Saturday, February 26, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
German Travels
This past week, Tyler and I went on a marriage retreat, which took place in Garmisch. Garmisch is located right by the Alps. If you're a skier or snowboarder, this is really the place for you! (Too bad Tyler and I aren't haha).
The retreat itself was ok. I mean, I did get to meet new people/make new friends and spend some quality time with my hubby, but other than that, it really wasn't for us. It was designed for people basically on the brink of divorce. Now, it's always a good idea to work on your marriage and I'm not saying I didn't get anything out of the retreat, it just got a little preachy. Plus, we had to watch the movie Fireproof starring Kirk Cameron. Gross. But hey, lodging was free, most of our meals were free and Tyler treated me to a massage. :)
Thursday afternoon, once the retreat was over, we headed to the city of Regensburg. Like most of you reading this post, I had never heard of the city. I found out that it is located right on the Danube River, that it was the furtherst point north of the Roman Empire and the old stone bridge that crosses the Danube was used in the Crusades. How cool is this city!? It is also a very diverse city that is open to all sorts of people and religions. So we spent the night and went exploring more on Friday. Oh, I forgot to mention, right before we left Regensburg, we drove to the Walhalla, which is a replica of the Pantheon. We got there 20 minutes after it was closed, but it was still neat to look at.
Friday we then drove to Munich to visit our family friends there. They are always the most hospitable people. We had lots of wine, lots of food and a very relaxing weekend with them and their dogs. Monday morning, it was back to reality. Sigh.
Thus I digress...that's all I have about our past week's travels. Pictures soon! Have a great day :)
The retreat itself was ok. I mean, I did get to meet new people/make new friends and spend some quality time with my hubby, but other than that, it really wasn't for us. It was designed for people basically on the brink of divorce. Now, it's always a good idea to work on your marriage and I'm not saying I didn't get anything out of the retreat, it just got a little preachy. Plus, we had to watch the movie Fireproof starring Kirk Cameron. Gross. But hey, lodging was free, most of our meals were free and Tyler treated me to a massage. :)
Thursday afternoon, once the retreat was over, we headed to the city of Regensburg. Like most of you reading this post, I had never heard of the city. I found out that it is located right on the Danube River, that it was the furtherst point north of the Roman Empire and the old stone bridge that crosses the Danube was used in the Crusades. How cool is this city!? It is also a very diverse city that is open to all sorts of people and religions. So we spent the night and went exploring more on Friday. Oh, I forgot to mention, right before we left Regensburg, we drove to the Walhalla, which is a replica of the Pantheon. We got there 20 minutes after it was closed, but it was still neat to look at.
Friday we then drove to Munich to visit our family friends there. They are always the most hospitable people. We had lots of wine, lots of food and a very relaxing weekend with them and their dogs. Monday morning, it was back to reality. Sigh.
Thus I digress...that's all I have about our past week's travels. Pictures soon! Have a great day :)
Sunday, February 13, 2011
SNAPS Class: Day 5
On Friday we were supposed to go to Bamburg, but since our leader got sick, the new one that took over knew Würzburg better, so we went there via train. I love Würzburg. We had such a great time exploring the city and practicing our German. For reference, Würzburg is about 30 minutes away from where we live. After breakfast at a wonderful bakery, the guides gave us a quick tour of the city, told us where to meet, and let us go explore the city. I went around with 3 other women. Man, did we have a great time! We had some lunch at a local bar, explored churches, found tourist information and went shopping. We also had some great conversation. I really like these women :)
Thus, I digress, Würzburg is an amazing city that everyone needs to visit. Enjoy some pictures below!
Thus, I digress, Würzburg is an amazing city that everyone needs to visit. Enjoy some pictures below!
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| Würzburg :) |
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| Such a beautiful city |
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| Most of the group, plus some husbands, listening to one of the guides talk about Würzburg. |
Saturday, February 12, 2011
SNAPS Class: Day 4
On Thursday, we learned how to take the bus and went from base to downtown. We walked around the city and got a quick tour of everything important and were realized to go explore for ourselves. It was a really fun time to hang out with some girls, chat, eat, shop...you know. A group of us ended up going to the mall and of that group 4 of us had the most amazing sushi! It was set up in the traditional conveyor belt style and had two levels! It's almost like the image below, but it was covered in glass and had two levels. The staff there was so nice and helpful as well!
