Hello, hello!
This could be the best day ever for me. I am not sure why but I woke up in an extremely good mood today. Not sure why because I was a huge grouch when I went to bed :)
This week has gone by soo fast for me. Not sure how it is already Friday. This week Shawna and I stirred up some trouble on the base. On Wednesday we went to a boot camp class, where I completely died and she made everyone look pathetic. That night she came over for dinner and we acted like little girls the whole night and just sat around giggling. Josh called and I told him that we were going to have one of his Swisher Sweets...he said no, but we did anyway :). Somehow we looked at the clock around 11:30 and couldn't believe it. It was a blast and both of us agreed we hadn't had that much fun since being in Germany.
The next day I couldn't move from the stupid boot camp class and luckily Shawna called and got me off the couch to go on a walk. I couldn't believe this but found out that it is INSANELY cheap to fly here. She had bought a ticket for some of her girls earlier in the day to fly to Spain for 10 Euros (at the most that would be $15). We decided that we were going to fly to Morocco, Africa one of these weekends that she has a four day. She was told it was one of the most beautiful places in the world and it only costs 50 Euro. Also, in two weekends she has to go to Belgium for work...so asked if I could come with. All I can say is the Lord does amazing things and she was put in my life at the perfect time!
Talked to Josh this week. He had a little more fun at the training then I think he thought he would. I am sure he can tell you all more but he was pretty excited because he got to see this robotic (pretty sure I just made up a word) device that finds IUDs. They also did some shooting, so I think he had a pretty good time. He didn't get nights off like he thought he would but last night when I called him he was bowling. Said he bowled a turkey but still ended up with a 126. Haha, only Josh could pull something like that off.
I was suppose to drive to Frankfurt Airport today to pick up an X-girlfriend of one of the officers (he wanted to see her before deploying) but turns out her flight got delayed and she won't be coming in till tomorrow AM. So no driving on the autobahn for me today :).
Tonight, Shawna and I want to take the guys to Coyote Ugly. It's a bar just like the movies and does fire and dancing on the bars. I hope the guys go for it :). We are having the superbowl party at our apartment but it doesn't play here till midnight on Sunday, so it is going to be one late night. I have to find a fun appetizer to make so if anyone has suggestions, please send them my way. On Saturday, Josh says we are dressing up and he is taking me out...he said he wanted to splurge before leaving :).
Well I hope that you all have a great weekend. Also, I hope that you guys don't get too bored with my postings. Sometimes I try to read them over and I can't get through it all.
Miss you all, love you more!
Truly,
Gretchen and Josh
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
26 Random things about me....
1. I love the condiments ketchup and barbeque sauce. However, it has to be Heinz and Sweet Baby Rays. I eat them in access and use more condiment than food with each bit.
2. I am obsessed with Monkeys. I could sit at a zoo all day and be entertained by them. For some reason, Josh and Joelle think that it is really cool to tell me how “not cool” they are and how they want to kill every monkey.
3. I guess when I was really little and people use to come up to me and tell me I was cute, I would try to bite them.
4. To make things even worse: When I was little I would stand in this special corner in the kitchen and pull out real knifes at my older brother and sister while they were babysitting. That way they could never punish me or get close to me.
5. I really did not like my sister until she left for college. Infact, I HATED her. Now she is one of my bestest friends and has taught me a great deal about life. At one point in my life she took me under her wing and took AMAZING care of me. She also takes amazing care of my puppy Tyson.
6. I am a huge daddy’s girl! I think the absolute world of him and always dreamed of marrying a man JUST like him (I always told him that I would).
7. When I was in grade school my older brother, Gregory, would always ask me to watch movies with him. He always paused all of the beginning first parts of the movie to write down ALL of the movie information: director, star actors/actresses, music, etc , etc.. And EVERYTIME after he was done with the beginning credits the popcorn would be done and I would fall asleep. He still continued to want me to watch the movies with him.
8. The closer I get to growing up and one day watching a child, I realize how much mother did to raise all of us 4 children. Sometimes I wonder how in the world she managed to do it but a lot of times I just pray that I can have HALF of the strength and love my mother had….and pretty sure that would A LOT of love :)
9. When I was in 3rd and 4th grade my younger brother, Michael, and I would go to subway and each get a foot long sub. I would get tuna and he would get seafood and we would trade half of our sub for the other one. I am not sure how we at so much but we did! We learned quickly that very few subways serve seafood subs.
10. I got married 5 months ago to my best friend. I never thought I could be so in love with a person but have been told that it will fade….however, I find myself wondering how I got so lucky from day to day. He challenges me more than I ever thought possible. He knows me inside and out and treats me like I am the most important thing in the world.
11. I think the world of Josh’s family. The dynamics of the family are like no other. I have found that Mary and Dave will drop EVERYTHING for any one of the children….lately it has happened so often that at times this allows me to wonder how they both still have a job. Brittany and Danielle are two of the most brilliant and gorgeous girls I know. Brittany acts far too mature for her age and Danielle has taught me a great deal about being strong when it comes to relationship. I guess you could say that I am slightly obsessed with the family :)
12. The Kirschling family is the BOMB diggity. We can fight like cats and dogs but I love them all more than Monkeys. With the fighting comes love and making up and I think that is the best part about it all. Each time we get closer as a family and I have found that I really on each family member in a very different way. My little brother, Michael, is the funniest of us all- he has the ability to make the whole room laugh. Meaghan always brings the fun and the wits to the table- she is said to be the daughter who can do anything (cook, paint, sew, dance, etc) Greg….ahh, he has taught our family a great deal about finding inner strength and living life to the fullest, I respect and look up to him more than I ever thought possible. My mother, she is one heck of a mom-she loves her children more than any other mother and when she wants to accomplish anything I have found that if her mind and heart both want it, she can just do it (with no other help). I always find this incredible. My father- I have never been able to find the perfect words to describe how much I love him. I can tell my father anything and find that he helps me most learn how to walk with Jesus. Many times, I learn most by just watching him but I am always amazed at what a lucky daughter I am. (sorry that was a really long number 12).
13. Josh and I always argue who has a better best friend. I always tell him that his best friend never gives him hand and foot rubs, and he tells me that my best friend never cuts my hair in JUST boxers. This past week when we went without cell phones, my phone rang A LOT due to my best friend and he got jealous. So I say I currently have the better best friend! Joelle and Jim will continue to be an arguing issue for us for awhile :)
14. I drink a lot of water during the day. At night I will sometimes wake up to pee 4-5 times. I always say it taste’s soo good and I can’t stop. However, Josh gets mad and argues that water does not taste like anything!
15. A recent email from my friend, Carly, made me realize how sometimes you just need to splurge and tell people how much they mean to you. It also made me realize how lucky I am have such great friends.
16. One day my roommate Kristen and I got board at home so we decided to have an Olympic competition. This involved: first to drink a gallon of water the fastest, most pushups, most situps, most jumping jacks, best splits and most facebook friends. I won at all except splits and facebook friends. But it was that day that we both went and asked each other friends to be ours. Still today I don’t know about 50 of my facebook friends because they aren’t really mine.
17. I love the color pink. I would have pink everything if I could. The Ruds even put up pink Christmas lights for me this X-Mas. However, everyone tells them that it looks like “breast cancer” awareness outside their house.
18. I love the sense of touch. Hands down it is the best sense! It sounds weird to a lot of people but I am sticking to it!
19. I never thought at 24 that I would be married and living in Germany. I also never thought that I would need to be as independent as I am. Have also learned how much I need the Guy upstairs to help me and guide me from day to day.
20. I love swisher sweet cigars but can only have one occasionally.
21. Recently I have been very jealous of Minneapolis, MN. Now it houses all the coolest people and am very jealous that my older brother and sister get to live together and do things that I love together- work out, make smoothies, grocery shop and watch “The Bachelor.”
22. I am obsessed with the grocery store and cooking. Sometimes when I am sad I go to the grocery store to just look around. It always makes me happy, so many colors and the people are fun too.
