Modern Romance

Back in May, A Practical Wedding had an open thread discussion called “How To Be In Love.” The idea was to disspell the myth of the Grand Romantic Gesture, and talk about what romance really looks like in real relationships really for real. I fell deep into the rabbit hole of comments. It ranged from “traditionally” romantic date nights, bringing the other person breakfast in bed, and lots of “grown up time” to driving coffee together in the morning, trying not to do that thing your partner hates, and giving compliments. (Like all things on APW, it is excellent. You can check the post out here.)

I wanted to participate, but all I could think of was that I will sometimes give Stephen my last piece of gum even though I’ve been “saving” it. While that is true, it kind of makes me look like a gum-loving a-hole, which maybe I am. (I need my gum!)

Then came Sunday night. I returned home from a long day at work to see -

Stephen had spent his entire day off working on the house. He hung up all our pictures, art, and diplomas. He put together our floating shelf, which had sadly been living in a box since we bought it last year. (We couldn’t hang it up in Germany because the walls were no bueno for hanging things that you wanted to actually stay on the wall.) This required a trip to Home Depot and some pretty fancy handiwork to get it up on the wall by himself.

It makes the house feel so cozy and homey and finished! Instead of frames leaning up against the walls where we want to hang them or a shelf in a box, we have art work and shelving that we can actually shelve things on!

But wait! There’s more! May I present the piece de resistance:

Stephen organized the Tupperware. I could melt.

This is my idea of love. Doing something for your partner just because. Not expecting anything in return. Giving up your day off to get chores done. Working nonstop to surprise your partner. Maybe sharing your last piece of gum.

I’ve been the very lucky recipient of a Grand Romantic Gesture (if a surprise trip to New York City to see Phantom of the Opera isn’t grand and romantic, I don’t know what is), but that isn’t everyday love. Our lives (and our wallets!) aren’t conducive to that. And I really don’t need all that. I just want someone who will cuddle with me at the end of the night and if they happen to organize the Tupperware, that’s even better. I’d say that I hit the jackpot.

What does love look like to you? Grand Romantic Gestures or organized Tupperware? What’s something little you or your lovey has done lately? It’s ok to gush!

Pre-Work Work Out

Whenever someone says, “I just feel so energized when I work out before work,” you can find me over in the corner giving that person side-eye and skeptically furrowing my eyebrows. Work makes me tired. Working out makes me tired. Combining the two makes me tired.

During most of my running career (can I get away with calling it that?), I’ve been an afternoon runner. For over a year, I took my work out clothes to school, and I’d change in my classroom at the end of the day before running around the neighborhood. I can’t recall a single day that I ran before teaching. Of course, long runs took place in the morning (it is Texas, after all), but long runs happen on the weekend, meaning the rest of the day can be full of napping, ice bathing, burrito eating, etc.

Now that I’ve shifted to a job that doesn’t give me the entire summer off (bummer), afternoon running ain’t gonna cut it. My options are to run before work or hop on a treadmill. And let’s be real: if I don’t run before work, it’s not going to happen. Once I get home, the couch is too comfy, the food in the pantry is too tasty, and the time with my husband is too valuable. I fall into a post-work vortex and nothing can drag me out of it, and certainly not exercising. (See work = tired, working out = tired above.)

I’ve started experimenting with working out before work. I wake up a little bit earlier, immediately change into my work out clothes, and go for a run. Maybe I’ve only done it a few times, but I’m quickly realizing that I don’t hate it. In fact, I like it, a lot.

Does it give me more energy? No! Running three or more miles before going to work for nine hours isn’t the equivalent of an energy pill. But but but it gives me another kind of boost.  Running before work makes me feel accomplished, it makes me feel proud, it makes me feel ready to tackle the day, it makes me feel good. I can look down the barrel of the day and declare, “I’ve already run. The heat couldn’t stop me. The sand flying in my face couldn’t stop me. That crazy dog that tried to jump over the fence and rip my face off couldn’t stop me. I got this.” I find that I’m happier at work when I work out first. Maybe not more energized but more confident. I’ll take it!

