That was different...

So, my birthday turned out to be quite an eventful one. Perhaps the most eventful yet. Even more so then my 16th birthday when a bird crapped on my head.

After blogging in the morning I headed off to our Bazaar meeting on base. Coming down the hill and onto the main street in town the traffic was backed up. I went to brake, and I accidentally hit the gas. I hit the back of the DHL van in front of me, and then I just froze. I had no idea what had just happened. I heard the crunch. I felt the bump. I see all the crap from my purse all over the car. I just got in a wreck! Dang it! I pull over to the side of the road and get out of the car to apologize. I start crying a little waiting for the guy to get out of his car. I start crying even more when HE SPEAKS NO ENGLISH! AHHH! I only know food and direction German! I can ask him where the post office is, but not so much can I apologize for hitting him. He continues to speak in German, and I continue to speak in English. I call my mechanic to translate, and thankfully he does! The guy says it's no big deal, but that he has to call the police because it is a company car. He calls the police and I call the MPs (military police). We stand there awkwardly for 20 minutes waiting for the police. The police come and get his side of the story. Here is what he may (or may not) have said:

The girl came out of no where going 40 km/hour over the speed limit. She slammed into me. I have whiplash and a broken finger. She cussed at me and tried to get me to not call the police.

Luckily they speak English so I give my side of the story. (In short- It's my fault.) They tell me the need my registration, license, and 20 Euro. Crap! I don't have my license, I just switched purses. I don't have 20 Euro, I am blaming that on Jordan. :) So I handover my registration and beg for mercy. They let me promise to bring it by the station later. The American police come 10 minutes after the Germans leave. (I say American, but they were actually German in an American car.) They start to get all the same info, and then let the guy leave. They get my ID card and when the girl turns it over she says, "Oh my god, it's your birthday." I start bawling again.

Anyways, I survived my first wreck. Car issues ALWAYS happen when Jordan is out of town for training. The first year it was my transmission and then his car totally giving out while I'm driving it. Last year, I got a flat tire on I-20 outside of Dallas. This year, the wreck.

2 things I decided after this wreck...
1. I need some sort of German phrase card in my car with phrases I can point to like "I'm an idiot. I am so sorry." or "This is all your fault. You better have good insurance."

2. Jordan can never go out of town again. Ever.

Sooooo after I pull away a friend calls and offers to pick me up at my house and take me to the station and to lunch (we had all planned to meet for my bday after the meeting.) I finally agreed, relieved to not be driving. That's the great thing about military wives (her husband is deployed), they always know just what you need. They are always there for you because they understand! We get to the station, pay my money, and head to Chilis.

Lots of friends showed at Chilis which was nice, 11 of us in all. I started by ordering a drink, I totally deserved it. It was nice to hang out and not talk about the icky morning. We always seem to have a good time. Then the waitress comes over with a round of drinks (Jaeger Bombs in case you care) and says they are from a guy a few tables over. We gladly accept and I go over to thank him. I explain it's my birthday and it has been rough, and his kindness is appreciated. He said we just looked like we were having fun. As I sit down and we start chatting, out comes another round (melon balls this time) with a special one for me. Dang! We probst (cheers) to the guy, the day, and friends. After another hour or so we start to leave and the guy comes over to chat. (He's a pilot and Army if that gives you any idea.) We try to be cordial and make sure he sees the wedding rings at the same time. The guy leaves a few minutes later. As we all put cash down to pay, we are told it has all taken care of! And out comes another round of drinks (apple something or other)! AHHHH!!!! I know what he was expecting, but I don't know if that was the most cost effective way to go about it. He choose the wrong group of ladies, but we are glad he did! Ha!

The rest of the day was spent at the CASF (they had cake and a card), at Jane's house, at the Belgian Cantina (cherry beer for a Euro! mmm!), and eating at a wonderful Italian place.

The only other sad note of the day was the first time I have actually felt old. Talking to Jane's son, who is just out of high school, he was telling me about orientation. I asked about his roommate, and he said although he had not met the roommate, he seemed okay. He said, "I checked him out on this......internet thing......and it seemed alright." I said, "You mean Facebook?" He said, "yeah" with this surprised look. I realized he thought I was too old to know what Facebook was! WTH! Seriously?!?!?! I informed him that I certainly knew what it was and spent the rest of the day pouting.

All in all the day turned out well, and that, I owe to my friends. With Jordan being gone and the incident of the morning, the day could have easily turned out terribly. I am truly blessed to have a wonderful group of ladies so far away from home that I know I can call on for anything. They are supportive, caring, but they don't take any crap. I am going to have a hard time as we all start to PCS, several of them have already left! I treasure these ladies, and I treasure what I have here. I am blessed with a wonderful start to "my" military career. Thanks guys!

The first night I met all of the ladies. (Last fall!) Windy and Nicole are missing in this one...

This week I am working and working and working! Tomorrow I hope to go to a local pub to watch the finals of the Euro cup. Germany is playing Spain, it's gonna be nuts! Wednesday I am getting a haircut- hooray! Friday the base is having a big 4th of July thing, hopefully I can talk someone into going with me to that.