23. Cribbage is my favorite game right now. I have gotten to be very good at it from playing it everynight with Josh.
24. I love to travel and since I am in Germany have been doing a lot of it. I consider myself very lucky but can’t wait for my visitors to come play with me :)
25. When I am 35, I am going to complete a full Triathlon!
26. I sometimes think how far away I am from my family and friends. If I start thinking about it too long, my heart starts to literally hurt. My advice is that everyone (including me) needs to take more advantage of the present and the people you are blessed with in your life, because someday that situation might change.
Thanks for the idea megs! That was really fun.
2. I am obsessed with Monkeys. I could sit at a zoo all day and be entertained by them. For some reason, Josh and Joelle think that it is really cool to tell me how “not cool” they are and how they want to kill every monkey.
3. I guess when I was really little and people use to come up to me and tell me I was cute, I would try to bite them.
4. To make things even worse: When I was little I would stand in this special corner in the kitchen and pull out real knifes at my older brother and sister while they were babysitting. That way they could never punish me or get close to me.
5. I really did not like my sister until she left for college. Infact, I HATED her. Now she is one of my bestest friends and has taught me a great deal about life. At one point in my life she took me under her wing and took AMAZING care of me. She also takes amazing care of my puppy Tyson.
6. I am a huge daddy’s girl! I think the absolute world of him and always dreamed of marrying a man JUST like him (I always told him that I would).
7. When I was in grade school my older brother, Gregory, would always ask me to watch movies with him. He always paused all of the beginning first parts of the movie to write down ALL of the movie information: director, star actors/actresses, music, etc , etc.. And EVERYTIME after he was done with the beginning credits the popcorn would be done and I would fall asleep. He still continued to want me to watch the movies with him.
8. The closer I get to growing up and one day watching a child, I realize how much mother did to raise all of us 4 children. Sometimes I wonder how in the world she managed to do it but a lot of times I just pray that I can have HALF of the strength and love my mother had….and pretty sure that would A LOT of love :)
9. When I was in 3rd and 4th grade my younger brother, Michael, and I would go to subway and each get a foot long sub. I would get tuna and he would get seafood and we would trade half of our sub for the other one. I am not sure how we at so much but we did! We learned quickly that very few subways serve seafood subs.
10. I got married 5 months ago to my best friend. I never thought I could be so in love with a person but have been told that it will fade….however, I find myself wondering how I got so lucky from day to day. He challenges me more than I ever thought possible. He knows me inside and out and treats me like I am the most important thing in the world.
11. I think the world of Josh’s family. The dynamics of the family are like no other. I have found that Mary and Dave will drop EVERYTHING for any one of the children….lately it has happened so often that at times this allows me to wonder how they both still have a job. Brittany and Danielle are two of the most brilliant and gorgeous girls I know. Brittany acts far too mature for her age and Danielle has taught me a great deal about being strong when it comes to relationship. I guess you could say that I am slightly obsessed with the family :)
12. The Kirschling family is the BOMB diggity. We can fight like cats and dogs but I love them all more than Monkeys. With the fighting comes love and making up and I think that is the best part about it all. Each time we get closer as a family and I have found that I really on each family member in a very different way. My little brother, Michael, is the funniest of us all- he has the ability to make the whole room laugh. Meaghan always brings the fun and the wits to the table- she is said to be the daughter who can do anything (cook, paint, sew, dance, etc) Greg….ahh, he has taught our family a great deal about finding inner strength and living life to the fullest, I respect and look up to him more than I ever thought possible. My mother, she is one heck of a mom-she loves her children more than any other mother and when she wants to accomplish anything I have found that if her mind and heart both want it, she can just do it (with no other help). I always find this incredible. My father- I have never been able to find the perfect words to describe how much I love him. I can tell my father anything and find that he helps me most learn how to walk with Jesus. Many times, I learn most by just watching him but I am always amazed at what a lucky daughter I am. (sorry that was a really long number 12).
13. Josh and I always argue who has a better best friend. I always tell him that his best friend never gives him hand and foot rubs, and he tells me that my best friend never cuts my hair in JUST boxers. This past week when we went without cell phones, my phone rang A LOT due to my best friend and he got jealous. So I say I currently have the better best friend! Joelle and Jim will continue to be an arguing issue for us for awhile :)
14. I drink a lot of water during the day. At night I will sometimes wake up to pee 4-5 times. I always say it taste’s soo good and I can’t stop. However, Josh gets mad and argues that water does not taste like anything!
15. A recent email from my friend, Carly, made me realize how sometimes you just need to splurge and tell people how much they mean to you. It also made me realize how lucky I am have such great friends.
16. One day my roommate Kristen and I got board at home so we decided to have an Olympic competition. This involved: first to drink a gallon of water the fastest, most pushups, most situps, most jumping jacks, best splits and most facebook friends. I won at all except splits and facebook friends. But it was that day that we both went and asked each other friends to be ours. Still today I don’t know about 50 of my facebook friends because they aren’t really mine.
17. I love the color pink. I would have pink everything if I could. The Ruds even put up pink Christmas lights for me this X-Mas. However, everyone tells them that it looks like “breast cancer” awareness outside their house.
18. I love the sense of touch. Hands down it is the best sense! It sounds weird to a lot of people but I am sticking to it!
19. I never thought at 24 that I would be married and living in Germany. I also never thought that I would need to be as independent as I am. Have also learned how much I need the Guy upstairs to help me and guide me from day to day.
20. I love swisher sweet cigars but can only have one occasionally.
21. Recently I have been very jealous of Minneapolis, MN. Now it houses all the coolest people and am very jealous that my older brother and sister get to live together and do things that I love together- work out, make smoothies, grocery shop and watch “The Bachelor.”
22. I am obsessed with the grocery store and cooking. Sometimes when I am sad I go to the grocery store to just look around. It always makes me happy, so many colors and the people are fun too.
23. Cribbage is my favorite game right now. I have gotten to be very good at it from playing it everynight with Josh.
24. I love to travel and since I am in Germany have been doing a lot of it. I consider myself very lucky but can’t wait for my visitors to come play with me :)
25. When I am 35, I am going to complete a full Triathlon!
26. I sometimes think how far away I am from my family and friends. If I start thinking about it too long, my heart starts to literally hurt. My advice is that everyone (including me) needs to take more advantage of the present and the people you are blessed with in your life, because someday that situation might change.
Thanks for the idea megs! That was really fun.
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Four "F's"
Good news, bad news and good news!
1. Good news: I made my first friend this past weekend. She too is from Minnesota, but she has a much more northern accent to me. She is here for the next four months in charge of 17 post grad teaching students. She has to manage all of them and their progress, so she has her hands full. The craziest part about her job is that they gave her a car and but didn't require her to take a driving test. Even crazier is the fact that 5 of her students are in Berlin so she has to travel 4 hours (one way)on European roads with no GPS system once or twice a week. She is staying in the Langerhoff Inn (where Josh and I stayed for about a week) for the entire 4 months. So she only lives a few blocks away.
2. Okay number two is both good and bad news. Here it is...Josh will be deploying the 4th of February. The good news is that Josh is very excited for this. He told me yesterday that this is all he has been thinking about since he graduated but added that he REALLY hopes he is not dissapointed. The good news for me is that we don't have to do a full year for the time and I really can't complain because every wife on this base has been away from their husband for the past 6 months. His company commander wrote him a very nice email this past weekend introducing himself and explaining a little of what Josh would be doing. Josh will be taking over a Platoon after he gets downrange (once he completes his inproccessing in Kuwait) which is around 40 soldiers. I think I told you all that the current Platoon Leader's (the officer he will be taking over for) wife is a nurse at the clinic I will be working at. She introduced herself and she is also young and very nice. Also, I don't think they have any children.
Speaking of which, Josh and I saw Marley and Me yesterday at the theater on base and although I loved the movie...it opened my eyes to having children and pets. Josh really liked the movie and said that he was definately glad he got married and he said that he knew one day he really wanted all of that. I told him no! :)
This morning at 4 am I drove him to his company birgade because he is doing a week of pre-deployment training about 6 hours away (yet still in Germany). He was looking very excited to the week and really hopes he is able to learn some things. All of his buddies informed me that they have nights off so they are going to take him out.
