Christmas & New Year's Eve

Christmas was definitely not the same this year, but it was still good. Shawn and I both had the day off together, the first time since Thanksgiving. We opened presents together on Christmas Eve night. I got him some new cologne. He got me wine and chocolate. It was Christmas on a budget this year. Usually we spend lots more money on each other, but this year had to be different due to our financial situation. The wine that he got me is called Riesling Eiswein, it’s made here in Germany, and is made differently than most wines. It’s almost like a dessert wine. It’s sweet and on the thicker side, but extremely tasty.
Shawn was really excited to get his 'Erector' set. It was pretty funny because before he opened it he shook the box and jokingly said, "It sounds like and Erector set." Sure enough, he opened it and that's what it was. He said, "I knew it was an Erector set because I used to get them when I was a kid and I know that noise." Pretty funny to me that 30 years later he's still excited to get this gift! Thanks Ben and Alysia! I love that kid in him!

Buddy is really looking forward to Christmas Dinner that he thinks we are going to share with him.

Shawn and me with all our gifts from family.Thank You!

Shawn and I spent New Year's Eve at the bowling alley where I had my first German Beer.

For New Year’s Eve we got invited to go bowling with Shawn’s boss and wife. I guess they go bowling every year for New Year’s Eve. It’s cheap, fun, safe, entertainment! We got to the bowling alley around 7:30pm and they had a buffet dinner for us. Then we hung out and bowled until midnight. Then they had a buffet breakfast for us. Then we went home. The people on base have been getting quite a few DUI’s, so his Wing Commander has made everyone else pay for it, and made a 1am curfew for the whole squadron. That means that everyone has to be in their house for the night no later than 0100. No exceptions, even New Year’s!

Finally Got My Hair Done

Before- Steph's finished work 3 1/2 hours later.

Processing- Kaiserslautern, Germany

After.........Mushroom Head! 1hour and 20minutes later

It has been 3 months and 1 week since I got my hair done last!!!! I was really nervous about going to someone else. I know that sounds silly, but when I’d been going to Steph for the last 7 years and all I had to do was sit in the chair and be still for 3-4 hours (that’s pretty challenging for me to do) and say “Do whatever you feel like doing today.” The end result was always great! I left with a smile on my face. This time, I left with tears in my eyes looking like a mushroom head! I will admit that the color turned out ok. Not as I wanted it, I wanted it to be darker, but atleast it's not purple or some crazy color. I’m just not happy with the way that she cut it, and the fact that it only took an hour and 20 minutes from start to finish. I felt like she was in a race to cut and color my hair the whole time. They probably work slower at Great Clips! I guess I’ve just been very spoiled the last 7 years. I’ve known it all along, but never thought I would ever have to pay anyone other than Stephie to do my hair. Miss ya Stephie!

Busy Lives

Life has gotten pretty hectic over here. I’m working different crazy hours every day. I get random days off here and there. When I do get a day off I’m just trying to catch up on my chores that I didn’t do on the days that I worked. I’m still trying to figure out how to balance work, chores, sleep, and play. It makes it hard when I don’t know what my schedule is going to be from day to day in advance. I think I make it harder than it needs to be. J Pointers anyone? I am proud to say that all of my Christmas shopping is done and over with. I really had to plan ahead this year to make sure I got everything in the mail in time.

There’s really not a whole lot new over here. It’s been snowing pretty frequently, but it usually melts a day or two later. Gas is dropping like crazy which I’m sure is the same in the States. We are at $2.10/gal this week. Shawn talked to his parents in California and they’re paying $1.60/gal. So we’re still paying more over here, but it’s better than nearly $5/gal. I’m happy to be able to fill my little car up with $20 again as opposed to $70.

I’ve gotten a couple of other job offers this last week. I had a job interview yesterday with the Command Chaplin and Command Chief to be their Executive Secretary. That was pretty exciting news to even get an interview. I feel like the interview went well. There are 5 other opponents (I can refer to them as that, right?) that they interviewed as well. So I will find out tomorrow, Friday, if I am accepted for the position or not. If I’m not chosen for the position, I received an email yesterday from the lodging (base hotel) General Manager offering me a job in Guest Services. At this point, I don’t really care what other job I work as long as it isn’t retail.

As for me taking online classes, that came to a halt when we found out that I wasn’t going to get any financial aid. Based on our 2007 taxes Shawn and I made to much money……..so much in fact, there was no guarantee that I would even qualify for a 100% student loan. I would have to come up with at least $3,000 out of pocket. They told me that they couldn’t give me an exact figure until I’m actually taking the classes. Even though the military will reimburse half of my schooling cost back, we decided it was not a smart financial decision right now for me to take. So far it seems to have been a good decision.