Life in Germany: Final Edition

I've been trying to write this post for 6 months now. Organizing my thoughts and summing up my time in Germany is not easy as there are a lot of ups and downs (which I'm sure will be true with any post we are stationed at in the future). Many times I've felt like my life was on hold in Germany. I didn't feel like I really had to opportunity to do the two things I would be most happy doing; have a career or be a mother. The first was due to the limited job market on an overseas Army post and the second due to the fact that having a child overseas never felt "right" to either of us. I've had a major lesson on patience and prayer while being over here.  It may sound silly, but I've found it hard to find my personal identity under the parameters of being an Army wife. I know this is something that I'm probably going to battle with no matter where we go as long as RC is in the Army, but I feel like it will be a little more manageable on American soil. So with that hope I am very excited to be leaving Germany and going back to the States.

As with any move it's bittersweet to be leaving. Germany has given me so much. I have learned so much about myself, especially during our time in Schweinfurt. I was forced to create a life solely by myself and I look back on that forced independence with fond memories. Living alone with out my husband was excruciating, but having a little piece of Germany to myself is something I will cherish. RC left approximately 6 weeks after we arrived in Germany. Our household goods, our beloved possessions, boxes upon boxes of things came a day before he left. I knew only a handful of people and many of them decided to go back to the States during the deployment. I had no real friends yet, but for some reason I felt the need to stay. I can't really explain it, but I felt like it was where I was supposed to be. Grafenwoehr has been full of great memories as well. It's where we got Zeke after all, but Schweinfurt will always have a special place in my heart.  

I think perhaps one of the greatest gifts Germany has given us has been the opportunity to travel. It is without a doubt my favorite thing about being in Germany. Sure the culture is great here and I love the wine fests, volksfests, beer fests, and Christmas markets. Thanks to Germany I will be probably be such a food and beer snob when we get back to the States, but being able to travel so easily takes the cake. We have been to places I've never dreamed of going and I am so so grateful the Army has allowed us this opportunity. But everything comes at a price, right? We are here because of RC's job and his job requires a lot from him. He is in a fantastic unit, but they are kind of like the first responders for Europe and are tasked and trained heavily. We have forfeited many months of travel and precious time together. Close to half of our time in Germany we have been apart. Not only do I miss RC incredibly, but we are smack dab in the middle of Europe and so many amazing places are in sight, but just out of our reach. It's been so frustrating to see the time slip away knowing we are not going to be able to visit certain countries. I think I've had such a hard time letting go of the traveling opportunities because that has always been my  "reward". So when that "reward" is taken away after dealing with all the sucky aspects of living overseas I get a little frustrated. I know you're probably thinking I'm playing the world's tiniest violin right now, but I just wanted to show that living in Germany isn't so glamorous. The Facebook albums and Instagram photos may look it, but day-to-day life is definitely not. We are not galavanting around Europe all the time. In fact the majority of my time here has been at the gym or sitting at home with my dog. Not so glamorous! :)

Being on an entire continent away from our family and friends has been incredibly challenging. I hate missing out on seeing my nephew grow up, meeting up with friends, and just hanging out with my family. But if I'm searching for positives it has been great for our marriage. We have created such a good team and support system for each other. We are still learning new things about each other and learning how to live together again after each deployment, field rotation, and school. It's been almost 4 years since we got married and I can honestly say I am more in love with RC than ever before. Going through such crazy circumstances has made me so thankful God has blessed me with this man. I truly do feel like we are a perfect fit for each other.

So there you have it. I start to write one negative and it ends up turning into a positive at the end. I start to write one positive and a negative ends up taking over. But I think that's life and I especially think that's Army life. You have to try to make the best out of every situation. Once we've been in the States for a few months I'm sure I will start to feel a little homesick for Germany and so many aspects of the European lifestyle.

Auf wiedersehen, Deutschland! I can't say I wouldn't be happy to visit you again! Keyword: VISIT. :)

Oh, Hi There!