We got some good news yesterday about Jordan's class. It is going to be done almost 2 weeks earlier than planned! Hooray! Hopefully he will get to come home a few days after class is done.

Other than that we are just counting down the days until our Greek cruise! We can't wait. In between now and then I will be going to Poland, doing the Bazaar, and maybe a day trip or two with the USO.

This is plenty long for now. Ciao!

Mid-20s

*Note, even though my blog says June 24th. It's actually the 8:30 am on the 25th here. I'm not cheating!

Soooo...today is my birthday. :) (My birthmonth has been in full swing for awhile.) This is the third birthday in a row without the hubby. Apparently Jordan can only do training during the summer (ie birthday and anniversary). Maybe he plans it this way so he doesn't have to pick out cards. Hmmmm....

I'm going to a meeting this morning, then out to lunch with some friends, then some acupuncture. Then Reagan and I will sit around in our party hats. (If I can actually get Reagan to wear a hat, I will let you know. I may have to settle for his giraffe costume.)

This birthday also means I am officially in my mid 20's. (No groans old people!) I pretty much have 6 years of good life left the way I see it.

I am very blessed to be where I am at this point in my life though. I could never have imagined that at this point in my life I would have such a sweet husband, live in Europe, have wonderful friends, a great job, cleaning people (okay, maybe I DID imagine that), and the best cat ever. Even though it's a lonely birthday, there is a lot to be happy about.

Tschuss!

Alright already!

Okay Okay, I am updating the blog again! You people (ie Mom and Sis) need more to do! :) Do you like the new layout?

Here are some pictures I needed to put up for awhile...

From our hike in San Antonio. It was nice, but it's no Switzerland :)

Reagan and his buddy Johnny.

I arrived back in Germany Friday morning. That is such a rough flight! I wish there was a way to sleep through it, but sleeping on a plane is so difficult. My large suitcase ended up being 52 pounds, only 2 pounds over the limit. Luckily the small one was only 36 pounds, so the nice man at the counter didn't charge me (or even make me shift some of the weight to the smaller bag). Hooray! I had already mailed 40 pounds of stuff to myself, so needless to say I had a lot of stuff!

The flight to Germany wasn't the worst part though. The flight to Detroit might have been the worst of my life. It was a small plane, and when I sat down, I guess I was in the wrong row. An older lady came and told me, so I apologized and was waiting for the aisle to clear to move. Well she came back less than a min. later and said it again, with about 15 people walking down the aisle. Rude! Well, I moved and got situated, and she sat down. She then asked the guy next to her if he would mind switching so her daughter could sit next to her. He obliged. I wish he hadn't. Not only was it her daughter, but her toddler as well. Ahhhh! So for 2 hours of the 2 1/2 hour flight, I had two little feet kicking my chair. To make it worse the older lady didn't SHUT UP. Ever. She narrated everything the boy did. This is how it went...

"Does Timmy want a cracker?" kick, kick, kick "Can Timmy say bye bye to the airport?" kick, kick "Does Timmy like his juice, yes he does, oh yes he does like his little juicy wuicy." kick, kick, kick, kick "Is Timmy ready to see Papa?" kick, kick...

I swear that kid will never learn to talk, she talks enough for all three of them. I was highly annoyed. I am surprised I didn't say anything. They should not be allowed to fly ever again. So old lady, if you happen to read this, you are the most annoying traveler ever. Ever.

When I got on the plane to Germany there was a lady with a baby in the seat next to me. I almost walked off the plane. Turns out to be the best behaved baby ever! She slept most of the time, and was happy the rest of the time. The mom was a nice German lady from this area. Plus, I was in the first row in the middle so we had extra leg room. Plus, the 2 end seats were taken, but not the one next to me. I was able to lift the arm rests (the ones on the end had permanent arm rests) and use both seats. It was great!

Once I got back my wonderful friend Lynn picked me up and brought me home. Reagan was so excited to see me! He hasn't left my side since. He was lonely without us. Now he just misses his Dad.

Here is a picture I JUST took of Reagan, and no the zoom is not being used. He is really that close to my face. All I did was talk to him, which prompted him to walk from my feet to my face.

Overall I had a really great trip. There is truly nothing like being in Texas! It was great to see so many people I loved. I appreciate all of you that took time to see me while I was down. I especially enjoyed my time with my Nanny. It is hard to think that may be the last time I will see her (she has terminal cancer), but I felt like we had an awesome day. I hope I am that spunky at 88! I will treasure that time we spent together forever.

A big thanks to my parents who let me stay with them (and dirty up my old room) and use a car, and didn't even mind shuttling me to and from the airport. I really appreciate it!

Side note- If you have not eaten Mexican food in a long time do not attempt to eat a basket of tortillas, quesadillas, 2 cups of salsa, 2 margaritas, and tons of chips. The outcome is not good.

