hello all, just a few notes since we haven't written in over a week, I believe.

~ Our car is confirmed as "in transit," which means it's somewhere on the Atlantic, most likely.

~ We may take our trip to Ikea tomorrow, although it's hard to go through with it because the exchange rate is so awful.

~ We are doing another 5K this Saturday! Hopefully we will each improve upon our times.

~ There is only one cardboard box left in our apartment. There are lots of things strewn about the floors, however. This is mostly the case in the red room. The trip to Ikea will fix the problem.

~ Auto insurance is a huge rip-off over here. You have to insure your vehicle for over 2 million EURO. Nuts!

~ Josh improved his qualification score at the latest range, so kudos to him! He also got this (funny-looking) new badge for his uniform because he's been doing his job for a while, or something. Either way, two new things for the uni, sweet. Way to go, babe!

~ I (Becky) am headed back the the states in just a few weeks. I'll be in IL, PA, NJ, MD, and possibly OH. This will be for a good portion of the month of June. Let me know if you are around so I can visit you!

I think that's all for now. Of course I'll put any photos from our second 5K on our page. Who knows, if we get our act together on this set off (Josh's days off) we might even set up our master web page, with links to all of these other pages. It will probably be easier to just remember one page to visit, instead of multiple things. Don't you think?

Bowling, again

An exciting update- the painting is finished! We have only 8 more boxes to unpack!

We went bowling again today, and once again we had a wonderful time. Took a few photos, so we'll post those later. We are talking about buying ourselves some bowling shoes... it would make sense if we do continue to play as often as we'd like.

It has been snowing on and off, quite a lot. Almost every day we get complete ground cover, and then within a few hours it's sunny and the snow melts away. The other day it was literally a thunderstorm, but instead of pouring rain it was pouring snow and hail! There was lighting, thunder, and the snow was coming down faster than I've ever seen before!

Other than getting our apartment together and occasional outings with friends, usually to the grocery store, we're pretty boring people right now. Not enough time in the day to do exciting travel and whatnot. That will change once we have a vehicle, and can go explore on a whim. For now, I guess it's good that we're stuck at home- it ensures that we clean it up and get it organized! I can't wait to be able to bring Maggie over here. Every time I set up an area of the apartment, I think about where her things will go, and how she might use the space. She really is our baby! :o)

Tschüss for now!

Unpacking

I just want to point out that unpacking boxes is really lame. This is especially true when your movers pack food that they are not supposed to send overseas, and then you have to sort through the items that are still safe to eat and find a way to discard the rest, all the while feeling really guilty because you could probably feed a village with the expired Bisquick you're finding.

Overall, our belongings are in pretty good shape. There are a few things that have been damaged- our mattress, for example- but at least the dishes and glasses made it safely. Sadly, the items that were broken were mostly things that had some kind of intrinsic value. The beautiful photograph my sister framed for us for our wedding is bent, the glass shattered and all over other items. The hand-carved wooden manatee we got on our honeymoon in Belize is missing appendages. I don't know if they'll give us the "replacement value" of these items, which really bums me out. I don't care very much about generic stuff, but I do like to collect things that remind me of places I've been, and when those things are ruined it makes me sad.

In the time I've taken to type this entry (and I am fast), the sky has gone from blue and sunny, to cloudy. It's snowing and windy. The weather here is even more fickle than Maryland!

We have finished painting one room! Now we need to paint our bedroom. The paint was expensive, but we're hoping it will be worth it to feel comfortable in our home for a few years. (Just gone to blizzard-like conditions!) Personally, I'm getting a bit tired of feeling like "home" is just a transient location. I know that is part of life as a young adult, especially in the military, but it's nice to try to fool yourself into a sense of permanence.

Also, we realized that I may be able to sing in the Wooster Chorus Alumni concert this June. An extra week in the U.S. would allow me to travel to Ohio before Margaret's wedding. As I don't have a job yet, it seems reasonable to plan for these things that are important to me. Concert in Wooster, wedding in Chicago, and family week at the New Jersey shore. Then, bringing Maggie with me back to Germany. All good things. Josh will have to practice cooking a bit more before I go. :o)

Tell us how YOU are doing! We really love to hear from people!

Heidelberg

What a fun and exhausting 24 hours we have had!

