Jetlag

Oh jetlag, why must you make my body not sleepy at 11pm? At least I have plenty of energy to study and finally figure out my photo posting situation! Due to lack of computer knowledge, I have not posted a blog in oh, 5 months because I could not figure out how to upload the photos on my new iMac. But today, I overcame my obstacle.

The first album is from our trip to Amsterdam over Easter weekend. It was very pretty and we enjoyed exploring the squares and canals. Chris's favorite museum was the Heineken Brewery. I loved the flower market and the Anne Frank House. Touring the Anne Frank House was an amazing experience. We walked through the hidden staircase behind the bookshelves and walked among the rooms where they hid during WWII. Otto Frank did not allow the museum to be furnished, but there were photos in each room depicting the layout from the time of use.

Amsterdam April 2010

The second album shows the events of my travels home to Missouri over the past two weeks. It was so great to be home, I can't believe it has been 2 years since I was last there. I spent time with my parents, granny, and aunt Donna, as well as high school and college friends. Joe and Erin were married last Saturday and I was honored to help as a bridesmaid. The wedding was beautiful, and I'm so happy for my two wonderful friends. Of course, I was quite thrilled to walk down the aisle with Harry too :-)

Missouri 2010

Oh kitty cats. Phooey is growing so big! I look at photos of her as a little kitten and I can't believe she was once that tiny. Callie has had a bit of a traumatic time; she was sick and one day escaped for a romp around the neighborhood. Since the climax of her illness, lots of time at the vet, and new eating habits Callie has slimmed down to a healthier size and is so playful and active! Since her little jaunt around the block, both Callie and Phooey are wearing collars with nametags. Callie doesn't mind as she has worn one before, but Phooey is confused about her new jingling sound and tries to bite off the tags.

Kitties Spring 2010

Chris has been working very hard as well as taking classes at one of the universities on base. I don't get to see him much, and I always remind him to leave a photo on his pillow so that I don't forget what he looks like. After being indecisive for over a year we finally decided that Chris would re-enlist in the military and the ceremony was before I flew to Missouri. We have one more year here in Germany, and a long list of travel destinations that is impossible to complete. We are to the point of choosing our absolute desired places to visit, and leaving the rest for another time. We should find out our next base around January. I have been busy as well, I just got a promotion to a higher level of customer service representative at the bank and I am in full swing with my master's classes, as well as taking guitar lessons and giving piano lessons.

New Year's Eve in Paris

Chris and I decided to party big this year and spent New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Paris! We rode the ICE train directly into Paris, it only takes 2 hours and 26 minutes from Kaiserslautern. The speeds reach over 300km! We booked first class, it was nice and roomy. After finding our hotel, we made our way to the Champs-Elysees and over to the Eiffel Tower for midnight. New Year's Day we explored Paris. January 2nd we took the train to Chateau Versailles which was amazing. We had a fun and eventful trip!

Paris

2010 Is Here!

Hello! I apologize for the delay in blogging, we have been very busy bees! November was exciting with the new kitty, and Chris's family came to visit for Thanksgiving! They went to London, Paris, and Heidelberg while here. In December Chris and I went to the Nurmberg, Bamberg, and Rothenburg Christmas markets for my birthday which was awesome. I had a class too, so I was busy studying and writing papers. Our Christmas was nice, though it is still very hard to be away from home during the holidays. We celebrated with several friends, and the company was great to help fill the void of missing family. The holiday season went by so fast I feel like I missed it! Here are a few albums of our travels and of course our beloved kitties!

November Kitties

Kitties Nov 2009

Heidelberg with Chris's family

Heidelberg with the Q's

More November Kitties

More Kitties Nov 2009

Christmas Markets and My Birthday

Christmas Markets 2009 & My Birthday

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009

Chris Graduates

Today Chris graduated from Airman Leadership School. He was the class leader for the 6 weeks of class, as the highest ranking in the group. Tonight was the graduation ceremony at the Officer's Club. One of the perks of being with the class leader is that our table was front and center, perfect view of the stage. Chris earned the Distinguished Graduate award for being in the top 10% of his class. He's definitely ready to go back to working his regular job after the last 10 months, and I'm ready for the alarm to not go off at 5am anymore.

The kitties are making progress, they are getting closer to each other more frequently. There is more sniffing, and less hissing and swatting. Chris promises me they just need more time, and I know he's right, but I'm not good with the transition period. Can't we all just get along?

Nov 5 2009

Phooey

Today we adopted Phooey, a kitty cat for Callie. Callie is lonely while we are at work all day, and when we're out exploring Europe. Phooey is so cute! She looks like a shrunken, miniature kitten. She spent the morning bouncing around the house exploring, and all afternoon and evening passed out on my or Chris's lap. Surprisingly, Phooey was the first to hiss and growl at Callie. Callie follows her around sniffing and watching her, but Phooey doesn't want to spend time with Callie yet. But for day one, it has been very successful.

Phooey 1

Trier

Yesterday we took a lovely day trip to the German city of Trier. It was filled with Roman ruins, which we explored and took many photos of. We also went to the house where Karl Marx was born.

Trier 10-24-09

Ponza and Rome

Our last day on the cruise was spent on the island of Ponza. It was almost uninhabited, only two small towns occupy the island. We took an excursion in which we sailed around the island with a tour guide and learned about the mythology and history of the island, as well as getting to jump off the boat and swim in the Mediteranean! Ponza was beautiful, as you can see in my numerous pictures. After the boat tour we went to the water sport deck on the Wind Surf and swam in the Mediterranean! I think that was probably the coolest part, swimming in the Med. It was something I'll always remember, splashing around with Chris with the beautiful island of Ponza in the background. Later that night we had dinner at the fancy seafood restaurant on one of the decks with a couple we met from Canada, and we popped open Chris's winning bottle of champagne.

Ponza Sept 2009

Early the next morning we had arrived in Citavecchia, the port of Rome that's really an hour away from Rome. It was funny to eat breakfast on the deck and look down to see a concrete parking lot/road rather than water. We ventured into Rome and checked our bags at the train station for the day. I took Chris to the classic Roman sights, we started with the Colosseum and explored the Roman forum. We ate yummy pasta for lunch, and went on to the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain. We walked around and explored more, and then made our way to the airport to come home.

Rome Sept 2009

Today we went to a farm festival in Hitscherhof. It was lovely! Craft booths, pumpkins, food, and wine. Chris ate his bratwurst (my ever-promised bribe to convince him to go places with me) and I found pumpkins, a fall wreath, and a friendly ghost. Oddly enough, I didn't take any pictures - it looked exactly the same as it did last year.