This past weekend went by very fast. We unpacked all of our household goods on Friday and even though I got tired half way through and tried to get Josh to take a nap with me, we managed to get it all done that day. Josh even took me to the furniture store to look into buying a couch. Turns out we have to purchase it this next weekend because they are in the middle of inventory. He couldn't believe how excited I was. On Saturday, we drove back to Trier and walked around and went shopping. I got mad at one point because we walked into a cafe and we couldn't tell if it was seat yourself or order at the counter. They had a million deserts so I wanted to stay but since we didn't know how to order we just left. Josh got frustrated because I was but eventually I realized I was being silly and stopped once we found another cafe. We sat and chatted for awhile and then met up with all the other officers for dinner in Trier. Later that night we went over to one of their houses for drinks. I could NOT believe how nice of place a single guy was given. (Two story 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house) It was the cutest Germany house (practically brand new) and some of the walls were even painted pink. I was in heaven and told him that he is going to have to give Shawna (the Minnesota friend) and I his keys when he deploys so we can come there. Shawna told me that I hadn't seen anything yet for the other officer has a house in the middle of the woods and she said when she looked out the window she thought she was in Ireland because of the beautiful scenery and all the horses in the pasture. Perhaps in a couple years we can move off base too. :)
Well I am off to run some errands. Yesterday Josh and I were able to skype with our family for about 3 hours and his parents asked him how he was going to do all of his little things while he was deployed. He said, "Mom, you know how you taught me to make those 'to do lists' when I was little, I now have started making them for Gretchen." He thought he was pretty funny but later I learned that he was serious....he's got in trouble but I guess I agreed to doing everything. Hmmm...thanks Mary and Dave for the 'to do list.'
Well I hope you all had a great weekend and a great start of the week. I will be on skype and internet for good so look forward to hearing from you and talking with you!
Truly,
Gretchen and Josh
1. Good news: I made my first friend this past weekend. She too is from Minnesota, but she has a much more northern accent to me. She is here for the next four months in charge of 17 post grad teaching students. She has to manage all of them and their progress, so she has her hands full. The craziest part about her job is that they gave her a car and but didn't require her to take a driving test. Even crazier is the fact that 5 of her students are in Berlin so she has to travel 4 hours (one way)on European roads with no GPS system once or twice a week. She is staying in the Langerhoff Inn (where Josh and I stayed for about a week) for the entire 4 months. So she only lives a few blocks away.
2. Okay number two is both good and bad news. Here it is...Josh will be deploying the 4th of February. The good news is that Josh is very excited for this. He told me yesterday that this is all he has been thinking about since he graduated but added that he REALLY hopes he is not dissapointed. The good news for me is that we don't have to do a full year for the time and I really can't complain because every wife on this base has been away from their husband for the past 6 months. His company commander wrote him a very nice email this past weekend introducing himself and explaining a little of what Josh would be doing. Josh will be taking over a Platoon after he gets downrange (once he completes his inproccessing in Kuwait) which is around 40 soldiers. I think I told you all that the current Platoon Leader's (the officer he will be taking over for) wife is a nurse at the clinic I will be working at. She introduced herself and she is also young and very nice. Also, I don't think they have any children.
Speaking of which, Josh and I saw Marley and Me yesterday at the theater on base and although I loved the movie...it opened my eyes to having children and pets. Josh really liked the movie and said that he was definately glad he got married and he said that he knew one day he really wanted all of that. I told him no! :)
This morning at 4 am I drove him to his company birgade because he is doing a week of pre-deployment training about 6 hours away (yet still in Germany). He was looking very excited to the week and really hopes he is able to learn some things. All of his buddies informed me that they have nights off so they are going to take him out.
This past weekend went by very fast. We unpacked all of our household goods on Friday and even though I got tired half way through and tried to get Josh to take a nap with me, we managed to get it all done that day. Josh even took me to the furniture store to look into buying a couch. Turns out we have to purchase it this next weekend because they are in the middle of inventory. He couldn't believe how excited I was. On Saturday, we drove back to Trier and walked around and went shopping. I got mad at one point because we walked into a cafe and we couldn't tell if it was seat yourself or order at the counter. They had a million deserts so I wanted to stay but since we didn't know how to order we just left. Josh got frustrated because I was but eventually I realized I was being silly and stopped once we found another cafe. We sat and chatted for awhile and then met up with all the other officers for dinner in Trier. Later that night we went over to one of their houses for drinks. I could NOT believe how nice of place a single guy was given. (Two story 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house) It was the cutest Germany house (practically brand new) and some of the walls were even painted pink. I was in heaven and told him that he is going to have to give Shawna (the Minnesota friend) and I his keys when he deploys so we can come there. Shawna told me that I hadn't seen anything yet for the other officer has a house in the middle of the woods and she said when she looked out the window she thought she was in Ireland because of the beautiful scenery and all the horses in the pasture. Perhaps in a couple years we can move off base too. :)
Well I am off to run some errands. Yesterday Josh and I were able to skype with our family for about 3 hours and his parents asked him how he was going to do all of his little things while he was deployed. He said, "Mom, you know how you taught me to make those 'to do lists' when I was little, I now have started making them for Gretchen." He thought he was pretty funny but later I learned that he was serious....he's got in trouble but I guess I agreed to doing everything. Hmmm...thanks Mary and Dave for the 'to do list.'
Well I hope you all had a great weekend and a great start of the week. I will be on skype and internet for good so look forward to hearing from you and talking with you!
Truly,
Gretchen and Josh
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Happy Hump Day!
Hello everyone!
Tried to think last night while I was lying in bed what I could write to tell you all. Due to the fact that I kept thinking and couldn't think of too much, I couldn't fall asleep and once I did I dreamt that the base here was located in Minnesota and we got to go to dinner with everyone. Then I woke up and all the fun faces I was seeing was not real and I was sad. I think that I dreamt that because I talked to Joelle before bed and when I got off the phone with her I told Josh that they were all going out for her birthday. We both were silent for a second and he then said, "Why didn't she invite me?" I said, "I know, guess we aren't cool enough..or maybe it is because you decided you wanted to live across the country." We laughed and joked about it for a little awhile...then he fell asleep and I layed there for the next few hours.
Yesterday, I went to a resume class where they taught me how to put a federal resume online. It was a very beneficial class to take especially saying that she told me that people pay a person thousands to do it for them. After the class I met with the Lt Coronel at the clinic to discuss jobs and my experience. I had previously sent her my resume but realized later that I could have made it much better. She sounded very interested but said that the process of hiring can take a couple months.She also had me meet and interveiw with the head nurse and she too was from Minnesota. She told me that she loved listening to me talk. She was a huge vikings fan and had three little boys who also were. She gave me a tour and introduced me to the staff. It was very neat and a very nice clinic...she said it was the largest clinic in Germany. So we will see what happens, I will keep you all posted.
Josh is spending the week in training. Yesterday they practiced rolling in a vehicle (not sure what kind it was but I know that it was a machine with hydralics that caused them to tip over) and each time they were given a different situation where one of the soldiers was killed so the other soldiers had to safely get them out of the vehicle. I asked if it hurt and he said only when he was the one killed and he had to be limp. When they undid his seatbelt, he fell onto his head and that hurt a little...sounds to me like it would be pretty painful. He had fun. Today he goes to the range to pass a shooting test...think he will have another fun day.
I am off to work on my resume, hope you all are doing well! We STILL miss you all very much :).
Love
Gretchen and Josh
Tried to think last night while I was lying in bed what I could write to tell you all. Due to the fact that I kept thinking and couldn't think of too much, I couldn't fall asleep and once I did I dreamt that the base here was located in Minnesota and we got to go to dinner with everyone. Then I woke up and all the fun faces I was seeing was not real and I was sad. I think that I dreamt that because I talked to Joelle before bed and when I got off the phone with her I told Josh that they were all going out for her birthday. We both were silent for a second and he then said, "Why didn't she invite me?" I said, "I know, guess we aren't cool enough..or maybe it is because you decided you wanted to live across the country." We laughed and joked about it for a little awhile...then he fell asleep and I layed there for the next few hours.
