So the second part of my post about being in Wurzburg. This may end up being a bit of me rambling as I'm just trying to get everything together and get my thoughts out. This may also be a bit boring for some people and it won't have much for pictures. Sorry.
Something to talk about. Most of you are probably breaking into song at this very moment. Although I enjoy that song, it's not where I was going with that phrase. That is the phrase which rocked me to the core this weekend.
As I had mentioned, at the conference there was a woman who spoke about forensic dentistry and her experience working to identify victims of the World Trade Center. This woman was an amazing speaker. She was also a model of the type of hygienist I could only dream to be. I've been fortunate to meet many women like this through the years, but she was another reminder of all I could hope to be. She has quite a bit of experience - I'm guessing somewhere between 30-40 years. She has done more than work as a hygienist. She's been very involved in different dental hygiene organizations as well as dental organizations and a dental board. She has worked to pass legislature about the role of dental hygiene. She has worked as a part of a forensic team. She gives lectures at continuing education courses. She is an examiner for dental hygiene licensing board exams. I only hope in 40 years I have done as much and made as much of an impact as her.
As I was sitting in class, it made me think about school and what I've been doing in school. I only have one semester left, and there have been times recently where I've been wondering what I should do next. What is next in line for me. Where do I go from here? I've thought a lot about that. I will complete my Masters, however, with the state of the world at the moment, there isn't a lot available for new job opportunities for me. I've often wondered... if a job became available to utilize my new degree, would I go for it? Would I be ready, willing, and able to leave hygiene behind? I haven't been sure of the answer of to that. This weekend confirmed for me that no, no I would not be able to leave it behind. When I started working on my Masters my goal was to find a way to "marry" dental hygiene with education in some way. To "marry" dental hygiene with cardiology. To do... something. Something. This weekend I feel like it became a bit more clear. I was sitting in class, listening to the lecture, and I realized I wanted to do this. I wanted to be the person up there talking with other dental professionals. I have had this thought before - it's not a new idea - but now I'm at a point where I'm closer. I'm closer to actually being able to do something like this.
I was sitting next to the women I mentioned above (by random chance). I casually asked her how she got started or got involved in teaching CE courses. She looked at me and said, "I think it's that you have something to talk about." A simple reply. However, it is something which seemed so much more significant to me. You have something to talk about. I have a LOT of things I want to talk about. I have so many thoughts and ideas burning, churning inside of me all the time. I am almost dying to let those ideas OUT. I told her that. I told her I want to teach courses. I want to be an educator. She could have ignored me. She could have brushed me off or simply given me some sort of fake encouragement. Instead, she said, "Okay. Tell me your ideas." I gave her one idea I had. She gave me feedback on it, and then simply said, "Okay. Tell me another." She drilled me like this for awhile. I will admit, I was a little overwhelmed and a bit shaken. However, I gave her and idea which she responded to positively and told me it was a marketable idea I should pursue. I can't explain to you how it felt to have this minor validation. A woman of her background and experience thought I had a good idea worth pursuing. Mind. Blown.
I discussed this with Kristy at length. She knows of my ambition, but I felt like I needed another person's opinion of the discussion I had had. From Kristy I received one of the best compliments I have ever gotten. She told me she believed even before we were friends that I had a special gift for communication, especially when it came to dental hygiene and communicating with others. She told me she thought I would make a wonderful educator and encouraged me to pursue it.
Needless to say, there were moments throughout the rest of the conference where I was a bit lost in thought. My drive home was quiet as I was wrapped up in ideas and thoughts. As I said earlier, after attending a conference you leave feeling pumped up about your career. I am definitely feeling this way right now. I'm also feeling... clarity, I suppose. I feel like I have found something I want to pursue. I know something I want to do in the future. At the moment I feel I am still unsure how I'm going to get where I want to be. I don't really know how to make things happen for myself.
But.
I've got something to talk about.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Wurzburg EARDH Conference
This is going to have to be in two parts. The first part will be pretty with pictures highlighting the conference. The second part (most likely a whole 'nother post) will be me rambling.
This weekend I went with my co-workers to my first dental conference in Europe. My co-worker Eric had asked a few months prior if I would be interested in a dental hygiene conference in Wurzburg (about 3 hours away from where I am). The conference was for the EARDH - the European Association of Registered Dental Hygienists. You can check out their website here. I did not realize until we got to the conference how many American hygienists there are living and working in Europe. There were some hygienists who worked as contractors on military bases, which I had expected. However, I didn't know there were many American hygienists who work for German dentists. Many of them had come to Germany quite a few years ago and never left.
