two i-devices, one phone, & a partrige in a pear tree

one phone does not work if you have two people. two i-devices work but only if you have WiFi. iPad + phone = good combination but only if you can make calls or text to the states. Therefore... two i-devices + one non-international phone = annoying communication frustrations. (the military version: 2iD + 1NiP = ACF)

Today has been a typical German day.... seriously rainy in the morning with clearer somewhat blue skies in the afternoon... and COLD. I have been working every day for the past week to get this thing up and running for you folks back home. Here are a couple of main points that still hold true since i've been here....

1. nope, still doesn't feel real.

i know i know.... but it doesn't. i keep waiting for that moment when someone pops out of a secret compartment in my apartment and says "CUT!" and then i get sent back to iowa. it literally feels like i've been through a time warp.

2. i'm married?!?!?

yeah... that part is definitely still new. but wonderful. although hilarious at times. i've discovered i'm a freak show. that when things are done a certain way, i lose it. or spit out some randomly super sardonic comment that leaves my husband hugging me and saying "it's going to be okay..." not to mention that there are now two people that eat food in the house (ie "what happened to the milk?!" "uh.. i drank it."), two people that have laundry, two people that make messes, and two people take up considerable amount of space in the bed... (ie "seriously. move over.") but then there are the joys too... like there are two people that have capable hands to clean! wow. it's never been easier! there's always someone to cook for.... and there's a man to do the heavy lifting. woooo!!!!

3. "oh!!! i've been looking for that!!!!!!"

so after being without the stuff that constitutes my life for going on four months.... i've finally been reunited with the majority of my wardrobe (including the coats i bought in iowa!), my house decorations, photos, pen collection, and my prized hardback book library. it's like christmas came early here... although we're still without the last of my things... (ie. kitchen utensils and spices... ahhh!!!) but the apartment is shaping up nicely. We're still lacking some major pieces.... like a couch. and comfy chair. and oh yeah closet space for the entire apartment! but it feels like home. my sanctuary. the place where i can come and breathe when i've been around one too many roundabouts or encountered one too many irritable airmen that day.

4. the best part of my day is still being in the same time zone as my husband.

dating long distance is hard. sure. many of you know this and have experienced it, perhaps more than once. but being engaged across an ocean sucks. big time. so the fact that we don't have to mess with it any longer.... that we can hug each other at the end of the day... kiss the other goodbye... fold laundry... get groceries... go on a date that doesn't involve skype... is an amazing thing.

THIS WEEKEND

Dana had his CDC test today which we've been study almost every night for together. this evolved into juvenile wars with highlighters that left him with an angry smilie face on his arm (that he forgot to scrub off and had revealed at the base gym) and me with a broken heart near my collar bone. We're excited to have that part done so that we can work on getting me my driver's license!!!! hooray!!! D was also given the day off tomorrow so it's a three day weekend for the W's! we plan to head to ikea tomorrow (ikea adventure 2.0) and look at extra storage for the kitchen as well as that desperately need and often fought over couch. i'm going shopping tomorrow with a friend of d's from base and it'll be nice to have some girl time. we're headed to a christmas party tonight with a white elephant gift exchange. this should be entertaining.

all in all, it's been a good week. and i feel like i'm finally making some headway on things that left me with dead ends. Happy Thursday everyone! more tomorrow..... but i'll leave you with some recent photos. enjoy!

This is the neighborhood right next to our apartment building

the amazing bakery that's in the neighborhood... yes!!!!!!!

German cookies anyone?!?

The view from outside our apartment building down to the town of Landstuhl, Germany.

Close up!

The chapel dedicated to Mary not twenty paces from our building.