Aug 31, 2009
BFF's are well......forever!
Can I just take this moment say how much I totally love and miss all my DS ladies??? I will never find a group that is the same! They were.....in 1 word awesome! I miss them and all the fun times I had with each and every one of them. Last night they had a big, "meet the husbands" cookout, which I was totally saddened to miss. The thought of actually meeting the husbands is so foreign and awesome (although, most of the husbands I do fortunately already know). I missed some of Connie's cheesecake and DS's drunkin antics. But most importantly, I missed time with some of the most amazingly strong women I have ever met......so here's to you Mrs. member of the awesome DS group (cue all holding up their Bud light) for without each other we'd be just another lost Army wife............
Aug 28, 2009
Befreien Sie nein Getränknachfüllungen
...that's German for no free drink refills!!!!!!!!!
That's right my friends, in Germany you get charged for water in a restaurant and FREE refills, well, forget about it! Also, dogs are allowed in restaurants there and if you ask for tap water, they will think the water is for the dog!
I have been practicing my German. I started Rosetta Stone, which I am sure must be incredibly fun to watch and listen to. Das Madchen (cue Rosetta Stone displaying a message that I didn't say it correctly)...das madchen (cue Rosetta Stone displaying a message that I didn't say it correctly)....das madchen (cue Rosetta Stone displaying a message that I didn't say it correctly). OK, OK, already...I know I didn't say it exactly correctly but I know what it means (little girl), isn't that enough??? Nope, not enough....keep saying it until you get it right (cue me asking Andrew to come rescue me from Rosetta Stone and pronounce the word for me). I am convinced that that the program prefers deep, man voices and not high pitched female voices. So I have decided that when I speak German I am just going to start talking like a man (cue my Rachel Ray impersonation....Yum-O!). Then when I go to Germany I will order a nice thick dark German beer and my man voice won't seem so odd.
That's right my friends, in Germany you get charged for water in a restaurant and FREE refills, well, forget about it! Also, dogs are allowed in restaurants there and if you ask for tap water, they will think the water is for the dog!
I have been practicing my German. I started Rosetta Stone, which I am sure must be incredibly fun to watch and listen to. Das Madchen (cue Rosetta Stone displaying a message that I didn't say it correctly)...das madchen (cue Rosetta Stone displaying a message that I didn't say it correctly)....das madchen (cue Rosetta Stone displaying a message that I didn't say it correctly). OK, OK, already...I know I didn't say it exactly correctly but I know what it means (little girl), isn't that enough??? Nope, not enough....keep saying it until you get it right (cue me asking Andrew to come rescue me from Rosetta Stone and pronounce the word for me). I am convinced that that the program prefers deep, man voices and not high pitched female voices. So I have decided that when I speak German I am just going to start talking like a man (cue my Rachel Ray impersonation....Yum-O!). Then when I go to Germany I will order a nice thick dark German beer and my man voice won't seem so odd.
Aug 27, 2009
Guten Tag.....again.
Hello Again! So as it turns out I am very bad at blogging.....
While I was away something major happened. We found out that we are PCSing (moving) to Baumholder, Germany. And to be perfectly honest I am still a little freaked out about it. I know, I know....we put Germany first on our list of places to go next....but here is the thing I didn't think that we would actually get it! After all everybody puts Germany down first and considering that there were only like 2 spots, the thought of us actually getting it was foreign to me. Out of our top 5 places on our list, it was the only place I didn't research. I was confident we were going to Ft. Irwin, CA!!! But alas, the orders came in and SURPRISE.......Germany!
I must admit, I was not very pulled together after we read the orders. But, as every little sister knows you can always call your older (and thus much wiser) sisters crying for solace, that's the great thing about being the little sister! I knew I had to pull it together before calling my Mom because I worried she would cry and as any Mom would of course she cried which made me cry that much more......and then came the ice cream and the promise that if I was moving, far, far, far away from TX and the US I was definitely getting a BMW out of this!!!