Taken during Big D. This is the “I got this” attitude in action!

The verdict: there will be more pre-work work outs in my future. Unless I get scheduled to work the opening shift at work (it starts at 3:30 am!), in which case, I guess all this is moot.

Do you work out before work? Does it give you more energy?

Things to do in Grafenwoehr

Since moving to Grafenwoehr, Germany in August of last year, I have gotten daily traffic to my blog from people looking for things to do in Graf. Even though I don’t live there any more, I thought it was high time to help those folks out. You want to know what there is to do in Grafenwoehr? Here’s a little listy:

On Post

• Go to the movies. I use this website to see when the show times are. Keep in mind that this isn’t like an American movie theater; there’s only one movie a day and they aren’t even open every day. Be sure to take cash (USD) because that’s all they accept for payment.
• Bowling
• Bingo (skip the buffet they offer and spend more money on your cards)
• Hit up the gym. It’s open 0530 – 2100 during the weekend with reduced hours on the weekend.
• Hang out at the USO. They’ve got free wifi, free snacks, computers that you can use, a video game lounge, and a huge selection of movies that they play constantly.
• The Warrior Zone. I’ve never been but it’s pretty much like the USO but geared toward single soldiers with pool, karaoke, and occasional poker tournaments and other events.
• The Zone Sports Bar.

Within an Hour of Graf

• Weiden (There’s a great farmer’s market hosted here on a regular basis.)
• Nuremberg (don’t miss the market during Christmas time!)
• Bamberg
• Regensburg (There’s a great mall here, too!)
• Eat at Tortuga’s Restaurant. This is the best place to get your Tex-Mex fix nearby. You can make a reservation by posting on their Facebook page, which you will definitely want to do if you want a table on the weekend.
• Eat at Da Peppino’s. We would have eaten here daily if our waistlines and wallets could have handled it. You can dine in or take it to go.
• Biking, hiking, nordic walking, regular walking, running. It’s a very exercise-friendly area for the most part. I was able to find enough trails and sidewalks to get in a 15 mile run about 10 minutes outside of post.

Farther Away

• Munich (2* hours away). Plenty close if you are interested in going to Oktoberfest.
• Rothenburg ob der Tabuer (2 hours away). This is another location with a famous Christmas Market.
• Prague, Czech Republic (2+ hours away)
• Salzburg, Austria (3 hours away)
• Bertchesgaden, Germany/The Eagles Nest (3 hours away). Keep in mind it is only open April – October and pending good weather.

(*All distances are approximately how long it would take you to get there by car.) If you are willing to travel even farther away, the possibilities become endless. Europe is your oyster!

If none of these floats your boat, I’d suggest checking out Germany Ja and Buzz Off Base. Both blogs have given me great ideas of what’s around town. Another good resource is the MWR & ODR. They host regular events and trips (you have to pay, but they take care of all the logistics). Finally, don’t forget about Facebook. There’s a very active Vilseck/Grafenwoehr spouses facebook page with tons of information. Definitely worth a look.

Any well-traveled readers or kindred spirits in Grafenwoehr with other suggestions? I know this is only the tip of the iceberg!

 

Meal Planning for Two

Confession: meal planning and cooking is so much easier when it’s just for me. I would always rather have Stephen home than gone, but this is the one area that is easier solo.

It boils down to a few things -

1. I can happily be a boring eater. When Stephen was deployed, I had a few meals that I ate every week – pizza, soup, black bean tamales. Every Week. Without fail. I also ate the exact same thing for lunch every day (pb&j) unless I had leftovers. Stephen prefers a little more variety in his meals. That means I actually have to think of different things to cook each week.
2. I’m more of an adventurous eater. I know, I just said I was boring, which is true, but that’s about routine. When it comes to new recipes, I’m willing to branch out, try new types of food, ingredients, cooking methods. Stephen prefers the stuff that he is familiar with. No quinoa or hummus will touch his lips no matter how good I tell him it is.
3. I roll vegetarian, Stephen drives the meat train. To his credit, we often eat meals that are vegetarian and Stephen goes along with it. But sometimes the dude wants meat. Fair enough. But some of the meals that he grew up eating (say, chicken with two side dishes or beef stroganoff) just ain’t happening in our house.