I had almost forgotten about it until a few weeks ago. I drove to the conference and shared a room with Kristy and Yesi, two other female hygienists I work with. There are some people you work with and you are only able to try to keep things "professional" between you. Then there are co-workers who turn out to be good, dear friends. I feel lucky to say both Kristy and Yesi are the latter. We had a fun drive down to Wurzburg, got settled into our room, and got ready for the conference. This conference was a bit smaller than other ones I have attended - I would guess there were about 25 people in attendance. However, it is always neat to have the time to meet and speak with people in the same career field who share the same interests.
Thursday afternoon the conference started. We had one "class," and then had some time to kill before dinner. One great thing about this conference is dinners and lunches were included in the cost of the conference. This was not only a good deal, but it was nice to have an opportunity to socialize further with people. I have to say from prior experience that it can be both lonely and expensive to have to find dinner by yourself at the end of a conference day. While we were waiting for the conference dinner, we took the time to walk around Wurzburg. When I say walk, I mean we did the craziest power-walk possible to try to see as much as possible in one hour. We did actually see some things, but there's still a lot I wish I could have seen and done. Wurzburg will remain on my list of places I want to go with Josh. I apologize - I have some great photos of Wurzburg, but my computer and my memory card are NOT communicating. Hmm. Well, enjoy the picture of some beautiful hygienists.
Friday was a day full of class. I won't bore you with much for details, as, well, I just won't bore you. However, there was an interesting course about forensic dentistry, or using dental records to ID bodies. The speaker was a dental hygienist who was part of the team who worked to identify victims from the World Trade Center. Chilling topic, but interesting. Not exactly something I have as an interest personally - I'm not sure how I could handle the dead bodies - I take things way too personal - but it is a fascinating career path.
Friday evening we went to a wine tasting, which was in the wine cellar of the Residence (aka "palace") of Wurzburg. This area is known for their dry white wine, which was delicious. The cellar is underground, and although they have "normal" lighting, they mainly lit the area using candles. It made for a beautiful backdrop. We were able to try five different wines and we had a dinner of meats and cheeses. It was delicious and a lot of fun... especially when all the hygienists started to get a bit tipsy and therefore got a touch wild. I always love when people let loose and let down their "professional" guard. It makes for great stories, and this night was full of them. Let's just say everyone looked a little rough the next morning.
Saturday was only a half day of classes. At the end of the courses we had a group lunch before everyone left to go home. It was amazing how after only a few days there were women giving me hugs to tell me goodbye and telling me what a pleasure it was to meet me. I was the youngest hygienist there, hands down, and it felt good to feel accepted in a group of experienced and talented hygienists. All of us are already talking about the conference next year which will be in Stuttgart, Germany.
The ride home was mostly uneventful. We did run into a patch of foul weather, which slowed our trip down. I can't help but laugh. The Germans, like many Americans, seem to panic in any sort of weather. And believe me, there are definitely times when you should slow down, take your time, and focus. However... rain (and not hard rain or rain which was sitting on the road. Just plain ol' regular rain) isn't a crisis. We don't need to slow down to 25 mph on the autobahn just because it's raining. Good grief. I was happy to get home and just wanted to spend the evening relaxing. I told Josh I was excited to talk to him about the conference, but I was just tired. I also felt like my mind was still spinning from everything I learned at the conference - the wine didn't help.
However, it's always fun to get home from conferences like this. I always walk away feeling inspired, empowered, and excited about my career field. Yahoo! It's great to be a dental hygienist.
This weekend I went with my co-workers to my first dental conference in Europe. My co-worker Eric had asked a few months prior if I would be interested in a dental hygiene conference in Wurzburg (about 3 hours away from where I am). The conference was for the EARDH - the European Association of Registered Dental Hygienists. You can check out their website here. I did not realize until we got to the conference how many American hygienists there are living and working in Europe. There were some hygienists who worked as contractors on military bases, which I had expected. However, I didn't know there were many American hygienists who work for German dentists. Many of them had come to Germany quite a few years ago and never left.
I had almost forgotten about it until a few weeks ago. I drove to the conference and shared a room with Kristy and Yesi, two other female hygienists I work with. There are some people you work with and you are only able to try to keep things "professional" between you. Then there are co-workers who turn out to be good, dear friends. I feel lucky to say both Kristy and Yesi are the latter. We had a fun drive down to Wurzburg, got settled into our room, and got ready for the conference. This conference was a bit smaller than other ones I have attended - I would guess there were about 25 people in attendance. However, it is always neat to have the time to meet and speak with people in the same career field who share the same interests.