A recent conversation with a friend reminded me of this little ol' blog that I used to keep. It's been a while since I've updated anything on here and I know exactly why. I fall into the same rut when I'm not exactly content with life. I wrote a post on it back in 2011 about it. (Click here to read: "I Had to Ask Myself".) I am never eager to document life when life isn't exactly what I want it to be. RC has been gone a lot lately. Every month since December he has spent a few weeks each month away. He has done amazing things and accomplished a lot during the times he was gone and I am incredibly proud of him, but it does often make me feel like life is in a standstill again. Just waiting. Waiting for some resemble of our "normal" life to come back. I think that's something I am always going to struggle with as an Army wife. The never ending transition of being content as a couple to remembering how to be content and happy alone. So I'm reminded of the quote I found almost 3 years ago. 

"Your life is right now. It's not later. It's not in that of retirement. It's not when the lover gets here.

It's not when you've moved into the new house. It's not when you get the better job.

Your life is right now. It will always be right now.

You might as well decide to start enjoying your life right now,

because it's not going to get better than right now-until it gets better right now!"

-Esther Hicks

I will say that I have done a pretty bang-up job of enjoying life with my other half away. I have been incredibly blessed to have found an amazing group of women to work out with here at Grafenwoehr. Schweinfurt set the precedent and I'm just hoping every duty station from here on out connects me with motivating, WOD loving ladies. :) Being fit and active really is my saving grace. Every morning we work out, encourage, and embrace the suck together. We've also started a spouses volleyball league. So between practices and weekly evening games that has also helped keep me busy. Besides staying active there is one other thing that has kept me sane over these last few months. And that's my little fur ball. Only he's not so little anymore. At 5 months old he is already close to 50 lbs. Zeke really has been the best companion. He has just the sweetest temperament and follows me everywhere around the house. Even lays on the bathroom floor and watches me as I get ready. I love him to pieces and probably give him close to 100 kisses a day on his little nose. 

So there is somewhat of a summary of the last few months. We will resume our traveling next month with a trip to the States in May for a wedding and graduation. In July we are planning on visiting Malaga, Spain for a few relaxing days in the sun. Then fast forward to the Fall and after more Army training we should be able to visit Rome in October. I am so looking forward to getting back into traveling!

Life with Zeke

It's been over a month that we've had Zeke home with us, and already we've learned so much about his personality. He's kind of been a dream puppy which makes me scared for his "teenage years". We can't be THAT lucky to have an easy dog his whole life, right? He's a sweet puppy that hasn't gotten into any trouble and *knock on wood* hasn't had much interest in chewing. Plus he is incredibly handsome earning the names "panda bear" and "little black bear". Our biggest "problem" is his lack of trust with new people and being so standoffish! It's a curse, I tell you, to have such an adorable, fluffy dog who's scared of strangers. But overall we're feeling pretty lucky to have this one in our lives. :) 

Since being home Zeke has learned so many things! He stays in his kennel while I run errands and sleeps in it all night. He lets us know he has to go to the bathroom by sitting with his back to the door and staring at us intently. He's made friends with our neighbor's Husky and a 30 minute play session will wear him out for the rest of the day. The words "inside, outside, leave it, come, sit, eat, car ride, and walk" are all a part of his vocabulary although at times he choses to not hear a few of them. He has 100% found his voice with a wide variations of woo-woos, grumbles, whines, & occasional barks and he's teaching me what each one means. :) He's affectionate with us, but is still very wary of strangers. This has gotten better as each week has gone on. I'm hopeful this will eventually wear away as Malamutes are usually highly affectionate towards all.  