So now I am back to the daily grind. Working working working! I even worked the same day I got back, plus all day (12 hours) Saturday. The weather was cool Friday, but got up to 85 today (and hailed, odd). I went down and got a Kebab this afternoon and the guy tried to kiss me, and not in the friendly European kind of way. Welcome back! :)

I suppose that's all for now. I need to unpack and catch up on some emails and picture uploading. Come visit us soon!

Ciao!

It's Been Awhile

I know what you are thinking, "What in the world is Casey doing?! I'm lost without her weekly update." Well, I apologize. If you are anything like me, you check for updates and wonder what the point of having a blog is if I don't update it. I know, I know okay! I apologize. I will try not to let it happen again. Although, it may happen while I am in Rome/Greece this October. :)

Beth's dance recital went really well. She elbowed her way in front of every dance. Of course she was the best in the class, so that was just fine. It was fun to spend time with her, Jacob, and my sister. I really bonded with Jacob, which was nice. He didn't barf on me this time, so that was nice as well. Molly came by for a visit while I was there, and I enjoyed chatting with her. I wish I could make it to the wedding! She let Beth put on her crown, which pretty much made Beth's year.

Beth during tap (Baby Take a Bow). She did three routines!

During the visit with the kiddos Jordan and I confirmed that we are not ready for our own. (Although, Beth is very curious as to why I don't have a baby.) Reagan works just fine for us for awhile!

After the long car ride to my parents, my sister and I were able to hang out a little more. The first night we went shopping by ourselves. Thank goodness for YaYa and Popi!

After that it was off to San Antonio to hang out with Jordan. I had a blast! We ate at some great places (one of which, PF Changs, where we ran into 2 of my friends from high school!), did a lot of shopping (my suitcase was overweight coming home- oops), and even went for a (7 mile!) hike. It was super hard to leave knowing I won't seem him again until August. This will be the longest we have been apart so far.

Today I am spending some quality time with my Nanny and then shopping with my Mom. Hopefully tonight I will see my friend Dawn. Tomorrow I am with Jordan's mom, and then dinner with his family tomorrow night. Then Thursday it's time to head to the airport. BOOOOOO! It is going to be really hard to leave this time knowing I am going back to an empty house, and won't be back in the states for another year or so.

On that note, I better go get ready before I start getting all patriotically emotional. Pictures soon.

Tschuss!

We are getting old...

Jordan and I have been married for 2 years! (and 4 days!) It has gone by so fast. Time flies when you are having fun, and I am truly having fun living with my best friend! Having him gone all summer makes me realize I can't do without him. Love you honey!

Friday Update

Obviously I have made it to Texas at this point, otherwise I would have posted a hate letter to the airline.

Anyways, its already been a busy week. I went to the school where I used to teach, and I was able to see all of my students. They have grown so much. I got at least 4000 hugs, even from the boys. I also forgot how recess used to be miserable because it was soooo hot!

I have already eaten: McDonald's, Mexican food, Sonic, Whataburger, Church's, and Chick Fil A. Perhaps this is why I threw up Wednesday.

I've also done tons of shopping. I really enjoyed being able to go to Target and the mall. I almost cried walking into Target. Then I almost cried when I saw how much money I spent. :)

This weekend Jordan, Mom, Dad, and I are headed to Fort Worth to see my sister and her kiddos. I've only met Jacob once, so it will be good to see him again. We also get to see Beth's first dance recital, which I am extremely excited about. Plus Molly is coming, and I haven't seen her in forever. It's like shes doing something important :)

Next week I will be seeing the Hammocks, Meredith, a former student (Erin) and her family, and maybe my CP girls. Then I am headed to San Antonio to hang with Jordan for a few days. Ahhhh!

PS- Happy Birthday Laura!

All for now, took a Vicoddin and now I'm off to sleep. Maybe someone besides my sister will comment this time. *Tear*

TEXAS!!!

Okay, well I haven't quite made it to Texas yet, but at least I am in the US. I am in the Detroit airport waiting for my delayed flight to Houston. On the way home Mom and Dad and I are eating MEXICAN FOOD! Sweet! Right now I am enjoying a Cherry Coke Zero, I love these things. Hopefully they will get them in Germany soon.

I have a busy few weeks ahead. I am trying my best to squeeze everyone and everything into my short time in the greatest state ever. Each day has something on the calendar already. Besides seeing people I miss, I am really looking forward to shopping, eating, getting my nails done (and not having it cost 90 dollars), and going to the chiropractor! So much excitement.

The flight from Germany was pretty uneventful. This was my first time flying Northwest outside of the US, and it was actually nice. The food was decent and you can choose from a big list of movies. You can pause and play them as you like. I watched The Other Boleyn Girl and The Devil Wears Prada. The other airlines I have been on just have 1 movie playing at a time. Plus, they had games. I got the highest score ever for my seat in Bejeweled. The little things make me happy. Plus, now I have a good seat for this next flight (in an exit row).

Alright, our flight has landed, better pack up.

Mexican food and margaritas in just a few hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!