Thursday afternoon the conference started. We had one "class," and then had some time to kill before dinner. One great thing about this conference is dinners and lunches were included in the cost of the conference. This was not only a good deal, but it was nice to have an opportunity to socialize further with people. I have to say from prior experience that it can be both lonely and expensive to have to find dinner by yourself at the end of a conference day. While we were waiting for the conference dinner, we took the time to walk around Wurzburg. When I say walk, I mean we did the craziest power-walk possible to try to see as much as possible in one hour. We did actually see some things, but there's still a lot I wish I could have seen and done. Wurzburg will remain on my list of places I want to go with Josh. I apologize - I have some great photos of Wurzburg, but my computer and my memory card are NOT communicating. Hmm. Well, enjoy the picture of some beautiful hygienists.
Friday was a day full of class. I won't bore you with much for details, as, well, I just won't bore you. However, there was an interesting course about forensic dentistry, or using dental records to ID bodies. The speaker was a dental hygienist who was part of the team who worked to identify victims from the World Trade Center. Chilling topic, but interesting. Not exactly something I have as an interest personally - I'm not sure how I could handle the dead bodies - I take things way too personal - but it is a fascinating career path.
Friday evening we went to a wine tasting, which was in the wine cellar of the Residence (aka "palace") of Wurzburg. This area is known for their dry white wine, which was delicious. The cellar is underground, and although they have "normal" lighting, they mainly lit the area using candles. It made for a beautiful backdrop. We were able to try five different wines and we had a dinner of meats and cheeses. It was delicious and a lot of fun... especially when all the hygienists started to get a bit tipsy and therefore got a touch wild. I always love when people let loose and let down their "professional" guard. It makes for great stories, and this night was full of them. Let's just say everyone looked a little rough the next morning.
Saturday was only a half day of classes. At the end of the courses we had a group lunch before everyone left to go home. It was amazing how after only a few days there were women giving me hugs to tell me goodbye and telling me what a pleasure it was to meet me. I was the youngest hygienist there, hands down, and it felt good to feel accepted in a group of experienced and talented hygienists. All of us are already talking about the conference next year which will be in Stuttgart, Germany.
The ride home was mostly uneventful. We did run into a patch of foul weather, which slowed our trip down. I can't help but laugh. The Germans, like many Americans, seem to panic in any sort of weather. And believe me, there are definitely times when you should slow down, take your time, and focus. However... rain (and not hard rain or rain which was sitting on the road. Just plain ol' regular rain) isn't a crisis. We don't need to slow down to 25 mph on the autobahn just because it's raining. Good grief. I was happy to get home and just wanted to spend the evening relaxing. I told Josh I was excited to talk to him about the conference, but I was just tired. I also felt like my mind was still spinning from everything I learned at the conference - the wine didn't help.
However, it's always fun to get home from conferences like this. I always walk away feeling inspired, empowered, and excited about my career field. Yahoo! It's great to be a dental hygienist.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Keukenhof
This past weekend I was feeling some better (thank goodness) and we decided to go ahead with our "small trip" idea. The destination was Keukenhof. Keukenhof is a large garden in Holland - here is there website. I believe the garden is open year round, but from March to May is the prime time of when the tulips are blooming. I don't know much about gardens or plants, and really I don't care. I tend to have a black thumb. But. I do love tulips. Tulips are by far and away my favorite flower. I wanted to go to Keukenhof last year but it never panned out. We decided on a bit of a whim to go there. Of course we picked high season, the most expensive time of the year for a hotel. I spent over an hour searching for a hotel... and even after that I feel like I paid waaaaayyyy too much. Oh well.
We drove over on Friday afternoon. When we checked into our hotel, we were advised by the front desk to try and get to Keukenhof early. It was my plan to get there when it first opened, but this confirmed my plan of an early start. The gardens open at 8, and we were there right when it opened. For the first two hours we were there it was heaven. The gardens are huge, and laid out along many different winding walking paths. We walked and walked and walked... and still saw new flowers around each bend. Beautiful doesn't seem to cover it. So many colors, shapes and sizes. I can't describe it, so here are some photos. Josh gets the credit for the photography on this trip. Don't let the sunshine fool you - although it was sunny, it was COLD!
Okay, so you get the point. I really had to restrict myself from posting more pictures.
As I said, the first two hours of our visit were amazing. We were able to leisurely stroll along. Around 10 or 10:30 the tour buses arrived... and suddenly the place was jam packed. Wall to wall people. It really started to suck all the joy out of the experience. I was happy we had gotten there early and were able to see a lot of the garden before the crowds got there. Saturday was suppose to be the Flower Parade, which is a well-known event. Originally we were planning to stick around to see the parade. However, we were going to have to hang around the packed gardens for another four hours before the parade got started. As much as I want to see and experience things... I couldn't really see this as being something I was going to enjoy. The crowds would have ruined it for me. So we left and did some shopping instead, which as it turns out was lot of fun.
