I am in a new apartment in Heidelberg, settling into the new job, etc. These next two weeks will be crazy, with my son and mom coming over. I will try to start blogging again. A friend I was talking to on the phone last night asked if I would turn the comments back on, so I did.
That's all for now.
To those I know back in Minnesota, i hope all your loved one are well and were not involved with the bridge collapse.
-diana
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
updated blog!
Well, a lot has been happening, and a lot of just the ordinary has been going on also. I know it's been a long time since I have updated this, so maybe no one will even read it! The last few months have been crazy, with Jess pregnant, the new baby, etc. Jess being pregnant was a drain on all of us. Part of that being that she was on partial bedrest a lot of the time. That coupled with the fact that she was not on meds made for a very interesting few months. But is was all worth it when Ada was the end result, even though it took both Leo and I as well as Jess to get that baby into the world! What an experience helping deliver your grandaughter!!!!!!! So now Jess is back on meds and doing really well, but things are still crazy with the baby. I love her to death, but it is somethimes hard to come home from work and then take over Ada's care so Jess and Leo can get a break. I FEEL like a grandma sometimes! LOL But Ada is the most BEAUTIFUL, SMART child in the world!!! I think I have only been able to take two trips since my last blog. One to Lucca, Italy with my daughter when she was pregnant, right before she went on bed rest, and then another by myself to Venice, was was such a fiasco, I HATED Venice. Lucca was fun, it is a little town about 1/2 hour away from Pisa, so we did the whole Pisa thing also. I has always said I would never go to Pisa, but it was actually pretty nice. Lucca is a wonderful little walled town that is one bis maze of little shops. We walked until we dropped..... It was a very nice time, has a nice 4 course dinner, mine with wine.... I felt bad for Jess, she was a real trooper , but she was sore for a week. It probably wasn't the best thing for her to do... Venice, I went there last month, after Jess had the baby. I thought I would treat myself to a trip after all the stress of the last few months. Let's just say it would have been less stressful to stay home. I ended up losing my wallet with military ID card, drivers license, 80 euro (about $100) and my visa check card. AUGH. I walked for MILES in steaming hot weather looking for the police station, and then to find the Western union. My daughter was wonderful, I was back and forth on the cell phone talking to her about getting money to me. I couldn't even take the boat back to my hotel because I had NO money. She was smart enough to figure out I ran out of time on my cell phone, bought more time, texted me to let me know, got money from Leo and his father in law and got me the info to pick it up at western union. Of course evem with the info Western Union wanted an ID. LOL, and I was VERY lucky that the place I was staying kept your passport, so they were able to fax over a copy of it so I could pick up the money. Jess saved my life! Venice was HOT, FULL of places being renovated, not colorful at ALL. I hated it..... There are so many better areas of Italy to go to. So...... Since then and Leo found out they will be going back to the states August 1st, to FT Bliss near El Paso, texas. YUCK!!!!!!!! Jess is starting to know just how much she is going to miss me. Jess, the child I have not been able to hug for like the last 17 years, actually ASKED for a hug the other night!!!!!!!!! There is a God in heaven... :-) I will be staying here in Germany, NOT going back to the states, and on August 8th I will be picking up both my mom AND my son at the Frankfurt airport!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have not seen my son in over two years, I am never go to stop hugging him!!!!! I am going to be soooooo depressed when he leaves.. He will be staying for 10 days, and my mom is MOVING HERE to live with me! Yes indeedy..... She has sold everything she owns, giving notice on her apartment and coming to live with me here in Germany! More about that in a bit. Nick has finally found his spot in MN.. He has a good job, he drives a school bus now! and has had the same girlfriend for quite a while. I am very proud of him.... The only bad thing has been that he did not get picked up for a summer school route, so he is unemployed for the summer. I always try to get him to come stay the summer in Germany, work fast food part time and tavel the rest. Maybe after coming here (this is his first time to Europe) he will think more seriously about staying longer. A person can hope! Anyway.... my mom..... She decided she wanted to be closer to me, and