die blumen

First of all die blumen (pronounced dee bloomin) simply means flowers in German. I don't want you to think that I'm emphatically wishing death on some poor fellow (or lady) named blumen!!

Today I had a lovely morning. My new friend was interested in going downtown to the Marktplatz to buy produce. The open markets of Germany are truly wonderful, but are also scheduled early in the day. So it required getting up earlier than usual to make the trip downtown by foot. I'm so glad we did! We were accompanied by another woman whose husband knows my friend's husband. The three of us had gone bowling earlier this week and had a fun time. Today was also fun, though I suspect it was a little more walking than at least one of the women would have wanted!

The Marktplatz was filled with tents, under which sat baskets and baskets of fresh fruit, veggies and flowers. The Marktpatz was also filled with music from a couple of organ grinders! Really, organ grinders! Organ grinders with freaky dolls!! See:

And you thought I was making it up!!

At the market, I purchased some fresh, crisp green beans...my favorite! I also purchased these amazing flowers:

This is a single bunch of flowers that had to be split among three containers (I knew those giant beer glasses would come in handy!!) when I got home, all for about five US dollars! I love having fresh flowers in the house!! And I love filling my beautiful Fiestaware vase that my amazingly sweet husband bought me for Christmas last year!

We also went to an oil and booze store. Well, they don't call it that (but I do!). The store has a lot of specialty cooking oils and liqueurs and pretty bottles in which to put them. And they let you taste samples!! I purchased small flasks of bloodorange vodka and peach schnapps. My friend got some amaretto and two other liqueurs. The shop owners were delightful and very helpful.

Back to my amazingly sweet husband....he comes hom in a few days!! Right now, it looks like he'll be back home on Tuesday. And he'll be getting most of, if not all, of the rest of the week off! To spend with me!! His missing-him-like-crazy wife! (Maybe it's just his crazy wife!) In many ways, this has been a good month for me. I definitely pushed myself a little harder to meet people and be social. Meeting people and making friends this month has not only helped pass the time, but has helped to reinforce good habits, like going to the gym. There have been several days that I haven't really wanted to go to the gym, but I went anyway because I felt obligated to go with my friend. And while I haven't lost as much weight as I would have liked, I have gotten into some good, healthy exercise patterns. And have made some great changes to my diet. These things were easier to get a handle on while Jerry was away, while I had all the time in the world to really focus on myself and the changes that I needed to make in order to be healthier and happier. So it feels good that I did that and didn't spend all of my time moping. Of course, moping happened. I would be worried if it didn't! But I found myself to be a little bit stronger than I thought :-)

It's Labor Day weekend, and I hope that all who are reading this enjoy the long weekend and have fun or relaxing plans! I recently found out that my parents are spending the weekend in North Carolina, with a large group of their friends. While I'm happy that they're going to have a wonderful weekend, and even happier that they have such a great group of people to call friends, I'm a little annoyed that they're going to North Carolina!! I lived there for four years and they only managed to make it down to visit once! For my wedding!!! That seems a little lame to me!!

giantpantz is goin' blue....

Yesterday I purchased tickets for Jerry and I to see the Blue Man Group in Berlin next month!! Jerry has the last two weeks of September off from work, so we're making plans to travel and everything is finally falling into place and taking shape. Over the course of the two weeks, we plan on spending several days in the Black Forest, a couple of days in Berlin, and visiting Munich for Octoberfest, as well as taking day trips to Nurnberg and Rothenberg. We also plan on a visit to Europa Park, which should be a lot of fun! Our plan is to see as much of Germany as we can in these few weeks so that the next time we have time to vacation, we can start traveling to other European countries.


We also got more information on our new home...which has us feeling far from blue! We were sent floor plans for the home and it's really going to be a wonderful place to live...and a great place to potentially start our family, when the time comes. The model home that we'll be living in has a full basement and three floors. The three-floor models are great, because there's a huge master bedroom that takes up the entire third floor, along with its own bathroom with shower. The second floor has two good-sized bedrooms and a full bathroom with tub. The first floor has the kitchen, dining area, living room and a half bath. And the basement is quite large with a laundry room and two storage areas. We've been told by others already living in the community that one of the basement rooms is great for an additional entertainment/game room. So it looks like we're going to have plenty of space and lots of fun with our new home. Because it's being built, the move-in date is a little up in the air. Though we're expected to be able to move in on September 22, that could change. We're hoping that we'll be able to get into the place sometime that week and then plan to have our stuff moved during the first week of October. We'll see how it all works out.

