Still Alive!!

We're still alive just very busy these days.

The kids are now gone on their US summer vacation trip. Right now they are having a blast in Florida and are expected to move on to their next stop here shortly.

Our(the grown up's) summer plans went to hell Thursday of last week when I finally received the call that I could start my new job Monday. I was starting to loose hope I was ever going to start this job. No one knew what was going on and what was taking so long but I have since found out there was a hiring freeze for all new employees and it wasn't lifted until last week.

So when I got the call asking if I could start Monday of course I said yes because I had been dying to start my job. It was then after I said yes that the extra little blurb of "well there is a hitch to it" came up. The "hitch" is I will be TDY (away for business) Monday through Friday until further the notice. So the deal is I spend Monday through Friday two hours away from home and get paid a nice little stipend for staying here and on the weekends I get to go home. Sounds great but it really sucks.

The reason for the hitch, my job hasn't moved to our base yet. They are hoping it will be the middle of July but I have been told to settle in until at least August maybe longer everday the timeline changes. I having a feeling it is going to be a while because the building we are suppose to be moving in the old occupants haven't even moved out yet because their building isn't done yet. It is complicated but in simple terms my job falls under the headquarters for this region and the regional office is moving to our base because the base it is currently at is closing. So because they haven't moved yet, neither has my job so therefore here I am bored to tears.

How's the job so far?

I love it!!! I love it!!! I love it!!! I am not happy about the TDY because by the time our office moves the kids will either be on their home or already home so that leaves very little time for Paul and I. Other then that hitch I really enjoy the job. It is interesting and is a fantastic career opportunity for me. The pay is great and it's in the civil service system (or NSPS they call it these days). In the week I have been here I have learned a great deal, it's nice to put my degree to work.

The base I am staying at during the work week use to be quite the envy back in it's glory days but now it's a ghost town and with that brings extreme boredom and I mean EXTREME boredom. I am still in awe of how quiet this base is. It's quite surreal compared to the way it use to be back when we first got to Germany. We use to drive here quiet often because we love the city it is in and it had the best PX around. Well the PX has since closed its doors, the shoppette is bare, and the commissary once robust is down to a lousey 5 aisles with empty shelves everywhere. Sadly, this base I am at during the week will soon be closing the gates for good. It's funny because the base we are stationed at use to be the quiet the little base with nothing and now we are the envy for this area. People drive to our base to the PX and commissary. It's funny how things turn out.

So we are still alive just very busy. Paul is holding down the fort back home trying to get Banjo to come off his hunger strike. The poor dog has no idea what is going on and is freaking out. First the kids and Paul leave. Then Paul comes back without the kids and then I leave. Paul says he sits staring at the front door for hours. I guess I will have to see if I can get a pet room one week and bring him with me.

So nothing new and exciting with us except for the job. We leave for our cruise very very very soon so be on the look out for a blog on that. Other then that it is going to be hard to blog on a regular basis between work and school. Yes, I am still taking college classes. I don't know what I was thinking when I signed up for summer session.

Have a great summer everyone!!

Kabob Night

I went to a social gathering of the wives of the unit a few weeks ago and for dinner it was make your own kabob night. I thought it was such an awesome idea that I decided to give it a try here at home. The kids loved the fact they got to pick what they wanted on their kabobs and top that off with eating out on the patio and it was a complete success.

Neighborhood BBQ

As a neighborhood we are all pretty close. So it has becomne tradition here to have a big neighborhood BBQ once in the spring and once in the fall. This year it was much bigger then last year but you can't tell by the pictures because it was early when I took these. The neighborhood BBQ has become much larger then the neighborhood.

Another Season of Soccer Come and Gone

Another season of soccer come and gone....

I Might Have A Green Thumb After All

Since the veggies at the commissary are gross and it has gotten too expensive to buy them on the economy I have decided to grow my own. I also have planted a bunch of flowers because I was sick of our house looking so plain. We used to have a garden back in GA and have really missed having one here in Germany. So we bought a bunch of patio pots and are tilling up a small place in the yard for when the seedlings sprout.

So far so good. We have tomatoes, peppers, brocoli, strawberries, cucumbers, corn, and herbs going so far. I also planted some carrots, onion, garlic, raspberry, green beans seedlings in little terrariums.


I am really proud of my flower boxes. They have really done well. One thing I absoultely love in Bavaria is the flower boxes on houses. They are gorgeous so I decided to give a try this summer. What do you think?


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