Weekend Trips

Did I mention we went out of town the weekend before last? Well, we did. We went to Rothenburg. For me, this was visit number 4. For Jordan, the first. It was nice. Same as the last 3 times...

Then this past weekend we went to a place neither of us had ever been, the castles! You know the ones you think of when you think of Germany? Like this...

And this...

And maybe even this, but probably with all the spring flowers we didn't see...

We enjoyed our time together.

We REALLY enjoyed the views and the whole trip in general!

Things we learned...
1. Ludwig was totally gay and in love with the composer Wagner.
2. Paying 70 euro for a tank of gas when the Esso machine goes down really sucks.
3. Everyone in Germany (except us) likes to ski.
4. We are totally blessed to live in a place that lets us take weekend trips like this.
5. When they won't let you take pictures and you try to get a sneaky one, it will turn out like this...

Next weekend it's off to Tuscany!

Moovin' Monday Final Week

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Remember...
1. No fast food!
2. Workout at least 3 times!
3. Link up!
See our past entries here.

Well, it's finally here. The final week! Although, it's not like I stuck with it and this week I get to do something different. My plan is to try to stick to the same routine for the next few months.

This week I did fairly well, but not great. I worked out 3x, and ate fast food twice. I didn't make good choices either, Dr. Peppers, large fries, you know, the works. Blah. I'll blame it on PMS and laziness.

This week I'm back on the wagon...
Monday- Tacos
Tuesday- Zumba, Protein Shake
Wednesday- Uh, I'll be honest, Burger King.
Thursday- Cardio, Zumba, Protein Shake
Friday- Cardio Shopping :), Chicken
Saturday- 30 Day Shred, Spaghetti
Sunday- No More Trouble Zones, ?

As you can see we eat the same thing every week. I need a chef.

And now the fun stuff...new clothes! I ordered some work out pants from Target and they are GREAT!!!


They are the best pants ever. Wonderful length, perfect thickness, just right rise on the hips. Love love love! Plus, they come in petite and tall. Get some!

And now, you know what time it is...

Ah, Kindergarten

- "Sometimes you are scary like this. You know, like when you make your face wrinkly and your eyes go like this? Yeah, sometimes you are mad and scary."

- "When I went to a sleep over I had a whole can of soda. I didn't even need to go to the bathroom that night though, cause God holded by bladder."

- I was teaching a lesson on the good Samaritan last week and trying to relate it to how we can be a good neighbor to others. I used the example of a person on the street asking for money. To which one of my students replies, "Oh yeah. I've seen them on my game Vice City. Them and those girls that walk."

- On Monday, I pointed out a mistake a student made on a paper, to which she replies, "What the?!"

- Yesterday I was cleaning up bubbles on the students' tests today and found a booklet with 2 pages stuck together...with a booger.

- And today...

Ah, Kindergarten never fails to entertain.

Moovin' Monday Week 4

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Remember...
1. No fast food!
2. Workout at least 3 times!
3. Link up!
See our past entries here.

Sorry for the delay. Work was a little nuts. I kind of flipped a lid when some things weren't taken care of. So I went to tan to make it better (I know. Skin cancer is bad, but German winters are worse.) and then I took a nap. Moving on...

Well, I finally have some good news! I am VERY proud of myself for last week. I will say that I did have Burger King, but only once. And listen to this- I got a SMALL fry and a SMALL DIET COKE. (In case you would like to judge, I usually get a king size fry and dr. pepper. There. Judge away.) Plus, I worked out 4 times! I even woke up at 5:30 to work out. But only once, cause it sucked. I am also proud to say I am down about 5 lbs! Bonus! Does that tell you how much BK I was eating?

Alright, for the 5 of you left with me, here is my plan for this week...
Monday- Tacos
Tuesday- Zumba, Protein Shake
Wednesday- Chicken
Thursday- Zumba, Protein Shake
Friday- Spaghetti
Saturday- Jog, Eating Out in Bavaria
Sunday- Jillian's Super Psycho No More Trouble Zones, I Have No Clue

We are traveling again this weekend, so I will try to make good choices. We are going to pack sandwiches for Saturday's lunch so we don't eat fast food on the way!

What about you? Plans? Are you still sticking with it? Not too much longer! You can do it!



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As a side note, in order to make this post longer and entertain those who could care less about food, can I be real with you? I know I may not be the quickest email person, but I do get back to you. While I may moderate comments, I do publish all of them that are not spam or full of name calling. WHY IN THE WORLD would another military spouse delete my comments asking for info for my PCS? And even delete the ones where I just say hello? If you lived somewhere that another blogger is moving, wouldn't you help them out? I know I would, and I do. Refusing to acknowledge someone exists is outright rude, and really shows that there are those spouses out there that give the rest of us a bad reputation. If you don't have time to answer, tell me that, but don't be a total ninny about it. Whatever.

