ch-ch-changes

These days, it seems to be all about changes. Not just to the interior of our house. But to our lives. To my life. It's a little overwhelming how much change my life has seen in just a few short years. Even looking back to a year ago, there have been so many changes, some little - some huge. A year ago, I had a different last name. A year ago, I was working all the time (2 jobs) and preparing for a wedding. A year ago, I lived in Asheville. A year ago, I lived in the United States. A year ago, Jerry was not yet in the army. Today, I'm married and living in Germany. I'm experiencing a new life in a new country, with the challenge of learning the army way of life. I'd like to say that all the changes have been easy and wonderful. One of the reasons I wanted to start a blog was to capture (for me to look back on, for future children to see what his/her/their parents' lives were like) my life. And it seems a little misleading to only describe the wonderful and exciting things going on in our lives. Change is good and is exciting, but change can also make for a lot of work. Change can make mariage a little rockier and can make things stressful. That being said, working through the rocky makes for a stronger and closer relationship with my husband. I guess I'm taking a very roundabout route to saying that as much as I love my life in Germany and as much as I love my life with my husband, it's been a rough journey for me. I've had some difficulty finding my place in our new life and it's been hard for me to be separated from my husband for weeks or months at a time. And aside from the changes that have already occurred, I worry about the future. I worry about the separation of deployment and of course worry about Jerry's safety when he is deployed. All of this is made harder by the fact that I'm so far removed from friends and family, at least physically. Internet and phone calls and even letters/mail (thanks Koz, Kathy, Dave, and Ian!) are constant reminders of the wonderful people I have in my life to be my support network when I need it.

But onto the regular old changes being made in our house! We decided to keep the dining room table after all and actually use the dining room for its intended purpose. Crazy us!! We're hoping to get some people over to play poker at the table as well. Though I kinda need to learn how to play first :-)

When we lived in the states, I had most of my clock collection on a single wall. I had over 20 clocks on that wall, but decided only to bring some of the collection to Germany. Here are three clocks that made it (you'll be seeing more in the living room) to Germany. I'm a little sad that I didn't bring more of the collection as we have plenty of wall space to accomodate most of the clocks. Oh well....guess I'll know better the next time I have an overseas move through the army! This wall also features a handmade quilt that my mom's cousins gave us as a wedding present. We love the colors and love having such a unique piece to hang on our wall (thanks Jim and Wilma!)!

Here's the little water cooler corner where we're reminded of something important every time we get some water: Treasure your dreams, they are your wealth. My parents sent that to us for some reason or another and it's just a great message (yeah, we're a bit corny). I also like to be reminded that Dr. Seuss rocks! So we have a Seussian creature hanging out with the water :-)

Finally, the shelves have been cleared of crap and decorated by things that are precious to us. Some of the things are just pretty or fun, but most of the things are precious.

I love being able to display so many photos around the house. Though I might be unhealthily obsessed with my own wedding! The living room has at least 2o wedding or engagement photos! I guess it's a good thing to have such wonderful memories of your wedding day and to want to be reminded of such a wonderful time day after day. Right?

always kiss me goodnight

Today, I'm showing off our bedroom! Well, showing off may not be exactly the right phrase. If you were visiting, and I were taking you on the "grand tour" I'd definitely be showing it off. But as I'm here and you're there, we'll have to do with photos. And sadly, the photos don't really show the richness of the fabrics or the warmth of the room. Instead, you see a lot of white. And while there is a lot of white, you'll have to take my word for it that the room is inviting and warm.

This is the view of the bedroom from the hallway. As with all of the rooms in the apartment, we get lots of great light! Almost all of the artwork is Monet, whose palate really brings out the color of the duvet cover (a blue/green/grey).

Here's a view from inside the room. On Jerry's side of the bed, we have one of our favorite pictures of him and his daughter (Elyssa, we miss you SOOOO much!). More Monet and one of our favorite wedding presents, the metal sign that says "Always kiss me goodnight." Even before we got the sign, it's been an important rule in our relationship from the beginning. And aside from the time apart, I'm pretty sure we've missed fewer than five kisses goodnight...not bad!

Brace yourself for the white!! So as not to scare you, I'm only going to show one of our walls of closet! At least this side is broken up by the mirror and the vanity. The fourth wall is all white closet. Great for storage, but not so interesting to look at. We're trying to find a creative way to break it up, though. You can see the vanity is sporting a fan. It's been incredibly hot in Germany this summer and most places (including ours) don't have air conditioning. This little fan has been a life saver!