Yesterday, I went to a resume class where they taught me how to put a federal resume online. It was a very beneficial class to take especially saying that she told me that people pay a person thousands to do it for them. After the class I met with the Lt Coronel at the clinic to discuss jobs and my experience. I had previously sent her my resume but realized later that I could have made it much better. She sounded very interested but said that the process of hiring can take a couple months.She also had me meet and interveiw with the head nurse and she too was from Minnesota. She told me that she loved listening to me talk. She was a huge vikings fan and had three little boys who also were. She gave me a tour and introduced me to the staff. It was very neat and a very nice clinic...she said it was the largest clinic in Germany. So we will see what happens, I will keep you all posted.
Josh is spending the week in training. Yesterday they practiced rolling in a vehicle (not sure what kind it was but I know that it was a machine with hydralics that caused them to tip over) and each time they were given a different situation where one of the soldiers was killed so the other soldiers had to safely get them out of the vehicle. I asked if it hurt and he said only when he was the one killed and he had to be limp. When they undid his seatbelt, he fell onto his head and that hurt a little...sounds to me like it would be pretty painful. He had fun. Today he goes to the range to pass a shooting test...think he will have another fun day.
I am off to work on my resume, hope you all are doing well! We STILL miss you all very much :).
Love
Gretchen and Josh
Monday, January 19, 2009
Hallo!!
Sorry that you haven’t heard from us in awhile, it has been a very busy week. Josh got more on his inprocessing accomplished and started to prepare more for his deployment. I attended a course called “R.O.C.K” where I learned the culture, a little German and the bus system. My instructor was amazing and we had so much fun together. There were only 5 people total in the class, 4 of them being a set of couples so the instructor and I spent a majority of the time together which was a plus for me because I could ask her any questions..and you can only imagine the amount of questions I asked. (smiley).
The first day of the class we visited the Baumholder museum. Lots of history but it was cool to see…it definitely made me realize how very little I know about even our current war. The next day we all took a bus into Idar-Oberstein. She brought us to this nice lunch place and taught us how to properly manage in a restaurant. In Germany, you never put your knife down. You cut while you go along and you scoop your food with your knife. When you are done, there is a certain way to place your utensils on the plate and if you want more there is also a way to place it. The restaurant had the freshest salad bar and potatoes I had ever tasted…it was unreal. The third day of the class was the best day! Again she brought us into Idar-Oberstein via bus, we switched busses and headed to Globus. It is sort of like a Sam Club. The instructor told me to come with her and she taught me thee coolest things! This place was a grocery store heaven for me but it was neat because it was all German food and everything was in German. She took me and we tried so many things. I was proud of myself because I was trying different sausages and cheeses. I came home at the end of the day with a large Globus market bag. Josh said that I had too much fun and that we wouldn’t be going to the grocery store for awhile. They had an entire isle of JUST different kinds of ketchup. She showed me the best kinds of chocolates that they only have here. It is a German brand called “Milka” and I will have to send some to you all because it really is the best kind of chocolate. I also purchased these espresso chocolates..where they are an entire espresso shot covered in dark chocolate….and when you bit into it is liquid (never had anything like it).
That night we had 4 of the lieutenants over for pizza and drinks. That was fun and the next day we hopped back on the bus because I had to show Josh Globus. He admitted it was pretty cool but I don’t think he had as much fun as I did. We than took a bus to the middle of Idar-Oberstein where we walked to the top of this castle. It was very cool and I have to post pictures of the top, unbelievable view. It was a whole day of traveling but definitely worth it! That night I made us this German dinner which was meat covered in cabbage with potatoes and carrots. We both agreed we could eat that meal again!
On Saturday we wanted to try our luck with the trains so we headed out around 10 am. There is this deal that if you pay 27 Euro for up to 5 people to travel via bus and train within the Rheinland region. We looked at the map and decided to go to Trier (a city we have been told we must go see). Chances were we missed one of our busses so we didn’t make it to Trier till 3 pm. The other lieutenants were much smarter and drove (which was about a 45 min drive going over 100 on the autobahn). So when we rolled in they were about ready to leave. We all decided to go see the Ampitheater before so Josh and I were able to walk around the city for a couple hours before we left. It was a pretty neat city, they had tons of cafes and pubs within this huge shopping area and strip. We walked into this cathedral which was also an unbelievable site. Some of the details in the walls and art was breathtaking. The best thing about Trier was they even had some American shopping stores so I was a happy camper. Josh says he is going to take me back tomorrow to shop a little.
Last night we got home and I was tired so I told Josh to go out with the guys. He had a much good time and they even experienced a couple Irish car bombs (a drink). He came home and woke me up and said that one of the guys had offered to take us to Kauserslaughter to rent a car (for a much cheaper rate than we are able to get her on base). So today we drove there to get a car….we ended up with a tiny For Fiesta. It is quite the sight to see. We all went out to breakfast afterwards. For breakfast they are big on meats, cheeses, spreads and hard rolls. It is actually very tasty. Afterwards we went exploring and drove onto two of the Air Force Bases nearby. The 2nd one we stopped at was unbelievable. We went into their BX (kinda like a walmart- on Army Posts it’s called a PX) and it was the coolest BX I had seen. It was 2 stories high and had everything you could ever imagine. When you walked in they had about 8 shops that were European stores before you even got into the main BX shopping area. We also stopped at their Commissary (grocery store) because I had heard so much about it. Again I was in heaven!!
We got home not too long ago and decided to read for awhile…which turned into an 1 ½ nap. Seems that since we have purchased our new bed that we have attended a little too much too it.
Josh said it was the best purchase he has ever made!
I hope all is well, and I will try not to take so long again to write. Soon we will have internet and a home line (that we can make cheap phone calls from) so you should all be hearing much more from us.
Josh and I send our love and hope you all had a great weekend!!
Grechend and Josh
The first day of the class we visited the Baumholder museum. Lots of history but it was cool to see…it definitely made me realize how very little I know about even our current war. The next day we all took a bus into Idar-Oberstein. She brought us to this nice lunch place and taught us how to properly manage in a restaurant. In Germany, you never put your knife down. You cut while you go along and you scoop your food with your knife. When you are done, there is a certain way to place your utensils on the plate and if you want more there is also a way to place it. The restaurant had the freshest salad bar and potatoes I had ever tasted…it was unreal. The third day of the class was the best day! Again she brought us into Idar-Oberstein via bus, we switched busses and headed to Globus. It is sort of like a Sam Club. The instructor told me to come with her and she taught me thee coolest things! This place was a grocery store heaven for me but it was neat because it was all German food and everything was in German. She took me and we tried so many things. I was proud of myself because I was trying different sausages and cheeses. I came home at the end of the day with a large Globus market bag. Josh said that I had too much fun and that we wouldn’t be going to the grocery store for awhile. They had an entire isle of JUST different kinds of ketchup. She showed me the best kinds of chocolates that they only have here. It is a German brand called “Milka” and I will have to send some to you all because it really is the best kind of chocolate. I also purchased these espresso chocolates..where they are an entire espresso shot covered in dark chocolate….and when you bit into it is liquid (never had anything like it).
That night we had 4 of the lieutenants over for pizza and drinks. That was fun and the next day we hopped back on the bus because I had to show Josh Globus. He admitted it was pretty cool but I don’t think he had as much fun as I did. We than took a bus to the middle of Idar-Oberstein where we walked to the top of this castle. It was very cool and I have to post pictures of the top, unbelievable view. It was a whole day of traveling but definitely worth it! That night I made us this German dinner which was meat covered in cabbage with potatoes and carrots. We both agreed we could eat that meal again!
