A New Type Of Adventure

I am looking forward to having one of my boys back with me. Us really. My baby, Son # 2, who is coming over to come live with us.

I had, we had, originally envisioned a 4-5 year, 2nd honeymoon. This isn't gonna happen.

My Son # 2 is a fledgling and is OK, but just not getting to where he needs to be at the moment, so we invited him to come here to live for awhile. He is planning getting a job and then join the service and we want to ensure that he gets steered in the correct direction while doing so.

I am so very proud of the choice that he is making and also glad he has grown up enough to ask for help in making this choice.

I miss both my boys and am looking forward to spending some time with Son # 2 while making this transition.

This may be a new type of adventure.

They Kinda Grunted At Me From Time To Time

I had a chance today to go out again, so I took it.

One of my gal pal's daughters thinks I am awesome. She's correct, but she needed a favor.

She recently had a haircut that is not quite to her liking. Its not the best cut, I agree, but you need to think, "Oh, not the most attractive cut,"

and take it further to think.... 16 year old, teenage girl, drama angst. "I can't live like this anymore.... I need my hair fixed.... and Momma won't listen to me."

Momma is busy doing other stuff right now. She is attempting to work a miracle. If and when said miracle occurs, I will blog about it. I got/get to see it all unfold and to be a part of it. So I have some sympathy for 16 year old drama and want to help my gal pal out.

16 year old girls don't understand God Stuff and miracles. They, from what I am observing, kinda live in the moment.

So I volunteered to take her about to see if we could find a stylist to fix her hair and cut into the latest fav techno style and maybe throw in some blue crap that is more than highlights and less than an all over, blue head of hair.

Forgive me. I am starting to think that I may be too old for teenage girls.

Anyway, using my best, pull it out my butt, teenage girl skills, I take her to the salon, schedule an appointment for Monday, and then take her to lunch.

OMG. I am exhausted. I get to go back Monday and pick her up for the appointment. Don't get me wrong she is an adorable kid, but.... I raised boys.

They kinda grunted at me from time to time.

I'm in for a ride with this girl. She doesn't stop yakkin.

Getting Off This Newly Acquired Lazy Butt

The gal across the street, out of the blue, knocked on the door this morning and asked if I wanted ride with her to the base where she works. I have been wanting to go, so of course, I said yes.

She is a teacher at the school there and I am interested in becoming a substitute teacher. All this leisure is wearing me down. I am not fond of being a lady of leisure. Or being a lady who lunches.

On the other hand I have not been wanting a traditional job. The time spent here in Germany is like a second honeymoon. A regular job, even part time, would not allow me to travel like I want.

Any who, I went with her and met the principal and had a nice chat. I can start some of the process online and finish up when the gals in the office get back from vacation.

We did a couple of errands and had lunch at Popeye's. The chicken is good and I just had a breast and a drink.

I am glad I went. I determined that the drive is do-able and the school is small enough not to get lost. Now, it is just a matter of getting off this newly acquired, lazy butt and start the process.

I love to sit out and admire my handiwork

What a glorious day today. The sun is shining and the garden is really coming along. We had the deluge a couple of days ago, which wasn't good for our Summer picnic but great for watering everything.

Anyways wanted to keep you up to date with one of my pet projects.

My garden.

Spousal Unit, that manly man I married, tilling the soil for me. He tills so good.

Here is the garden now. I have grass mulch on the tomatoes and peppers. The tomatoes are getting huge. The peppers not so much. But....I have two banana peppers that are almost ready to pick.

My lettuce, iceberg and red leaf. I have never grown lettuce before. I don't know why but haven't. Those little green things in the foreground are my bush beans.


This is supposed to be iceberg lettuce. It is starting to form a head. I tried some of the outer leaves and the texture is different than the iceberg I know. Very flavorful though

Here is my other garden. I have yet another variety of tomato in a pot here. It is a German balcony tomato I am trying as an experiment. I also have my flowers here. I love to sit out and admire my handiwork. While the Spousal Unit bar-b-ques of course.

I Don't Know If I Am Flattered Or Deflated

We went to a picnic today. (OBTW major rain, think deluge and flash flooding)

I spent several days, combing the internet for recipes for something to take.

I found several that I combined, to create what I thought were unique and good.

Well, they were really good but not unique. Guacamole and a black bean salsa. Two dishes.

I took the leftovers to a friends house for her husband and he said they were were good, very good, but they tasted exactly as he expected.

I don't know if I am flattered or deflated.

PS. What's up with the spell check?? It hasn't worked recently and now every word is highlighted.

So how has your week been?

I've Seen Soccer Balls Before

Today was one of those hodge podge days. I went on my usual Friday morning walk around the Ohmbachsee with my walking gal pal, Teri. We caught up on the past few days and wished each other's week end to be pleasant.