Here's the last view of the room. Hanging above the television is one of my favorite pieces, a photograph of a lone tree...so beautiful and strong.

I've been putting off putting up photos of the living room because the movers broke our DVD shelves. While the rest of the room looks pretty great, the 300+ DVDs sitting on the floor ruin the whole look :-)

Speaking of trash. Which I wasn't. But now I am. I am living in recycling heaven. Sort of. I've always been an avid recycler, so I was pretty excited to be moving to a country where recycling is the law. In fact, if you live on the economy, you can be fined for having recyclable items mixed in with your trash. Each household is given a locking trash can, the contents of which are removed every two weeks. If you put all of your trash, including recycling, into this receptacle, you will quickly run out of room. Theoretically, this should help get people to walk their recyclables over to the central recycling center. Walking around most neighborhoods in Germany, the trash collection and recycling methods seem to be working. Most areas are clean and well cared for. But here at the military housing complex, recycling is not enforced. And when people run out of room in their trash cans, they just throw bags of trash all over the ground. It's really disgusting and makes this such a less desirable place to live. Why do people have to be so trashy?

why can't you leave me alone?

Seconds before taking this, Scooter had been using his plush bone as a pillow...so cute! Naturally, the movement of me getting the camera caused him to look up:

He is SO not interested in being the subject of more photographs

Seriously, no more photos:

marriage advice

Meet the gathering bowl (photo by Weddings by Tuesday's Frog). Last year, my Auntie Kathryn presented us with this bowl at our engagement party. An extremely thoughtful gift, this isn't just an interesting and unique bowl to display in our home, but a recepticle for well wishes! At the engagement party, guests left us notes and wishes. We loved the idea so much that we also had the bowl at the wedding, where we asked guests to leave us notes or words of advice. We received lots of great advice and lots of fun advice. Here are some tips for a happy marriage, according the guests at our wedding:

Live for today. Yesterday is irrelevant and tomorrow is an illusion. The present is the only reality.

Treat each other with love and respect always.

In the days and years to come, remember this day - and the love you share.

Couples that play together, stay together.

Surround yourselves with good friends...looks like you've got a good start! (That we do!)

Make each other laugh once a day...

Many situations you have three choices: to flee, to flow or to fight. May you always choose the best option.

When the going gets tough, the tough have hot passionate sex.

Great sex makes up for bad cooking. Practice makes perfect in both.

Great sex is the core of happiness. (hmmmm.....seems to be a theme)

We know it SOUNDS like a good idea but there are more potentially negative repercussions from 'gittin' bizzy in a Burger King bathroom,' than you might even think. You know, jus' sumpthin t keep in mind...

When the tough get going, there are often pickles involved. Really good pickles. Like, not the kind you get at the store, although sometimes, we guess, those can be decent. But like the kind you make yourself. So grow lots of cucumbers. And dill.

Another good thing to grow is complacency berries. Then you can stomp 'em good and make a winey-like substanc that's good to pour in the gutter without feeling you're wasting anything worth drinking.

Insist on 'pie tuesdays.'

Don't f*#k up. (A favorite. Thanks Kathy & Dave!)

So there you have it! Some great advice from some great people!

new shoes and a new room

Shoes, glorious shoes!! Last weekend, Jerry and I went to Grafenwoehr to pick up a reservist who will be at Schweinfurt for a few weeks. A visit to Graf always means a visit to the big PX. And last week's visit was a fruitful one in terms of shoes shoes shoes. Well, really, I guess it's just shoes, shoes. Jerry and I each got a pair of cool and comfy shoes. It's a bigger deal for Jerryto find shoes because of his big ol' feet (14 or 15). My shoes are super cute, super comfy and super glittery! The diamond and the back blue section are all sorts of glitterific...fun! Today Jerry's made the journey to Graf, this time without me. He and a co-worker are off to pick up another reservist. I opted to stay home to get to work on some projects I've been wanting to start, but needed a put-together home before I could begin. Primarily I'm starting the assembly of my wedding albums and beginning my engagement/wedding scrapbook.