2013: A Year in Review

My birthday month, January, began in Charlotte, NC where I rang in the New Year with Courtney and watched the Tigers pulled out a win over LSU. In February I flew back to Germany because in March Ross came home from deployment.  Best. Day. EVER. We didn't wait long to make up for lost time and traveled to Austria for a skiing/snowboarding trip. What an amazing experience to ski in the Alps. April brought Block Leave and back to the States we went to visit family and go on a Caribbean cruise. We fit in a Redeployment Ball, wedding anniversary, and trip to Amsterdam all in the month of May. We craved the sun and sand so Barcelona, Spain was the obvious choice in June. Another visit to a coastal city was in order in July where we lounged on Tirrenia's beaches and saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In August we said goodbye to our German apartment in Geldersheim and moved to our new home 2 hours away. With our new duty station being so close to the Czech border we ventured to Prague in September. I also went back to South Carolina that month to visit with family. I am so thankful I was able to spend time with my growing nephew and watch my youngest brother play in his senior year of football. We celebrated Ross' birthday in November and also flew to London where we ate plenty of fish & chips and tried tea & crumpets. They were delicious! December was full of Christmas markets, holiday parties, and family visits. We also got to meet our Alaskan Malamute, Zeke! We will be able to pick him up in just a few short weeks. With a new puppy on our hands and more countries to visit 2014 is going to be quite the adventure. :)

Weihnachtsmarkts 2013 Edition

If we can't be in the States celebrating the Christmas season with family, Germany is a pretty good second place. In fact Christmas in Germany is pretty spectacular. The way they celebrate the Christmas season is one of my favorite things about Deutschland. A large part of their celebration revolves around Advent and they are pretty creative with the use of Advent calendars. One town nearby turns their beautiful rathaus (town hall) into a living breathing calendar with each window assigned a number. Every day the children gather around the window and wait for presents to be thrown out. Oh the life of a German kinder.

Shortly after the beginning of the Advent season Christmas markets // Christkindlesmarkt // Weihnachtsmark open all around the country. They are usually held in the town center, but sometimes you can get lucky and find one in a palace. The streets are lined with stalls showcasing beautiful handcrafted ornaments and delicious, traditional German food & drinks. This year I've made it a point to try and get an ornament from each market we visited, but I'd be lying if I didn't say eating and drinking was what it's all about. For food we normally seek out the bratwurst, schweinesteak, and my favorite the kartoffelpuffer (potato pancake). For drinks we've sampled a lot this year between gluhwein, apfelwein, and eierpunsch. The last wasn't much of a crowd favorite.  My iPhone pictures don't do the markets justice, but when you're surrounded by friends, eating good food, and soaking in the Christmas spirit it's a fantastic experience. 

Thurn and Taxis Palace in Regensburg

Nürnberg Weihnachtsmarkt

A Quick Update

It's hard to believe, but we've been in Grafenwoehr for over 3 months now. Our first weekend we had record highs and the temperature rose to the high 90s. Now we're in the middle fall and winter is (unfortunately) just around the corner. The trees and a looking a little more bare and more & more frost/ice is appearing on car windshields in the morning. This winter will be an interesting experience as it will be the first full winter in Germany for both us. I'm praying God has mercy on us poor Southerners. Actually, I'm asking God sends extra mercy to me because RC claims that he is "made for the cold weather". So he doesn't need it. :)

Since our move I've traveled to Poland and we've traveled to Munich (again), Prague, and London.

RC's birthday was this weekend. The big 2-4. I love these few months where we are the same age. Doesn't make me feel so old. :) The last bit of big news is we've been talking with a breeder in the Czech Republic and we are on a waiting list for an Alaskan Malamute puppy. The liter is due in just a few weeks and depending on the number of puppies we could have our very own Mal come mid-January. We are both really excited about this possible new member of our family. :)

Happy Anniversary

Almost 5,000 miles traveled in two years.

1 Trans-Atlantic move. 1 deployment. 1 reintegration.

There is no one else I would rather be on this adventure with than you. 

I am so looking forward to our third year of marriage. 

To have you in my arms. To see what kind of memories we make. To see where we travel. 

I'm looking forward to making up for those 9 months we were apart. 

We have been given a blessed life and I love living it with you. 

I'm so glad we said "I Do".  :)

Skiing the Austrian Alps

We skied and snowboarded for two days in St. Johann in Tirol at Berg Bahnen. Surprise, surprise- but skiing the Austrian Alps did not disappoint. Definitely the best skiing of my life. The snow was perfect even for late season, spring skiing. The runs were probably on average 15 minutes long. Amazing compared to the short runs we were used to on the east coast on the Appalachian mountains. The first day we got our "ski legs" back and mostly stayed toward the bottom half of the mountain. I have to admit I was a little timid to go to the top of the mountain in THE ALPS. Ross probably would have gone all the way up on his second run, but by the end of the day we made it to the top of the mountain and it wasn't that bad. Turns out we're not shabby skiers/snowboarders for east coast Americans. :) We held our own and didn't embarrass ourselves by falling in front of these European pros. 