couldn't stand the thought of staring at her same furniture for the next 20 years when she could come live with me and see Europe! ( I think she just does not want me here by myself)This comes at a perfect time, since I'll be by myself once Jess and Leo go back to the states. I think that was also a big reason while my mom came out... You have to love moms....I will also have a travelling partner with her, and she'll even be able to pay her own way!! LOL SOOOOOOOOOO.... come August things will be pretty exciting... Nick wants to go to London, so we will go one or two days there, any longer is just to expensive with 1 pound costing 2 US dollars. OUCH. Then I think we will also take a couple days to go somewherein Italy. Now that my mom and Nick actually have their plane tickets, I am going to ask him what countries he wants to visit so I can set up the cheap ryanair, airfare for August. Oh yes, one other tiny little thing. I HAVE A NEW JOB STARTING JULY 5TH!!!!!!! Hanau, where I live now, is closing the entire base as of next year. It's part of the lovely governments idea to shut down the majority of military bases in Germany, putting so MANY people out of work and killing the German economy. Typical.... Although I have heard some rumbling of the gov thinking maybe they went too far. (you think?) so we will see. ANYWAY, as of this time, the library where I work at will be closing next summer, so I have no chance of going from a 39 hour a week PT job to FT. Which is more secure, and also gets you cost of living pay that can run up to a couple hundred dollars a pay period. So I applied for a Library technician job at the Heidelberg regional library and got it! $5 an hour pay raise, a BEAUTIFUL area of Germany, about an hour away, and it is the main branch that serves all the other libraries in Europe, so it will not be going away soon. (cross my fingers) YES!!!! I start the 5th of July, will have to commute the first month while looking for an apartment for my mom and I to share. The job is also leaning more towards the computer side of things, instead of just putting new items in the system, etc. That is good, it will hopeful bring my computer skills back up to date. i do miss working with computers, not to mention the fact that I still owe an arm and a leg in student loans. LOL Heidelberg is right on the Nekar river, in a really nice area of Germany, quite near the Rhine river, so I will be excited to take some boat and train trips along the river, there are castles that you can see every few miles high up in the hills. REALLY beautiful area. Hanau is almost like a suburb of Frankfurt, it is very industrialized.... Not at all pretty. Once I attend an offbase meeting this Wednesday, I'll actually be assigned someone to help me find an apartment! This is a much better situation than the last time we had to find a place, because this person will speak with the German landlords AND if I am lucky I will get to use an American lease, which lets me give only 30 days notice,which is standard for the military, they tend to move pretty quickly. I am also excited because with both my mother and I paying rent, we should be able to get a pretty nice place.... SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.. that is pretty much everything that has been going on, at least that I can think of. Ann, don't hate me cause I didn't call you back. I keep meaning to, just when I get home I get hit with someone passing me a baby and asking when dinner is. I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo looking forward to back living on my own again... :-) Bye for now! - di
OH MY GOD, look, I've updated my blog!!!!!!!
Well, a lot has been happening, and a lot of just the ordinary has been going on also.
I know it's been a long time since I have updated this, so maybe no one will even read it!
The last few months have been crazy, with Jess pregnant, the new baby, etc. Jess being pregnant was a drain on all of us. Part of that being that she was on partial bedrest a lot of the time. That coupled with the fact that she was not on meds made for a very interesting few months. But is was all worth it when Ada was the end result, even though it took both Leo and I as well as Jess to get that baby into the world! What an experience helping deliver your grandaughter!!!!!!!
So now Jess is back on meds and doing really well, but things are still crazy with the baby. I love her to death, but it is somethimes hard to come home from work and then take over Ada's care so Jess and Leo can get a break. I FEEL like a grandma sometimes! LOL But Ada is the most BEAUTIFUL, SMART child in the world!!!
I think I have only been able to take two trips since my last blog. One to Lucca, Italy with my daughter when she was pregnant, right before she went on bed rest, and then another by myself to Venice, was was such a fiasco, I HATED Venice.