So far, the biggest transformation in the house has probably been that of the second bedroom. Before our stuff was delivered, it was pretty much a gathering place for most of Jerry's army gear. If you remember the before pictures, army gear and plastic bins occupied the room and it wasn't very inviting. Here's a view from the hallway of the room now:

Here you can see the room a little bit better:

Now, we're both finding ourselves spending quite a bit of time here. Our huge desk is great, as we can both be working at it at the same time and have plenty of room. It's also great because we can easily clear it of the laptops and then I have a nice workspace for doing the photo album and scrapbooking projects that I'm anxious to start. And I'm not the only one who benefits from the "new" room. Jerry's just started his accounting class online and he's able to study and work in here. And, though you can't really see it, Scooter has a nice setup in the corner. Scooter's crate is near the window, along with his food and water bowls. So when we're not around, it's like Scooter's very own room! As I write this, Scooter is next to me in his crate snoring away!

I'm enjoying having the time to devote to my projects and am delighted to finally have the time to read the final Harry Potter book. But I'm beginning to itch for a job. For almost all of my adult life, I have worked. A lot. Usually more than one job at a time. Even when I didn't really need the money, I liked to have my time filled with work. So not working at all is taking quite a bit of getting used to. It doesn't quite feel comfortable to me. I plan on trying to enjoy this time while I have it, but think that soon I'm going to be whole-heartedly searching for employment. At the very least, I hope to have a job lined up by the time Jerry begins preparations for deployment. I am certain that when that time comes I am going to need the busyness of a job to help get me through the time apart.

It's a beautiful sunny Sunday here in Germany. Scooter and I just had a lovely walk, followed by a long brushing (Scooter, not me. He's needing help getting rid of a lot of extra fur!) and now a nap (Scooter, not me.). I'm off to clean up the house a bit and then hopefully enjoy some more time outside! Tschuss!

home improvement

There wasn't a whole lot to be done in the bathroom, since we had shipped many of our bathroom items ahead of time. But with the arrival of the remainder of our stuff, I was able to make it a little more homey. Because the walls are all tile, we aren't able to hang anything. Which is somewhat unfortunate because I have a glass flowery thing which really only looks good in a bathroom. I guess I'll be storing it away until our next move.

Above the toilet, there is this cute little shelf built into the wall. Clearly there needed to be some decoration here. As I'm trying to get at least one plant into each room of the house, it seemed like a perfect place for the bathroom plant.

The next two photos are showing different views of the same shelf unit. Because it is long and narrow and the bathroom is not very deep, I couldn't get the right angle to show the shelf in its entirety. The first photo shows the top half and the second photo shows the bottom half. The artificial flower in the white painted pot on the top shelf was made for me by my grandma Marian....one of the special items that really makes my house feel like a home :-)

This last photo shows the hall outside the bathroom door with the candle sconce on the wall. I love the iron sconce and it hung in the bathroom at our previous house. But with all the white tile, the bathroom seemed too light to weigh down with heavy pieces like this one and other iron candle pieces. But it works well in the hall, I think.

So there you have another room in the GiantPantz haus! Unfortunately, the photos can't really capture the mood and flow of the house. For that, you're going to have to visit!

Mmmm....Spaghetti Eis

On Monday, Jerry and I walked into town with a Reservist Captain who is going to be in Schweinfurt for the next two weeks. We showed him downtown Schweinfurt and had lunch on a restaurant patio overlooking the Marktplatz and Rathaus. The lunch was a German success for me as our waitress spoke limited English and I was able to communicate pretty effectively in German!! Little experiences like these make me more and more excited to use the language as often as possible. After a yummy lunch we went to our favorite Eis Cafe, where the three of us split the above-pictured spaghetti eis! It's delicious vanilla ice cream run through a garlic press to create the pasta, covered with a sauce of strawberries. Though this one didn't have them, some spaghetti eises have grated coconut for parmesan cheese. It was a delicious treat.

While in town, we took the Captain to St. Julian's, the church that I wrote about when I first arrived in Schweinfurt. Here is another picture of the interior of this amazing church:

Quality Time With Daddy Giant

How cute is this?

I'm still here....

