{One} We have a training holiday tomorrow and I'm so thankful for it!
{Two} Thinking about the training holiday all week messed me up this morning and got my day off to a rocky start. I didn't hear my alarm go off this morning, or maybe it didn't go off at all, but I was in la-la dreamland this morning when I woke to complete daylight, sunshine, birds chirping and Sina going goo-goo ga-ga from her bedroom. All of a sudden, I sat up, looked at the clock and saw that it was 0740. I tapped on my husband and asked him what day it was. "Thursday," he says. Holy crap!!! I usually report to work by 0645. Yikes. I only had time to brush my teeth and throw my uniform on. Bolted out the door with my hair a mess. Lucky for me, the boss was out of the office all day today and heading out of the country on leave. He probably only knows about this happening from reading my Facebook status. Please don't ask me why I accepted my boss as a "friend" on Facebook either :) He really is a nice guy.
{Three} Sina turned 8 months yesterday. I can't believe it! I'll be posting about it tomorrow. She'll be a year old soon, which I can't believe either. We're still trying to decide if we're going to head to the States on leave (in August) to celebrate her big day with our families or stay here in Germany and do something small. On one hand, my folks really want to do this party big (although my family never really does anything small--Filipinos for you). Shoot, I want to do this one big just because it's her first birthday. But is it worth going all that way for the sake of a birthday party? She's already been to and from the states twice over the last three months and it took her a little bit to get over the jet lag and back into a routine again this last time (which was just two weeks ago). What do you guys think?
{Four} Nicole at Flip Flops and Combat Boots is hosting a Spring Swap this month. I've been paired up with Jackie at In the Life of the Lefevres and I've got my package all ready to go! I'd tell you guys what I got for her, but it would totally ruin the surprise for her. I'll let you guys know once I get her package in the mail. I LOVE blog swaps!
{Five} I hope Congress resolves this government shutdown issue...and quick. If the shutdown occurs and is long-term, troop pay can be affected. Our family is lucky to have enough to get by if the shutdown is long-term, but not all military families can say the same thing. I worry for them. I worry about how our office here will operate without our government civilians. I'd say about, if not, over half of our directorate (as well as the entire Command) is civilian! Straight up...it'd be a freakin' mess!
{Six} We're thinking about going to the Wilhema Zoo in Stuttgart this weekend, if the weather is nice (today had to be in the 80s; it was gorgeous). We've heard such wonderful things about this place, which is said to be a botanical garden, zoo and aquarium in one. I definitely want to see it. And I know Sina would love it too!
{Seven} It frustrates me that after living in this house almost two months we still don't have everything put together. We can't repair a part of our sectional that broke during the move until the claims folks back in the states approve our application, paperwork, or whatever. So we're stuck with a partly-broken sectional until then. We still need curtains in all rooms, Sina's clothes are still all over the place, and the guest room is far from done (we need a bed for it too). I can't expect Malu to get it all done by himself either. Sina keeps him tied up all day and when she's sleeping, he has to do his schoolwork. And when I am off, I just want to relax....all day long. So lazy!
{Eight} Although I love being in Europe, I'm too much a homebody and miss the states. I miss my family and being able to fly or drive a few hours to see them. I miss our close friends. Not that we haven't met cool people here yet, we just haven't established our "crew" of people that we're supposed to hang out with on a regular basis, like the group we had in El Paso. I can see how people love extending their stays here in Europe, but I don't think that's in the stars for us. Not to mention, I'm totally missing American restaurants. What I'd give to have some chicken lettuce wraps from P.F. Chang's. Yum!
{Nine} Speaking of missing stuff back in the states, we miss our Lucy girl. We finally had a chance to get a power of attorney (our legal office is at another post in town) so that my parents can take Lucy to the vet and get all the paperwork done to bring her to Germany. If you're reading this for the first time, Lucy is our 8 year old Shepherd mix who had to stay behind with my parents because it was too cold to fly her on the day we departed Colorado to come here. I know she misses us too and is wondering where we went and whether or not she's going to see us anytime soon. Pretty soon baby girl!
{Ten} God, help me, we're filing our taxes on line this weekend even if it kills me. We just keep putting it off for no good reason other than we feel like we haven't had the time. Now we're running out of time! I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it!
Whew! That took a while. Thanks for sticking with me through it you guys! Enjoy your Friday. I know I will be!