After one week and hours upon hours of research, aside from remembering the name of the place we are going I have learned absolutely nothing more. Apparently nobody knows anything about Germany before you go...everything (like say where you are going to live) just falls together once you are there. Thankfully, I have met a dear sweet friend who just moved to Ft. Lee FROM Germany and she is starting to fill me in on all the craziness.
Like for instance.....
Most of your appliances wont work their because Europe's electrical system works on a 220W while American electronics run on 120W. So you have to use transformers and converters...still a little confusing.
In Germany they do not bill you every month for electricity...the bill will just show up one day and BAM you will owe 6 months or a years worth of bills.
Phone capabilities are way different there. Apparently there are only 2 main cell carriers, and you can not call one company from the other without exorbitant charges...GREAT! I am going to start looking into some different phone options that Jill brought up like Vonage...anybody know anything about it????
Finally....and now this is the kicker.....most bedrooms in Germany DO NOT have closets!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH What am I going to do with all my shoes????? Apparently they are taxed by how many bedrooms are in a house and the definition of a bedroom includes a closet, thus no closet....no taxes. Crazy right????!!! People use clothes lockers that the military gives you...whatever that means. If anybody is reading and wants to build me an armoir...that would be great.
So here is where we are headed:
www.baumholder.army.mil/sites/local/
In Western Germany near France and Luxembourg.
Thats if for now,
Auf Weidersehen
While I was away something major happened. We found out that we are PCSing (moving) to Baumholder, Germany. And to be perfectly honest I am still a little freaked out about it. I know, I know....we put Germany first on our list of places to go next....but here is the thing I didn't think that we would actually get it! After all everybody puts Germany down first and considering that there were only like 2 spots, the thought of us actually getting it was foreign to me. Out of our top 5 places on our list, it was the only place I didn't research. I was confident we were going to Ft. Irwin, CA!!! But alas, the orders came in and SURPRISE.......Germany!
I must admit, I was not very pulled together after we read the orders. But, as every little sister knows you can always call your older (and thus much wiser) sisters crying for solace, that's the great thing about being the little sister! I knew I had to pull it together before calling my Mom because I worried she would cry and as any Mom would of course she cried which made me cry that much more......and then came the ice cream and the promise that if I was moving, far, far, far away from TX and the US I was definitely getting a BMW out of this!!!
After one week and hours upon hours of research, aside from remembering the name of the place we are going I have learned absolutely nothing more. Apparently nobody knows anything about Germany before you go...everything (like say where you are going to live) just falls together once you are there. Thankfully, I have met a dear sweet friend who just moved to Ft. Lee FROM Germany and she is starting to fill me in on all the craziness.
Like for instance.....
Most of your appliances wont work their because Europe's electrical system works on a 220W while American electronics run on 120W. So you have to use transformers and converters...still a little confusing.
In Germany they do not bill you every month for electricity...the bill will just show up one day and BAM you will owe 6 months or a years worth of bills.
Phone capabilities are way different there. Apparently there are only 2 main cell carriers, and you can not call one company from the other without exorbitant charges...GREAT! I am going to start looking into some different phone options that Jill brought up like Vonage...anybody know anything about it????
Finally....and now this is the kicker.....most bedrooms in Germany DO NOT have closets!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH What am I going to do with all my shoes????? Apparently they are taxed by how many bedrooms are in a house and the definition of a bedroom includes a closet, thus no closet....no taxes. Crazy right????!!! People use clothes lockers that the military gives you...whatever that means. If anybody is reading and wants to build me an armoir...that would be great.
So here is where we are headed:
www.baumholder.army.mil/sites/local/
In Western Germany near France and Luxembourg.
Thats if for now,
Auf Weidersehen
Aug 18, 2009
Germany, Hawaii, California....Whats a girl to do???
