Being Strong

    What is the meaning of being strong and having strength? According to http://dictionary.reference.com, the definition of strong is...

"1. having, showing, or able to exert great bodily or muscular power; physically vigorous or robust: a strong boy.

2.accompanied or delivered by great physical, mechanical, etc., power or force: a strong handshake; With one strong blow the machine stamped out a fender.

3.mentally powerful or vigorous: He may be old, but his mind is still strong.

4.especially able, competent, or powerful in a specific field or respect: She's very strong in mathematics. He's weak at bat, but he's a strong fielder.

5.of great moral power, firmness, or courage: strong under temptation."

    People call me strong. Why? Well, I am apart from Tyler a lot. When he was my boyfriend (basic training, medic and jump school), my fiance (Germany), and as my husband (Germany, Afghanistan, and other random trainings). There was also that whole deployment to Afghanistan thing. I also flew from LA to Frankfurt by myself, then I took the train by myself to get here to see Tyler come back from deployment. Oh yeah, and when they come back from deployment there's the whole they could have PTSD, triggers, nightmares, etc. So, you have to be strong and help them with that.
    So, am I strong? Maybe. Sometimes I don't feel strong. I just do what needs to be done.What makes me strong? I think it's my faith and the love and support I get from my friends and family. When I started "this life," I didn't really know anyone else going through this (except Tyler's aunt, who had been through it in the past, and this random German girl that was married to one of Tyler's friends. That random German girl, is now one of my best friends :)). Now, I do, and it is one of the best outlets...we all understand each other and what we're going through. I just hope that I can help people even after Tyler is out of the Army. So, again, does this make me a strong person?

Source: pinterest.com via Kendra on Pinterest

    People say, well, you knew what you were getting in to, you knew you had to be this strong. What? How would I have known that? I knew people at the time IN the military or joining the military, but I didn't know many spouses to my knowledge, and I know many of my friends didn't either. Tyler's Aunt was an Army wife at one point, so she would give me some advice, but how much can you really prepare a person for something like this? You can't. Each person deals with things differently. People will also say, well, you chose this life. Ok, well, I knew Tyler before the Army, so I wasn't in it from the beginning. I did however choose "this life" in the sense that I chose to be with him and be his wife.
    So, here's what I think...if you can complain about your life/family/job...so can I. It pisses me off when people say, why are you complaining, you knew what you were getting in to, you chose this life? Well, you "knew" what you were getting in to when you chose that job you have. Now, am I telling you to stop complaining?
 
    I don't mean to be that military wife, but I needed to voice my opinion (for once). I may be strong, but I am human. To sum everything up for you...I may be strong, I may have "chosen" this life, but did I really know what I was getting myself into? How could I know? How can anyone really know what they're getting themselves in to?
   Sorry for such a downer post, but it needed to be said :). Be strong friends, you all are strong, even if you don't know it yet! As the picture says, "You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have."

Jump!

    Today, I got to watch Tyler jump! I was so excited because I've never seen him jump before! :D
They jumped near town in Chinooks (helicopter things). It was so cool. No worries friends, he didn't get hurt or land in a tree! woohoo! Great success! But man, it got so cold! Silly Germany and the sun being totally gone by 5. Ugh.

    Afterwards, my friends, J, Casey and I went to Aldi. I got this CUTE Advent calendar, chocolate (which I tried later is kind of weird...happens), and of course, I had to get more Glühwein. Love that stuff. :) Once I got home and defrosted a little, and man did that take awhile, I prepped dinner and hung the Advent calendar hehe. Once Tyler came home, he made me a delicious birthday eve dinner. New York Strip, some sort of potato thing and broccoli, yummy! Good job Tyler :)

Happy Monday everyone!

Veterans Day

Happy Friday everyone! So, if you didn't know, today is Armistice Day, more commonly know as Veterans Day. According to the 2010 census, 7% of all Americans are Veterans and 0.75% are those currently serving.
I'd like to take a moment to thank all of those who have served, are serving, and have passed on. We appreciate you...we thank you. Also, I'd like to thank my personal hero, my husband, Tyler. Love you baby. Thank you for all you do.