On Saturday we wanted to try our luck with the trains so we headed out around 10 am. There is this deal that if you pay 27 Euro for up to 5 people to travel via bus and train within the Rheinland region. We looked at the map and decided to go to Trier (a city we have been told we must go see). Chances were we missed one of our busses so we didn’t make it to Trier till 3 pm. The other lieutenants were much smarter and drove (which was about a 45 min drive going over 100 on the autobahn). So when we rolled in they were about ready to leave. We all decided to go see the Ampitheater before so Josh and I were able to walk around the city for a couple hours before we left. It was a pretty neat city, they had tons of cafes and pubs within this huge shopping area and strip. We walked into this cathedral which was also an unbelievable site. Some of the details in the walls and art was breathtaking. The best thing about Trier was they even had some American shopping stores so I was a happy camper. Josh says he is going to take me back tomorrow to shop a little.
Last night we got home and I was tired so I told Josh to go out with the guys. He had a much good time and they even experienced a couple Irish car bombs (a drink). He came home and woke me up and said that one of the guys had offered to take us to Kauserslaughter to rent a car (for a much cheaper rate than we are able to get her on base). So today we drove there to get a car….we ended up with a tiny For Fiesta. It is quite the sight to see. We all went out to breakfast afterwards. For breakfast they are big on meats, cheeses, spreads and hard rolls. It is actually very tasty. Afterwards we went exploring and drove onto two of the Air Force Bases nearby. The 2nd one we stopped at was unbelievable. We went into their BX (kinda like a walmart- on Army Posts it’s called a PX) and it was the coolest BX I had seen. It was 2 stories high and had everything you could ever imagine. When you walked in they had about 8 shops that were European stores before you even got into the main BX shopping area. We also stopped at their Commissary (grocery store) because I had heard so much about it. Again I was in heaven!!
We got home not too long ago and decided to read for awhile…which turned into an 1 ½ nap. Seems that since we have purchased our new bed that we have attended a little too much too it.
Josh said it was the best purchase he has ever made!
I hope all is well, and I will try not to take so long again to write. Soon we will have internet and a home line (that we can make cheap phone calls from) so you should all be hearing much more from us.
Josh and I send our love and hope you all had a great weekend!!
Grechend and Josh
Monday, January 12, 2009
Germany licensed drivers :)
Hello, hello!
I passed my license exam so watch out visitors, I am not athorized to cruise the autobahn at whichever speed this girl wants. Josh passed last Thursday so we are now both good to go.
This blog will be one of the first short ones so hopefully all the people who get board reading the details will be able to make it to the end (smiley).
No different news from the last news and I was trying to think about a cool story to tell because today is my mom's birthday and I think she deserves one.
Josh has this thing that when a technology device is not doing what he wants she chooses to tell it how it feels by either yelling or trying to produce harm through it (by hitting or spitting...I personally have never witnessed the spitting). Lately most of his devices such as his computer, telephone and handheld GPS have not been agreeing with him, so there have been a few times where he just starts yelling and calling the object of choice names. I can't help but laugh which in turn makes him more angry where he screams louder and louder. There was one night where his mom called and he missed the call, he tried to text her to call back but when he sent the text his phone responded in a German text message. I am not sure how but his phone did not go flying across the room but instead he spoke to his phone as if it could hear him. This may be something that one has to experience in order to find it funny but I am particularly glad I am not a technology device.
Well I hope you all have a great Monday. I am off to a culture class tomorrow so I will be eager to tell you all about it.
PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!
I passed my license exam so watch out visitors, I am not athorized to cruise the autobahn at whichever speed this girl wants. Josh passed last Thursday so we are now both good to go.
This blog will be one of the first short ones so hopefully all the people who get board reading the details will be able to make it to the end (smiley).
No different news from the last news and I was trying to think about a cool story to tell because today is my mom's birthday and I think she deserves one.
Josh has this thing that when a technology device is not doing what he wants she chooses to tell it how it feels by either yelling or trying to produce harm through it (by hitting or spitting...I personally have never witnessed the spitting). Lately most of his devices such as his computer, telephone and handheld GPS have not been agreeing with him, so there have been a few times where he just starts yelling and calling the object of choice names. I can't help but laugh which in turn makes him more angry where he screams louder and louder. There was one night where his mom called and he missed the call, he tried to text her to call back but when he sent the text his phone responded in a German text message. I am not sure how but his phone did not go flying across the room but instead he spoke to his phone as if it could hear him. This may be something that one has to experience in order to find it funny but I am particularly glad I am not a technology device.
Well I hope you all have a great Monday. I am off to a culture class tomorrow so I will be eager to tell you all about it.
PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Germany at 1 Week.
Hello Again and happy Sunday!
Josh and I have moved into our new place. We got in here Thursday so we decided to take the weekend to get settled in. We are borrowing government furniture which turned out to not be too bad....well minus the bed and sofa's. So on Friday Josh made the mistake and asked me what I wanted to do. I told him that I would like to go by a new bed. (The bed we are sleeping on is very small and feels like cardboard-Josh agrees).
Friday afternoon Josh told me to go into the Home Furnishing store on base while he ran into the PX to fill his gas card and he would meet me in there. When he walked in I already had the perfect mattress picked out and a few nice rugs. I showed Josh and he said "okay" well at least to the mattress and ONE of the rugs (he found rugs for half the price- we both agreed they were ugly). So we agreed to only get one rug in our purchase. While walking to the car he said “Oh if Jim could see me now... Friday night and I’m 24 and I am furnishing my home for my wife…what has my life come to” I laughed and said “Thank you.” (Smiley).
Friday night we decided to drive outside of base (Josh rented a car right after he passed his licensing exam) to see the other towns. We didn’t go too far but Josh made it a point to get on the autobahn. We realized that Baumholder is much larger than we thought compared to the other cities around here. The towns were very cute and quaint but since it was dark we couldn’t see the scenery as much. We ended up driving back to downtown Baumholder and found this small Pizzeria (where 3 of the other new 2nd lieutenants were eating at). Josh and I got this crazy pizza that had broiled egg, mushrooms , ham and peach on it. It was surprisingly amazing! After, we joined the other people at a bar down the street. It was definitely a very fun night, I always like talking to other people because I get different perspectives and opinions on the Army. One of the lieutenants actually is not telling his Mom he is deploying to Iraq because he doesn’t think she can handle it. Apparently his dad agrees with him so he isn’t that far off the wall. I told him that was wrong and he told me that the more naïve the better. I told Josh that I was very glad I wasn’t dating him (smiley). We stayed out till about 1:30 or so and walked home with the rest of the guys.
They definitely don’t make things very easy in Germany. In order to even get gas around here you have to obtain a gas card at one place, activate it at another and each time you use gas need to have the card. It saves money in the end but I already miss pulling up and just swiping my credit card. Also, in order to buy coffee, alcohol or cigarettes you have to have a 'ration card'. They have the card so that you can’t buy an insane amount of those items and sell them on the economy. There is a 19% tax when buying things on the economy, so for military personal they have this VAT card that you purchase in order to wave all tax. Like I said, things aren’t made easy here.
The head wife of the FRG (Family Readiness Group) stopped by on Friday to introduce herself. She let me know that there was a girl my age one floor above me! The girl is currently in Texas where she is meeting her deployed husband for R & R (rest and relaxation) and will be back in early February. She said there are 5-6 girls my age who travel a lot (because they don’t have children). I will say that the coolest thing I saw was at the gym most of the wives brought their children and parked the stroller right next to the treadmill. Once their child started crying they had a separate room they could go to for their children to play. I guess I had never seen that. It was just a neat thing, don’t worry I won’t be having a baby for a REALLY long time. (smiley).
Last night Josh and I drove to Idar-Oberstein (a larger city 20 mins away). It was absolutely beautiful even seeing very little with the dark. Many cities are all layered on hills and is an incredible site to see when driving. We stopped and walked for a very short perid but the city was pretty dead. We are trying to figure out why we haven’t seen very many people out. We drove back and played a game a cribbage (which I won!) and went to bed around 10:30. We are finally switched over after the weekend and for the first time I witnessed Josh sleeping into 10 Am two mornings in a row.
This week I am taking my drivers exam and attending a “R.O.C.K” class. I will learn about the culture, a little German and how to shop on the economy. It is a 3 day course and on the 3rd day they take you to a city where you shop and eat. It should be fun but I will let you know how it goes. We will keep you posted on everything with Josh but there are no further date specifics, just ranges of time.
