...we officially move! In exactly one month, we'll be driving to the airport with my parents, two suitcases each, two dogs, a cat and three crates. We'll board the plane, I'll cry (probably my parents will too) and then we'll fly. Wow. So much has to be accomplished still in this month and I can not believe how quickly time is going by.
Yes, I'm at work now, and of course thinking of this blog. (It's okay though, because I've been working on studying blogs lately for the Army and therefore creating my own one must be okay...) I had my oatmeal from the oatmeal bar upstairs (yum!) for breakfast this morning and of course have already begun to figure out what I want for lunch. Normally we go out in the courtyard and I bring my lunch, but today I am going to get something here.
Last night, Carl sold our refrigerator and my old mini-fridge from college. Yay! That is good news. We kept that beautiful fridge after we sold the house in Oklahoma, thinking we'd just move it into our next house. But, obviously, we won't be bringing it with us to Germany. In the past couple weeks we also have sold our entire extra bedroom set and the two wire dog crates. ( I love Craigslist). Still to be sold are the washer and dryer and lawnmower, but Carl has buyers for all of those I think. The extra money will most likely be put toward buying all the furry kids' airline tickets! :)
I am so excited people have been reading and commenting. I hope to have more and more exciting news, but of course this upcoming month is still just preparations and, most likely, more stress.
I did get a cute email from Kelli (future boss) the other day. I had asked her what the office was going to be like over there... Here's what she wrote:
"We are actually moving in two weeks from a craphole container with an outdoor toilet (it's kind of like being deployed) to a nicely renovated space. We are waiting on money for new furniture, so we will be living out of boxes with a few decent desks and cabinets we picked up from Darmstadt last week (Darmstadt is shutting down). There is a large room where you and Jason will sit. We will have light wood desks with Navy dividers. The floor is blue and the walls are cream. Juan and I both have offices off the big room. Mine will have a small conference table where we can have team meetings. We are very close to the ATM, the shoppette and the dining facility. It's prime real estate! And we have air conditioning, which is rare."
Sounds like it'll be fun! Even if I don't have my own office, hey, I'll be in Germany!
31 July 2008
30 July 2008
Who knew Carl was a writer too?
One thing we've really been thinking about lately is what Carl's going to do when we get to Germany! His last day at work will be on the 14th of August, and then he'll spend the following week with the movers (who are scheduled literally all week except for one day). I know he's not excited about it at all. My guess is that the doggies will go to daycare and he'll get to spend time working on the move. It evens out though -- I've handled all of the planning and stressing from here in the beginning, and now he gets to handle the action portions.
We had originally thought we'd put him in school and have him get a part-time job. Then we started getting all these great leads from friends and supervisors who have contacts over there already, and many of them sound very promising. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it plays out. Since we don't arrive till the 1st of September, we'll probably have missed too much of the beginning of the fall semester of classes. It is tough to look for jobs over there since they'll only hire people who are already in the area. So, we'll just have faith that something will work out and he'll hopefully get a great full-time job and then maybe take some part-time classes.
I will be working full-time, of course. But, many times, my job doesn't even seem like work, because I enjoy it so much. I really hope that remains the same when I get there!
This summer he took some college courses at one of the local community colleges. One class is English, and I usually read through and help him edit his papers. He recently had to write an essay about a story called "The Perfect Bride." I really have to share a part of it with you all. I just cracked up when I read it. Read below:
"A perfect wife, however, is much more complex. Her perfection lies in her imperfections. She is human. She makes mistakes, gets crabby, she is insanely bi-polar, she burns water, and to her, every tool in your toolbox is a “thingy.” Her complexity goes deeper than that still; one day okay means “okay,” and the next “no way.” She is never wrong and she will always be willing to remind you, and it is never her fault. Her perfection lies in her ability to love animals more than people, and her ability to soothe your nerves with a smile. It lies in her ability to make you forget your terrible day just by seeing her face, and her ability to make you count your blessings every day she is a part of your life. Perfection lies in the eyes of the beholder, and in my eyes there is one reason that stands above the rest. The most important reason a perfect wife is better than a perfect bride is that a perfect bride loves you because she does not yet know you are not perfect, and a perfect wife loves you and cherishes you knowing full well that you are far from perfect. That is why I can say, my wife is crabby, impossible, and has an uncanny ability to burn water, but she is perfect."
I'm really not sure whose wife he's writing about??