Questions and Answers

What do you eat for lunches everyday? What kind of protein shakes are you eating for dinner?
For lunch I usually have some type of Smart Ones meal, a salty snack (like organic pretzels) and a sweet snack (like sugar free pudding). Lunch has always been easy for me, dinner, well, not so much. The protein shakes after work outs are something the husband says builds lean muscle. If I am still hungry after one, I usually eat some other protein-y snack. Don't worry, I eat!

My husband and I took a Med. Cruise for our honeymoon...and Turkey was one of our favorites! Ephesus is amazing...be sure to visit there...amazing!
Already been! It is amazing, you are so right!

I have never tried the coke/wine combo but I will be next week. Did you say cherry coke or regular coke?
Regular coke and red wine. Yum! Other good combos- lemonade and beer, coke and beer, cherry coke and beer. Pretty much the Germans will drink anything involving wine or beer.

Are all overseas assignments 2 years for AF?
No, accompanied remote assignments, which is what we will be doing, are 2 years. These are places like Turkey, Korea, and the Azores. Overseas assignments for officers are typically 3 years. If you are Enlisted, I think you can stay up to 7 in one place!

Can you get an address at your new duty station before you move and MPS all of the liquids you don't use? Why use all your stuff before you move?
Yes, I can certainly mail and/or ship all of this. The idea is not to get rid of it before I move, just to try to drop some extra weight. So, instead of buying new products (which I do way too much), I am trying to use only what I have and use up what I can. No need to carry so much with us if I can use it first!

I'm an Army wife who just moved to Germany, and I would love to see more about you did for storage, etc.
Great idea! I will work on a post about just that! Thanks!


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Have any more questions? Let me know or email me!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend...

Why?

A fellow mil-spouse, a blogger, a Moovin' Monday buddy, and an all around great gal has lost her husband this week in Afghanistan. If you haven't already, will you please go offer your words of support? We all dread the knock on the door, and Mrs. P was one of the unlucky few to receive it. Let's let her know she is not alone...

A Little Pink in a World of Camo

Moovin' Monday Week 3

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Remember...
1. No fast food!
2. Workout at least 3 times!
3. Link up!
See our past entries here.

Sorry I'm late getting to it this week. I had a doctors appointment this morning (Surprise! I have a deviated septum. Oh joy!) and errands to do until now. So, while dinner is cookin' in the crockpot (Thanks Jane for the yummy recipe!) I will post Moovin' Monday!

I must admit to an epic fail on my eating this week. I made it 3 weeks without fast food. This is huge. I did well until this weekend. I chose a salad at Chilis on Friday, but then chichen tenders and fries Saturday, and...... McDonalds Sunday. I know, I know. I suck. Kick me in the shin. Twice. Other than that I worked out 3 times, but not 4 like I wanted to.

You know how they say when you stop eating soemthing like fast food you won't like it anymore when you do eat it? They lie. Those french fries were stinking amazing. Moving on.

This week it's back on the horse...

Monday- 30 Day Shred, Tortilla Soup
Tuesday- Snacks at Book Club
Wednesday- 30 Day Shred, Leftovers
Thursday- Zumba, Protein Shake
Friday- 30 Day Shred, Chicken
Saturday- Lots of walking on a day trip, Pizza (Don't judge. Different zip code. Doesn't count.)
Sunday- No More Trouble Zones, Tacos

So what about you? Did you do amazing this week or did you fall off the wagon? We were missing some peeps last week. Did you drop out after week 1?

Don't forget to link up, but make sure to link to your post about Movvin' Monday. No post? I'll have to remove your link. Sorry. :(

Starting the Process

About a month or so ago, knowing we were heading into a PCS this summer, I started getting ready. One of my biggest projects has been getting rid of excess weight (and not just the kind in my thighs). On a particularly thoughtful day, I came to realize I have too many clothes. Is it possible? Oh yes, it is. We have no closets (epic fail Germany, epic fail) so we have shrunks and garment racks to replace them. Of the five we have, I fill up four. And a dresser. Oops.

So the plan was/is, wear it all. I am forcing myself to wear every item in my winter wardrobe (and will repeat for the warmer weather items should it ever stop snowing). If I REALLY don't want to wear it, it has to go. Simple as that. If I won't wear it when I am making myself, chances are I shouldn't have it.

