Pain, Pain, Go Away

Day 54
Wednesday, February 23, 2011

I slept in until 1030 am because when my alarm went off at 0800 I felt too sore to get out of bed. I mopped the kitchen floor did some stretching and one more load of laundry before I was completely whipped out. I think I did way too much today and now I was paying for it. Unfortunately by the time my husband got home from work I was too sore to even make dinner and when I bent down to put something in the dishwasher, I injured my back so bad that he had to help me up off the floor. I was in tears and mad at myself for trying to do too much these past two days. I took a pain pill, emailed work (unfortunately I didn't have my supervisors phone number) that I wasn't going to make it in the next day, and went to bed.

 I hate when this happens, it makes me feel so helpless and depressed. I just want a normal life, one where I can play sports and be active would be great, but at this point I would just be happy to be able to do my regular house work without having to pop a prescription drug.

Every day of our lives we are on the verge of making those slight changes that would make all the difference.  ~Mignon McLaughlin

From Lazy Bones to Busy Bee

Day 53
Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Today I wanted to catch up on some house work so I cleaned the bathroom and did a few loads of laundry. I was feeling pretty lazy and thought I would take a nap but I got a phone call from our Generals wife asking if I could help her put together an Evite for the upcoming Marine Forces luncheon that the Marine spouses put on each year. Since our Marines volunteer to help set up tents for the annual Bazaar put on by the Stuttgart Community Spouses Club, we serve them a nice hot lunch.

I love this sort of thing so I said I would love to help and asked for some more details before getting down to business. A few minutes later I had put together quite an impressive electronic invitation with a sign up box for guests to bring something and volunteer to serve lunch. The Generals wife was pleased enough with my work to make me an “Admin” on our Stuttgart Marine Spouses Facebook page. I felt pretty accomplished by the end of the day; I even made two posts on the Facebook page. I love being able to inform people and it’s been a while since I've been able to do so since I’m still pretty new to the area. It was good to feel needed!

If we would only give, just once, the same amount of reflection to what we want to get out of life that we give to the question of what to do with a two weeks' vacation, we would be startled at our false standards and the aimless procession of our busy days.  ~Dorothy Canfield Fisher

A Whole Foods kind of Day

Day 52
Monday, February 21, 2011

Today I began the three day "Ease-In" for the Lemonade Cleanse and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was able to eat all the fruit and vegetables I wanted.

Matt and I enjoyed some quality time together after returning his rental car. We rented a DVD, and bought a ton of fruit at the commissary. We went walking around the Böblingen City Center and headed to bed early.

The more side roads you stop to explore, the less likely that life will pass you by.  ~Robert Brault

On the Road Again

Day 51
Sunday, February 20, 2011

Shari and I slept in until after 1000 and ate another delicious German breakfast before hitting the road back to the Stuttgart area. Lotty loaded us up with German cookies and some of her homemade marmalade and Onkel Helmut gave each of us a bottle of his favorite red wine from France. 

Erdbeere Marmelade

We left their house at 1215 and just before we left the little town of Sayn, we passed a castle. Sayn is just down the hill from Stromberg on the way to the Autobahn and the castle ruins are from the 12th century. I turned around and parked in a parking lot across the street from the entrance and we began our journey up the hill to the castle.

Once we reached the top, we saw the 800-year-old castle (Burg) of the Princes of Sayn-Wittgenstein. From here you can enjoy a beautiful panoramic view from the heights of the "Westerwald" across the Rhine valley to the volcanic mountains of the Eifel. The inner courtyard hosts the castle tavern "DIESAYN BURG", where weary visitors may pause for a rest. Since it was Sunday...everything was closed.

 After some exploring and some pretty good exercise, we drove home. Lotti packed us some sandwiches and bundt cake for the road so we didn't have to stop to eat but we had to stop once for gas, and once more so I could use the restroom. The weather was nasty, it started snowing, and the temp dropped to 31 degrees for the rest of the day. I was so excited to get home and see Matt after this long and super fun weekend.


If I could only remember that the days were, not bricks to be laid row on row, to be built into a solid house, where one might dwell in safety and peace, but only food for the fires of the heart.  ~Edmund Wilson

Deutsches Eck und Deutsches Essen

Day 50
Saturday, February 19, 2011

Shari and I woke up around 0900 and when we went down stairs the table was already set for breakfast and Tante Lotty was busy in the Kitchen marinating meat for dinner that night. I gave her a great big hug and actually had to bend down to do so, she's so short. She celebrates her 70th Birthday this July. 

Tante Lotty

We enjoyed a wonderful German breakfast of, fresh brotchens, homemade strawberry marmalade (made by Lotty), German meats and cheeses, and soft boiled eggs served in special holders just for these types of eggs.