Scout and Churro had successful vet appointments today and are completely updated and ready to fly with us. (Noelle stayed home since she was already updated.) Apparently, Churro loved the attention but Scout didn't really like his visit too much. Poor baby. I was reading another Germany blog tonight that I found through a random search (it happened to be another couple who was stationed there by the Army), and this one again re-iterated that Germans treat dogs better than kids. Wow! Perfect for us! :)
Take care!
We had originally thought we'd put him in school and have him get a part-time job. Then we started getting all these great leads from friends and supervisors who have contacts over there already, and many of them sound very promising. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it plays out. Since we don't arrive till the 1st of September, we'll probably have missed too much of the beginning of the fall semester of classes. It is tough to look for jobs over there since they'll only hire people who are already in the area. So, we'll just have faith that something will work out and he'll hopefully get a great full-time job and then maybe take some part-time classes.
I will be working full-time, of course. But, many times, my job doesn't even seem like work, because I enjoy it so much. I really hope that remains the same when I get there!
This summer he took some college courses at one of the local community colleges. One class is English, and I usually read through and help him edit his papers. He recently had to write an essay about a story called "The Perfect Bride." I really have to share a part of it with you all. I just cracked up when I read it. Read below:
"A perfect wife, however, is much more complex. Her perfection lies in her imperfections. She is human. She makes mistakes, gets crabby, she is insanely bi-polar, she burns water, and to her, every tool in your toolbox is a “thingy.” Her complexity goes deeper than that still; one day okay means “okay,” and the next “no way.” She is never wrong and she will always be willing to remind you, and it is never her fault. Her perfection lies in her ability to love animals more than people, and her ability to soothe your nerves with a smile. It lies in her ability to make you forget your terrible day just by seeing her face, and her ability to make you count your blessings every day she is a part of your life. Perfection lies in the eyes of the beholder, and in my eyes there is one reason that stands above the rest. The most important reason a perfect wife is better than a perfect bride is that a perfect bride loves you because she does not yet know you are not perfect, and a perfect wife loves you and cherishes you knowing full well that you are far from perfect. That is why I can say, my wife is crabby, impossible, and has an uncanny ability to burn water, but she is perfect."
I'm really not sure whose wife he's writing about??
Scout and Churro had successful vet appointments today and are completely updated and ready to fly with us. (Noelle stayed home since she was already updated.) Apparently, Churro loved the attention but Scout didn't really like his visit too much. Poor baby. I was reading another Germany blog tonight that I found through a random search (it happened to be another couple who was stationed there by the Army), and this one again re-iterated that Germans treat dogs better than kids. Wow! Perfect for us! :)
Take care!
28 July 2008
Welcome to our blog!
Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by our new blog. This will be a place we hope you'll bookmark and visit often throughout the next three years -- as I said in the title, we're moving to Germany! We want to share this wonderful experience with all our family, friends and loved ones.
This move has been in the planning stages for quite some time now. We've only officially known for a few weeks- since it's an Army move, nothing's completely official until I have those orders in-hand! We've been working on it since early this summer, however, when Kelli, my former boss at Fort Campbell, contacted me to say she had an opening at her new post in Germany and wanted to hire me! How could I turn that down? I almost did, to take a job in Colorado (somewhere else we really wanted to live) but then common sense took over, along with the wise words and well-wishes of many family members and friends who reminded me an opportunity like this just doesn't come along very often. So, I said yes, and the planning began.
So far, there have only been little bumps in the road. I tend to turn everything into a big bump, but that's okay. :) It's all working out. I have dealt with starting dates, moving dates, the transportation office, the travel office, the passport office, several different airline companies, the personnel office, and soon the port for shipping our vehicle. I won't go into too much detail here since that's all behind us and it's working out. My biggest concern, of course, was getting to visit some family before the big move, as well as making sure my dogs and cat could fly with us on the plane! Basically, to make a long story short, it's going to work out that way (and hopefully nothing will change over the next few weeks before we go!)
Neither of us has ever been to Europe. Growing up, my family always travelled all over the place, and as a result I've been to I think about 41 states and three countries, but never Europe, which was always fine with me. I LOVE to travel. I am a little nervous about my first trip over there actually being when I'm moving there for three years, but I have faith that it's where we're supposed to be. How else can I explain it, with everything we've been through over the past year, and I still got this job? It's God's plan.
