Bring me Back to Germany...

Do you ever go through your old photo albums in Facebook?? I was looking for a picture tonight to send to a friend and while I was searching through some of the albums- I saw some pictures I haven't seen in a long while. It made me realize how much I miss Germany... I thought I would entertain you with pictures of some of the things that made Germany such an amazing place to live for over 4 years...

Let the show begin... In no particular order (other than the one that Blogger chose-lol)...

 

 

 Christmas Markets! Gluwhein (warm spiced wine), snow, yummy food, good friends... The second picture is of my favorite- Edinburgh Scotland...

 WINE nights!!! This was routine with my fantastic neighbor Melissa- who you will see in one of these pictures. These wine nights got us through the deployment! We would sit for hours outside on her patio and just talk... FYI- this fantastic glass holds an entire bottle of wine! WooHoo!

Our walks. Trails are everywhere. There is something so amazing about being able to go walking in fields where you are surrounded by nothing but green grass and sometimes- sheep!

SHEEP! The kids would get a kick out of this (honestly- so would I)

 

 

 I am a runner. So what could be better than running in awesome German towns?? This 6k was in the medieval walled city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. One of my favorite cities. It is along the Romantic Road in Bavaria and we were only about 25 minutes from it... In fact- this is the town my Godson was born in!!

 Traveling... Prague was only 3 hours away (my fav city ever). This square is where I sat on our last trip there- alone at 5:45am  in the quiet- a week and a half after my cancer diagnosis. I sat there in the sunlight and just watched and thought... it was perfect...

 Girl trips to Poland! This happened several times. This trip here was the first girl trip. 9 women. Lots of Polish Pottery. A cool little Polish hotel. A great exchange rate:)

On a seperate trip, this little lady over on the right->

She make look sweet and innocent... But is the perfect person to have with you when a jerky Polish guy wants you to pay him for cleaning your windshield while you are shopping- even though you did not ask him to. Lets just say that I sent her out there (mind you she was preggo) and I came out (after cowering inside like a wimp) to her telling him that we "liberated their asses" and him telling her to "go home stupid American." It was super hilarious and I think the other 8 of us were highly entertained. Did I mention this fantastic lady is my kiddos Godmother?? And I am her sons Godmother. Like seriously people. All official in the Church and stuff! lol

On a side note- we have been together since 2003. Fort Rucker Alabama. Fort Bragg North Carolina. Katterbach Germany. And they will be here in Fort Carson Colorado in about 7 months! Woohoo!

 Here is Mel. I promised you a picture and I am sure she will be thrilled I chose this one! We celebrated her thirtieth birthday in Nurnberg. We all dressed in 80's style and rode the train up there. We ate at one of my favorite places- Tapasitos- and had LOTS to drink... I miss Melissa tons! We were always together since we shared a duplex. Our daughters were super tight and our toddlers went to school together. We did everything together! Neighbors like that are special!

 

 Here are Hais and I in London. Such an amazing trip!

 German traditions and being lucky to be a part of it. This was the annual Lantern Walk in our little town. Every single town does it. The kids make lanterns at their schools and then everyone gets together and walks through the town- ending at a ceremony of sorts and food!

 I miss this house. We were the first tenants. I moved in while Lee was deployed. I brought Carter home for the first time to this house. I loved this house. I loved the neighbors. I look at that yard and picture my kids playing in the grass.

 Oh, these girls. It breaks my heart to see this picture and know that I do not get to see them daily. Lillianna (blondie in the middle) I have known since she was 2. The girls have celebrated every birthday together since then. This coming June will be L's first that we are not there. Anna (brunette) is Melissas daughter. She was at our house everyday. I love that little girl so much! This picture is from the last outing for the three of them together. We went to shop, eat and dye their hair. Yeah- I am that momma. You send your kiddos with me- I will put a stripe of color in their hair!! lol

 FESTS! Here is a pic of Lee and his cousin Alli when she came to visit.

 Euro Disney. We went 4 times! Once a year! How can you not? It was fun for everyone!

 Girl coffees. This particular coffee shop (backerei) got me through deployments! We would meet there and just relax for hours. Sometimes it was 10 of us- sometimes it was 2. We celebrated birthdays here. We found out about pregnancies. It was a special place.

 Sundays, I would go by myself. I would get up super early- and be there at like 7:45am. Then I would just sit. Sometimes I would read, plan out my week, or just people watch. It was my time. I looked forward to it every week. Haven't found a coffee place here that makes me that relaxed...