After our delicious sushi, we walked around the mall some more, then left and made our way to H&M. I of course had to buy some leggins and a new sweater. How can you not get anything there? haha. To end our trip we went to the backery to get some treats and bread. mmmm. What a great way to end the day huh? After that, we headed back to base where I hung out with my new friend Gabby until Tyler got off work.
Now, here's the funny thing about that. Gabby and I hung out at her place for awhile, then headed over to the library to get some books. After that, she had to leave to meet some people and I went to the computers there where I saw another girl from our class, Aimee. Turns out she lived close to me and could pick me up the next day to go to the train station! Success! Usually Tyler would come home to drive me, but getting me soemwhere by 8:30, was going to be impossible for him. Aimee then left and I was still waiting for Tyler. His meeting was at 5, but it was now pushing 5:40...where was he? Then I got a call from him. He had already gone home and realized I had not come back via taxi. Oops. Yup, that's right, he forgot me. I even sent him a reminder text! Fail Tyler. Once he came to get me we splurged and got some Pizza and girl scout cookies. :)
Thus, I digress...it was all and all a good day :)
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| via site |
Now, here's the funny thing about that. Gabby and I hung out at her place for awhile, then headed over to the library to get some books. After that, she had to leave to meet some people and I went to the computers there where I saw another girl from our class, Aimee. Turns out she lived close to me and could pick me up the next day to go to the train station! Success! Usually Tyler would come home to drive me, but getting me soemwhere by 8:30, was going to be impossible for him. Aimee then left and I was still waiting for Tyler. His meeting was at 5, but it was now pushing 5:40...where was he? Then I got a call from him. He had already gone home and realized I had not come back via taxi. Oops. Yup, that's right, he forgot me. I even sent him a reminder text! Fail Tyler. Once he came to get me we splurged and got some Pizza and girl scout cookies. :)
Thus, I digress...it was all and all a good day :)
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
SNAPS Class: Days 2 and 3
Yesterday, Tuesday, was a really fun day! We took a bus tour of the perimeter of the city to see where the hospitals were, the wild animal park, the water park, etc. Then, we got to go shopping. We went to some of the coolest home stores! Plus side, they were fairly cheep! I'm definitely going to have to take Tyler back to some of them. Most of the group at the restaurant in the first store, XXXL, and you know what? I had to order and help people figure out things, because I'm the one who knows the most German besides our leader. It was kind of cool. :) I felt like my minimal German was finally paying off. After all of that wlking around and shopping we went back to base. I hung out with a girl I met in the class until Tyler got off work and could take me home.
Today, we were in the classroom again. We learned about the intense recycling you must do here, mail services, Family Advocacy Program, Family Readiness Groups and Deployment Readiness, Women Infant and Children Group, EDIS (Educational Developmental Intervention Services), Community Spouses club, Resiliency Training and ACS resources . It was all very informative, but I must admit, at times I did get bored. Ah well. Such is life. I did learn a lot today.
There is such a different variety of women and one man, from all parts of the U.S. and all different ages. The oldest in the group said the other day that she has grand kids, but she doesn't look a day over 37. I guess you age well in the south. The youngest is almost 19, and very mature for her age. And no, she didn't get married because she was pregnant. I really enjoy these people and hope to become friends with at least some of them.
Thus, I digress and will leave you to enjoy your day. More tomorrow! :)
Today, we were in the classroom again. We learned about the intense recycling you must do here, mail services, Family Advocacy Program, Family Readiness Groups and Deployment Readiness, Women Infant and Children Group, EDIS (Educational Developmental Intervention Services), Community Spouses club, Resiliency Training and ACS resources . It was all very informative, but I must admit, at times I did get bored. Ah well. Such is life. I did learn a lot today.
There is such a different variety of women and one man, from all parts of the U.S. and all different ages. The oldest in the group said the other day that she has grand kids, but she doesn't look a day over 37. I guess you age well in the south. The youngest is almost 19, and very mature for her age. And no, she didn't get married because she was pregnant. I really enjoy these people and hope to become friends with at least some of them.