Being so close with my family will make this move the most difficult on me I think. I am not sure how I'll deal with the 7-hour time difference between my family and me, especially since my mom and I talk on the phone at least once a day, sometimes more, and always email during the day. The best thing, however, is that I know we'll have lots of visitors. No one has an excuse... if you can afford the airfare, you've already got a place to stay when you get there!
Right now we are dealing with the car issue. We had wanted to trade in Carl's truck and get a smaller, more fuel-efficient car to take with us. That didn't work, thanks to the American public who has completely paniced about gas prices and sent the value of trucks and SUVs plummeting. Now, we're working on trading in my Trailblazer for something smaller as well. I'll keep you posted. Otherwise, we'll be taking the Trailblazer (which I love and don't want to get rid of, but know that it's the best thing).
Scout and Churro have an appointment Wednesday to get all updated on their shots. Noelle was updated in January so she's ready to go! I got a great deal on a large used airline crate here off of Craigslist, and Churro just got a new one, so now we just need one more for one of the dogs. We have been confirmed on our flight, and so have all three of the furry kids!! Yay! I even got a window seat -- and that better not change! The three furries will be travelling as "excess baggage" in the cargo area. I am very sad about putting them through that, but I have been assured by many people that the airline we are flying on is absolutely the best for flying animals. It's temperature-controlled where they'll be too, so that makes me feel better.
We are so excited about this upcoming adventure and also excited about sharing it with everyone through this blog! I'll update again soon!
This move has been in the planning stages for quite some time now. We've only officially known for a few weeks- since it's an Army move, nothing's completely official until I have those orders in-hand! We've been working on it since early this summer, however, when Kelli, my former boss at Fort Campbell, contacted me to say she had an opening at her new post in Germany and wanted to hire me! How could I turn that down? I almost did, to take a job in Colorado (somewhere else we really wanted to live) but then common sense took over, along with the wise words and well-wishes of many family members and friends who reminded me an opportunity like this just doesn't come along very often. So, I said yes, and the planning began.
So far, there have only been little bumps in the road. I tend to turn everything into a big bump, but that's okay. :) It's all working out. I have dealt with starting dates, moving dates, the transportation office, the travel office, the passport office, several different airline companies, the personnel office, and soon the port for shipping our vehicle. I won't go into too much detail here since that's all behind us and it's working out. My biggest concern, of course, was getting to visit some family before the big move, as well as making sure my dogs and cat could fly with us on the plane! Basically, to make a long story short, it's going to work out that way (and hopefully nothing will change over the next few weeks before we go!)
Neither of us has ever been to Europe. Growing up, my family always travelled all over the place, and as a result I've been to I think about 41 states and three countries, but never Europe, which was always fine with me. I LOVE to travel. I am a little nervous about my first trip over there actually being when I'm moving there for three years, but I have faith that it's where we're supposed to be. How else can I explain it, with everything we've been through over the past year, and I still got this job? It's God's plan.
Being so close with my family will make this move the most difficult on me I think. I am not sure how I'll deal with the 7-hour time difference between my family and me, especially since my mom and I talk on the phone at least once a day, sometimes more, and always email during the day. The best thing, however, is that I know we'll have lots of visitors. No one has an excuse... if you can afford the airfare, you've already got a place to stay when you get there!
Right now we are dealing with the car issue. We had wanted to trade in Carl's truck and get a smaller, more fuel-efficient car to take with us. That didn't work, thanks to the American public who has completely paniced about gas prices and sent the value of trucks and SUVs plummeting. Now, we're working on trading in my Trailblazer for something smaller as well. I'll keep you posted. Otherwise, we'll be taking the Trailblazer (which I love and don't want to get rid of, but know that it's the best thing).
Scout and Churro have an appointment Wednesday to get all updated on their shots. Noelle was updated in January so she's ready to go! I got a great deal on a large used airline crate here off of Craigslist, and Churro just got a new one, so now we just need one more for one of the dogs. We have been confirmed on our flight, and so have all three of the furry kids!! Yay! I even got a window seat -- and that better not change! The three furries will be travelling as "excess baggage" in the cargo area. I am very sad about putting them through that, but I have been assured by many people that the airline we are flying on is absolutely the best for flying animals. It's temperature-controlled where they'll be too, so that makes me feel better.
We are so excited about this upcoming adventure and also excited about sharing it with everyone through this blog! I'll update again soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