 Bowling league! This was sooo fun! We were 3 Hawks and a Hooker (Chinook helicopters are called Hookers- we had one Chinook wife and 3 Blackhawk Pilots wives). This night in particular we were playing our good friends and this was just a hilarious picture... Serious bowlers right?? All on our iPhones....

 A super fun event we went to- Ball der Vampire. In Heidelberg each year- they have this. It is super amazing and something I never imagined myself doing but I had SOOO much fun!

 Another pic of the backerei food... just cause you cannot have enough! lol

I shall leave you with that picture.

Oh and one more story... See those big bread rolls on the back wall? They are held up with baskets in this picture but they used to not be. A friend, who shall remain nameless for her protection, was sitting under one of those bad boys. It had molded and weakened. See where I am going? Lets just say- that moldy bread fell off the wall and smacked said friend right on the shoulder. Hilarious!

 

Who hikes 44 miles in 2 days on purpose?

I did something crazy. Something that I am sure I will regret at many moments in time in the next 7 months. Yet in the end, it will be amazing. One of the best decisions I will ever make.

 

I signed up for the Project Athean Rim2Rim2Rim.  Sept 12-16, 2013 I will be hiking from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to the North Rim and back to the South Rim. It will be a 24 mile and 12-14 hour hike on the first day. 20 miles and 11-13 hours the second day.

 

Here is the description on their site...

 

"Ever dream of hiking not just IN the Grand Canyon, but across it?? AND BACK?? The Project Athena Rim to Rim to Rim Fundraising God/ Goddess Adventure is an unforgettable and life changing experience, and with every step, you are helping inspirational Survivors get one step closer to living their own adventurous dreams. Gods/Goddesses will start their journey on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and hike 24 miles to the North Rim (an awesome 6,000 foot elevation gain), where we will stay in rugged cabins and enjoy a warm meal. On the second day of the trek, we will hike 20 miles from the North Rim back to the South Rim on a different route—taking in INCREDIBLE views on the final 5,000 foot climb out of the canyon. Even more meaningful than the views, though, is the camaraderie and friendship that develops with your fellow Gods and Goddesses as you laugh, cry, encourage and care for one another along the way. We travel as a team and share the luuuuuuuuv. For the icing on the cake, the last day of the adventure will be spent on the South Rim exploring, relaxing and celebrating your success in the most beautiful place on earth"

 

So, their is a back story to this...

 

When I was diagnosed on August 24, 2012, my girlfriend Hollie brought me a stack of magazines to distract me until Lee got back from Afghanistan. One of the magazines was a SELF from Oct 2011. They had a focus section on Young Womens Cancer Alert. It had a ton of details about different cancers but they only had one feature story in that section. It was about a woman who was diagnosed with my form of cancer about my age. This story was a few years after her diagnosis and she was doing this Rim2Rim2Rim. I remember reading it with tears in my eyes. I was thinking about how this wasn't a death sentence! I was so overwhelmed with the diagnosis. All I heard was CANCER! CANCER! CANCER!

 

This made me realize there was more life in me. She was a military wife. My age. My diagnosis. She was alive! I remember calling Hollie and telling her that it was a sign. That it was going to be okay. She told me that one day- it would be my story in a magazine. I would be the survival story.

 

I am not trying to be in a magazine. I am just trying to live my life as big as I can live it.  I cannot think of anything much bigger than the Grand Canyon.

 

Mind you- I have never hiked. I have to do three hikes that are GPS tracked in the next few months. One lasting 4 hours, one lasting 6 hours and one lasting 8 hours. Wow!

 

So... I even roped my bestie into this! Sucker! No. She loves me . She has been such a support through all of this- along with many others- and how fun to do this together. Plus, 5 days together! Woohoo! Including a day in Sedona after the hike, relaxing!!

 

I have to fundraise $2,000 to do this. I have a fundraising page set up. Obviously, I will take any donations I can get. Even if you do not want to donate.... I hope you will go to this amazing organizations site and read about them. They are amazing. Doing amazing things for women who face setbacks in life. As they say- helps them get their "mojo" back!

 

Here is my site- incase you are interested!!

Brenna Rim2Rim2Rim

Here is to 2013...

 

2012 sorta sucked. I refuse to let 2013 suck as well.

This is the year of many things- not resolutions- just improvements that will

make 2013 an awesome year.

I deserve an awesome year.

 

One of the things I vow to do this year is get back to running.

I have always seemed to gravatate towards running.

When I had a big test in high school- I would record my notes onto a tape and listen to it on

my tape player (wow- tape player) while running.