Thus, I digress and will leave you to enjoy your day. More tomorrow! :)
Monday, February 7, 2011
SNAPS Class: Day 1
So I started out last night not wanting to go to SNAPS (----------- Newcomer Awareness Program for Spouses) class. Why? I have no idea. There was no real logical explanation, I just didn't want to go. I guess to some degree I was nervous, but I don't know...for some reason I just didn't want to go. I just knew I had to though. And sure enough, I had a pretty good time. When Tyler picked me up at one I couldn't shut up about it.
We learned about anti-terrorism, volunteering and employment on base, the chapel and what it has to offer, the Garrison Colonel came, and much more. More importantly I met some pretty cool women and one guy. Yup, he's the only guy in the class! Good for him! :) I learned a lot today, even if some was boring, I did learn a lot. And you know what? I'm glad I went. This is shaping up to be a great week.
Thus, I digress. Happy Monday everyone! :)
P.S. We're almost done building all our IKEA furniture! woot!
We learned about anti-terrorism, volunteering and employment on base, the chapel and what it has to offer, the Garrison Colonel came, and much more. More importantly I met some pretty cool women and one guy. Yup, he's the only guy in the class! Good for him! :) I learned a lot today, even if some was boring, I did learn a lot. And you know what? I'm glad I went. This is shaping up to be a great week.
Thus, I digress. Happy Monday everyone! :)
P.S. We're almost done building all our IKEA furniture! woot!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
The 2011 Academy Awards aka the Oscars
Most of you don't this but, I am OBSESSED with the Oscars. I enjoy most award shows, but the Oscars, well, they're MY show. I've watched them most of my life, but I remember starting to religiously watch them in middle school. I even watch what people call the stupid or boring awards, i.e. filming editing, sound editing, sound mixing, etc.
My second year in college, I was getting ready to watch the 2008 Oscars when my mom called. She called to tell me that the Dallas ABC affiliate station was having a contest to win bleacher seats on the red carpet for the next Oscars. All you had to do was watch the Oscars on TV and fill out a sheet. I figured that I wouldn't win, but hey, worth a try right? It's simple enough, right? I mean, I watch the Oscars anyway. So I watch the Oscars, fill out the sheet and hit submit. A few months later I receive a call from them...I won the contest! WHAT?! I never had won anything from a contest! I was stoked, yet totally didn't believe the lady. She told me all about it and that I would be receiving stuff from the Academy of Arts and Sciences in the mail. Only me dream! She then had to tell me that the bad news was airfare and hotel was not included. I then told her that it's ok because I went to school about 45 minutes to an hour from Hollywood.
By November, I had to tell them who was going with me and then we both had to send in information about ourselves, submit to a background check and send two passport size photos. Worth it? Duh! So you all know, I decided to take one of my best friends, Joelle.
A few months before you get another packet in the mail with a map and information telling you where to go and what time to get there. We had to be there at about 10 or 11 am I think. You check in, they give you your badge, go through security, get provided breakfast and some free stuff! woohoo. You sit there until 3 when the celebrities start arriving, that's when the real action starts! I saw and took pictures of soooo many celebrities! Oh man. I was so happy. :)
After the red carpet portion is done, they move you to the El Capitan Theater to watch the Oscars and get dinner. I was so ecstatic. :)
Joelle and I loved doing this so much, that we had to find out how to do it again. Later that year, she entered us in to the raffle to see if we could get seats, and sure enough we won! How lucky are we!?
So, last year for the 2010 Oscars, Joelle, myself, one of our best friends Carrie and Joelle's mom had tickets for the red carpet bleacher seats. Life was good. We had better seats I think. We were right where Mary Hart, Mario Lopez and others would interview people. Once it all got started, Carrie got George Clooney's Autograph!!!! I was so excited for her and jealous at the same time! haha. Oh Carrie. After that was done, like the year before, we headed to the El Capitan to watch the Oscars. :)
I honestly feel so blessed to have been able to have red carpet bleacher seats twice! I thought once was amazing, but twice?! Wow. Who, besides Joelle, can say they have won seats to the red carpet bleachers twice?! Next goal, getting in to the Oscars. :p
This year, per tradition, I will watch the Oscars and try and predict who will win. But my predictions are going to be another post for a different time.haha. I am going to have to watch the Oscars a day late or more because I'm in Germany. It's hurts me a little. I've like never had to watch them late. Sigh. Ah well.