I have been pretty good with it, repeating a top only once. I kind of feel like this junior high drama teacher I had, not wearing the same thing twice. 

So far I have worn all this...
(Please keep in mind these are winter tops only. Imagine shrunks and drawers just like this for pants and skirts, and summer shirts. Sigh.)

But still need to wear this...

And I have tossed this (plus a bag of things given to a friend's daughter)...

Oh yeah, and I'm also working on using up all of this...

But that's gonna be a long process.

So, what do you do to get ready for a move?

Speaking of Moving...

WE GOT OUR ASSIGNMENT! (Those of you that are Facebook friends, act surprised, okay?)

It looks like you will have to put up with my travel stories a little longer because we are headed to....

Turkey!!!!!

The good news?

- I am already used to all things living overseas. For example: AFN, not using pennies, Burger King only, humming transformers, 2 kinds of currency, not speaking the language, smelly people, etc.

- We will get to travel more. Less than an hour away from the Med. coast? Yes, I'll have that. Other places to see? More of Greece, Istanbul, Jordan, etc.

- No more dang snow!

- Jobs are hard to find. (Yes, this is a good thing. Ha!)

- They have a real live Starbucks on base.

- I can say I have lived on 3 continents in the last 5 years.

- I'll get to go with my parents on a cruise (yes, again) to visit the places Paul traveled.

- SHOPPING! Oh, heaven. Fake purses, cheap rugs, lots of jewelry, piles of pashminas. Loves.

- Our closest big city looks like this...

The bad news?

- Our neighbors will be Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Georgia. Uh, not so friendly.

- Jordan has to deploy. Boo.

- We have to live on base. (Maybe this will be good?)

- Still no Target or Chick Fil A.  

- Have to make new friends and find things to do.

Anyway, we move this summer and will be there for 2 years. Can't wait!

Moovin Monday Week 2

So I'm moovin kind of slow today, but at least I'm moovin, right?

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If you are just joining us, Moovin' March is my way to shake off the winter blues (and the winter pounds). It's been a long snowy winter and it's time to get moovin' again! (You know, so we don't look like cows. Albino cows.) So, what do you have to do?

1. Say no to fast food.
2. Say yes to exercise (3x a week or more).
3. Grab a button, link up, and check in!
That's it!

So last week I continued to do well with my eating. No fast food! (This makes 2 weeks!) I also went to my Zumba classes. However, I am sad to say that I only managed to get in 2 workouts. My problem is when I work and workout I am tried ALL WEEK LONG! I can't seem to find energy. Most people say working out helps, but it makes me more tired! Ideas? Please help!

This week, the plan is to get in 4 workouts to make up for my suckage last week. My dinners and workouts this week will be...
Monday- 30 Day Shred, Chicken
Tuesday- Zumba, Protein Shake
Wednesday- Tacos
Thursday- Zumba, Protein Shake
Friday- Pasta
Saturday- Weights and Cardio, Salad
Sunday- Baked Potato
I am also going to try using a food journal. (Thanks to whoever linked this last week. It's great!)

Alright, now it's your turn! How did you do last week? What is your plan for this week? Link it up!

Ooo La La!

Check out my interview at Candace's lovely site...

The Down Side

I love teaching. Love it. Yes, even when the kids drive me nuts. Yes, even when the hours are long. I love being able to say that I made a difference in the lives of at least 38 children. I take pride in the fact that I have taught them how to read and write, a skill that will last them a lifetime.

However, there is a downside to all that fun. Any guesses? If you said parents, you would be right! As a disclaimer, some parents are wonderful. I still keep in touch with parents from four years ago, and I have had wonderful experiences with parents so great I hope to one day be like them. But there is always one. At least.

This year I happen to have a particularly challenging time. Honestly, I don't know what one could hope to gain by LAUGHING when their students says they got in trouble at school. Do you really think that laughing when they cheat is beneficial to anyone? And getting in my face in front of your children? Really? I mean, if you want to fight this battle, by all means, let's go. I (a TRAINED professional) am trying to do what is best for your kid and their future. You, on the other hand, are doing what is most convenient for you. I don't get it. I really don't. I can only recommend you getting services so many times before I scream. Seriously. Your child is going to get teased because you are too lazy to help. Does that sit well with you?

Anyway, thank you to all parents out there who make an effort to support and work with the teachers of your children. To those of you who make it your mission to be a thorn in the side of the school, listen up:

You will get a reputation. Everyone in the school will know you and will dread having your kids. Is that what you want?

If it is, maybe you should just consider homeschool. That way you will always like the teacher.