We decided, along with the Heards, that is was high time we got some train action and got out of "little America". Last night, we stayed at their place so we could make an early departure. We planned to go to Stuttgart for the day.

Plans often change, yes? :o) Our departure was a bit later than idealized, but no harm in that. We prepped warm clothes, guidebooks, and snacks for the journey. We thought it silly (and perhaps unwise) to leave the car at the train station all day, so instead we walked from base (which is on a small mountain) to the station. The excellent German train system allows for weekend passes for small groups, and up to five people may travel an unlimited amount for three days, for only 26 euro. If you are unfamiliar with train travel, that is a smashing deal.

On the way to Kaiserslautern- the first, very short leg of our journey- we got some annoying news from Josh and Matt's company, and feared that they may be called back to work within hours. Time to revise the plan! As it turned out, our train cards were really only for the Rheinland-Pfalz area (which is where we live) and Stuttgart is well within Baden-Wurtemburg, our neighbor to the southeast. Easily solved! We decided to continue only to Heidelberg. (For those of you who know your German geography- we luckily didn't have any problems at that distance with our territory-specific weekend pass.)


We arrived in Heidelberg mid-morning and began our walk toward the castle. Our guidebook suggested a walking path through the pedestrian area in the old city, and by following it we were able to see some beautiful historic landmarks. Notable was the Jesuit church, whose facade was an impressive presence. They just remodeled their organ and are having its first concert tomorrow. Along the main pedestrian strip, we found lots of delicious-looking baked goods, traditional German restaurants, as well as some interesting shops. Katie was excited about finding a Starbucks- her first in nearly a year- so of course we made a little stop. It was nice to rest the feet and it also made me happy to notice differences and similarities between a European Starbucks and my former place of employment.

Luckily for us, Katie was also excited to see a great little shop called "Lush," which I soon learned makes all-natural and organic bath and body products. It is similar in intention to a Body Shop, but feels much more home-grown and artsy. It was fun for all of us (except maybe Matt was a bit bored) to look at the bath bombs, the butter soaps and jelly soaps, and to smell all of the concoctions. In the end, we each opted for a sale grab-bag of items, and discovering what we'd purchased gave us something to look forward to for the train ride home.

The Alte Brucke (old bridge) crosses the Rhine, and of course we took in the scenery of lovely Heidelberg from its span. Next, we tackled the biggest challenge of all- climbing the ridiculous hill leading to the castle. It was quite a difficult climb, especially considering the cold and our numbing limbs, but it was well worth it in the end. The view is completely astounding. The castle itself is an interesting mix of period archetecture, and I was confused by what seemed to be neoclassical add-ons. The Heards have loaned us a book on the Heidelberg castle, so I can figure out why the architecture was so very diverse and learn move of its history. Interestingly, Josh and I kept stumbling upon sort of Freemason symbolism- a sort of game we play, try to spot the symbols. We ate some schnitzel at a cafe behind the castle and then wandered for a bit in the gardens. Soon after, we realized that the sun was going down and we still had quite a walk to complete.

By the time we reached Landstuhl again, we had walked an estimated 5-6 miles! No wonder we are all aching so badly! But we enjoyed a great day of exploring, allowing ourselves to get lost just the right amount so as to allow for discovery and fun. We have some wonderful photos, but as of now I have no way to transfer my pictures to my laptop. We'll let you all know when we've got that figured out.

And now it's late and my body is tired, but my mind is reeling with all of the excitement of travel. It was especially meaningful because I know it was Josh's first real trip in Europe. I couldn't help but feel so lucky all day, because unlike the last time that I lived in Europe, I don't have the sense of urgency. I feel like we can enjoy these countries, enjoy this rich history and beauty, and it's not going to be taken from us any time soon.

We can't wait for you to come and share these experiences with us!

OH, IN OTHER QUICK NEWS- we found an apartment that we LOVE and we will be moving in next Thursday. Excellent!

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If you want to contact us by mail we have an APO mailbox now. I'm not going to say what it is here but you can email us here with a request for the address, and we will send you the address in a reply as soon as we can. Thanks.

p.s. If you don't have your computer set up to use "mailto"'s, don't worry, just take a peek at the address line, and that's where the link would send the email to.