I'm glad we had a chance to see Keukenhof. For anyone who is interested in going, I highly recommend it. However, I would suggest you go early when it first opens, and (unless you really want to see the Flower Parade) go on a weekday. I think this is something my mom would enjoy. Hopefully in the next few years she comes out here when the time is right to see the blossoms.
We drove over on Friday afternoon. When we checked into our hotel, we were advised by the front desk to try and get to Keukenhof early. It was my plan to get there when it first opened, but this confirmed my plan of an early start. The gardens open at 8, and we were there right when it opened. For the first two hours we were there it was heaven. The gardens are huge, and laid out along many different winding walking paths. We walked and walked and walked... and still saw new flowers around each bend. Beautiful doesn't seem to cover it. So many colors, shapes and sizes. I can't describe it, so here are some photos. Josh gets the credit for the photography on this trip. Don't let the sunshine fool you - although it was sunny, it was COLD!
Okay, so you get the point. I really had to restrict myself from posting more pictures.
As I said, the first two hours of our visit were amazing. We were able to leisurely stroll along. Around 10 or 10:30 the tour buses arrived... and suddenly the place was jam packed. Wall to wall people. It really started to suck all the joy out of the experience. I was happy we had gotten there early and were able to see a lot of the garden before the crowds got there. Saturday was suppose to be the Flower Parade, which is a well-known event. Originally we were planning to stick around to see the parade. However, we were going to have to hang around the packed gardens for another four hours before the parade got started. As much as I want to see and experience things... I couldn't really see this as being something I was going to enjoy. The crowds would have ruined it for me. So we left and did some shopping instead, which as it turns out was lot of fun.
I'm glad we had a chance to see Keukenhof. For anyone who is interested in going, I highly recommend it. However, I would suggest you go early when it first opens, and (unless you really want to see the Flower Parade) go on a weekday. I think this is something my mom would enjoy. Hopefully in the next few years she comes out here when the time is right to see the blossoms.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Catching up...
A terrible March of blogging. I blame the lack of internet - which, for the record, I am still waiting to get in my house. Sigh. It will be soon.
But. To do a very brief catch up of what's been going on...
When Josh and I finally got back into the "swing" of things travel-wise, we took a weekend trip to Rothenburg. I had already gone to Rothenburg with my parents when they were here, and I loved it. It was one of the places I really wanted Josh to get a chance to see. We were looking for possible places to go, and I just happened to find a reasonable hotel for the weekend in Rothenburg. So. That's where we went. As with a lot of our more recent travels, I didn't have any set plans. We were mainly just going to check it out. We spent most of our time wandering around the town (which isn't very big) and shopping. We did go see the Medieval Torture Museum, which I didn't see when I was there before. Creepy is a good way to describe it. It was really just a nice, low key weekend.
45 57 61 69 71 72 82 84
The next weekend we took a trip through base to do a Medieval Dinner at Cochem Castle. This is a trip the base does about once a month. I've heard good things about it, and Josh and I have always wanted to go... we just haven't made the time for it yet. I finally put my foot down and decided we were going. We took our friend Cody with us. We got to the town of Cochem in the early afternoon. I think if we went on this tour from late spring to early fall there would be more to do within the town of Cochem. As it was, the weekend was still cold and dreary, so many shops were closed. We wandered around town for awhile, then had coffee. We got to have a tour of the castle before dinner... and then our feast began. We sat at tow long tables which lined the hall. We drank wine from stone cups, and our food was served on slabs of wood ("plates") and we ate with our fingers. As we had dinner there were minstrels who performed. It was a lot of fun. Cody was selected to "compete" as a knight. He had to cut a log and sing (both of these parts of the competition he lost, badly). But the final leg of the competition was to chug a beer. Cody won that part easily. The whole evening was a lot of fun, and I think many of our visitors would enjoy it. The only un-fun part of the night was the bus ride back to base. Dinner was about a three hour even, and the ride home is about an hour long.. yet somehow there were people who were extremely drunk who couldn't seem to keep it together for that short ride. It made for a... uh... interesting ride home.
But. To do a very brief catch up of what's been going on...
When Josh and I finally got back into the "swing" of things travel-wise, we took a weekend trip to Rothenburg. I had already gone to Rothenburg with my parents when they were here, and I loved it. It was one of the places I really wanted Josh to get a chance to see. We were looking for possible places to go, and I just happened to find a reasonable hotel for the weekend in Rothenburg. So. That's where we went. As with a lot of our more recent travels, I didn't have any set plans. We were mainly just going to check it out. We spent most of our time wandering around the town (which isn't very big) and shopping. We did go see the Medieval Torture Museum, which I didn't see when I was there before. Creepy is a good way to describe it. It was really just a nice, low key weekend.