I know that some of you are loyal readers of the GiantPantz blog and are wondering why I haven't updated in nearly a week. Jerry had a four day weekend last week, so I spent a lot of time with my husband. I have to take advantage of that as much as I can since army life means that there will be times (sometimes great lengths of time) when I won't get to see him at all. I've also been unpacking like a madwoman. When I was in college, my parents always knew that they could drop me off at a new dorm room and by the time they returned the next day, everything would be unpacked, the room decorated and everything would be in its proper place. I haven't changed much since then. By yesterday morning, every box had been unpacked. I had initially set a goal of two boxes per day, which would take a couple of weeks to get completely unpacked. I should've known myself better than that! Although things are out of boxes, not everything is quite in place yet. I'm hoping to finish that up today, or at the very latest tomorrow, at which time I will return to you, loyal readers, and provide pictures of our home. I'm really happy with how it's looking so far and really feel like I'm finally home!

a happy kitchen

So we got our stuff yesterday. Well, most of it. I think that one of the boxes didn't make it. I'll know for sure in a few days, but I'm pretty certain we're missing a box. Which doesn't make me very happy. In fact, pretty much the whole delivery process didn't make me very happy. The guys who were delivering our stuff seemed nice enough at first, but by the time they left I had a very different opinion. One of the guys was pretty sexist and kept telling me what to tell my husband when he got home so that he could fix some of the things. Even after I told him that I would be taking care of the issues or that I was the one who knew how to properly assemble something, he continued to insist on telling me to pass along the information to my husband.

Aside from the unpleasantness of the delivery, we're very happy to have our stuff. Tonight, Jerry went to play poker with some buddies while I put away all the kitchen stuff. Some might see that as a bit unfair...me doing all the work while Jerry goes out to play. But that 'some' would not know me very well! I love to unpack, organize, and decorate. And I particularly love the kitchen, where I have my favorite gadgets and my beautfiul cookware, bakeware and dishes. Here are the fruits of my labors:



Sometimes blogger is weird and decides that it would like to put my photo sideways. So you'll have to turn your head to the side (or your computer...I'd only recommend that if you have a laptop) to see this photo. I would've just omitted it, but it has the display of colorful pieces of Fiestaware (the persimmon casserole dish is a favorite - thanks Stacy!) and my kickass stand mixer! Pardon the language but it really is a pretty badass piece of kitchen equipment. Special thanks to my aunties (Lorraine and Kathryn) for such an amazing addition to my kitchen! And thanks to another auntie (Paula) for the twirly spice rack...I like to cook with all the spices and Jerry likes to spin it around and around...so smooth!

This one features some other favorite wedding presents! The Cuisinart blender is a favorite for making frozen margaritas - yum!! (Thanks Aunt Rose and family!!) On top of the microwave are the coolest pot holders ever. That's right, ever! They're a pig face and a frog face made out of silicone. It's like puppets for taking hot stuff out of the oven....or for just playing with if the mood strikes. Thanks for the playthings Karen and Jason!



Ahhh...a cabinet with lots of Fiestaware, a beautiful sight indeed! The giant cups aren't Fiestaware but they're still pretty cool - another fabulous wedding present (thanks Olivia!) and great for giant bowls of soup or ice cream!

Yeah, I'm a dork.

Clear the Roads!

...at least the ones in Germany. I had my driver's course and test on Tuesday. And passed! I've even ventured out in our car that arrived from the states two days ago. Pretty exciting stuff!

I'm a little bored right now. Okay, a lot bored. I'm waiting for the movers to bring our stuff. I'm tired after a night of sleeping on the floor....our loaner stuff was taken away yesterday to make room for our stuff that's arriving today. And I'm anxious to start unpacking....really looking forward to my Fiestaware! I have a perfect place to display the colorful serving pieces in my kitchen. Yeah, I'm a weirdo!

My fitness plan seems to be working! Not just for me, but for Scooter too. I've been taking Scooter on mile walks every day and he's looking a bit trimmer. This morning we gave him a treat and he danced really well. When Scooter "dances" for a treat, he gets on his hind legs and spins around and around. As he's gotten older and bigger, he's become less able to do multiple turns without resting on all fours between spins. Today, he was dancing like puppy Scooter....so cute! As for me, I'm halfway to my 10 pound goal for the month. Which is pretty good considering Volksfest took up the first week of the month! With all of the walking I've been doing in this beautiful weather, I'm also getting quite tan!

So, things are really coming together. I finally feel like I'm back on the right track to not only losing weight but being a much healthier person. Having our stuff here is going to make me feel finally like we're in our home. Even without the stuff, every day gives me stronger and stronger ties to this place. But I like to nest. And for that I need our stuff.

Oh...I don't know if I mentioned this before, but Jerry was promoted last month. I'm a little sad because I liked to call him Private No Class (though he was really Private First Class). He's now Specialist Gant and his wife is very proud of him!

Our Stuff is Coming! Our Stuff is Coming!!