Lucca was fun, it is a little town about 1/2 hour away from Pisa, so we did the whole Pisa thing also. I has always said I would never go to Pisa, but it was actually pretty nice. Lucca is a wonderful little walled town that is one bis maze of little shops. We walked until we dropped..... It was a very nice time, has a nice 4 course dinner, mine with wine.... I felt bad for Jess, she was a real trooper , but she was sore for a week. It probably wasn't the best thing for her to do...
Venice, I went there last month, after Jess had the baby. I thought I would treat myself to a trip after all the stress of the last few months. Let's just say it would have been less stressful to stay home. I ended up losing my wallet with military ID card, drivers license, 80 euro (about $100) and my visa check card. AUGH. I walked for MILES in steaming hot weather looking for the police station, and then to find the Western union. My daughter was wonderful, I was back and forth on the cell phone talking to her about getting money to me. I couldn't even take the boat back to my hotel because I had NO money. She was smart enough to figure out I ran out of time on my cell phone, bought more time, texted me to let me know, got money from Leo and his father in law and got me the info to pick it up at western union. Of course evem with the info Western Union wanted an ID. LOL, and I was VERY lucky that the place I was staying kept your passport, so they were able to fax over a copy of it so I could pick up the money. Jess saved my life!
Venice was HOT, FULL of places being renovated, not colorful at ALL. I hated it..... There are so many better areas of Italy to go to.
So...... Since then and Leo found out they will be going back to the states August 1st, to FT Bliss near El Paso, texas. YUCK!!!!!!!! Jess is starting to know just how much she is going to miss me. Jess, the child I have not been able to hug for like the last 17 years, actually ASKED for a hug the other night!!!!!!!!! There is a God in heaven... :-)
I will be staying here in Germany, NOT going back to the states, and on August 8th I will be picking up both my mom AND my son at the Frankfurt airport!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have not seen my son in over two years, I am never go to stop hugging him!!!!! I am going to be soooooo depressed when he leaves.. He will be staying for 10 days, and my mom is MOVING HERE to live with me! Yes indeedy..... She has sold everything she owns, giving notice on her apartment and coming to live with me here in Germany! More about that in a bit.
Nick has finally found his spot in MN.. He has a good job, he drives a school bus now! and has had the same girlfriend for quite a while. I am very proud of him.... The only bad thing has been that he did not get picked up for a summer school route, so he is unemployed for the summer. I always try to get him to come stay the summer in Germany, work fast food part time and tavel the rest. Maybe after coming here (this is his first time to Europe) he will think more seriously about staying longer. A person can hope!
Anyway.... my mom..... She decided she wanted to be closer to me, and couldn't stand the thought of staring at her same furniture for the next 20 years when she could come live with me and see Europe! ( I think she just does not want me here by myself)This comes at a perfect time, since I'll be by myself once Jess and Leo go back to the states. I think that was also a big reason while my mom came out... You have to love moms....I will also have a travelling partner with her, and she'll even be able to pay her own way!! LOL
SOOOOOOOOOO.... come August things will be pretty exciting... Nick wants to go to London, so we will go one or two days there, any longer is just to expensive with 1 pound costing 2 US dollars. OUCH. Then I think we will also take a couple days to go somewherein Italy. Now that my mom and Nick actually have their plane tickets, I am going to ask him what countries he wants to visit so I can set up the cheap ryanair, airfare for August.