Thus I digress, and will leave you with the nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards:
http://www.imdb.com/features/oscars/2011/nominations
http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/83/nominees.html
My second year in college, I was getting ready to watch the 2008 Oscars when my mom called. She called to tell me that the Dallas ABC affiliate station was having a contest to win bleacher seats on the red carpet for the next Oscars. All you had to do was watch the Oscars on TV and fill out a sheet. I figured that I wouldn't win, but hey, worth a try right? It's simple enough, right? I mean, I watch the Oscars anyway. So I watch the Oscars, fill out the sheet and hit submit. A few months later I receive a call from them...I won the contest! WHAT?! I never had won anything from a contest! I was stoked, yet totally didn't believe the lady. She told me all about it and that I would be receiving stuff from the Academy of Arts and Sciences in the mail. Only me dream! She then had to tell me that the bad news was airfare and hotel was not included. I then told her that it's ok because I went to school about 45 minutes to an hour from Hollywood.
By November, I had to tell them who was going with me and then we both had to send in information about ourselves, submit to a background check and send two passport size photos. Worth it? Duh! So you all know, I decided to take one of my best friends, Joelle.
A few months before you get another packet in the mail with a map and information telling you where to go and what time to get there. We had to be there at about 10 or 11 am I think. You check in, they give you your badge, go through security, get provided breakfast and some free stuff! woohoo. You sit there until 3 when the celebrities start arriving, that's when the real action starts! I saw and took pictures of soooo many celebrities! Oh man. I was so happy. :)
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| Joelle and I at the Red Carpet! Oscars 2009 |
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| Where we were sitting. We saw the celebrities and other people get out of their cars and go in to this tent, aka their security. |
After the red carpet portion is done, they move you to the El Capitan Theater to watch the Oscars and get dinner. I was so ecstatic. :)
Joelle and I loved doing this so much, that we had to find out how to do it again. Later that year, she entered us in to the raffle to see if we could get seats, and sure enough we won! How lucky are we!?
So, last year for the 2010 Oscars, Joelle, myself, one of our best friends Carrie and Joelle's mom had tickets for the red carpet bleacher seats. Life was good. We had better seats I think. We were right where Mary Hart, Mario Lopez and others would interview people. Once it all got started, Carrie got George Clooney's Autograph!!!! I was so excited for her and jealous at the same time! haha. Oh Carrie. After that was done, like the year before, we headed to the El Capitan to watch the Oscars. :)
I honestly feel so blessed to have been able to have red carpet bleacher seats twice! I thought once was amazing, but twice?! Wow. Who, besides Joelle, can say they have won seats to the red carpet bleachers twice?! Next goal, getting in to the Oscars. :p
This year, per tradition, I will watch the Oscars and try and predict who will win. But my predictions are going to be another post for a different time.haha. I am going to have to watch the Oscars a day late or more because I'm in Germany. It's hurts me a little. I've like never had to watch them late. Sigh. Ah well.
Thus I digress, and will leave you with the nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards:
http://www.imdb.com/features/oscars/2011/nominations
http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/83/nominees.html
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Oh Germany, how you amaze, er, I mean, confuse me.
So, Tyler and I went to IKEA this past weekend to buy some more furniture and stuff for our place. I love IKEA so much. Words cannot truly express how much I love this store. Moving on, surprisingly IKEA is generally cheaper here than in the states, even with the exchange rate. Weird huh? Not that either of us minded of course.
Once we got all our furniture on to the carts, we went up to the cashier, she rang everything up and then said the total. Tyler hands her a credit card and she's like, I can't accept this, only bank cards. So he tries a debit card...she's like no, that's the same. And Tyler was like, well, then we can't pay. How embarrassing. Then she's like, well, there's an ATM around the corner. We move everything to the side and I stand with it while he gets cash, which took awhile. Ugh. Then we can finally pay. See, lots of stores in Germany don't take visa/mastercard credit or debit cards, they only take bank cards (which is some German thing) and cash. I mean, we figured it out, but man, do people just pay cash at IKEA!? It was the weirdest thing. After that we waited in the transportation line to get these things shipped. They're coming Thursday wooo. Needless to say, we were at Ikea almost 4 hours, which normally I wouldn't mind, but we were in lines for a decent portion. Ah well. At least we got our stuff! :)
Now, I totally understand the no debut card thing. I know ours are made differently than ones in Europe, but no credit cards? I mean, H&M and most restaurants even take credit cards. What's the deal IKEA? Maybe Germans just don't over spend? ha. Who knows. Anyway, I'm excited that our apartment is finally coming together and starting to look and feel like home. We're going to some other stores this weekend to get rugs and more decorative items. I can't wait! I love decorating. After we get everything up I'll start taking pictures of our place, and then we can finally have people over!