 

When my high school love broke up with me and I thought I would die (oh to be 18 again and

that be the worst thing ever)- I ran. And ran. And ran.

 

In 2011- I started running. For once- not for any reason other than to get healthy.

I went to bed one night saying I would start the C25K program the next morning. I did.

I fell in love.

I ran 4-5 times a week. At 5:30am. I loved it.

 

I saw the weight fall off. I lost roughly 28lbs in three months. Between running and

Weight Watchers- I felt better than I ever have.

I ran the CIM with my girlfriends and then enjoyed the rest of my trip to

the States.

 

When I returned to Germany- I ran 2-3 times a week but slowly fell out of habit and

then my energy just dropped.

Now I know why. Darn thyroid!

 

So- I want that feeling back. I want that runners high. I want the weight to start coming off.

I am dedicating the next 5-6 months to WW, running and hopefully getting my meds regulated.

 

About a month ago-on a whim- I signed up for a 5k for New Years Day. I knew it would be

only 2 weeks after surgery but I knew I could walk it if I had to. The point was just

to complete it.

 

So- this morning- we went to Palmer Park for the Rescue Run 2013.

Their motto is "Rain, Snow, Twenty Below."

It was 18 degrees when we pulled into the parking lot.

The ground was covered in snow and ice.

 

 

 

Hais ran it with me. It was so fun to do with my little girl! Look how adorable she is! She could

have totally run it but she hung with momma.

This course was SOO hard. Rougher than anyone I have ever done!

It was straight up hill the first mile.

We jogged a little at the beginning and then I had to stop. Literally, 1/4 mile in, I was comtemplating stopping. I could not catch my breath and felt super light headed. Think it was a combo

of altitude (6610 feet at highest) and the tightness in my neck from surgery still messing with me.

I walked it off and eventually it totally passed.

 

 

We finished in 51 minutes. That is a long time for 3.1 miles but I feel awesome about it.

We did it.

 

2013.

I will not let anything stop me from making this my year.

Not my weight.

Not the altitude.

Not this cancer.

2 weeks after sugery. 11 inches of scar on my neck. 100+ stitches.

Major swelling. 18 degrees outside. 6610 feet elevation.

I rocked a 5k.

 

Here is to owning 2013!

Long time coming!

Ok, back to blogging friends! Here are some pictures from my Fathers Day 6k in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Not my best run. I chose the wrong clothes- and fought the entire race with pulling my pants up and my tank down. It was awful. The course alternated from dirt to pavement to cobblestone over and over. It was a series of circles and we were constantly crossing paths with the half marathoners and the 10K'ers. And did I mention that it was SUPER hilly? The final stretch before the finish line was straight up hill. Like STRAIGHT up hill! By the time you got to the red carpet stretch at the end- you were completely toasted.

Amy and I with our near beers after the race.

Somehow my friend Nancy got out of the loop and passed me the opposite way during the race. Luckily, she was able to get this killer picture of me.

Here is Ronda and I nearing the finish line. It took me a grueling 51 minutes to finish about 4 miles. Way slower than I am used to  but I guess this is what happens when you stop running.Back to the grind.

I am signed up for another race. It is Oct 21.

Yep- Amsterdam!!

Training starts next week. I even bought a treadmill:)

A bunch of friends are doing it and I am excited. Wish me luck! 

Guess how I will celebrate Fathers Day!

 Welcome to Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  In the heart of the Romantic Road in Bavaria Germany.

I have visited here COUNTLESS times. It is only 20 minutes from my house and it is where my gorgeous godson was born.

 But I will be seeing this amazing walled city in a totally different way this weekend. Running a 6k through it.

It is supposed to be 79 degrees. Does not sound hot right? When you are used to 50 or so degrees- 79 feels like a 100!

Add in the fact that I will be pushing my 30 lb son in his jogging stroller through the cobblestoned hills.

 Crud- did I mention that I have not run regularly in like 2 months? Yeah. Not been running regularly since early February. This is going to be interesting.

Have to get back in the groove somehow right?? How much better can I do that than running one of the prettiest cities in southern Germany!

Plus- we have a tentative date now for Lee coming home on RnR... which means I have a timeline to be ready for our romantic getaway to Croatia with my hubby. Running is my all over body workout! Here we go!



Move it Monday....Ummm...Tuesday I mean!

Sadly- I cannot say that I have moved it much this last week. Other than a few laps I did at Spouses' Club Bingo last week between the table I was at and the wine bar- and walking around Prague... not much to report!