I am waiting to post pictures because I want our new bed to be part of the picture, so they should be up mid this week.
Josh and I don’t have internet in our house until the 24th of January so we are coming to this café on base to access it.
We still are missing you all lots and will write again very soon! Hope you all had a great weekend.
Truly,
Gretchen and Josh
Josh and I have moved into our new place. We got in here Thursday so we decided to take the weekend to get settled in. We are borrowing government furniture which turned out to not be too bad....well minus the bed and sofa's. So on Friday Josh made the mistake and asked me what I wanted to do. I told him that I would like to go by a new bed. (The bed we are sleeping on is very small and feels like cardboard-Josh agrees).
Friday afternoon Josh told me to go into the Home Furnishing store on base while he ran into the PX to fill his gas card and he would meet me in there. When he walked in I already had the perfect mattress picked out and a few nice rugs. I showed Josh and he said "okay" well at least to the mattress and ONE of the rugs (he found rugs for half the price- we both agreed they were ugly). So we agreed to only get one rug in our purchase. While walking to the car he said “Oh if Jim could see me now... Friday night and I’m 24 and I am furnishing my home for my wife…what has my life come to” I laughed and said “Thank you.” (Smiley).
Friday night we decided to drive outside of base (Josh rented a car right after he passed his licensing exam) to see the other towns. We didn’t go too far but Josh made it a point to get on the autobahn. We realized that Baumholder is much larger than we thought compared to the other cities around here. The towns were very cute and quaint but since it was dark we couldn’t see the scenery as much. We ended up driving back to downtown Baumholder and found this small Pizzeria (where 3 of the other new 2nd lieutenants were eating at). Josh and I got this crazy pizza that had broiled egg, mushrooms , ham and peach on it. It was surprisingly amazing! After, we joined the other people at a bar down the street. It was definitely a very fun night, I always like talking to other people because I get different perspectives and opinions on the Army. One of the lieutenants actually is not telling his Mom he is deploying to Iraq because he doesn’t think she can handle it. Apparently his dad agrees with him so he isn’t that far off the wall. I told him that was wrong and he told me that the more naïve the better. I told Josh that I was very glad I wasn’t dating him (smiley). We stayed out till about 1:30 or so and walked home with the rest of the guys.
They definitely don’t make things very easy in Germany. In order to even get gas around here you have to obtain a gas card at one place, activate it at another and each time you use gas need to have the card. It saves money in the end but I already miss pulling up and just swiping my credit card. Also, in order to buy coffee, alcohol or cigarettes you have to have a 'ration card'. They have the card so that you can’t buy an insane amount of those items and sell them on the economy. There is a 19% tax when buying things on the economy, so for military personal they have this VAT card that you purchase in order to wave all tax. Like I said, things aren’t made easy here.
The head wife of the FRG (Family Readiness Group) stopped by on Friday to introduce herself. She let me know that there was a girl my age one floor above me! The girl is currently in Texas where she is meeting her deployed husband for R & R (rest and relaxation) and will be back in early February. She said there are 5-6 girls my age who travel a lot (because they don’t have children). I will say that the coolest thing I saw was at the gym most of the wives brought their children and parked the stroller right next to the treadmill. Once their child started crying they had a separate room they could go to for their children to play. I guess I had never seen that. It was just a neat thing, don’t worry I won’t be having a baby for a REALLY long time. (smiley).
Last night Josh and I drove to Idar-Oberstein (a larger city 20 mins away). It was absolutely beautiful even seeing very little with the dark. Many cities are all layered on hills and is an incredible site to see when driving. We stopped and walked for a very short perid but the city was pretty dead. We are trying to figure out why we haven’t seen very many people out. We drove back and played a game a cribbage (which I won!) and went to bed around 10:30. We are finally switched over after the weekend and for the first time I witnessed Josh sleeping into 10 Am two mornings in a row.
This week I am taking my drivers exam and attending a “R.O.C.K” class. I will learn about the culture, a little German and how to shop on the economy. It is a 3 day course and on the 3rd day they take you to a city where you shop and eat. It should be fun but I will let you know how it goes. We will keep you posted on everything with Josh but there are no further date specifics, just ranges of time.
I am waiting to post pictures because I want our new bed to be part of the picture, so they should be up mid this week.
Josh and I don’t have internet in our house until the 24th of January so we are coming to this café on base to access it.
We still are missing you all lots and will write again very soon! Hope you all had a great weekend.
Truly,
Gretchen and Josh
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Hello Everyone!
Lots of news to share. It is actually almost 5 Am here, I woke up about 30 mins ago and just couldn't wake Josh so I decided to come out and write a little. Especially since this might be the last blog for a few days (explain later).
Josh and I are still not completely switched over on the hours. I still don't sleep much at night and we have been waking every few hours. Yesterday we had a full day of class and in processing classes to attend, so by the end of the day our brain was completely fried. I honestly had such an overwelming feeling in a really long time...and I think Josh had an even more intense feelings. However, I justify that he is more use to it and can handle it better. (smiley face...for some reason ever time I try to put a smiley face in here it shows up as the letter "J" so I am now just going to say the word.) Needless to say we both got home around 5 PM, made dinner, and I crashed for an hour while he studied for our driving test. Once I woke we both studied for a bit before he crashed for the next hour. "smiley"
During the day, I have actually been getting these intense headaches. So I told myself they were from the elevation (which I guess is only 1500 ft or so above sea level- one of the Specialist yesterday told us that we are basically at the foot of the Alps) but Josh told me it is probably from such a lack of sleep. I think he's right. So yesterday with all the information about the different culture, base and personal military issues related to the soldiers, my head was not a happy camper.
Our day started yesterday around 7 Am. A specialist picked us up and brought us to the first part of our inprocessing. We were given information about our the culture, integration classes, tons of info related to military personal, dental, finance, healthcare, the european hospitals etc etc. One thing I learned was that 15 mins from our base is THE largest hospital in Germany called Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. The cool thing about this is that it is on a military base so my Minnesota and Missouri nursing license will carry over. The even cooler thing is that this is THE hospital that they Blackhawk all the causilties from Iraq and Afganistan to. So I got pretty lucky to be in this location of the country.
One of the ladies gave me a tour of the building we were in, which got me affliated and comfortable with the many different services the army will offer me (especially when my bouy is gone). Things such as the Family Readiness Program, counseling regarding employment and resume building, appointment scheduling etc etc. Josh spent the chuck of the late afternoon in the Finance office were he crunched numbers all day. When I came back to the buiding one of the soldiers was joking around and told me that he was in trouble and things were getting serious in there because they saw him throw a calculator on the table.
During lunch, Josh and I decided to try our luck on housing. We went to the housing office where we were told that Families HAVE to live on base. So they gave us 3 keys to 3 different looking apartments, we got in our car with the Specialist (whos job is to drive us around all day) and went. We picked the 3rd one, which was on the 3rd floor. We both decided that the layout was a little awkward but it was spacious and I wanted it because the kitchen is on one of the highest hills on base so we are able to overlook all of Baumholder and the base. It is pretty redonkulous "Smiley." It had it's own separate room for a dryer and washer, large combined living and dining area, a spacious bathroom, a kitchen, two bedrooms with the master bedroom having it's own vanity mirror and makeup counter. We decided with the time crunch to borrow government furniture until we purchase our own. That entails bed for both rooms, couches, dining room table, lamps etc. Once we decided on this apartment, Josh went to his Financing brief while I went to the "lending closet" with the Specialist and borrowed all kitchen appliances and supplies till our household goods come. The Specialist brought me to the Px (kinda like a smaller version of walmart on base) where I purchased a few things for the apartment. I went to the inspection and got the keys to our new place. Pictures soon to come! So we move out of here (Langerhof Inn) and into the new place all by Thursday. We will probably be out of internet for a little while so that is why I am writing such a detailed blog now. "smiley"
You are all probably wondering about Josh, his leaving and the timing. Nothing is set in stone right now with dates so I don't want to say something when I or he doesn't even know. One thing continues to told to me over and over again by the different Specialist and Sargents and that being "Nothing is for sure in the Army." As soon as he knows we will let you all know but it looks like it will be sooner than later and the return could range anywhere from June to early September. Will keep you posted!