Oh yes, one other tiny little thing. I HAVE A NEW JOB STARTING JULY 5TH!!!!!!! Hanau, where I live now, is closing the entire base as of next year. It's part of the lovely governments idea to shut down the majority of military bases in Germany, putting so MANY people out of work and killing the German economy. Typical.... Although I have heard some rumbling of the gov thinking maybe they went too far. (you think?) so we will see. ANYWAY, as of this time, the library where I work at will be closing next summer, so I have no chance of going from a 39 hour a week PT job to FT. Which is more secure, and also gets you cost of living pay that can run up to a couple hundred dollars a pay period. So I applied for a Library technician job at the Heidelberg regional library and got it! $5 an hour pay raise, a BEAUTIFUL area of Germany, about an hour away, and it is the main branch that serves all the other libraries in Europe, so it will not be going away soon. (cross my fingers)
YES!!!! I start the 5th of July, will have to commute the first month while looking for an apartment for my mom and I to share. The job is also leaning more towards the computer side of things, instead of just putting new items in the system, etc. That is good, it will hopeful bring my computer skills back up to date. i do miss working with computers, not to mention the fact that I still owe an arm and a leg in student loans. LOL
Heidelberg is right on the Nekar river, in a really nice area of Germany, quite near the Rhine river, so I will be excited to take some boat and train trips along the river, there are castles that you can see every few miles high up in the hills. REALLY beautiful area. Hanau is almost like a suburb of Frankfurt, it is very industrialized.... Not at all pretty.
Once I attend an offbase meeting this Wednesday, I'll actually be assigned someone to help me find an apartment! This is a much better situation than the last time we had to find a place, because this person will speak with the German landlords AND if I am lucky I will get to use an American lease, which lets me give only 30 days notice,which is standard for the military, they tend to move pretty quickly. I am also excited because with both my mother and I paying rent, we should be able to get a pretty nice place....
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.. that is pretty much everything that has been going on, at least that I can think of. Ann, don't hate me cause I didn't call you back. I keep meaning to, just when I get home I get hit with someone passing me a baby and asking when dinner is. I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo looking forward to back living on my own again... :-)
Bye for now! - di
I know it's been a long time since I have updated this, so maybe no one will even read it!
The last few months have been crazy, with Jess pregnant, the new baby, etc. Jess being pregnant was a drain on all of us. Part of that being that she was on partial bedrest a lot of the time. That coupled with the fact that she was not on meds made for a very interesting few months. But is was all worth it when Ada was the end result, even though it took both Leo and I as well as Jess to get that baby into the world! What an experience helping deliver your grandaughter!!!!!!!
So now Jess is back on meds and doing really well, but things are still crazy with the baby. I love her to death, but it is somethimes hard to come home from work and then take over Ada's care so Jess and Leo can get a break. I FEEL like a grandma sometimes! LOL But Ada is the most BEAUTIFUL, SMART child in the world!!!
I think I have only been able to take two trips since my last blog. One to Lucca, Italy with my daughter when she was pregnant, right before she went on bed rest, and then another by myself to Venice, was was such a fiasco, I HATED Venice.
Lucca was fun, it is a little town about 1/2 hour away from Pisa, so we did the whole Pisa thing also. I has always said I would never go to Pisa, but it was actually pretty nice. Lucca is a wonderful little walled town that is one bis maze of little shops. We walked until we dropped..... It was a very nice time, has a nice 4 course dinner, mine with wine.... I felt bad for Jess, she was a real trooper , but she was sore for a week. It probably wasn't the best thing for her to do...
Venice, I went there last month, after Jess had the baby. I thought I would treat myself to a trip after all the stress of the last few months. Let's just say it would have been less stressful to stay home. I ended up losing my wallet with military ID card, drivers license, 80 euro (about $100) and my visa check card. AUGH. I walked for MILES in steaming hot weather looking for the police station, and then to find the Western union. My daughter was wonderful, I was back and forth on the cell phone talking to her about getting money to me. I couldn't even take the boat back to my hotel because I had NO money. She was smart enough to figure out I ran out of time on my cell phone, bought more time, texted me to let me know, got money from Leo and his father in law and got me the info to pick it up at western union. Of course evem with the info Western Union wanted an ID. LOL, and I was VERY lucky that the place I was staying kept your passport, so they were able to fax over a copy of it so I could pick up the money. Jess saved my life!
Venice was HOT, FULL of places being renovated, not colorful at ALL. I hated it..... There are so many better areas of Italy to go to.