I have had grand plans. I bought new shoes. I bought new running pants and an awesome running top that will keep me plenty warm outside... But how do you get motivated to run outside when the high this week was 21. I lie- right now we are having a heat wave- it is 32... But did I mention the 3 inches or so of snow on the ground? I am "that person" that will eat it on the trails in this weather!

Please come Spring! Please. I long for the early morning runs I was doing last year... Walking out the door at 530am... turning on my music and getting lost in mommy time for at least an hour. Then being able to walk back in the door at 630 and go wake up my kiddos. Those were the best days. I was awake and motivated. I was such a happier momma than the momma now- who is pulling herself outta bed at 630- trying to get motivated to greet the kiddos with a smile!

I need to get out there again. I am that person though that needs to work out first thing in the morning. Otherwise- I am busy (i.e. making excuses) all day long. And no way I can do it in the evening.

I best get motivated... I have a 10k in Bad Windsheim in March. A 1/2 in Bad Durkheim in April and a 10K I want to do here in Ansbach in May... so bring on the motivation!

Any tricks- tips to running in the freezing cold/snow??

Walking

So- while walking tonight I made some funny observations. Even with their shades (roullodins-spelling?) up- it always looks like no one is home. It was really starting to get dark while we were walking and I kept looking at the houses while we past by and thinking that it seemed like no one was home in any of them. Then I realized that Germans seem to use dim lighting. Even when we walked past our house- it seemed dim inside.
I also noticed how quiet it is! It was about 615 on a Saturday night. We live in a good sized neighborhood. Yet- it is SOOO quiet out. I think because it is cold- everyone is inside and getting cozy. I notice Germans like to sit around their tables and just have wine and talk. I cannot lie- I cannot wait for Lee to get home and for us to do the same. Especially now with the fabulous bench Nikkia cleaned up for me. I can see Lee & I getting all cozy with some wine.
Tonight while Carter was getting a bath- he is squatting. He leans forward and plays with his toys. Then ends up in a squatting position- if there was something to grab onto that was higher- he would have stood! Craziness!
Tomorrow is Halloween. It is also daylight savings time here- So flipping the clocks back tonight. I wanted to stay up and watch some World Series baseball but they have it playing on a delay tonight. So by the time it is on at 430am- the scores will be up anyhow. I want to see it but since it will already be on a delay- might as well catch it later in the day at a normal time.
Tomorrow is church, DFAC lunch with the Rabb family and then Fall Fest with the kiddos in their costumes and the a WELCOME HOME ceremony!! Finally the first group is coming home!!
I love going to church with the Rabbs. We sit together since a lot of the other wives are there with their hubbies. We sit in the husbandless pew. It also goes by the "winners pew" or "losers pew" depending on how the college teams do!! lol

~B

Uneventful day!

So- Friday has been pretty uneventful. I have learned to appreciate these sort of days though. I drove Hais to school and got some paperwork that I needed signed by the Principal for the PTA. Then I ran downtown and had some coffee before hitting up H&M for a little shopping. Gosh- there was like 100 things I could have bought!! Instead I just got one thing- the cutest little dress shirt and vest for Carter for daddys welcome home. I really wanted to get snow stuff for him and some adorable hats for Hais... but they do not need them:)
I came home with the intention of going back out later but honestly- now that I am cozy in my house- do not see that happening. I have a box on post and also need to go grocery shopping. But I will probably wait until later to do that. Maybe on Tuesday...
For those that have not had to deal with deployments- you have no idea how hard the end is. You would think the end is the easiest- after all- they are almost home. Instead- it is HARD. It is like my body knows it is almost over- so it is in shutdown mode. I am tired and worn out. I am physically and emotionally drained. Then to add to the difficulties- there is no internet contact right now with Lee. His internet is shut off now. So- wishing for a phone call but I know he is crazy busy right now. We are getting close but there is a part of me wishing I could close my eyes and go to sleep! Sleep the next little while off- so I could wake up to him being home. I am super excited!!!
One big piece of news- I am officially down a pant size. That is exciting cause I have not seen big numbers of the weight loss journey- which can be a little defeating. But everyone keeps saying I must be losing inches. Well- it is official. I am down to a lower size than before I was pregnant!! Yeah! I wore a pair of skinny jeans last week to a dinner- they were the new size. But they were super stretchy- so I felt like I was cheating when I counted the size. But I had ordered a pair of trouser pants for the welcome home in the new size- they are not stretchy. When I put them on- it was amazing! They fit and comfortably!!!SOO exciting!!!
Well- on to getting some homework done while lil man is sleeping- before Hais is home!

~B