Deutsches Frühstück

Shari and I went on an adventure exploring Koblenz while Tante Lotty attended a birthday party and Onkel Helmut taught a saxophone lesson to one of his students. We were told to be home by 1900 for dinner and after Lotty packed us a sack lunch with sandwiches and homemade bundt kuchen (bunt cake) we were on our way.

Deutsches Eck

Koblenz is only about 15 to 20 minutes away from Stromberg and even though the day was pretty darn cold and a little bit foggy, we still had a great time, like we always do. After visiting the Deutsches Eck (German Corner) which is where the Rhein and Moselle rivers meet, we saw signs for a castle which was closed for construction but we thought we could at least get close enough to take pictures. We asked three different people for directions and after an hour of driving around we finally gave up and headed back to the Beck house (Helmut and Lotty’s).

It was so nice to be back indoors in a warm home, and since I didn't eat my sandwich for lunch, I was starving. For dinner we had cucumber salad with french fries, and breaded pork cutlet that looked a lot like schnitzel but Lotty said it wasn't. We finished off dinner with pineapple slices and Melitta coffee. 

After dinner, Shari and I went over to a neighbor’s house and had some drinks and ate cheese and salami while speaking German. They wouldn't let me speak English, it was fun and a little funny considering my level of understanding, but I think everyone appreciated my attempts.

Our time consumes like smoke, and posts away;
Nor can we treasure up a month or day:
The sand within the transitory glass
Doth haste, and so our silent minutes pass.
~Rowland Watkyns

Road Trip Time

Day 49
Friday, February 18, 2011
I had to work again today and I was dreading it when my alarm went off at 0600. I hit snooze until 0625 but I never fell back asleep. I was looking forward to getting off work and hitting the road to Stromberg, Germany just outside of Koblenz, before traffic picked up. I had seven testers scheduled for this morning and thankfully only five showed up. I have nine available computers for testing but four were not cooperating today.

After the testers were all situated and things calmed down, I started writing myself a list of things to do before I left base and what I needed to pack. I wanted to make sure I remembered to check the oil so that was at the top of my list. I picked up a bottle of wine for my Mom's Onkel Helmut, and a bouquet of flowers for my Mom's Tante Lotti. I bought some drinks and snacks for the road and then headed to pick up my friend Shari who was making the trip with me to help me communicate with my Mother's German relatives.

Onkel Helmut, Me, Tante Lotty

We were on the road by 1700 and after a couple of hours of drinking Sugar Free Red Bull and snacking on Oreos we were ready to stop for dinner. An hour later we arrived in Stromberg and were so tired, we said our hellos to Onkel Helmut and hit the hay. Lotty was already in bed because she wasn't feeling well.




In theory one is aware that the earth revolves, but in practice one does not perceive it, the ground upon which one treads seems not to move, and one can live undisturbed.  So it is with Time in one's life.  ~Marcel Proust

Manufactured Sunshine and Natural Sweetness

Day 48
Thursday, February 17, 2011
I slept in until about 1030 today and I felt a little guilty but I knew I needed it, again. I jumped right in the shower and got dressed to go run some errands before heading to the gym. I needed to make an appointment to get a hair cut, stop by this shop in the exchange that sends rings out for cleaning to see how much they charge, and check our mail box. I also bought a new shower curtain; I bought one made of fabric because my husband thinks a fabric one will fly around less than the plastic liner that keeps annoying us in the shower.

After I finished my errands on base, I went looking for an organic store in the City Center of Böblingen called "Reformhaus." I was in search of organic Grade B Maple Syrup, organic lemons, and organic peppermint tea. I didn't actually find the Reformhaus (I gave up after the GPS took me around the same block twice) but I knew of a German grocery store on the bottom level of the City Center called REWE so I thought I'd give it a try. I ended up finding everything there and I left a very happy customer. I needed all of these odd ingredients because on Monday I'm starting the Lemonade Master Cleanse.

German Maple Syrup

I stopped by the Sonnen Studio (tanning salon) on my way home and got a little color on my face. I don't tan very often anymore, but every now and when it's a dreary 35 degree day like today, I need a little sunshine, and tanning does the trick.

Bed 14, my Favorite

After tanning, I dropped my groceries off at home and headed to the gym for a great workout. When I got home I showered, made some dinner, and watched another chick flick called "You Again."

I really didn't want to leave the house after my movie, I was so warm and comfy but I knew I needed to return these DVDs by noon tomorrow and since I had to work in the morning, now was the only possible time I could do it. I put on my coat and shoes and headed to Patch. I went ahead and filled up the gas tank for our road trip and vacummed the car out so we would be ready to go after I got off work.


Begin doing what you want to do now.  We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand, and melting like a snowflake.  ~Marie Ray