Life Lessons

Kelly: I’ve been seeing clients on a regular basis for the past two weeks and have a new perspective on life, love, and the military.

LIFE: I’m continually surprised that individuals here don’t want to travel and experience Europe. Instead, they dwell on the gloomy weather and the rules that prohibit everything from shopping on Sundays to driving. What is it that makes some yearn to travel while others yearn to keep their feet as firmly planted as possible? Genetics…not so much. I have been bitten by the travel bug and have engineered ways to see the country and now the world (or Greater Europe at the very least). My sisters are both happy to hold their ties close to home and have both made successful careers and lives for themselves near where we were born and raised. Matt and his sister are travel opposites, too. So, if it is not genetics, then the environment? Am I searching for something that my sisters have already found?

LOVE: I take so much for granted in my relationship with my family and with my husband. Love, nurturing, and a safe environment…not too much to ask, or so I thought. It is amazing what happens in the absence of love, nurturance, and safety.

MILITARY: The military does amazing things for some…providing support, stability, structure, and a chance to be independent. Some excel and thrive, creating amazing experiences and mentoring the aforementioned love-devoid young recruits. Others crumble under the rigidity, rules, and limitations.

What I’m learning is that life is about finding your niche. It is about pushing yourself in the areas that are primed for expansion. Life is about learning. Without learning about yourself, happiness remains an illusion..a branch just out of reach…the hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. More importantly, life isn’t only about reaching the next branch of finding the gold-filled pot, it is about the process of finding your niche. If you can’t see the joy in the journey, there is no light in life.

Why I'm here: A reminder

Kelly: I'm back in Vilseck, fondly recalling our time in Prague. This trip to Prague reminded me one of the reasons why I took the job here...I...love...travel...plain and simple. I feel more creative, alive, and love the thrill of learning on my feet (even when it feels really difficult at the time). The benefits of travel are many. I also learned a downside this weekend...finding gluten free food to eat during the Christmas holidays in a foreign country where I can't read any ingredients. Because of that difficulty, I've resolved to bring more gluten free snacks with me. As I was looking for inspiration for gluten free snack recipes, I came across Elanas Pantry. Elana offers lots of great recipe ideas for meals, snacks, and baked goods made with almond flour, without the need for all of those pesky ingredients like guar gum, xanthan gum, and other difficult to pronounce and use thickeners and leaveners. I like the plain and simple recipes...wholesome ingredients and gluten free. I can't wait to return to our kitchen and experiment.

Matt-Christmas in Prague

Greetings-figured that I should get another one of these in before the end of the year. To break up the excitment or lack there of in Vilseck (the military base-the stadt aka town of Vilseck might be very nice for all I know but I haven't ventured there yet) we decided to head to Prague-furthest east either of us have ever been. It was what we had heard-amazing how large and old the city is and part of it were so well preserved. None of the miles of sidewalk we walked were cement-they were all 2x2 inch stone blocks arranged to form the sidewalk-amazing. Not as "polished" as Paris but I kinda liked it that way-it was not so pretentious and felt old. We ate in some fabulous cafes after exploring the city on foot as our favored mode of travel. The hotel was rather Bohemian-slightly edgy neighborhood but nice place, location and accomodations-cheap too for Prague. Unlike Germany, the city was very alive Christmas Eve and Day-made me think of Christmas in San Francisco where the streets still bustled.

Main things to point out:
1) Probably the hardest city we've ever visited thus far to navigate-my internal compass acted like we were in the Bermda Triangle
2) Cech beer rocks and is pretty cheap
3) Kelly is a sucker for European cafes (if I ever need to get out of the dog house, a cafe will do nicely)
4) In the Czech Republic you have to pay for the bread at the table even if you don't eat it-
5) I am getting very comfortable not being able to read signs or understand the radio or TV here. Still working on the Deutsch-doubt I'll get the hand of Czech anytime soon.
6) For the 1st time, I actually took the pictures-hold the press

....gaining perspective on the world and life is not a bad Christmas present.