It's true! Not only will our household goods be arriving on Thursday, but we got a call today saying our car has arrived in Schweinfurt! Yippee!! Just in time for me to drive it. Well, assuming I pass my driver's exam tomorrow (wish me luck...some of the right of way things are pretty tricky)!

Since our things will be arriving later this week, I thought it would be a good time to finish up showing you the 'before' pictures.

Here is the master bedroom. The two walls that you don't see are walls of closet. One wall is wall of closet plus vanity. Lots of storage, but lots of white blahness. Since the window takes up a great deal of the third wall, we're going to have to make the most of the fourth wall to bring in some color and life to the room. I can't even begin to describe how uncomfortable that bed is. And not very roomy when you're used to sleeping in a queen size bed. Which we are. Can't wait to have our own bed and our real (high thread-count) sheets! Yes, that is my teddy bear sitting on the bed. He was important enough for me to ship ahead to Germany. I've had that bear since I was an infant and wasn't about to be apart from him for up to 90 days...no way!!

Our bathroom is one of the coolest rooms in the house. Though I don't think our bathroom colors (pink fuzzy shower curtain paired with rich purple towels) really work that well with this bathroom. I think various shades of blues would be much more becoming...maybe a future project. One of the nicest features of the bathroom is the huge tub. We're both big bath fans but most tubs are too short for Jerry to experience a really enjoyable bath. Not this one! We both make a point to take advantage of the bathtub at least once or twice a week. We're also considered lucky because we have a shower head. Many homes in Germany only have tubs or have a shower head that you have to hold. Ours is mounted in the middle of the tub on the wall and is removable. There's also amazing water pressure and nice hot water. We love our tub/shower!! Another interesting thing about the bathroom is that, other than the tub, everything is floating. The toilet, the sink and its cabinet, and all of the shelves are attached to the wall but not the floor...pretty cool. Like all of the rooms, there's plenty of built in storage. But the bathroom shelves and cabinets are more aesthetically pleasing than the boring white closets in most of the other rooms. The washer and dryer in the bathroom is a little less than desirable, but I suppose it's way better than them being in any other room :-)

The last room is the living room. As you can see, we have lots of windows and get a lot of natural light in almost all of the rooms, one of my favorite things about the apartment. This room is home to most of the borrowed furniture and looks the most like a dorm with the desk and nondescript tables. The couch and chair are functional, but not very comfortable. We're looking forward to our supercomfy and superstylish bright red couch. And of course, we're looking forward to our big television and the accompanying sound system. We love our movies and games and they just look and sound a lot better on our 50" television, rather than our little 20" one that we've been using since we've been here.

Now the tour is almost complete. I'll save the balcony for another day!

This is where I live!!

Today I went for a walk. A long walk. In our apartment complex, there's a one mile walking loop. I usually start my day by walking it once with Scooter. Then, later in the day I do a few more miles. It's good because it helps me measure my time and distance but it's pretty boring and not very scenic. The views consist of buildings that all look like mine, cars, and trash. So today I walked just past Ledward Barracks and set out for a more scenic walk, one that Jerry had recommended. Sometimes he runs here for PT in the mornings. I'm so glad he suggested it. Not only was it beautiful but a great workout with nice hillage. It's hard to believe I live in such a green and pastoral place. These photos were all taken from my walk and are all just a few miles from my house!

Soon, I hope to be biking as well as walking here in this beautiful country. Yesterday, Jerry had to make a trip to Grafenwoehr, a post about two hours away, and I got to join him for the trip. It was great to go there, as we will most likely be moving to that post when Jerry returns from deployment. Most of the people at Schweinfurt are in the process of moving to that larger post and by the time Jerry returns from deployment, pretty much everyone will have relocated to Graf and Schweinfurt will be filled with a different group of people. The post is much larger than the Schweinfurt posts, much more spread out. And it is located in a smaller town. So it doesn't have the rich cultural appeal of Schweinfurt. But it has some brand spanking new ammenities, including a new commissary, PX, and food court. The PX is huge!! It mostly has the same stuff as ours, but more of it, and a slightly better selection. Jerry was excited to find shoes in his size and I found an inexpensive bike that would be great for me to get around Schweinfurt. Unfortunately, we didn't have a vehicle that could carry the bike back for us. But I was able to request the bike to be transferred to my own PX. So hopefully I'll be sporting some new wheels in a week or two!