So...... Since then and Leo found out they will be going back to the states August 1st, to FT Bliss near El Paso, texas. YUCK!!!!!!!! Jess is starting to know just how much she is going to miss me. Jess, the child I have not been able to hug for like the last 17 years, actually ASKED for a hug the other night!!!!!!!!! There is a God in heaven... :-)
I will be staying here in Germany, NOT going back to the states, and on August 8th I will be picking up both my mom AND my son at the Frankfurt airport!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have not seen my son in over two years, I am never go to stop hugging him!!!!! I am going to be soooooo depressed when he leaves.. He will be staying for 10 days, and my mom is MOVING HERE to live with me! Yes indeedy..... She has sold everything she owns, giving notice on her apartment and coming to live with me here in Germany! More about that in a bit.
Nick has finally found his spot in MN.. He has a good job, he drives a school bus now! and has had the same girlfriend for quite a while. I am very proud of him.... The only bad thing has been that he did not get picked up for a summer school route, so he is unemployed for the summer. I always try to get him to come stay the summer in Germany, work fast food part time and tavel the rest. Maybe after coming here (this is his first time to Europe) he will think more seriously about staying longer. A person can hope!
Anyway.... my mom..... She decided she wanted to be closer to me, and couldn't stand the thought of staring at her same furniture for the next 20 years when she could come live with me and see Europe! ( I think she just does not want me here by myself)This comes at a perfect time, since I'll be by myself once Jess and Leo go back to the states. I think that was also a big reason while my mom came out... You have to love moms....I will also have a travelling partner with her, and she'll even be able to pay her own way!! LOL
SOOOOOOOOOO.... come August things will be pretty exciting... Nick wants to go to London, so we will go one or two days there, any longer is just to expensive with 1 pound costing 2 US dollars. OUCH. Then I think we will also take a couple days to go somewherein Italy. Now that my mom and Nick actually have their plane tickets, I am going to ask him what countries he wants to visit so I can set up the cheap ryanair, airfare for August.
Oh yes, one other tiny little thing. I HAVE A NEW JOB STARTING JULY 5TH!!!!!!! Hanau, where I live now, is closing the entire base as of next year. It's part of the lovely governments idea to shut down the majority of military bases in Germany, putting so MANY people out of work and killing the German economy. Typical.... Although I have heard some rumbling of the gov thinking maybe they went too far. (you think?) so we will see. ANYWAY, as of this time, the library where I work at will be closing next summer, so I have no chance of going from a 39 hour a week PT job to FT. Which is more secure, and also gets you cost of living pay that can run up to a couple hundred dollars a pay period. So I applied for a Library technician job at the Heidelberg regional library and got it! $5 an hour pay raise, a BEAUTIFUL area of Germany, about an hour away, and it is the main branch that serves all the other libraries in Europe, so it will not be going away soon. (cross my fingers)
YES!!!! I start the 5th of July, will have to commute the first month while looking for an apartment for my mom and I to share. The job is also leaning more towards the computer side of things, instead of just putting new items in the system, etc. That is good, it will hopeful bring my computer skills back up to date. i do miss working with computers, not to mention the fact that I still owe an arm and a leg in student loans. LOL
Heidelberg is right on the Nekar river, in a really nice area of Germany, quite near the Rhine river, so I will be excited to take some boat and train trips along the river, there are castles that you can see every few miles high up in the hills. REALLY beautiful area. Hanau is almost like a suburb of Frankfurt, it is very industrialized.... Not at all pretty.
Once I attend an offbase meeting this Wednesday, I'll actually be assigned someone to help me find an apartment! This is a much better situation than the last time we had to find a place, because this person will speak with the German landlords AND if I am lucky I will get to use an American lease, which lets me give only 30 days notice,which is standard for the military, they tend to move pretty quickly. I am also excited because with both my mother and I paying rent, we should be able to get a pretty nice place....
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.. that is pretty much everything that has been going on, at least that I can think of. Ann, don't hate me cause I didn't call you back. I keep meaning to, just when I get home I get hit with someone passing me a baby and asking when dinner is. I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo looking forward to back living on my own again... :-)
Bye for now! - di
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