I suspect that some of you may be sick of reading about Scooter and thinking, "Wow, Heather really needs to get a life." Which is probably true! But with Jerry gone, Scooter and his doggy antics do a lot to keep me smiling and amused!! I'm currently fascinated with his exhuberance for naptime!! I'm not talking about how he likes to sleep a lot. Which he does. Throughout the day, he wanders from room to room, napping on his various pillows. But he gets running around, wagging his tail excited when he gets to nap in the bed with me. It's hilarious. With gusto that's usually reserved for those times when he gets to go outside after being too long inside, he runs around in circles, jumps up and down, and pants excitedly when I let him know that I'm going to let him on the bed. Once on the bed he quickly burrows between the sheet and the comforter, become a lump under the covers that soon rattles the bed with his body-shaking snoring! For some reason, I find this excitement absolutely hilarious, especially watching the change from jumping around to deep sleep that occurs in mere minutes!

punch me please!

Or rather, pleased as punch! After a couple of days of the usual army shenanigans (read: lack of organization and mind-boggling red tape), things are set for us to move next month! Even better than having it settled is the fact that we will be living in the housing community that I've mentioned before! It's a brand new community and our house isn't completed yet. It will be ready for us on September 22, a mere month away! I'm absolutely thrilled! We'll be living in a place that will feel more like a home. A place where we'll have our own little patch of yard (lucky Scooter) and more space than we have now. I'm not sure of the floorplan for our particular unit, but any of the floorplans will be an improvement. We're going to have a basement and at least two floors above the basement. And at least 1 1/2 baths. I'm going to travel to Graf on Friday and hopefully will have more information on our specific unit, so I can start making some decorating plans in my head! Woohoo!

I got a little curious about the expression 'pleased as punch.' I mean, what does punch really have to be all that pleased about? Turns out it's not a reference to the fruity beverage. Rather, it's talking about Punch, with a capital P. Punch, of Punch and Judy fame. Y'know, the puppets. And what did Punch have to be so happy about? Well, what wouldn't a baby-murdering, wife-beating puppet be happy about? Apparently, Punch was quite self-satisfied with his evil, evil deeds. Having all of this newly-aquired Punch knowledge, I don't think I want to say 'pleased as punch' anymore.

Also making me quite pleased (but not in an evil way like that Punch fellow) is the fact that I've made a friend....it's about freakin' time!! Figures that it's just before I'll be moving. But it's nice to have someone to hang out with who is experiencing similar circumstances (her husband is away for training now and will be leaving for Iraq when Jerry does). It's also nice to spend time with someone who doesn't have children, something very rare in an army community! I'm hopeful that we'll stay in touch when I leave and that she'll join us on some travels (the 'us' being spouses in Graf that are planning to travel a bit while our husbands are deployed).

Now is the portion of my entry that is a bit of a love letter to "Eat Pray Love." I promise that this will be the last of my rambling on the topic. I can't remember the last time a boook has made such an impression on me. It's a book about a spiritual journey, and honestly, reading about someone else's spiritual journey doesn't usually hold a lot of interest for me. Yet, this one was captivating and made me take a step back and think a lot about my own spiritual journey as well as my emotional and mental handicaps. The thing that really stands out about the book is the author's candor and honesty. She's not a saint. She has desires and flaws and, at least for me, that's what makes her so likeable. She also finds that finding happiness and balance doesn't mean changing or denying who she is.

I found many things in the book to be both thought-provoking and inspirational. I will leave you today with one of my favorites, where the author references the Bhagavad Gita, which says:

It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection.

husky?!

This morning, Scooter and I went on an early walk. Unlike most days of the week, it stays quiet until 9am or 10am on Sundays. So we were having a much more peaceful walk than usual. The morning air was cool and it was very...serene. As we turned the corner for the last bit of the walk, a voice from above asked, "Is the dog male or female?" You may have already guessed that it was not God...as God would clearly know the answer to that question. I looked up and saw a woman's head peering over the railing of a balcony on the top floor. I smiled and said that Scooter was male. And she said, "Wow! He's SO husky!" I smiled again, nodded, and left quickly before she could see the puzzled and then pissed-off look on my face. Husky? Husky!! Was she calling my Scooter-bug fat? I'm not saying he's the slimmest pug around, but I definitely wouldn't say he's soooo husky! Look at that profile....does he look husky to you?

Hmmmm, maybe I'm a little overprotective and defensive about this....

Based on my conversation with Jerry last night, I should know more about the upcoming move in the next couple of days. I'm anxious to know where we'll be living (house or apartment-style quarters) and how soon we get move! I do find some sort of perverse pleasure in moving. I love the organizational challenge of it!