The PX also had a larger assortment of doggy toys and they had one that I thought would meet Scooter's discriminating taste. He doesn't like anything too fancy. His favorite toys have always been simple fluffy shapes with a squeaker inside. Here he is guarding over his new toy. Unfortunately, I didn't think ahead and have my camera ready for an action shot of him whipping it around like a maniac. And by maniac, I mean the tough dog that he is!

And as if those weren't enough great finds at the PX, I found something even more exciting: photo albums! Since the wedding, I've been searching for perfect albums to hold about 500 wedding photos. We're primarily displaying them using a digital photo frame and I'm having some smaller albums made, but I wanted albums for all of the hard copies of the photos. Most albums that I've seen have that silly memo column on the side. That might be nice for most photos, so that you can write down information about them. But since all of the photos are from our wedding, it seems a little silly and redundant. At the Graf PX, I found a set of photo albums that have wooden collage frames on the front cover (one in black and one in a rich red) as well as another stylish one (with no memo column). They were very affordable, exactly what I had in mind, and will hold all of the photographs!! Yay!! Now I just have to wait for the photos to arrive with the rest of our stuff....only one week to go!

auf wiedersehen Volksfest!

The Volksfest is being broken down as we speak! And not a moment too soon! If it stayed much longer, our bellies would be huge (In my case, even huger. That's right...I said huger.) and our pockets empty. With the festival so close, it was easy to frequently sample the tasty treats. This weekend we went to the Fest a few times, meeting up a couple of the times with one of Jerry's co-workers. There was much drinking (though not as much as last weekend), much eating, and much fun. Last night marked the last night of the Fest, so we went one last time. Until then, we had stayed away from the rides, primarily because of how much they cost. Each ride was 3.5 to 4.5 Euros, which ends up being about 5-7 US dollars per person. And we're cheap. So we didn't want to spend $14 for the two of us to go on a ride. Jerry's friend convinced us to do a couple last night and they were superfun! Well, one was superfun. The other was interesting. First we went on a little roller coaster which was surprisingly exciting for being in such a little space. I'm glad we waited until the last night to ride because I would have wanted to come back and ride again and again! The other ride was a simulated underwater ride. We sat in this huge enclosed tube with a screen at the front that projected an underwater adventure as the tube moved around. The graphics were pretty lame and the whole thing was in German, so it was more amusing than anything else. Actually, it was more hot than anything else. The three of us left the ride fanning ourselves and drenched in sweat. But overall, the Volksfest was great fun!

Although it took a few weeks to fully set up the Fest, the rides are coming down lightning fast! By the time I took my big walk today around noon, several of the rides had already been dissembled. When I began my walk the giant ferris wheel was already naked, stripped of the "Jupiter" lettering in the middle and all of the seats. Less than an hour later, there was only half a wheel, the left side had been completely dismantled. Here's a picture of the ferris wheel from a distance (before it was taken apart), just to give you an idea of how large it really is:

Our weekend wasn't entirely devoted to the Volksfest. We made another trip to Bamberg on Sunday. In Germany, nothing is really open on Sundays so it wasn't much of a tourist trip to the city. Instead, we were visiting the Army post in Bamberg, interested in seeing if their post had a better PX than our own. Going to the post certainly made me appreciate where I live a little bit more. Though I love living in Germany, I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not thrilled with the Army aspect of my life. I'm not a big fan of the posts or the military housing. After visiting the Bamberg post, I'm better able to appreciate things about our own post that are really not so bad. The layout of our posts is much more convenient and overall I really like Schweinfurt better. Sometimes it takes seeing something else to appreciate what you've got :)

We went bowling this weekend too! I'm still bad, but it was pretty comical how vastly different my scores were from game to game. During one game (is it called a string?), I bowled a 31! Don't think I'm missing a number. It's actually 31. The next game, I bowled a 107 (and beat Jerry)! Consistent, I'm not. As usual, it was lots o' fun!

Yesterday, I started my German class. It was fun and I was able to meet some people. My husband surprised me by taking me out to lunch on post afterwards, so that was pretty nice. I think the class is going to be helpful in refreshing my German and is going to help give a little structure to my weeks.

Today is a day all about me! I slept in this morning. I took a nice 4 mile walk, with Scooter joining me for the first mile. I went grocery shopping and was able to get ingredients for my chicken, tortellini and spinach soup, which I will make later today. I'm about to take a nice bath, where I will be starting a new book. And then I plan on watching some Anne of Green Gables, one of my favorite things to watch since I was a teenager. It's so nice to have this time to relax.