Back...but not for long!

I feel like I have been too busy the last couple of weeks. School has been kicking my behind (thanks to my dreaded statistics class), work has been uber busy as we are short staffed because everyone else is taking a summer vacation (mine will come this winter, tee-hee), and I have been trying to take advantage of the nice weather.

I started to try and take advantage of the weather by going to Zurich, Switzerland a few months ago. See the *ahem* nice weather???

Yeah, me neither.

It was nice, though. We went to the largest indoor water park in Europe (cyber high-five!) and had fun acting like kids going down all of the water slides. Then they had a natural brine pool, and I have no idea what that means, but it was as warm as bath water outside, so it was really nice to float around in. I miss having a pool.

We toured the city and I get my coveted Starbucks (twice!) and got to enjoy some yummy food! Check out Joel and his huge sausage!

It was nice to get away. Countdown to this weekend when we go to...SCOTLAND! And we get to see (hopefully) Puffins! I know I sound crazy but they are my favorite animal and I was one week too late to see them in Ireland. So I am going to their natural habitat and they better be there! And, if you have no idea what I am talking about, here is what they look like.

Not my picture, BTW.

Super cute, right? I am also a huge history buff so we are going to follow the Mary, Queen of Scots Trail and have some yummy food. I am even hoping to get Joel into a Kilt! And of course try some of the local whiskey. Oy, oy, oy!

Ack!

So, I get my first award, then I totally get busy and haven't written in a while. Bad Kristen!

This will be short, but I promise I will update later. We got back from Switzerland Sunday night. It was a great visit, we spent too much many (that place is crazy expensive!), got rained on the whole time, but I got Starbucks and indoor water park time, so all was well.

This weekend i get to play Air Force Wife and go to an open house. This will be my first function, so I am pretty excited. Usually I am stuck in army land with my own job. It will be nice to kick back.

Next weekend is Scotland! Heck yeah! Super duper excited (obviously) and preparing for the trip. Picture overload will be coming, I am sure.

Just took midterms and I have a paper due this weekend; ugh. I will be working on all of that and trying to get some quality sleep and hubs time in. Work has been killing me lately.

You shouldn't have! But, thanks!

So, one of my favorite bloggers nominated me for my first award!



I am so stoked! I always see these fun little guys and get so jealous! So, as a special shout out, you should totally check out K's blog at http://uncorkandunwined.blogspot.com/. Another K and J!

So, as per the rules, I'm supposed to share 7 things about myself and then nominate other bloggers for the award.

Seven Things About Myself:

1. I am a tad bit of a control freak. Ok, so a lot. I literally feel shaky when a situation is happening and I have no control over it. And I hate surprises, in case that wasn't too obvious! It freaks me out when people say things like " I bought you something" but then I can't know anything about it or have it. Drives. Me. Bonkers! But, Joel deals with it nicely.
2. Matching in K's number two, I have also loved the color pink for years now, but hated it growing up. The first time I got something pink and liked it was in 2002 when I graduated high school. I have loved the color ever since.
3. I am deathly afraid of clowns. Ok, I will wait for the laughter to stop. But, seriously! Joel's fantastic proposal was almost ruined by the scary clown that stalked me in Rome. I totally had nightmares!
4. I love to read, but I don't read very much non-fiction, so I feel really dumb about joining book clubs. I would (MOST of the time) rather read about stuff that has actually happened. I think actual life is fascinating!
5. I am one of those crazy reality tv show watchers. Yes, I know how ridiculous the real housewives are. But I can't stop watching their living train wreck!
6. I have a crazy love/hate thing with my body and food. I want to lose weight and I know I could do it if I just put some more effort into it. But, I love eating and living in Europe affords me some great eating opportunities. So every time I lose that dreaded five pounds, I travel somewhere and more than sample the bad cuisine and wine. Bad Kristen!
7. I wish that I had more girlfriends around here. I always seem to make great friends right before they are moving. I love my husband, and as cliche as it sounds, he is my best friend. But I know his idea of a fun Friday night does not include pedicures, martinis, and Twilight. Know what I am saying?

As far as the nomination process goes, even though her blog is way cooler than mine, I would like to nominate Lauren from http://www.saltsays.com/ for this prestigious awards! Seriously, she is so funny. Go read her blog!

A Questionnaire From The Wife

So Kristen asked me to answer the below questions. Hopefully they give a little insight.

> 1. What is the first thing you noticed about your wife when you met?

This one is easy, it was her hair.

> 2. What is something your wife does that drives you crazy?

Probably her leaving the transformer for her hair straightener plugged in. I had to put an over-sized fuse in it so the straightener will work on a small transformer. Not the safest thing, but it works fine for short periods of time.

> 3. If money wasn't an option what is one thing you would make sure you always had done for your wife?

She'd get a professional message every day.

> 4. When do you find your wife most attractive?

She'll argue this one, but in the morning!

> 5. What does your wife do for you that you totally appreciate and would miss if it was gone?

She always takes time out of whatever she is doing to either call me, kiss me, or talk to me to tell me that she loves me.