Added benefit of skiing from the top of the mountain..... the view. 

We also took a couple videos on my waterproof Olympus camera. It's an older camera and not the best quality, but I'm still glad we decided to film our trip. In the first video Ross started filming at the top of the mountain. Amazing video! The second video I took of Ross snowboarding down the bottom half of the mountain. Enjoy! :)

Merry Christmas from the Leighs

Is it weird that...

the most normal part of my Thanksgiving was watching Clemson lose to SC?

This was an unusual Thanksgiving. I'm not complaining in the least bit. I was surrounded by good people here in Germany and I'm blessed to have great relationships with family & friends in the States. So really there was love all around. It was just different this year. Not having RC around was the worst part and knowing he's stuck in "the sandbox" and can't really embrace/experience the holidays hurts my heart. Fortunately they had a fairly traditional Thanksgiving meal and were able to have some free time to have a ping-pong tournament.

So with a quick recap let's compare the difference between Thanksgiving in the States vs Germany...

TYPICAL THANKSGIVING:
THANKSGIVING DAY:
Start the day with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, spend time with family, meet up with extended family, football in the background all day long, enjoy a deep fried turkey and all the southern fixin's ;). Then nap after eating a ridiculous amount of pumpkin & pecan pie.

BLACK FRIDAY:
Breakfast at Cracker Barrel, hunt for the PERFECT Christmas tree, decorate said Christmas tree, play Christmas music since its AFTER Thanksgiving and the appropriate time to do so.

PALMETTO BOWL:
Surround yourself with family & friends .... even if they're Carolina fans, experience every range of emotion (and for the last 4 years at least) pout because your team lost, practice extreme self-control and do not engage in the idiotic comments on Facebook.

Black Friday-- Christmas tree shopping circa 2011

THANKSGIVING IN GERMANY SANS HUSBAND:
THANKSGIVING DAY:
Drive to a friend's house 40 min away, watch old hockey games??? (yah, I know), eat, try gluhwein (forget spiked eggnog! I'll take gluhwein as my holiday drink), wait the appropriate time to get behind the wheel, drive to another friend's house 30 min away, notice that there are babies and little ones EVERYWHERE, have your first taste of pumpkin pie, finally some football in the background, talk to your husband for maybe 10 min on the phone, know how blessed you are to have him in your life. Then round of the day with a quick Skype session with the family.

BLACK FRIDAY:
Sleep in, realize that the PX has nothing remotely worth getting up for, come to terms with the fact that you will not have a Christmas tree this year, nor will you decorate for Christmas (highlight: because YOU'RE GOING HOME), jealousy sets in... your family is eating hashbrowns & pancakes at Cracker Barrel- you had granola cereal for breakfast. Watch Fringe for the majority of your day :)

PALMETTO BOWL:
Stay up until kick off at 1 am, Skype with brother & SIL during the entire game (BEST part), feel less crazy when yelling at the tv because you're watching "with" someone, experience every range of emotion, pout because your team lost AGAIN, practice extreme self-control and do not engage in the idiotic comments on Facebook. Go to bed because it's 5 o'clock in the morning.

Georgia Happenings- River Walk

RC got off work super early today and suggested we go for a walk around town. During my mom's last visit, we walked along the River Walk and had a wonderful time. RC had never been, because the boy works so darn much, so we decided today would be the day! It was beautiful weather and I so enjoyed the unexpected alone time with my love! Also, I should add he was a complete doll letting me take a ton of pictures along the way. 

Happy Wednesday! I hope you all are enjoying the new year. I'll be spending the evening chowing down and watching my Clemson Tigers in the Orange Bowl. :)

Merry Christmas, all!

