it's raining men

Hallelujah.

Not really.

While it hasn't been raining men, it has been raining snow and sleet and, well, rain. It's also been raining overall gloom, followed by showers of love.

This week was full of precipitation. My drive home Monday night was slow-going and pretty frightening. Driving into the oncoming snow, it felt as if I were traveling through a pitch-black tunnel with snow flying toward me. German roads very rarely have streetlights, making the experience pretty wild. New snow greeted me each morning this week, making me start each day with the less than pleasant task of cleaning snow off the car and clearing enough snow out of the way for my car to make it out of the driveway.

The precipitation and grey skies seem to have set the mood for the week. Everything was a little off and several of us at work felt it. Nothing seemed to go smoothly or as scheduled. Jerry and I weren't speaking to each other for a few days. It was a pretty rough week. When I talk to non-military people about arguing with my deployed husband, they often don't get it. But when I share frustrations with other spouses who've been through deployment, I realize that the things that we're experiencing are not that uncommon.

After all the snow and rain and gloom, I was ready for the shower of love that came to me through the mail on Friday. My dad is pretty amazing. He has never missed a Valentine's Day. Every year, no matter how far away I am from him, he always manages to get a heart-shaped box of chocolates to me! And he does it with style:

I can still remember my first Valentine's Day away from home, when I was a freshman at GW. I remember thinking that it would be the first year with no box of chocolates from dad. And then I received the package in the mail! I had a really rough first semester at college and was feeling pretty crappy about myself. Not only did he send the chocolate, but also a card shaped like a cat with a mirror on the inside that said something about looking at someone he's proud of. That really meant so much and every year that I get my chocolates from Dad, I'm reminded of that very special memory. This year, he selected a beautiful box of Godiva chocolates:

I suspect my brother helped with the selection (he works at Godiva). Thanks Dad (and Ryan)!!

This alone would have brightened my week, but the chocolates weren't my only surpise at the post office. I also got a box of yummy treats from my Aunties. Check it out:

These cakes and breads and dips and salsa are very much appreciated. I'm sure my co-workers are going to love them too at our weekly potlucks! Thanks Aunt Lorraine and Auntie Kathryn...you're the greatest!!

Not only have I been showered with love, I also got to shower some love on m favorite husband. How perfect is this?

I sent this box of chocolates a few weeks ago for my valentine. I also baked these cookies for the legal team serving with Jerry in Iraq:

I was going for Panthers' blue but had a little trouble getting the color just right!

sop and romano cheese

Yesterday was a day of celebration. Not only did I have a rewarding day at work, but when I went to the commissary I found romano cheese! You probably doubt that finding some cheese is cause for celebration, but believe me, it is! Since we moved to Germany, I have not been able to find romano cheese. I haven't been conducting an exhaustive search, but I have been looking and until yesterday had caught no sight of any romano cheese. On a day to day basis, the lack of romano cheese has been only mildly annoying, as I prefer its taste to parmesan. But without it, it's impossible to make my great-grandmother's pasta sauce (or the meatballs!), one of the tastiest foods I make. So I was elated (seriously, elated) to discover romano in the refrigerated section of the commissary as I was waiting in line for a sandwich. Though as excited as I was, I still managed to leave the cheese in the refrigerator at work, leaving me without romano for another weekend!

This past week has been a long, but rewarding, one at work. I managed to relapse into sickness which didn't help me get through it, but I came through with flying colors. We have a big project at work and we had a deadline for completing the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). I worked several late nights to help complete it in time for a presentation yesterday morning. But it was all worth it, as the presentation went extremely well. I'm really proud of the work I'm doing and so far have not minded putting in extra time to get things done right!

As I mentioned, I relapsed into sickness. Tomorrow marks three full weeks of being sick. It's been different kinds of sickness throughout the weeks, but I must say that I've had enough! I finally seem to be heading out of it, which means that I can get back to focusing on improving my health. The gym has just not been a possibility while I've been coughing and sneezing all the time! Between working a lot and being sick, it's also been difficult to find the time and energy to update the blog!

Jerry's doing okay in Iraq and is thankful for every piece of mail he receives! He tells me every time he gets a card or letter...mail really brightens his time there. Here's a picture of him with the rest of the legal team, looking pretty tough:

What a different world he's in!