45 57 61 69 71 72 82 84
The next weekend we took a trip through base to do a Medieval Dinner at Cochem Castle. This is a trip the base does about once a month. I've heard good things about it, and Josh and I have always wanted to go... we just haven't made the time for it yet. I finally put my foot down and decided we were going. We took our friend Cody with us. We got to the town of Cochem in the early afternoon. I think if we went on this tour from late spring to early fall there would be more to do within the town of Cochem. As it was, the weekend was still cold and dreary, so many shops were closed. We wandered around town for awhile, then had coffee. We got to have a tour of the castle before dinner... and then our feast began. We sat at tow long tables which lined the hall. We drank wine from stone cups, and our food was served on slabs of wood ("plates") and we ate with our fingers. As we had dinner there were minstrels who performed. It was a lot of fun. Cody was selected to "compete" as a knight. He had to cut a log and sing (both of these parts of the competition he lost, badly). But the final leg of the competition was to chug a beer. Cody won that part easily. The whole evening was a lot of fun, and I think many of our visitors would enjoy it. The only un-fun part of the night was the bus ride back to base. Dinner was about a three hour even, and the ride home is about an hour long.. yet somehow there were people who were extremely drunk who couldn't seem to keep it together for that short ride. It made for a... uh... interesting ride home.
Don't you just love him? He's so cooperative for pictures
After two busy weekends I had to prep for my trip home to the states. I had not been home since my grandma passed away. A good friend of mine from college was getting married... so I used this as an excuse to go home. My friend Cody went with me to "check out" Montana before going on to see his family in California. I had a chance to spend time with my family, saw some dear friends, drank one of my favorite beers, and shopped shopped shopped. I haven't gone clothes shopping in a very long time... and well, let's just say I made up for lost time. As with all good trips my time home was over too quickly and now I am back in Germany fighting off jet lag and a nasty cold I must of picked up in my travels.
But. There are things to look forward to.
If I don't feel like death this weekend (which I could or could not... we shall see) we may try to get out and do some sort of small day trip. Then the first weekend of May I am going with my co-workers to a dental conference in Wurzburg. I'm not so overly excited for the conference part, but I'm really excited to check out Wurzburg. It's a spot I've been wanted to get to since last summer. Josh and I also have a wine tasting tour scheduled for a weekend in May. We live in the middle of wine country, but haven't yet taken full advantage of it. I'm hoping we have good weather.
Now here is a minor rant. We were planning to go to Normandy for Memorial Day. It is within driving distance for us, and it is something we both really want to see, but we pretty much need a long weekend to do it (because of the distance). So I figured hey! Memorial Day! I coordinated with a co-worker to get that Friday off so that as soon as Josh is off work that day (which typically for a long weekend they get done a little early) we could get on the road. But. Silly me for making plans... Josh just found out he'll have some work things going on at that time... so not only will he most likely NOT get the weekend off, but he'll be working 12 hour shifts. Welp. There went that plan.
However. I have to keep reminding myself to just roll with the punches. Take what I'm given and make the best of it. AND, I keep telling myself, I still have 5 years here to get things sorted out. So. There was March in a nutshell... here's to hoping for a good April (even though it's half over).
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Kirsten Stationary
I am about to say something very judgmental.
I don't like the stick figured "family" stickers people put on their car windows. You know what I'm talking about. The little stick figures of "Mom" "Dad" and the 2.5 children and the family dog plastered on the back window of a minivan.
If you are a person who has this on your car, I'm sorry. I just find it annoying for many reasons. One, no one cares. Really. No gives a hoot that you have two boys and a dog. Two, you drive a minivan. Clearly you are not a person out living a wild single life. I don't think you need to broadcast that to all the other drivers on the road.
Once Josh teased me about my dislike and contempt of these stickers by telling me I was jealous because my "family" sticker would have only cats. In actuality, I would rock the cat stickers with pride. They do make cat stickers, for the record.
I have found in the past two years that I have been bombarded with the questions of if I have children, or when I am going to have children. My standard answer is I only have furry, four-legged cat children. Most people still press on with, "Oh yes, for now. But when will you have real children?" Who says cats aren't real? Asshole. And who said it was your business to know anything about my reproductive plans? (Once again, for the record, we are NOT at any point in the near future even considering the idea of having babies. Period).