Next week I have my SNAPS (----------- Newcomer Awareness Program for Spouses) class. It's the whole week and we go over stuff like what base has to offer, employment opportunities, how to take the bus, where things are located in our city, and the final day we have a day trip to some nearby city. Not sure which city yet, but I hear it's fun. I'm actually looking forward to this class, my only wish is that it's not to boring. haha. I also wish I could've done the one in January, but alas, it was full before I found out about these. Also, I would've still been in Rome for the first two days of it. I will be sure to let you guys know how it goes! Hopefully it will be fun and I'll learn a lot.
And finally, I'll leave you with this...this is the longest I've ever kept writing somewhere. I'm being serious, and I'm glad I'm actually physically writing stuff down. Usually I just "write" in my head. I know, I know, I sound crazy, but it's true. I always "write" stuff in my head. Whether it be stories, my life, a blog/diary type entry...it usually all goes in my head and nowhere tangible. I tried to keep a diary in middle school, that lasted like a month. Then I found it a few months later and tried again, ha. I had a Xanga in high school. Again, didn't update it or did those stupid quizzes. Then, I tried to write while Tyler was deployed. Failed at that as well. I really wish I would've been better at writing while he was deployed. I think that could've really helped someone in the future. Oh well. Maybe I'll try and recall those memories. We'll see.
Thus, I digress. Have a good day everyone :)
Once we got all our furniture on to the carts, we went up to the cashier, she rang everything up and then said the total. Tyler hands her a credit card and she's like, I can't accept this, only bank cards. So he tries a debit card...she's like no, that's the same. And Tyler was like, well, then we can't pay. How embarrassing. Then she's like, well, there's an ATM around the corner. We move everything to the side and I stand with it while he gets cash, which took awhile. Ugh. Then we can finally pay. See, lots of stores in Germany don't take visa/mastercard credit or debit cards, they only take bank cards (which is some German thing) and cash. I mean, we figured it out, but man, do people just pay cash at IKEA!? It was the weirdest thing. After that we waited in the transportation line to get these things shipped. They're coming Thursday wooo. Needless to say, we were at Ikea almost 4 hours, which normally I wouldn't mind, but we were in lines for a decent portion. Ah well. At least we got our stuff! :)
Now, I totally understand the no debut card thing. I know ours are made differently than ones in Europe, but no credit cards? I mean, H&M and most restaurants even take credit cards. What's the deal IKEA? Maybe Germans just don't over spend? ha. Who knows. Anyway, I'm excited that our apartment is finally coming together and starting to look and feel like home. We're going to some other stores this weekend to get rugs and more decorative items. I can't wait! I love decorating. After we get everything up I'll start taking pictures of our place, and then we can finally have people over!
Next week I have my SNAPS (----------- Newcomer Awareness Program for Spouses) class. It's the whole week and we go over stuff like what base has to offer, employment opportunities, how to take the bus, where things are located in our city, and the final day we have a day trip to some nearby city. Not sure which city yet, but I hear it's fun. I'm actually looking forward to this class, my only wish is that it's not to boring. haha. I also wish I could've done the one in January, but alas, it was full before I found out about these. Also, I would've still been in Rome for the first two days of it. I will be sure to let you guys know how it goes! Hopefully it will be fun and I'll learn a lot.
And finally, I'll leave you with this...this is the longest I've ever kept writing somewhere. I'm being serious, and I'm glad I'm actually physically writing stuff down. Usually I just "write" in my head. I know, I know, I sound crazy, but it's true. I always "write" stuff in my head. Whether it be stories, my life, a blog/diary type entry...it usually all goes in my head and nowhere tangible. I tried to keep a diary in middle school, that lasted like a month. Then I found it a few months later and tried again, ha. I had a Xanga in high school. Again, didn't update it or did those stupid quizzes. Then, I tried to write while Tyler was deployed. Failed at that as well. I really wish I would've been better at writing while he was deployed. I think that could've really helped someone in the future. Oh well. Maybe I'll try and recall those memories. We'll see.
Thus, I digress. Have a good day everyone :)
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