Josh and I are staying very strong. It has been a definate rollercoster but we are very self aware how much we need each other right now. We will remain positive and forgive each other daily. We are very fortunate to have such a great family and friends who care about us- knowing that helps us IMMENSELY! "smiley."
Josh just woke and made me laugh when he poured his first cup of coffee stating "I will probably need at least two of these today." Perhaps it is only funny to me. "Smiley"
We are up and at em ready to start today. We love and miss you all!
With love,
Gretchen and Josh
Ps. Feel free to give friends and family the website to the blog if they are interested to know how things are going.
Lots of news to share. It is actually almost 5 Am here, I woke up about 30 mins ago and just couldn't wake Josh so I decided to come out and write a little. Especially since this might be the last blog for a few days (explain later).
Josh and I are still not completely switched over on the hours. I still don't sleep much at night and we have been waking every few hours. Yesterday we had a full day of class and in processing classes to attend, so by the end of the day our brain was completely fried. I honestly had such an overwelming feeling in a really long time...and I think Josh had an even more intense feelings. However, I justify that he is more use to it and can handle it better. (smiley face...for some reason ever time I try to put a smiley face in here it shows up as the letter "J" so I am now just going to say the word.) Needless to say we both got home around 5 PM, made dinner, and I crashed for an hour while he studied for our driving test. Once I woke we both studied for a bit before he crashed for the next hour. "smiley"
During the day, I have actually been getting these intense headaches. So I told myself they were from the elevation (which I guess is only 1500 ft or so above sea level- one of the Specialist yesterday told us that we are basically at the foot of the Alps) but Josh told me it is probably from such a lack of sleep. I think he's right. So yesterday with all the information about the different culture, base and personal military issues related to the soldiers, my head was not a happy camper.
Our day started yesterday around 7 Am. A specialist picked us up and brought us to the first part of our inprocessing. We were given information about our the culture, integration classes, tons of info related to military personal, dental, finance, healthcare, the european hospitals etc etc. One thing I learned was that 15 mins from our base is THE largest hospital in Germany called Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. The cool thing about this is that it is on a military base so my Minnesota and Missouri nursing license will carry over. The even cooler thing is that this is THE hospital that they Blackhawk all the causilties from Iraq and Afganistan to. So I got pretty lucky to be in this location of the country.
One of the ladies gave me a tour of the building we were in, which got me affliated and comfortable with the many different services the army will offer me (especially when my bouy is gone). Things such as the Family Readiness Program, counseling regarding employment and resume building, appointment scheduling etc etc. Josh spent the chuck of the late afternoon in the Finance office were he crunched numbers all day. When I came back to the buiding one of the soldiers was joking around and told me that he was in trouble and things were getting serious in there because they saw him throw a calculator on the table.
During lunch, Josh and I decided to try our luck on housing. We went to the housing office where we were told that Families HAVE to live on base. So they gave us 3 keys to 3 different looking apartments, we got in our car with the Specialist (whos job is to drive us around all day) and went. We picked the 3rd one, which was on the 3rd floor. We both decided that the layout was a little awkward but it was spacious and I wanted it because the kitchen is on one of the highest hills on base so we are able to overlook all of Baumholder and the base. It is pretty redonkulous "Smiley." It had it's own separate room for a dryer and washer, large combined living and dining area, a spacious bathroom, a kitchen, two bedrooms with the master bedroom having it's own vanity mirror and makeup counter. We decided with the time crunch to borrow government furniture until we purchase our own. That entails bed for both rooms, couches, dining room table, lamps etc. Once we decided on this apartment, Josh went to his Financing brief while I went to the "lending closet" with the Specialist and borrowed all kitchen appliances and supplies till our household goods come. The Specialist brought me to the Px (kinda like a smaller version of walmart on base) where I purchased a few things for the apartment. I went to the inspection and got the keys to our new place. Pictures soon to come! So we move out of here (Langerhof Inn) and into the new place all by Thursday. We will probably be out of internet for a little while so that is why I am writing such a detailed blog now. "smiley"
You are all probably wondering about Josh, his leaving and the timing. Nothing is set in stone right now with dates so I don't want to say something when I or he doesn't even know. One thing continues to told to me over and over again by the different Specialist and Sargents and that being "Nothing is for sure in the Army." As soon as he knows we will let you all know but it looks like it will be sooner than later and the return could range anywhere from June to early September. Will keep you posted!
Josh and I are staying very strong. It has been a definate rollercoster but we are very self aware how much we need each other right now. We will remain positive and forgive each other daily. We are very fortunate to have such a great family and friends who care about us- knowing that helps us IMMENSELY! "smiley."
Josh just woke and made me laugh when he poured his first cup of coffee stating "I will probably need at least two of these today." Perhaps it is only funny to me. "Smiley"
We are up and at em ready to start today. We love and miss you all!
With love,
Gretchen and Josh
Ps. Feel free to give friends and family the website to the blog if they are interested to know how things are going.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Day 0- January 5, 2009
I went to bed around 10 PM last night but woke up for an hour and read. However, when I wake up at night I always justify that I should wake up Josh so he can talk to me and snuggle. Josh never remembers me waking him but for some reason just telling him I can’t sleep brings me back to sleep faster.
Today was a different day. It started off with a continental breakfast and some morning stretches. Josh hurried off to his first part of his inprocessing at 9 am. Around noon he returned after learning more information than his mind was able to process.
He let me know that he will be leaving in about a month, but will first go through a couple weeks of training before he leaves. I of course was and still am a little shocked….(I think both of our hearts dropped) so after a few tears we decided that we had to make the most of this next month. Shortly after, a Specialist took us around base and showed us where everything was. We stopped by to look for cell phones and figured that it is best to get a phone plan with pre-paid minutes. Once we get our housing we will get a landline and will be able to call out from there for much cheaper.
It was very beneficial for me to get the tour with the Specialist today. Of course, I was the girl in the back asking question after question. I did find out that it is much safer there than I thought and there has been very few casualties from this base. That was very uplifting news for me. I continued to ask many more questions and apologized to Josh once we were dropped off at the commissary (grocery store) to grocery shop. He said it was good I asked them all and he would thank the Specialist tomorrow for his willingness to answer them all. J
So some good news….wheel of fortune plays here at 5PM , so no longer do I have to wait till 6:30 for my favorite show. Josh is being extremely good to me and has made it a point to do all he can to get me settled before he takes off. We both know that this change is only going to make us stronger and we know we have the Lord to help us and keep us safe and healthy.
We both have a full day of in processing tomorrow. I get to go tooJ I think I am the only wife processing right now so I am eager to learn about the base.
On a little different note, the weather is a lot like Minnesota but a little milder. The temp ranges from the 20-40s but today there was light snow all day, so it was very pretty and I didn’t have to worry about being in a car because everyone drives very slow on base. All the speed limit signs I have seen say either 50 (30 MPH) or 30 (18 MPH). The Specialist taught me a formula to convert so I sat in the back and converted them all in my head. That was my head start to studying for my driving test. J
Well I am off to finish my book “The Shack.” It has definitely put a lot of things into perspective for me especially at this time in my life.
Miss you all still and will write again soon.
Much love,
Gretchen and Josh
Today was a different day. It started off with a continental breakfast and some morning stretches. Josh hurried off to his first part of his inprocessing at 9 am. Around noon he returned after learning more information than his mind was able to process.
He let me know that he will be leaving in about a month, but will first go through a couple weeks of training before he leaves. I of course was and still am a little shocked….(I think both of our hearts dropped) so after a few tears we decided that we had to make the most of this next month. Shortly after, a Specialist took us around base and showed us where everything was. We stopped by to look for cell phones and figured that it is best to get a phone plan with pre-paid minutes. Once we get our housing we will get a landline and will be able to call out from there for much cheaper.