To save my sanity, we create a weekly meal plan together.

I have journals full of lists like this.

We take a look at what’s going on that week and brainstorm dinner options. The grocery list evolves from there.

This system works very well for us except when we get in a food rut. It’s hard to make a grocery list or a meal plan when you are drawing blank on inspiration. We have many a cookbook on our book shelf, but all that’s been done before.

Where would we be without the internet? There are delicious recipes running rampant in the wilds of the internet. A recent discovery that we’ve already eaten more than once was the enchilada casserole. Go make it, now. Skinnytaste and Recipage are my other go-to meal planning life lines. However, randomly searching into the vastness of the ‘net can be really overwhelming. When I’m really in a rut, I find that it doesn’t help at all. (I’m too blinded by the “nothing sounds good/I don’t know what to make,” tailspin to search productively.)

The cookbook section of my bookshelf.

What I’m really looking for, though, are some new things we could add to our regular rotation. Something to sandwich between the bi-weekly burritos, burgers, and pasta. I want to know: what are your regular meals? What is your family eating during the week? What recipe do you swear by? Do you have a book or website that you can’t do dinner without? What is everyone else eating for dinner, dammit!

Five Mile High

Today is my day off. Huzzah! Naturally, my priority numero uno was to sleep in. Alas, someone *cough*geronimo*cough* didn’t like that idea. Even after I let him up onto the bed with me (I was hoping he would feel how comfy the mattress is and understand why I just wanted to sleep), he still wasn’t having any of this “sleeping late” business.

Once I was up and had tended to Geronimo’s needs (geeze, always wanting to eat and pee and stuff, such a prima donna), I decided to lace up my shoesies and go for a run. One part of my brain was saying, “No! Just lay on the couch!” The other, stronger part of my brain, however, knew that if I put on my running clothes, running would take place, and I would be happy.

Which is exactly how it went down.

My running view.

Geronimo ran with me for 2.5 miles. We managed an 11:16 pace. As of late, I haven’t been paying much attention to my pace. I’m focusing on working up my mileage and try to run at a comfortable speed.

The next 2.5 miles were on my own. Well, I had Cristen and Caroline and their discussion of the rhythm method to keep me company. (You can hear the podcast here.) But no one was really with me. I went into the zone. I thought of nothing. My body kept running running running. Then I turned back toward my house and ran ran ran some more. In 27 minutes, I was all done.

Physically, I felt tired tired tired. I should have done a better job of hydrating. (I need to go back to taking water with me when I run.) The El Paso sunshine, while beautiful to look at from the comfort of my air conditioned home, is brutal to run in.

Emotionally & mentally, I felt amazing! I haven’t run five miles in a while. It’s nice to know I can still run for an hour (with a break here and there) without passing out or having my legs give out. It also gives me more confidence to tackle a more intimidating distance, like anything more than five miles.

I have it in my head that I run another marathon sometime this year, but I need to get my base back before I get too carried away. I’m kind of gun shy following the DNS that was the Konigsforst Marathon. Sure, there were contributing factors, but I also ended up feeling totally blah about running. I’m going with baby steps this time. Once I work my way back up to substantial distances, then and only then will I allow myself to get marathon giddy.

Any hydration tips other than carrying a bottle while running? Why are marathons so alluring and so effing hard to train for?

Another Memorial Day Post

You knew it was coming, right? I am an Army wife and all.

I will be spending the majority of my day at work, but I sincerely hope that all of you are relaxing, enjoying nice weather, and/or grilling. While you are doing all that (or whatever your day entails), please spare a minute to think about the men and women who have sacrificed to make days like today possible.