> 6. If you had your wedding day to do over again and everything was your call, would you keep everything the same? Change something? Everything? Elope or if you eloped vice versa? (Non couples or friends can make up a different question here)

The only change I would make, although it was (understandably) impossible, was to have my brother at the wedding.

> 7. What's one beauty up keep that you wish your wife didn't do? Or what's one beauty thing you wish she did do?

Nothing, she's very well maintained, for either going out or just being casual.

> 8. If you could go or be any where in the world with your wife right now, where would that be?

Hmm... It would either have to be Paris, which was our first romantic vacation or Rome, where we got engaged.
>
> 9. What is one moment you wish you could back and relive with your wife just to get to experience again? Would you change anything?

It would have to be our engagement. The part I would change would be removing the evil clown guy from the Trevi Fountain area.
>
> 10. What do you love most about your wife?

How sweet and kind she is. She has a gentle soul.

Things I miss...

I have been a little homesick lately. I know, most people want to smack me because I live in Germany. But, hear me out! I miss the Midwest! I miss sitting on the front porch with my sweet tea (hot or cold, depending on the day) reading a good book, cuddling with my dog, people watching, and waving back at all of the wonderful people driving by. Here, sweet tea can only be drank if I make it (and I do), I have no porch, as my German apartment doesn't even have a balcony, my pup is with my parents because he is too old to travel here again (he was here with me for a while), and Germans do NOT randomly wave. If you attempt to perform this sort of action, they think you want to talk about your entire life and so they come over to you to do this. I think Germans as a whole are a great group of people, but meine Deutsch is nicht gut, and I feel like an idiot if I don't know what they said. Maybe I should be making more German friends?

There are other silly things that I miss as well. Going shopping on Sundays (everything is closed here). My favorite chain restaurants (Steak and Shake, Panera, etc.) because they don't have them here. And Dang it, I mis sStarbucks! The closest one is an hour away. I miss going to Half Price Books and looking for hours to find the right ones. Shoe shopping at a hundred different places (because I love shoes). My feet are so tiny that some German brands don't even make shoes small enough to fit me. Plus, I love to shop, and I don't really care for the European style. Give me a cute "T", a pair of blue jeans, and flip-flops or boots any day. I can't do the skinny jeans or the 80s fashions, which seem to be the thing here. I am finishing up my degree on base here, but it is just night school. I miss going to Indiana University, eating lunch on the quad, walking across campus to get to my classes, meeting people along the way. Here, it is just one building that people go to for class, then they leave class, and then they start over. Le, sigh.

Yes, I know that these are super petty things to miss. In reality, I absolutely love living in Europe. I have been to Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and lastly the Vatican City (yes, it is its own country, lol). I mean, wow! Who DOES that? Still to go (that I have scheduled) are Scotland, Egypt, Croatia, Greece, and Turkey. Ok, even writing this out makes me feel bad for whining. Just one of those days, I suppose. I promise I will be more upbeat next time. I truly do love my time here, and I know that after a month or so after moving back to the U.S., I will just whine to come back.

Oh, Happy Day!

This weekend the weather in Germany has been quite beautiful! It is a rare occurance to get warm, dry, comfortable weather, so whenever we do, I feel compelled to be outside. Being that our apartment doesn't even have a balcony, we take to going to the neighboring areas and just seeing what is going on. Thankfully, the Germans share in my sunny attitude (har, har) and usually have plenty going on. This weekend has been no exception. We went to this area called Offenbach and went to a little medieval festival they had going on. Joel and I are big fans of people watching, so it was pretty entertaining. We ate some yummy food and bought some nice crafts and honey wine. All in all it was a good time. Here are some pics.








We also went to a town near Kusel, Germany to visit the castle Berg Lichtenberg. It was a really nice castle, and we had a lot of fun walking around the courtyard. There was a wedding going on (lucky them!) so we weren't there for too long, but we did get some wonderful pictures.

One month!

Joel and I have officially been married for one month today! While I am loving married life, I don't really feel like there has been that much transition between dating, our engagement, and now marriage. Each one is new and exciting, and I know I will never get tired or bored with being married, but our relationship is essentially the same. We are still sickeningly cuddly with each other, polite to each other, we still go out on dates, have our respective work schedules (and my schoolwork) to keep us busy, and we still try to travel locally when the weather is good. I guess that is good, though. I think marriage should be a continuation and growth of the wonderful relationship that has already blossomed. Maybe the change is slow going and I just haven't noticed. I am still getting used to saying "my husband" but it is still something that makes me smile every time I do. Maybe little things like that are the change?

In other news, if all goes according to plan we will be moving in one year! We have no idea where yet, but I am looking forward to the adventure. I love living in Europe. I feel so blessed to have had my travels and the experiences that I will never forget, but I am just ready for something new. I hope to return back here one day, but I am looking forward to things like buying a house, getting a new puppy playmate for my dog, starting my Master's degree, etc. All of these things I can't do here in Germany. But, with the blessings the military sometimes bestows upon us (note: sarcasm) I am sure after this coming move I will be ready to root down and stay put. Maybe in 14-ish years!



And here's Pugsley, which helps complete our family!