It was very beneficial for me to get the tour with the Specialist today. Of course, I was the girl in the back asking question after question. I did find out that it is much safer there than I thought and there has been very few casualties from this base. That was very uplifting news for me. I continued to ask many more questions and apologized to Josh once we were dropped off at the commissary (grocery store) to grocery shop. He said it was good I asked them all and he would thank the Specialist tomorrow for his willingness to answer them all. J
So some good news….wheel of fortune plays here at 5PM , so no longer do I have to wait till 6:30 for my favorite show. Josh is being extremely good to me and has made it a point to do all he can to get me settled before he takes off. We both know that this change is only going to make us stronger and we know we have the Lord to help us and keep us safe and healthy.
We both have a full day of in processing tomorrow. I get to go tooJ I think I am the only wife processing right now so I am eager to learn about the base.
On a little different note, the weather is a lot like Minnesota but a little milder. The temp ranges from the 20-40s but today there was light snow all day, so it was very pretty and I didn’t have to worry about being in a car because everyone drives very slow on base. All the speed limit signs I have seen say either 50 (30 MPH) or 30 (18 MPH). The Specialist taught me a formula to convert so I sat in the back and converted them all in my head. That was my head start to studying for my driving test. J
Well I am off to finish my book “The Shack.” It has definitely put a lot of things into perspective for me especially at this time in my life.
Miss you all still and will write again soon.
Much love,
Gretchen and Josh
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Start of Germany
So I received this great idea to start a blog of Josh and I's adventure in order to keep all who are interested updated and since communication is limited at times this was the best way to go about reporting our adventures.
Our travels started out January 3rd at noon in Minneapolis when we got on the plane for Chicago. We actually made it on an earlier flight into Chicago so we had plenty of time to get to our terminal. From there were loaded up on our plane where they put us in Business class (very fancy). We sat in the terminal for about 1 hour and 1/2 before they told us that they were trying to locate a water leak. Finally, they informed us that they were going to switch us to another plane. While Josh and I sat in the terminal waiting to board our 2nd plane, he took out his orders and began to read them for the 6th or so time. To his surprise he found that it said it was STRICTLY forbidden to fly in to Frankfurt Air Base via military orders on a Saturday or Sunday. Before too long we were loaded up on the 2nd plane with a big "opps" stated from both of us:). The plane sat for another 45 mins and than began to pull out to take off when the flight attendent asked over the speaker if a doctor could come to the back of the plane for a medical emergency. Soon enough we were pulling BACK into the terminal where they paramedics took the sick passenger off. Again the plane continued to sit at the terminal for about 30 mins when the pilot announced that they were having an electrical problem that they noticed once they started to drive and they were going to see if they could fix it. After about an hour they told us they were switching us to ANOTHER plane. So we loaded up on the 3rd plane and took off at 9 PM from Chicago, getting us into Frankfurt at 1230 PM January 4th.
We sat next to a Sgt on the plane and he said that the night life was awesome but he was married now so he tamed himself. Josh and I laughed. Josh slept the whole way and even after two benadryl I managed to get very little sleep. However, due to the fact that I could not sleep I got to engage in the 3 course meal with chocolate mouse cake and wine to finish it off. Once we landed it was quite the task to figure out where we had to go. It appeared to me that as soon as Josh told them he was PCS (permanent change of station) on military orders he was good to go. They didn't even open our passport when going through customs. We were directed to the USO office that was a little shack outside of airport. There were about 5 soldiers all there waiting to process in. While Josh was in filling out papers, I waited outside with the 7 bags where I talked to 3 of the soldiers. They explained to me that Baumholder was not the greatest station and they didn't like it here in Germany. So after my heart sank, Josh walked out with a Staff Sargent where he told us to follow him. He lead us to this extremely nice Sheraton where he stored our stuff and gave us a brief on what we would be up to. He said that the past three soldiers that have came in for orders for Baumholder were switched to Italy. Our short time with him made me very optimistic about Germany. He was very enthusiastic and gave us tips and told us about inprocessing. He did say that people will step on you here before saying "excuse me." I laughed. So after the Sgt settled our stuff in storage he went up to the desk and asked where we were going. Baumholder it was! So Josh and I went to have lunch at this place we could not read anything on the menu. I kept it safe and pointed to a piece of pizza in the window:) We than loaded up on a bus where we traveled for 2 hours to Baumholder.
The drive was gorgeous...at least what I saw. We both slept most of the way. But in between Josh and I studied a little German and he told me that all I needed to remember was how to say "Where is the restroom?" So I learned how to say "Wo ist die Toilette?"
The bus dropped us right off infront of the Lagerhof Inn where it looks like we will be until we find the perfect place to move into. The base was like a ghosttown when we drove in but the Sgt's that meant us informed us that eveyone was deployed. So we will soon find out what happens to Josh.
I will make sure to keep you all updated!
Much love,
Gretchen and Josh
Our travels started out January 3rd at noon in Minneapolis when we got on the plane for Chicago. We actually made it on an earlier flight into Chicago so we had plenty of time to get to our terminal. From there were loaded up on our plane where they put us in Business class (very fancy). We sat in the terminal for about 1 hour and 1/2 before they told us that they were trying to locate a water leak. Finally, they informed us that they were going to switch us to another plane. While Josh and I sat in the terminal waiting to board our 2nd plane, he took out his orders and began to read them for the 6th or so time. To his surprise he found that it said it was STRICTLY forbidden to fly in to Frankfurt Air Base via military orders on a Saturday or Sunday. Before too long we were loaded up on the 2nd plane with a big "opps" stated from both of us:). The plane sat for another 45 mins and than began to pull out to take off when the flight attendent asked over the speaker if a doctor could come to the back of the plane for a medical emergency. Soon enough we were pulling BACK into the terminal where they paramedics took the sick passenger off. Again the plane continued to sit at the terminal for about 30 mins when the pilot announced that they were having an electrical problem that they noticed once they started to drive and they were going to see if they could fix it. After about an hour they told us they were switching us to ANOTHER plane. So we loaded up on the 3rd plane and took off at 9 PM from Chicago, getting us into Frankfurt at 1230 PM January 4th.
We sat next to a Sgt on the plane and he said that the night life was awesome but he was married now so he tamed himself. Josh and I laughed. Josh slept the whole way and even after two benadryl I managed to get very little sleep. However, due to the fact that I could not sleep I got to engage in the 3 course meal with chocolate mouse cake and wine to finish it off. Once we landed it was quite the task to figure out where we had to go. It appeared to me that as soon as Josh told them he was PCS (permanent change of station) on military orders he was good to go. They didn't even open our passport when going through customs. We were directed to the USO office that was a little shack outside of airport. There were about 5 soldiers all there waiting to process in. While Josh was in filling out papers, I waited outside with the 7 bags where I talked to 3 of the soldiers. They explained to me that Baumholder was not the greatest station and they didn't like it here in Germany. So after my heart sank, Josh walked out with a Staff Sargent where he told us to follow him. He lead us to this extremely nice Sheraton where he stored our stuff and gave us a brief on what we would be up to. He said that the past three soldiers that have came in for orders for Baumholder were switched to Italy. Our short time with him made me very optimistic about Germany. He was very enthusiastic and gave us tips and told us about inprocessing. He did say that people will step on you here before saying "excuse me." I laughed. So after the Sgt settled our stuff in storage he went up to the desk and asked where we were going. Baumholder it was! So Josh and I went to have lunch at this place we could not read anything on the menu. I kept it safe and pointed to a piece of pizza in the window:) We than loaded up on a bus where we traveled for 2 hours to Baumholder.
The drive was gorgeous...at least what I saw. We both slept most of the way. But in between Josh and I studied a little German and he told me that all I needed to remember was how to say "Where is the restroom?" So I learned how to say "Wo ist die Toilette?"
The bus dropped us right off infront of the Lagerhof Inn where it looks like we will be until we find the perfect place to move into. The base was like a ghosttown when we drove in but the Sgt's that meant us informed us that eveyone was deployed. So we will soon find out what happens to Josh.
I will make sure to keep you all updated!
Much love,
Gretchen and Josh
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