Happy Holidays, everyone! 

We are thoroughly enjoying the holidays and are really looking forward to an oyster roast on New Years! Oh, and did I mention we are in SC? It's so good to be home. Luckily RC had almost 3 weeks off from work so we were able to travel home for a nice long visit. Almost as long as the Christmas Break we've been used to having in college. We began our Christmas Exodus with a trip to Snowshoe, West Virginia with RC's family for some snowboarding (him) and skiing (me)!

We had a wonderful time hitting the slopes together every morning and walking around the village for some Starbucks in the evening. We also threw in a few night-ski sessions here and there. The weather was oddly warm (like high 40s) and we only had one day of semi-bad weather (rain). The plus side of "bad weather" is no one is on the mountain! RC and I took advantage of that and got in a ton of runs that day! If you haven't been to Snowshoe it's a great ski resort! It's definitely in the middle of nowhere (and there's no cell service AT ALL), but they've created a great atmosphere in a place they call "the village" where everything is located- restaurants, hotels, shopping, and rentals! Here's a cheesy picture I stole from Google to give you an idea.  We made it back to Charleston on Christmas Eve Eve and settled in with my family. We took our annual family Christmas picture and RC and I took our first Christmas picture together as a married couple! Unfortunately we didn't take many pictures together Christmas morning neither at my house, my grandparents, or the in-laws. But believe we had a wonderful time and Santa was very good to us!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving Day

This year, for the first time, our families had a joint Thanksgiving dinner.

Since this is the last time for a while that RC and I will be in South Carolina for the holidays, our families wanted to have one big Thanksgiving celebration instead of making us split up the day. And we were so thankful! It was so nice to have everyone together. We're blessed that our families get along so well!

The Day After Thanksgiving

My family has always had a special tradition. It's almost bigger than Thanksgiving! The day after Thanksgiving we always go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then head out to pick/cut down our Christmas tree! And from the picture below you can tell there are a lot of us! This was the first year RC was able to participated with us! :)

Happy 4 Months!

Yesterday was our 4 month anniversary! Since it was the first time we were able to celebrate/acknowledge it together and in person, I decided to make some sweet treats. Red Velvet Cupcakes! Heart shaped, of course… Happy 4 months! Love you, babe!

Update in Army Town #1

Likes:
So far life in Army Town #1 has been wonderful! If only for the fact that RC and I have been able to spend a ridiculous amount of time together. We've literally spent like every waking second together and I love it. This will soon change as RC has to get back to work, but actually living together with my husband has been wonderful!

I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself. I've cooked 4 not only edible, but reeally good meals. After a summer of no cooking I was nervous about filling my hungry man's belly. So far I'd say I've succeeded. :) The menu? 1. chicken bog 2. chicken spaghetti 3. chicken, broccoli, and mashed potatoes 4. pot roast.

Dislikes:

I can't even begin to tell you how much I hate our internet right now. Our cable tv= awesome. Our internet? Not so much. I've spent over 2 hours with wireless router companies trying to get our wireless set up. TWO different brands and neither will connect to the modem. After wireless router brand #2 attempt, our internet completely went out. This was on Sunday and nobody could come to replace our modem until today (Tuesday). Hopefully, by noon today Mr. Internet Repairman will have shown up and fixed our internet. All I have to say is thank God for our iPhones and for the nice man/woman who hasn't locked their wireless network.

Tropical Storm Lee is being a pesky little bugger and leaving us with a lot of rain.

Happy Tuesday y'all! :)

What I'm Loving Wednesday

My husband because he listened when I told him to not put cake in my face.

Summer Recap

MAY: RC and I graduated from college, both cum laude. RC commissioned into the United States Army. RC and I exchanged vows and promised each other a lifetime of love. Honeymooned at Amelia Island and soaked up the sun.

JUNE: Visited with old college friends. Met RC in Knoxville.

JULY: Drove up to see RC. Got a little taste of what life on an Army post is like. I was really bad. No pictures. RC came home and we had our first home-cooked meal as a married couple. :) Drove to Army Town #1 and found our brand new apartment!