I recently had a patient who asked about my child-bearing status, and when I responded with my standard "furry four-legged cat children" answer, the patient told me, "That is weird." I let a very long, awkward silence pass before I said, "Yes. Yes it is." I suppose I have finally gotten used to being asked repeatedly about having kids, although I'm still not sure if it happens because I'm married, my age, or because I'm surrounded by military families. I think my getting used to this has also strengthened my comfort in my "status" of being a cat "mom." That being said...
I recently went to a My ThirtyOne party (think Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, Tupperwear, ect). Normally I shy away from these types of things as I don't necessarily like to be pressured into buying something, and I try to avoid buying things I don't need. But. A good friend of mine was hosting this party, and I thought it would be a way to meet more people. The party was fun, and the company (by the way) does sell some great stuff. One of the things I ordered was personalized stationary. There is all sorts of ways you can personalize it, and I found it funny to play on the family stick figure sticker situation. So. Hopefully someday soon you can get a letter on the Lehman Family stationary.
I don't like the stick figured "family" stickers people put on their car windows. You know what I'm talking about. The little stick figures of "Mom" "Dad" and the 2.5 children and the family dog plastered on the back window of a minivan.
If you are a person who has this on your car, I'm sorry. I just find it annoying for many reasons. One, no one cares. Really. No gives a hoot that you have two boys and a dog. Two, you drive a minivan. Clearly you are not a person out living a wild single life. I don't think you need to broadcast that to all the other drivers on the road.
Once Josh teased me about my dislike and contempt of these stickers by telling me I was jealous because my "family" sticker would have only cats. In actuality, I would rock the cat stickers with pride. They do make cat stickers, for the record.
I have found in the past two years that I have been bombarded with the questions of if I have children, or when I am going to have children. My standard answer is I only have furry, four-legged cat children. Most people still press on with, "Oh yes, for now. But when will you have real children?" Who says cats aren't real? Asshole. And who said it was your business to know anything about my reproductive plans? (Once again, for the record, we are NOT at any point in the near future even considering the idea of having babies. Period).
I recently had a patient who asked about my child-bearing status, and when I responded with my standard "furry four-legged cat children" answer, the patient told me, "That is weird." I let a very long, awkward silence pass before I said, "Yes. Yes it is." I suppose I have finally gotten used to being asked repeatedly about having kids, although I'm still not sure if it happens because I'm married, my age, or because I'm surrounded by military families. I think my getting used to this has also strengthened my comfort in my "status" of being a cat "mom." That being said...
I recently went to a My ThirtyOne party (think Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, Tupperwear, ect). Normally I shy away from these types of things as I don't necessarily like to be pressured into buying something, and I try to avoid buying things I don't need. But. A good friend of mine was hosting this party, and I thought it would be a way to meet more people. The party was fun, and the company (by the way) does sell some great stuff. One of the things I ordered was personalized stationary. There is all sorts of ways you can personalize it, and I found it funny to play on the family stick figure sticker situation. So. Hopefully someday soon you can get a letter on the Lehman Family stationary.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Where did the time go?
Only one blog post in all of February is a little pathetic.But, it happened for two reasons. One, we don't have internet at our new house. I could explain it and go into a huge complaining rant about how I hate the German internet company... But I will just say we don't have internet, and it looks as if we won't have any until April. Yes, April. So. Until then my internet time is limited to work and when I go to the library on base. In addition to no internet, we have been busy trying to unpack, organize, and generally get situated in the new house. Because of that there really isn't anything too exciting to report. Most weekends have been spent shifting things around, digging through boxes, and trying to find a place for things. It's a long process. I almost feel like it's easier when our stuff is all packed (as in moving over-seas style) versus just half "move across town" packed... I guess with things being half unpacked it makes for lots of stuff being strung out all over.
I can't believe February is here and gone. One day we are doing a crazy mess of a marathon move... suddenly it's my birthday, then Valentine's day... then our anniversary... and now it's suddenly March and I feel like I only blinked and the month was over.
I was planning to post some new pictures of the house... but things are still pretty messy. But. The cats are loving the stairs at the new house. They run and up down them a lot getting their kitty exercise. There is a little nook at the top of the stairs where Vega likes to sit. I knew as soon as we saw the house that this would be "her" spot, so I put one of her kitty pillows there. Usually this is where I find her.
We also recently updated our bedroom a bit. When we moved into this new house we weren't able to get our boxspring up the stairs - it was too low and narrow. So currently we are sleeping on two mattresses which sit on the floor. It's the proper height, but it does look a little odd. I was wanting to figure out something for a headboard. Obviously we couldn't exactly get a bed frame since we had no boxspring... but I wanted something to make our bed look a bit more polished. I was looking on Pinterest and found all sorts of ideas of ways to "create" a headboard. I liked the idea of making your own headboard, but I knew with moving and other things going on there was no way I would have the time, energy, or materials to make one. So. I "created" my own type of headboard (or illusion/idea of one) thanks to Ikea. Right after we moved into the house we made a huge Ikea trip, which was wonderfully successful. Yay for decorating!