Source: Uploaded by user via Loretta on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Thru Lisa's Lens on Pinterest

Yesterday, Tyler had CQ, so I was alone all day/night. Plus, the owners of the dog we were dog sitting came home, so I was really alone at night. Worst part was that Tyler had the day off yesterday and today. Ugh. Sigh, happens. We were supposed to travel, but Tyler's CQ shift hindered are plans.
Today, Tyler recovered from CQ and I cleaned house. Thrilling huh? Hehe. Tonight, we ordered take-out (which we NEVER do) and are having lots of wine while watching TV and movies. :) Got to enjoy this time off while we can!
We're not sure what we will do the rest of the weekend, but I'm sure we'll come up with something fun :)

What are y'alls big plans for the weekend? Anything exciting?

YAY!

Tyler's home. :) FINALLY! I'll do Wedding Wednesday another day. hehe.

Life, Love and Remembrance

Via

    Tyler came home Saturday!!! Yay! :) I made us a nice dinner of baked chicken, potatoes (which I boiled, then put in oil in a pan) and broccoli. It was delicious. Sunday, I made my first ever cheesecake from scratch. Wasn't half bad...meaning, it was lumpy but still tasted good. I took a look at a few different recipes and tried to make it my own. It was just your basic cheesecake (cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, eggs...crust with graham crackers and butter) with a sour cream topping. The topping consisted of sour cream, sugar and vanilla, and was really good!
    It's so great to FINALLY have Tyler back. I mean, I did deal with back pain (which is pretty much better), internet/phone problems (which is also solved as of Friday) and other things by myself, but I'm glad I don't have to do it alone anymore.
    Thursday, the in-laws will be here. Tyler and I are excited, but we would also like some more alone time before he has to go train again. Ah well. We have lots of exciting traveling ahead of us at least :).
    I guess I got to finish up my cleaning and stuff before they get here haha. Last night there was this really intense/cool storm, so there's all these leaves in the apartment. Also gotta fold laundry. ugh. I don't hate it, but sometimes it just takes so long.

 *****

    Before I go, I wanted to touch on 9/11. 10 years ago yesterday, I was in 8th grade...I was coming from band (we had band class before school started a couple days a week) to my classroom. I walk in the teacher and some of the kids that were already at school were fidgeting with the TV. I asked what was going on. "one of the World Traders was just hit by an airplane!" What??? What does that mean? I was so confused, and to top it off, I had no idea where the World Trade Centers were. Embarrassing? Probably. So, I ask and was told New York City. We FINALLY find a station that came in on the TV (not in Spanish haha) and start to watch. I remember sitting there, more people are coming in, but we're still all starring at the TV, trying to figure out what this means for us.

Via

I remember seeing the second plane hit the second tower live. I remember watching people jump from the towers, wanting to die from that fall rather than burning or being crushed. I remember watching both of the towers collapse live. I remember the Pentagon being hit live. I remember the other flight crashing in to the Pennsylvania field. I remember not really having class that morning. I remember finally "having" class in the afternoon, but not really because the TV was still on in the background and some kids were taken out of school by their parents. Once I went home, I learned that even certain buildings in Dallas were evacuated just as a precaution. I remember people scrambling to call their friends, family and loved ones in the New York area. I remember people also trying to get in touch with those they knew who worked at or near the Pentagon. I remember Peter Jennings trying to get in touch with his son and crying on air. I remember this day, and will never forget it.
    This morning, Tyler and I were watching CNN International before he went to work. There was a segment about people in Afghanistan not knowing about 9/11. Everyone seemed so shocked, but if you think about it, why would they know? How would they know? They live in a world that's basically in a different time. What was shocking to me however, was the fact that interpreters for the US military forces and the Afghan Army did not know what 9/11 was . I feel like that would be an important thing to tell the people who are helping you. What also shocked me was this, why has it taken 10 years for this to be a thing? Why has no one tried to explain this to them before? Maybe some have and we just don't know about it.
    This was a terrible day for America that will clearly never be forgotten. I hope those who were directly affected have found some peace, and know that their loved ones did not die in vain (military included in this)...their lives/service will never be forgotten. 