We got the list of CCQ (Career Course Qualified) openings this past week and I must admit it is not nearly as bad as we had prepared our self for! Its actually really good!!! There are openings to PCS to :
Germany - which nearly everybody would want to do
Hawaii
Ft. Irwin - I know, the desert may not sound fabulous to most people....but, Andrew is fascinated with 11th ACR (and I am fascinated by the fact that they are rarely deployed)
Ft. Hood
Ft. Campbell
Ft. Lewis
Those are the options we would prefer. But of course there is Drum, Bliss, Polk, Alaska, Korea and Bragg (none of which we are particularly fond of)
I feel relieved to have some semblance of a plan in place. Andrew and I were discussing the fact that every decision the Army gives you to make is like the biggest decision of your life...and yet, you truly have no control over the outcome.
Pray that the nausea from all this planning goes away and that we find favor with the HRC rep.
More tomorrow.
Ang-
Germany - which nearly everybody would want to do
Hawaii
Ft. Irwin - I know, the desert may not sound fabulous to most people....but, Andrew is fascinated with 11th ACR (and I am fascinated by the fact that they are rarely deployed)
Ft. Hood
Ft. Campbell
Ft. Lewis
Those are the options we would prefer. But of course there is Drum, Bliss, Polk, Alaska, Korea and Bragg (none of which we are particularly fond of)
I feel relieved to have some semblance of a plan in place. Andrew and I were discussing the fact that every decision the Army gives you to make is like the biggest decision of your life...and yet, you truly have no control over the outcome.
Pray that the nausea from all this planning goes away and that we find favor with the HRC rep.
More tomorrow.
Ang-
Aug 14, 2009
HOOAH-less
There once was a time when I considered myself not to be just an Army wife, but a good one...a HOOAH one. I have learned to cope with, deployments, re-deployments, FRG's, leaving family and great friends, moving, lack of decent employment prospects, HECK I have even learned the Army terminology! This week however, I have lost my HOOAH. Maybe I was overwhelmed with my final week of summer school or the sheer thought of moving somewhere into the unknown after just getting settled.
Next week Andrew and I meet with his HRC rep (for you laymen thats Human Resource Command Representative....aka.....who is going to tell us where we go next!). Yes, we will allegedly be able to preference our top 3 choices and the Army is going to "try" to accommodate what we choose. But, what do you choose when you don't know what to choose??? Right now the thought of moving somewhere makes me a little sick to my stomach. I just really don't want to have to go learn another new base and meet another new group of friends (which I may add could never possibly be as awesome as my DS girls) and find another new place to live (which is always a crap shoot). Hopefully tomorrow I will wake up and miraculously feel at peace with where we should go next, but until then I am confused and HOOAH-less which is never a good combination!
Lonely in Virginia trying desperately to find my HOOAH,
Ang-
Next week Andrew and I meet with his HRC rep (for you laymen thats Human Resource Command Representative....aka.....who is going to tell us where we go next!). Yes, we will allegedly be able to preference our top 3 choices and the Army is going to "try" to accommodate what we choose. But, what do you choose when you don't know what to choose??? Right now the thought of moving somewhere makes me a little sick to my stomach. I just really don't want to have to go learn another new base and meet another new group of friends (which I may add could never possibly be as awesome as my DS girls) and find another new place to live (which is always a crap shoot). Hopefully tomorrow I will wake up and miraculously feel at peace with where we should go next, but until then I am confused and HOOAH-less which is never a good combination!
Lonely in Virginia trying desperately to find my HOOAH,
Ang-
Schooooools out for Summer!!!
August 14th - And I am FINALLY done with my summer semester! Is it even still considered summer??? All my school teacher friends have started school already! I must admit this was the longest, most difficult summer semester of my life. I wrote a total of 114 pages of combined school work over the past 10 weeks (isn't that a good portion of a thesis??) throw in a move across country and I am pretty impressed that I did it!
Going to drink a beer.....after all its summer break!!!!!!!
Going to drink a beer.....after all its summer break!!!!!!!
Aug 11, 2009
Testing, testing,....1,2,3
So here it is; I have a blog! I don't really have anything clever to write about because all my juices were used up by pretending I am technologically savvy enough to even have started a blog. Tomorrow, tomorrow I will have thought of something clever to write.....
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