I was looking forward to the late morning because Spousal Unit was getting off work early and we were going to go exploring. I have been sick most of this week and stayed home. One of the benefits of not working is the luxury of staying home when one is sick. But.... enough already. I was starting to feel really cabin fevery. Is that a word? Whatever, I needed to get out of the house.

Last night Spousal Unit suggested that we go to Zweibrucken for the afternoon. I immediately zoned into the famous rose gardens. I lived there years ago and am ashamed that I never visited them. True, I had a newborn and a very young toddler, but still. To have never gone?

He countered back that he thought that going to the new designer outlet mall might be fun.

"Who are you and what have you done with my husband"? He just smiled and said that he thought it might be nice to go and look and to have lunch there. OK, I am always up for a shopping trip.

Well, we got some culture.

We had lunch. He chose a white wurst/sausage that came with mustard and a soft pretzel.

Yikes..... that is a white wurst. A little too obscene for my taste.

I chose the salad plate with fried potatoes. Really nummy.

The fun part of the day was coming across this cutie. I've seen soccer balls before, just not quite like these.

He Makes His Momma Proud

One of the gals that I met a couple of months back on favorite internet chat room has two sons. Her younger son is a football player and is just finishing his junior year of high school. She and he have hopes of taking his football skills to college.

Her other son I hadn't met. He was away in boot camp.

Well, he graduated boot camp and then technical school and had the luck to be stationed back here for his first tour of duty. I offered to go along to greet him, welcome him home and to record the moment.

He and his dad after filling out the necessary forms and paperwork to get him situated on the base.

The wisdom and youth of our Air Force, all in one family.

A first hug with his Mom.

A very handsome family. He makes his Momma proud

More Random Stuff

I spent a lovely day with two gal pals doing nothing other than spending time with two gal pals. It was rather lovely. I haven't done that in awhile.

We met for coffee and lingered. A husband showed up and reality of life happened to one gal pal and she was off to do the necessary errands.

I lingered with the other gal pal and we ended up buying the main guy in her life coffee and taking it to him at work. Got to briefly meet him and then we did some errands together.

We ended up having a late lunch and just caught up on "Stuff." She is a recent new gal pal so catching up on "Stuff" is Huge.

After lunch she had a cigarette, with me in close proximity. Yeah me again. No urges, no... I NEED Ciggie stuff. No need for a "Hit of Nicorette" just OK with all of it.

I am really getting there.

So, I am looking forward to the Spousal Unit coming home tomorrow and have really enjoyed the me time I had this week.

Meg You Rock... Right Back At Ya

This is what I found in my inbox this afternoon:

And that is why you are...A ROCK STAR!!!!

It's almost giving in and then finding the willpower somewhere deep down inside you that really means you're going to do this. If you can hit that point and STILL resist you've got it made!

GO NON SMOKER!!!!!

Meg http://www.megs411nosmoke.blogspot.com/ had been reading me and commenting for almost as long as I have had this blog. She is funny and sweet and she quit smoking quite awhile ago. She is healthier and has even started running marathons. She goes hiking with her hunky boyfriend and writes about her sister, mom and friends and other extended family. Right now she is my hero.

It was her I thought about last night when I almost broke down and had a cigarette and woulda probably then gone and bought a pack.

She quit and so can I.

The Great Nellie (She Who) Smoke Out

93 days and still counting. I almost lost it tonight but,..... I didn't.

Yeah Me.

More Dribs and Drabs

Spousal Unit just called. He finished up work today and then went to choir practice. OMG I am married to a choir boy. Well a choir man, actually, but you get the drift.

After practice, he drove up to Heidelberg for a conference. He had originally asked me to accompany him, and I considered it, but no other wives were going to attend and so I decided to stay home.

Don't get me wrong. I love Heidelberg. I just don't love Heidelberg enough to sit in a strange hotel room all day and wait for the Spousal Unit to come "home" and take me out to dinner.

It is rather a unique thing about me. I am rather adventuresome, but unless I know the area, I don't really venture out.

If I have a travel buddy, watch out world.

I just seem to find that I tend to widen my circle of comfort as time goes by. I am very comfortable going just about anywhere here in the local area. I now count Waldmohr, Homburg, Shonenburg-Kubelburg, Ramstein-Meisenbach, Landstuhl, and Kaiserslautern as local areas. There are other small towns, too numerous to list that I am comfortable to travel to and through.

But a big city like Heidelberg, I am not comfortable wandering alone in during the day without Spousal Unit.

So I am enjoying a little "me" time this week. I went out to lunch with some of the spouses of Spousal Unit's colleagues and then decided to visit one of my girl pals I haven't seen in a couple of weeks. The lunch and the gal pal visit were both good.

Came home and restarted the laundry and received a call from Spousal Unit. He arrived safe and sound.

He gets to hobnob with the bigwigs and I get to enjoy my garden.