Warning....a little bit of PDA coming up! That's Public Display of Affection, for those of you not up with the lingo :-) Don't worry, you'll see no tongues or groping just a big giant

that I'm sending to my Giant. He's been gone for two weeks now. Soon, I'll be counting the days until he comes home instead of the days he's been gone. But for now, I just want him to know how much he is loved and missed by his wifey and his husky Scooter-bug.

eat, pray, love....and laundry

The other day I finally got around to folding the laundry that had been sitting in a basket on top of the dryer for almost a week. It's not uncommon for me to pull the things that need to be hung up from the dryer right away, but to put all the socks and underwears in a basket to be dealt with later. Though a full week is a pretty long time for me to put off the inevitable folding of socks (I really hate folding socks!). As I folded the last of it, I realized that these were the last of Jerry's laundry items. Once these last pieces were folded and put away, there'd be no more of his stuff to wash, fold, or put away until he returns next month. I guess it's a silly thing, but it made me a little sad, made it a little more real that he wasn't here. As long as there were little bits of him, it still felt a little like he might be home at the end of the day. But now there is a definite absence of him in the house. No annoyingly long (and inside out) olive green socks in the laundry. No toothbrush near the bathroom sink. No emptied pocket trash on the table. No upside down hat in the living room, filled with his emptied pocket non-junk. No discarded clothes in the bedroom. It's funny that some of the things I find annoying when he's here are missed when he's not!

I'm currently reading Eat Pray Love and am finding that it really resonates with me. I suppose that's not very surprising or uncommon, given how wildly popular the book as become...it must resonate with a lot of people. There is so much I see of myself in the author. Not being thin or having a disastrous marriage, of course!! But her control issues, in particular. Her descriptions of her internal workings and struggles feel so much like descriptions of my own. The book has prompted a lot of self-examination...in a good way. It's also prompted me to really want to go to Italy and eat a lot! I'm especially yearning to go to Naples! I'm putting a trip to Italy at the top of my travel list now!

Last night I talke to Elyssa for the first time since Christmas and (oh my goodness!) she sounds older. Seriously. The last time we spoke, she sounded more like a little girl. Last nigt she sounded like a young woman...a teenager (gasp!). It really intensified how much I miss her and how much we're missing as she grows up. But it was so great to talk to her after all that time!

I guess this entry is a collection of mismatched thoughts...I wasn't happy to just focus on one :-) The last of my thoughts for today has to do with my weight loss experimentation this week. Earlier in the week I suspected that I wasn't eating enough. I don't normally pay attention to calories at all, but I decided to figure out approximately how many calories I had been consuming daily. And it was under 1,000 calories, which is too low. As an experiment, one day I added over 400 extra calories and the following day I saw some weight loss...so I was severely undereating! Now I'm not adding quite so many calories, but eating more than I had been and seeing (and feeling) much better results!

summers at the lake...

Last night, when I was walking Scooter, I caught a waft of...summers at the lake. I can't really identify the exact source or sources of the smell...though I think it was a combination of barbecue and summer air. Whatever it was, all I could think of was summers at the lake. When I was a kid, my grandparents had a cottage on a lake in Connecticut....Lake Pocotopaug. And I would usually get to spend time there in the summer. Since Jerry's been away, we've been playing a little e-mail game where we ask the other person three questions. That person answers and sends back three new questions. One of my questions for Jerry was "What's your favorite childhood memory?" Though we're not required to answer our own questions, I would have probably answered that question with, 'summers at the lake.' Well, that and the day I found out I got the part of Peter Pan!

Thinking about my times at the lake, I have so many wonderful little memories. Swimming to Turtle Rock. Fishing with Grandpa. Grandma making fluffernutters. Playing all day long with my cousins. Stubbing my toes. Walking to (and using!) the pump for drinking water. Taking baths in the lake with Ivory soap (it floats!). Damp leaves between my toes. Claiming to my grandpa that "I'm never tired!" and then promptly falling asleep. Worms! Drawing on the walls in the upstairs bedroom (with permission even). Candlewicking. Rain. Reading what was to become one of my favorite books in a hammock.

These were great times. Ones for which I'll always be thankful :-)

it's all in the timing...

And apparently my timing, our timing, is just off. Since arriving in Germany, I've been searching the job vacancy postings religiously. It's been difficult to find a job that appealed to me and that paid a reasonable amount of money. There are a lot of jobs that require specific experience for which I was not eligible. Finally, I found a posting to work in the library. It pays reasonably well and would be fun for me. I submitted my resumee last week and felt pretty good about it. I received a call yesterday from the library, asking me to come in for an interview this weekend....great!!