   

Parents are coming!

   Well, as the title says, my parents are coming for a visit tomorrow! This is my dad's first time to Europe...I was going to say out of the country, but I think he's been to Canada (lol). I'm pretty excited. :)
I got the spare room all nice and ready for them. I can't wait to start traveling all over Germany with them...should be a good time.
   In other news, Tyler has to leave to go to the field for training in a few days. Bummer; But at least my parents will be here for some of it.

   Also, I want to apologize for my accidental blog hiatus. I just, well, I've been getting things ready, and honestly haven't been that inspired to write. Not sure why, I just haven't. It happens to us all I guess. Hmm...maybe we could call this unforeseen hiatus writer's block...haha. Well, whatever it is, I hope I kick it soon. I miss writing. I guess I just need to get inspired!

   Safe travels parents...see you in the morning! :) Happy Hump day everyone.

On My Own

"Pretending he's beside me. All alone, I walk with him till morning. Without him, I feel his arms around me...And when I lose my way I close my eyes and he has found me." - On My Own, Les Miserables

Well, Tyler's gone, so I have the house to myself for a bit. It's a happy/sad. Happy because I'll have the car to myself and get the apartment all clean with no interference. Sad because, well, he's gone and I don't get to see/be with him for awhile. :( Time for some movies and girl time! Oh yeah, I also have to get the spare room ready for when my parents come in a few weeks :)

Thursday Tyler took me out to dinner at our favorite little Italian place. It was a nice change since we don't eat out all that much. Friday Tyler left (sad day). Then today, I went to a Flea Market in the morning with a neighbor. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything :( . Ah well. Now I'm watching another neighbor's precious little Yorkie, Radley, while they're on a vacay. He's so cute! I'll be sure to put up some pics soon.  How's everyone else's weekend thus far?

Friday, Friday...Gotta Get Down on Friday....

And now you all have the Rebbecca Black song stuck in your head like I do almost every Friday since that horrid fun song came out. Muwhahaha. If you don't know what I'm talking, well where have you been these past couple months?! Unfortunately, her record company has removed all of the videos from youtube, so you will just have to do a search yourself :).

Anyway! Wednesday, Tyler comes home from work and says, "I have to jump tomorrow. Ugh." (For those of you who don't know what that means, he's airborne, so he has to jump out of airplanes every now and then to keep in practice.)
Me: "Oh really? What time do you have to be there?"
Tyler: "12:30."
Me: "wait...as in AM??"
Tyler: "Yup."
Me: "WHAT?! Go take a nap!"
Tyler: "I don't think I can. And besides, that may make it worse."
Ugh! So early! So, we stayed up, had a late dinner and watched TV. I did not go to bed until he left because I thought it would be too mean if I went to bed haha. He had to get there so early because they were having a morning jump, but did that happen of course not. He didn't jump until like 4:30 that evening. Then, he didn't get home until 11:30/12 that night. He looked wrecked. It was bad. But, good news, he got some sleep while he was there, and didn't have to be in to work until 1 today :).

Yesterday was kind of a girls day/night. I went to the lake with 3 of my lovely neighbors (plus one baby and puppy) and just walked around, chatted and ate at the cafe there. After going home to relax and clean, that evening, we went to base to have dinner and drinks. Two other girls joined for this round. :) Then, we went back to our apaartment and had some more drinks/conversation until the guys got back from jumping. It was a really fun night with the girls! It was a nice change in pace too; we're definitely going to need to do this more often. *note to self...I need to take more pictures of these events!*

"Yesterday was Thursday (Thursday), to-to-day is Friday (Friday). We we we so excited...we so excited..." Ok, that's enough.
But yes, it is Friday. I got some recycling done, planning dinner, got a good workout in this morning...who knows what tonight and this weekend may bring! Happy Friday everyone :)