Yes that is Mister Puck posing on the bed. The goal is to decorate/use the shelves... but at the moment they are empty minus an alarm clock. I am, however, in love with my new curtains.
In addition to all the unpacking we dog-sat for our friends and now new neighbors (one of the perks of our new house is how close we are to them). The cats did NOT like having the dogs in the house. While the dogs were at the house we didn't see the cats as they were hiding. The dogs, Max and Milly, were entertaining to say the least. Max is quite active and spent a lot of his time investigating and then stealing/playing with cat toys. Then there is Milly. Milly is a little runt who has an underbite. Maybe it's the dental background, but I found her underbite to be hilarious since her teeth and tongue were always sticking out. Milly is also just generally... special. She is very sweet and spent most of her time cuddling with us... but you get the impression that the lights are on but nobody is home. Milly became well known at my work as I couldn't help but share her "special" antics.
This picture pretty much sums up Max and Milly - Max was trying to lick my face and Milly looks on from the background....
But. Now that we are somewhat moved in, we are gearing up for more travel and more trips. The sun is shining and spring is (possibly) coming to Germany. It's time for us to get out there and do things. We are planning a trip for this weekend - although we aren't sure on the destination or the details yet, ha ha ha. But we are going somewhere. I am headed back to the states to visit my family and attend a wedding at the end of March. But when I return we have more big travel plans ahead... and I am excited. So despite not having internet I hope March has most posts... and more interesting ones at that....
I can't believe February is here and gone. One day we are doing a crazy mess of a marathon move... suddenly it's my birthday, then Valentine's day... then our anniversary... and now it's suddenly March and I feel like I only blinked and the month was over.
I was planning to post some new pictures of the house... but things are still pretty messy. But. The cats are loving the stairs at the new house. They run and up down them a lot getting their kitty exercise. There is a little nook at the top of the stairs where Vega likes to sit. I knew as soon as we saw the house that this would be "her" spot, so I put one of her kitty pillows there. Usually this is where I find her.
We also recently updated our bedroom a bit. When we moved into this new house we weren't able to get our boxspring up the stairs - it was too low and narrow. So currently we are sleeping on two mattresses which sit on the floor. It's the proper height, but it does look a little odd. I was wanting to figure out something for a headboard. Obviously we couldn't exactly get a bed frame since we had no boxspring... but I wanted something to make our bed look a bit more polished. I was looking on Pinterest and found all sorts of ideas of ways to "create" a headboard. I liked the idea of making your own headboard, but I knew with moving and other things going on there was no way I would have the time, energy, or materials to make one. So. I "created" my own type of headboard (or illusion/idea of one) thanks to Ikea. Right after we moved into the house we made a huge Ikea trip, which was wonderfully successful. Yay for decorating!
In addition to all the unpacking we dog-sat for our friends and now new neighbors (one of the perks of our new house is how close we are to them). The cats did NOT like having the dogs in the house. While the dogs were at the house we didn't see the cats as they were hiding. The dogs, Max and Milly, were entertaining to say the least. Max is quite active and spent a lot of his time investigating and then stealing/playing with cat toys. Then there is Milly. Milly is a little runt who has an underbite. Maybe it's the dental background, but I found her underbite to be hilarious since her teeth and tongue were always sticking out. Milly is also just generally... special. She is very sweet and spent most of her time cuddling with us... but you get the impression that the lights are on but nobody is home. Milly became well known at my work as I couldn't help but share her "special" antics.
But. Now that we are somewhat moved in, we are gearing up for more travel and more trips. The sun is shining and spring is (possibly) coming to Germany. It's time for us to get out there and do things. We are planning a trip for this weekend - although we aren't sure on the destination or the details yet, ha ha ha. But we are going somewhere. I am headed back to the states to visit my family and attend a wedding at the end of March. But when I return we have more big travel plans ahead... and I am excited. So despite not having internet I hope March has most posts... and more interesting ones at that....
Monday, February 11, 2013
The Last Minute Move
This post is a bit late in coming. We've been having a few problems getting internet going at the new house. Luckily our phone is working so I can still call back stateside to talk to family, but without the internet I have felt very out of the loop and out of touch. But the good news is we are in our house. What an adventure it was to get there.