But...I received a call from Jerry later in the day saying that he expects his new orders to come through in the next week and that our move to the new post should follow in less than sixty days. Which is good for several reasons. It means that I won't have to deal with the move entirely on my own....Jerry will still be here. It means that Jerry will be in this new home for at least a little bit before he deploys, meaning that he won't be returning from Iraq to a home he's never seen. It means that I will be near my Family Readiness Group (FRG), which is the support network for spouses for each unit. And finally, it may mean that they will make a special allowance for us to live in a particular housing community for which we normally wouldn't qualify. Instead of living in apartment-style quarters, we'd be in a duplex home with a little yard of our own! On our last visit to Graf, we drove through that community and I fell in love. When I found out that all of the houses had three bedrooms, my hopes were dashed, as we only qualify for a two bedroom home (not enough kids yet). This special allowance would let us live in one of those homes anyway, so I'm keeping fingers and toes crossed!

Of course the thing that wouldn't work out is the library job here in Schweinfurt. It is doubtful that anyone would want to hire me for such a short period of time. Which means back to the drawing board on the job search in Graf!

I started Phase 2 of my 'diet' and it's been a little discouraging. I'm worried that maybe I'm not taking in enough calories. It's also possible that I've gained a little muscle. I've been working out hard and not seeing much of a dip on the scale. Which is frustrating. But I am feeling great about my level of activity and the good foods that I'm eating. And my neighbor stopped me today to say it looks like I've lost a lot of weight! So I'll give it a little time and hopefully see some better results on the scale down the line.

my neighborhood

Local McDonald's, complete with a McCafe. I've never gone in, but I hear that it's a pretty good cafe with good coffee and pastries.

The price sign at our closest Esso station. Those prices are in euros per liter. Keep in mind that each euro is equal to about $1.60 right now. And there are about four liters per gallon. When this was taken (last Saturday), a gallon of regular unleaded gas would cost about $8.85!! And you thought gas prices were bad in the states. No wonder so many people walk or ride bikes here! (Just so you know, we don't pay that much for gas. We're given a gas ration and are able to buy gas on post at a rate similar to that in the states. We also get a special card that allows us to go out to Esso stations on the economy and purchase gas at our army rate, rather than what's listed at the station.)

German mailbox. Though I have no need to mail things through the German postal service. Another advantage to living overseas with the army is that we have US Post Offices on post, allowing us to mail to the states as if we were living in the states. But these German mailboxes are cool!!

Pedestrian zone sign. Most towns have an area in the center of town for shopping that is restricted to foot and bicycle traffic. It's a common enough thing to require a special sign. This isn't technically in my 'hood, but it is in downtown Schweinfurt.

Yeah, these have nothing to do with my neighborhood. They're just silly. Awhile ago, Jerry had to go on a day trip to Graf and he returned with these two folders for me! He knows me so well!! Rockin' out ladybugs and silly monkeys!!

but sometimes alone is lonely...

Like late at night when the television's been turned off and the house is just so very quiet. Not silent....I can always count on Scooter's breathing or snoring or stomach noises to break the silence! Despite Scooter's help though, it is too quiet and reminds me that I'm alone. And lonely. And I know that soon I'll be getting ready to crawl into our big bed myself. It's definitely the hardest time of day for me. During the day, I manage to keep myself busy and am able to look forward to possible e-mail messages from Jerry. But after I've received his good night call, the quiet settles and it all sinks in. Sigh.

alone doesn't have to be lonely

Well, I've made it through Jerry's first week in the field. In our typical fashion, Jerry and I had a late night huge blowout over-the-phone argument in the middle of the week. Which I've been told is pretty common when soldiers are deploying or leaving for extended periods of time. After much needed sleep for both of us and a long sobbing conversation with my mom (thanks ma, you're the best!) for me, we both saw things differently in the morning and were able to set things right...whew.

In the field, Jerry is having to work tremendously hard. His days generally start before 6am and don't often end until after 9pm. There are no real weekends, just day after day of work. And very little privacy. I don't know how he does it.

My week has been a lot more fun than his. I took a weeklong orientation class for spouses and I'm so glad that I did. Not only did I find out a lot of useful information, but I finally had an opportunity to meet some other spouses. We also went on a few field trips together.

On Wednesday, we toured the two local hospitals. They were both beautiful and looked more like modern art museums than hospitals. The delivery rooms at the smaller hospital made me want to go out and get pregnant right now, just so I could deliver in one of them! (Don't worry...I'm not going to act on this impulse quite yet!)