In the last few decades, our country has gotten really good at going to war: no more draft, no rationing, no imminent fear of enemy caricatures. But that efficiency also means that we can feel very far away from war in our everyday lives. (Stephen was deployed in Afghanistan when things in Iraq wrapped up, and people asked me if that meant he was coming home early. I had to explain that no, he’s in that other war, which is still going on.) As nice as it may be to put the ugliness of war out of our minds, we shouldn’t. The things soldiers have had to give up to keep us safe and comfortable (their time, their health, their lives) deserve our gratitude and our attention.

So today, grill, relax, hang out, and remember the reason for the holiday. Happy Memorial Day!

Photo taken in France at the American Cemetery located above Utah Beach.

The Gold Nugget Rides Again

Hello, Beautiful!

Back in March, right before we left Germany, we said goodbye to our car (The Gold Nugget). It was stressssful, probably one of the most stressful parts of our PCS. We had an appointment to turn our car in on a Thursday, just a few days before we were flying out of the country. If our car hadn’t passed inspection, there would have been no time to fix whatever needed fixing and turn it in before we left. We would have had to have gotten a friend to turn it in for us, which would have required power of attorney. I’m not sure how we would have done that during Easter weekend. Bonus stress: we heard that there were no more appointments available for the entire month of April. Gulp.

By the grace of God and the skin of our teeth, our car passed inspection and they took it away! (You can read more about the car turn-in process here in a post I wrote for Germany Ja.)

What, you might ask, happens after we turn in our car? How does the Nugget get from Grafenwoehr to El Paso?

When you turn in your car, you are given a date that you can expect to receive it back. Cars are moved on a priority basis in terms of their due date. The Nugget and its comrades with similar due dates were loaded onto a truck and driven to an ocean carrier. The cars on the ship are all covered and protected. This stage takes a long time and there is the potential for mold and other bad things to happen, so the shippers take a lot of precautions. (This is also part of the reason they are so picky when you turn your car in.)

The journey goes a little something like this, but I really only have a vague idea of the specific locations my car traveled to and through.

The ocean carrier makes a sloooooow voyage from grand ol Europe to coastal Georgia. The shipping and receiving area in Brunswick, Georgia is huge. Thousands of cars are going in and out on a regular basis. Again, cars are moved based on the priority of their due date, so it’s possible for your car to hang out there a while. The Nugget, thankfully, did not. He was loaded up on another truck and driven to the Dallas Vehicle Processing Center. We got really lucky that there was a vehicle pick-up place in Dallas (our home town) as there are only 18 in the country total. (Some people have to travel much farther than we did to get their cars.) Bonus bonus: the car arrived right before Great Strides weekend. Bazinga! I flew out early since the VPC isn’t open on the weekends (seriously?) and I picked up our coche the Friday before Great Strides.

I inspected the Nugget before getting the keys. I thought everything was honkey dorey. Imagine my surprise when a few miles down the road, I realized that the mirror part of the driver’s side mirror was nowhere to be found. (Actually, I thought the mirror was there and just really dirty. Turns out I was looking at the stuff that is under the mirror.) I knew the pick-up process was too easy.

The side mirror does not belong in my hand; it belongs on my car.

Le sigh. That means a few million rounds of paperwork to file a claim and get reimbursed. I’m one part really annoyed that there was damage, one part really annoyed at myself for not realizing it until after I left the lot, and one part really thankful it was something so minor.

Following Great Strides, Stephen and I drove the nugget from Dallas to El Paso. (If you are tracking, that’s our fifth time to make the 9 hour drive.) Not far outside Abilene, our other side mirror popped off. (Don’t worry, we got temporary side mirrors from Auto Zone so we aren’t driving blind or anything dangerous.) Again I felt annoyed, but I kept reminding myself that it’s no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

I’ve since then I have gotten the nugget inspected and we are working on getting it registered. (Luckily registration is a tad easier since we are already Texas residents.) Once we wrap that up and take care of our claim, all this car craziness will be dunzo. Thank goodness too because I get exhausted just thinking about all of it!