Stress

Ok. For the last year or so, Scout has been calling me at work saying, "What do you want to do? Do you want to stay in Germany, or do you want to go to Fort (fill in the blank)?" I talked to sergeant so-and-so, and he said I can choose. Most of you can probably guess what I said, but it obviously didn't matter...because we're still here.

So yesterday was no different. He calls me and says, "I can get orders for Fort Hood. Is that ok?" (I love him for including me in the decision, by the way) Half-robot-like, I said, "Yes, dear. Fort Hood would be amazing." He said, "Well good, because that's where we're going if we want it." Me: "Ok babe. Love you. Bye." We hung up the phone.

As I lifted my hand off the receiver, a panic rushed over me. OH. MY. GOD. We are leaving Germany. Where am I going to work? What are we going to do? The poor dogs! They will be so traumatized on the plane! What about all of my stuff? I need to have a garage sale. Maybe I'll sell it all on eBay. Or maybe I'll consign it at the thrift store. I definitely can't keep the entertainment center. My Polish pottery better make it there. I need to go to Poland one last time. Do I still want to join the Army? There's no snow in Texas, right? I hope not. I'm sick of this weather. I bet there's like four Walmarts at Fort Hood. When should we ship the truck? SHOULD we ship the truck? When will I go to Seattle for Meghan's wedding? We leave June 1st, and she gets married in August. Do I fly to Fort Hood and then to Seattle? Or should I just fly to Seattle from Germany, and then drive my new truck to Fort Hood? If I go to Seattle early, do I get a job for two months? Or do I continue to sponge off my husband and my mom? Eww. I don't want to deep clean this house. I can't wait to go to Walmart. Ahhh. Target. I have so many projects to finish. The baby sweater. The quilt. The dog pillow. The scrapbook. The scrapbooky-type picture frame thingy. Should we rent a house for $700/mo? Or pay an $800 mortgage on a house we can call ours? I need to call Sarah. I need to call Kelly. Where are they going? What am I going to do without them? Maybe we can all go to Cape May next year. And Peoria the next. Just girls. And then Seattle. Or they can come to Fort Hood. I'll have a big enough house. I need to lose weight. Especially if we are living in Texas. Heat and fat rolls don't mix. I want to wear flip-flops in February. Maybe we can go see Dad and Marie on the weekends. But what would we do with the dogs? How often can we see Savannah? Will she want to come to our house? Will she still like me? Will she like the dogs? Gosh, she's growing up so fast. Wow, I sound like my parents. I'm dreading the flight. I need to start using more spices when I cook. Who knows if they'll actually ship them. Do we have enough money saved up? Maybe we should just stay here. Sike.

Breathe in, breathe out. Walmart is only a few months away.

Look What I Found

I don't care who you are. That's sexy.

Woodie

Yup. It's mine. Don't be jealous.

I woke up at an ungodly hour (0430 to be exact) to be the highest bidder for this beautiful Jeep Wagoneer (Sarah and Kelly: no more "Oh my god, Erin...you woke up before 0800?"...lol...if there is a good reason to be up before the sun, I'm there). Anyway, I bought it on eBay for $1225 in the last six minutes of the auction. I'm sure I pissed off the previous high bidder...his bid was $1200.

I conned my mom into picking it up for me...right now it is in Bend, Oregon...about five hours from her house. Being spoiled rotten does have its advantages.

Sigh. I'm in love.

Sexy, isn't it?

13 Things You Wouldn't Guess By Looking At Me

Saw this on Sarah's site. Since it: a) looks fun and b) involves talking about myself, I figured I would do it too.

1. I know how to milk a goat...and not I-kind-of-learned-how-to at the county fair. I really know how to milk a goat.

2. I wish it were possible for me to save every animal on the planet from being abused and neglected.

3. I have a phobia of contracting HIV (seriously, this keeps me up at night...I know I have issues).

4. I was voted "Most Reliable" in high school...It shocked the hell out of me.

5. I'm constantly thinking about how to rearrange the furniture in my house.

6. My kitchen cabinets are so unorganized, I have to use a flashlight to find what I need.

7. I fear being the only one that understands my step-daughter.

8. I have a really hard time forgiving myself for some of the things I've done.

9. I really hate shaving. I want to have all my leg hair lasered off.

10. I honestly don't know if I want children of my own.

11. People that use big words intimidate me.

12. I never measure anything when I cook. I like Rachael Ray's motto: "Eyeball it"

13. When I die, I want my body to be donated to science, cremated, and sprinkled all over my family cabin property.

Valentine

To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.- Bill Wilson -

Beautiful Rome

Rome was my favorite part of my parents' Christmas visit. I studied the Sistine Chapel in college, and promised myself that I would go someday. The Vatican really is all it's cracked up to be...Usually touristy stuff doesn't really impress me all that much, but I loved Rome.

I realized within the first hour of entering Italy, however, that NO ONE there speaks English (I have more luck with the Asians in Czech speaking English). Since I speak absolutely no Italian, the communication was interesting. On the first day, I got yelled at in Italian by the bus driver (I have no idea why he was yelling at me, by the way).

There also seemed to be a high concentration of crazies in Rome. They all seemed to sit next to Scout on the bus...and he is so uptight about strangers being in his personal space...we had a good laugh about it, he had a headache. One guy started a fight on the bus (right next to Scout), and I thought he was going to jump out the window.

And Mom, I will never forget getting ripped off by that four foot Italian lady. 117 Euros FOR LUNCH. Never again....Good thing you paid...lol...

Nuernburg Christmas Market