On Thursday, we took a city bus to downtown Schweinfurt, having to purchase our tickets on our own and in German.

Our group leader took us to the place where we can get our international driver's license. In order to drive in Germany, we get special licenses through the military, but apparantly it's a good idea to also buy an international driver's license. And that's what it is: buying. There's no test or anything. They just need you to bring in two passport photos and 13 euro and you get one. Outside the building was a fountain:

On Friday, we took the regional train to Bamberg:

Though Jerry and I had gone to Bamberg before, we hadn't made the short trek up the hill to the the cathedral and Neue Residenz. Here's the cathedral:

This is a view of a castle from the Neue Residenz. I have zoomed in to get this shot...it's actually a bit further away than it looks. So we didn't walk out to visit it.

After touring the cathedral and the rose gardens of the Neue Residenz, we broke off into groups for shopping and eating. Our group of five spent most of the time eating. We had a leisurely and chatty lunch at a German restaurant, where I ate a delicious salad that didn't require me breaking any of my strict Phase 1 rules. Then we did a little shopping, visiting the only brewery in the world that makes smoked beer. There may be a reason that it's the only one...we've been told that it tastes a bit like ham. My mom thought that if it tasted like bacon, it would be some pretty good beer! I bought a couple of bottles for Jerry to sample when he returns.

At the end of the week, I got a few phone numbers and am making plans to work out and socialize with some of the women I met in the class. So it was a very good week for me socially! I've also been enjoying the time by myself. I've been taking long walks, long baths and indulging in watching the television series Felicity, which I've borrowed from the library. I also have a few crafty and organzational projects keeping my busy and content.

Finally, Phase One has been a success and I'm looking forward to beginning Phase 2 tomorrow. Which means that I get to start having fruit again! And get to start doing some serious work at the gym. I've lost about 11 pounds in the past couple of weeks, so it's been a great start to what I hope will be a longterm change in eating and activity habits. For the first time in a very long time, I feel like my weightloss goals are attainable. Which is a great feeling!

happiness and progress

When we first made the decision for Jerry to join the Army, we were met with much scrutiny, especially by those closest to us. Though I'm certain that the scrunity has come from a place of protectiveness and love, it has been difficult to deal with at times. Particularly when facing the very thing that had caused the scrutiny and skepticism to begin with: deployment. Adjusting to Army life has been difficult on many levels, including explaining and justifying our choices to loved ones who were/are concerned by the difficulties inherent to Army life. For those skeptics who read this blog, you should take comfort in knowing that we are happy. Most of you know that Jerry is not very forthcoming with his emotions. Nor does he spend nearly as much time as his wife on self-analysis (thank goodness...one in the house is enough!). But last week, he and I had a pretty candid conversation about how he feels about being in the Army. Of course, we both have concerns about deployment and separation from each other. But Jerry told me that he is happier than he has been in years. He feels good about himself and is proud of the work he does for the Army, proud of what he'll be doing in Iraq. And I don't know about you, but that just about made my heart burst with happiness. To me there are few things greater than seeing someone you love be happy and proud. So I thought I'd share that!

Here are a few pictures of my Giant, happy to be eating a HUGE lunch at a local restaurant (the Schieshaus) that we finally got around to trying, after many recommendations. The restaurant sits in the middle of the woods at the top of a windy road. You'd think that such a remote place wouldn't get much business, but the place was packed and people were waiting in long lines to place their orders. But the food was totally worth it!

Now that is a man seriously enjoying his schnitzel!!

Now, take a good look at the schnitzel. We'd been told that the schnitzels were huge, but I thought that the descriptions must be exaggerations. They weren't. I caught a few shots after Jerry had already eaten a good portion already....it was truly ginormous!

As impressive as that schnitzel was, I resisted and didn't eat a morsel. Instead I stuck to my mineral water at the restaurant, followed by a meal at home. I'm rigidly sticking to my Phase 1 restrictions and, thankfully, making great progress! I ended up starting on Phase 1 a few days later than I initially intended, but since then I've been all business! And have lost 7 pounds! Woohoo! Jerry got me a great South Beach Diet cookbook and I've been making some pretty tasty foods (chicken stuffed with spinach, garlic and feta is a favorite!), which makes it a lot easier. Also making it a lot easier now is the fact that Jerry left for his month-long training exercise today. Though I miss him terribly already, it makes it much easier to stick to my healthy eating without having to watch him enjoy my not-so-healthy favorites, like schnitzel and fries and pizza (mmmm, pizza).