Prost

Christmas Eve in Prague

Kelly: We left sleepy, sleety Vilseck and arrived in Prague this afternoon. Our hotel Aparthotel City 5 is great. The owner is so kind, friendly, and genuine. We spent two hours exploring the city...such an interesting place. The buildings are amazing...baroque and oozing with history but very cold and harsh, too. We encountered international travelers and heard at least half a dozen languages in a short period of time. We took respite from the cold in a cozy cafe appropriately named Cafe Cafe. We had a great dinner and yummy tea (and coffee with Baileys for Matt). I was actually tempted to smoke a cigarette...everyone here smokes and they are so glamorous. Sitting in the cafe, I inhaled enough smoke to equal smoking a few, so I quickly changed my mind, much to Matt's chagrin.

As we strolled the streets, I was struck by how my heritage was evident in the faces of those we passed. Even though I'm far from home, seeing the similarities in the faces of those here makes it a little easier. I still can't believe that I am in the Czech Republic. Crazy! I'm grateful for the opportunity to see more of the world.

We're planning to visit the Palace tomorrow and a tea shop (if we can find one that is open). Matt is on a quest for Absinthe...we'll see if we can track down the green fairy.

Holiday Blues

The holiday glow
Just a little too near
as the laughing coworkers
celebrated with cheer

The icy ground is
Coated in snow
as locals rush by
with places to go

The familiarity of holidays at home
Gone across the sea
surrounded by friends and family
is where I long to be

This Christmas experience
Europeans by will
glamorous it appears
not feeling the thrill

Make the most of it
Enjoying the holiday quirks
darkness and cold
constantly lurk

Our stockings are hung
The ornaments placed
stepping out of my funk
and into husband's embrace

Spoonful of Sugar

Kelly: Today, my spoonful of sugar was M coming to work to have Christmas lunch with me. We ate our Christmas salads by the video of the burning yule log in the surprisingly well-decorated dining facility. M being integrated into my work makes it feel less like work, especially when work runs late like tonight. When the timesheet gods reject my timesheets (there are three of them) because I didn't fill them in correctly...mind you, I was never told to fill them in or that the codes for the time were buried on pages 151 to 158 of the manual that I didn't know existed, when I don't know about trainings or meetings because I didn't get the emails, when I find random people in my office checking out my furniture and am told that I have to have all of it packed by COB today, it is nice to remember a calm lunch with M.

Fundatory

Kelly: I love the word fundatory...a hybrid of fun and mandatory...I use it to describe many things work-related. This week I encountered two fundatory events. Tuesday was the Behavioral Health holiday party. It was held at a German restaurant on post. We arrived to find it was in the first floor of a barracks, which threw a yellow flag. We found one of my co-workers and met her unconventional, very cool family. We sat across from them and next to the health psychologist and her roommate. As with real estate sales...location, location, location makes all of the difference. We had a nice time chatting about travel and the food was really good...killer chocolate mousse!

The second fundatory event was last night. A surprise party for a problematic co-worker. It was held at a local restaurant/bar, which was great because we could walk there. I love love love being able to walk to events, which is why we will definitely be living in a walkable area when we return to the states. This event was a bit painful. With the help of some delicious red wine, we managed to make the best of the evening.

This weekend is our last full weekend here before Christmas. I'm going to be on call with the health psychologist on Saturday to learn what I am supposed to do when I'm on call alone next month. So, we'll stay local and wait for a call...maybe check out the town of Kusel. Our catsitters (the health psychologist's roommates) are coming over Sunday morning to learn the fine art of cat-feeding. I'm going to make some yummy muffins for them. Sunday we are hoping to go to Stasbourg, France...weather dependent...it's supposed to snow! Looking forward to being home with my hubby and cat :)

The week that was

Kelly: This week flew by. Work was filled with more training, which was not actually helpful for perfoming my job duties, meetings, and paperwork. I found out yesterday that I'm being sent to a mental health clinic about 4 hours away for a few weeks in December and January. That was a surprise, given I don't even know what I am supposed to be doing in my current job yet...oh well. I've been told that that is just the way things go in the military, so I'm trying to roll with it.

Matt and I visited our town's Christmas market. It wasn't in full swing yet, so he went back to the house, and I checked out some adorable but expensive clothings shops in town. One store is similar to a boutique Anthropologie....loved it. Another one had amazing men's clothes.

Matt is in a bit of a funk. I think that he is feeling frustrated with not having a traditional, "full-time" job and with not knowing quite how to occupy his time (aside from the stellar cleaning he has been doing). Perhaps a trip to Trier tomorrow with D and J and visiting Roman ruins will shake his funk!