In my head I had pictured this wonderful organized move where things would go smoothly (giggle giggle. Silly me, thinking that). As the day came closer for us to move, things began to slowly fall apart. I had been packing and sorting through things, but I still had a fair amount of things to go through. However, I had been neglecting my school work, and I couldn't neglect it any longer. So a few days before the move I had to take time for school, which kind of put me behind in packing. When it came time to move there was still plenty of things sitting loose around the house not in a box. We had planned to borrow a truck from a friend of a friend to move our larger furniture. A few days before our planned move the person with the truck backed out of helping us. We asked around looking for another truck to borrow with no luck. Then we looked into renting a truck. The one moving type truck which is available through the base was not available the whole weekend. We then started looking at different rental places off base. We found nothing. We were planning on moving on Saturday. However, as of Friday morning we still had no vehicle to move with. On Friday afternoon a friend and I were driving around doing errands and trying one last ditch attempt to find a truck to rent. At 4:30 at the last place we went to - we found a van to rent. The catch was we had to take it right then and it had to be returned by 8 a.m. the next morning. Gulp. I called Josh and told him this was about our only option if we were going to move as scheduled. He said he'd be able to round up a helper or two at the last minute. So we got the van, drove it back to our house. We started the move around 5:30 and didn't stop until midnight. The organized moved I had hoped for turned into a chaotic panic where we were just throwing as much stuff into the van to try and get things done as fast as possible. If it was something which Josh and I felt we could move on our own with our cars we left it to deal with later. On Friday night we climbed into bed around 1 am in the new house. Exhausted, but in our new house.
Since then we've been unpacking, trying to organize and get things into their proper place. We still have things left at the old house. This weekend we were busy trying to gather up more of the "little stuff" at the old house to move over. As of Sunday evening there isn't too much left at the old house - maybe one or two more carloads. Then all we have left is getting the old place clean.
I am so happy with this new house. Everything is newer, cleaner, brighter. The cats have been happily running up and down the stairs. Our old house didn't have stairs - and then have been making up for lost time getting plenty of exercise. We recently made a big Ikea shopping run to get things for the house - a new entertainment center, some shelves for our bedroom, curtains. For the first time ever our living room actually looks put together and homey. I fully plan to post pictures of the new house with out furniture in it once our internet situation gets sorted out.
Our move went nothing like I had hoped (or planned). They never do. But. We are in the new house, the new house is wonderful, and we're all safe and happy. So really it was a success.
In my head I had pictured this wonderful organized move where things would go smoothly (giggle giggle. Silly me, thinking that). As the day came closer for us to move, things began to slowly fall apart. I had been packing and sorting through things, but I still had a fair amount of things to go through. However, I had been neglecting my school work, and I couldn't neglect it any longer. So a few days before the move I had to take time for school, which kind of put me behind in packing. When it came time to move there was still plenty of things sitting loose around the house not in a box. We had planned to borrow a truck from a friend of a friend to move our larger furniture. A few days before our planned move the person with the truck backed out of helping us. We asked around looking for another truck to borrow with no luck. Then we looked into renting a truck. The one moving type truck which is available through the base was not available the whole weekend. We then started looking at different rental places off base. We found nothing. We were planning on moving on Saturday. However, as of Friday morning we still had no vehicle to move with. On Friday afternoon a friend and I were driving around doing errands and trying one last ditch attempt to find a truck to rent. At 4:30 at the last place we went to - we found a van to rent. The catch was we had to take it right then and it had to be returned by 8 a.m. the next morning. Gulp. I called Josh and told him this was about our only option if we were going to move as scheduled. He said he'd be able to round up a helper or two at the last minute. So we got the van, drove it back to our house. We started the move around 5:30 and didn't stop until midnight. The organized moved I had hoped for turned into a chaotic panic where we were just throwing as much stuff into the van to try and get things done as fast as possible. If it was something which Josh and I felt we could move on our own with our cars we left it to deal with later. On Friday night we climbed into bed around 1 am in the new house. Exhausted, but in our new house.
Since then we've been unpacking, trying to organize and get things into their proper place. We still have things left at the old house. This weekend we were busy trying to gather up more of the "little stuff" at the old house to move over. As of Sunday evening there isn't too much left at the old house - maybe one or two more carloads. Then all we have left is getting the old place clean.
I am so happy with this new house. Everything is newer, cleaner, brighter. The cats have been happily running up and down the stairs. Our old house didn't have stairs - and then have been making up for lost time getting plenty of exercise. We recently made a big Ikea shopping run to get things for the house - a new entertainment center, some shelves for our bedroom, curtains. For the first time ever our living room actually looks put together and homey. I fully plan to post pictures of the new house with out furniture in it once our internet situation gets sorted out.
Our move went nothing like I had hoped (or planned). They never do. But. We are in the new house, the new house is wonderful, and we're all safe and happy. So really it was a success.
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