Euro Trip

I'm back! The trip was amazing, and seeing Mike was a positive boost that we both needed. I've got tons of pictures and stories from the trip, but I'll do my best to keep it blog-sized. First off, the plane ride wasn't half as bad as I thought. And how about the food? Lufthansa isn't just about a bag of pretzels:

The next picture is from a town in Germany called Heidelberg. It's about an hour away from base, and has tons of shopping and sight-seeing. Pretty much every city in Germany has a castle, and this is one that we actually hiked to the top of:

One of the many pictures I took from the top. Gorgeous!

We took the train into Paris- this is one of us goofing off, waiting:

One of my favorite pictures from Paris- love it!

Me, posing in front of the tower. As you can see, we had wonderful weather throughout the trip:

I also got to go where Mike works, and check out an outbound mission. "Outbound" means that injured troops are going to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C., and ultimately, home. I saw a variety of injuries, from the minor to the catastrophic. Out of respect for anyone reading this who knows someone in harm's way, I will not discuss the injuries in detail.

All I will say is that I have even more respect for Mike and his fellow soldiers. I truly don't know how they do what they do. One of them pulled me off to the side, after the last critical soldier had been put on the plane, and said this: "we love our job, but it's emotionally draining. Sometimes the only thing that keeps us going is support from home."

It was an extremely humbling experience. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to visit Mike, see parts of Europe, and get a first-hand look at why exactly he is deployed.

Oh, and no proposal, for any that were curious! He said he has a date in mind when he wants to ask me to marry him.

So, for now, I will keep on keepin' on. I love him more than ever, and I'm ready to finish up this deployment strong and with a positive attitude!

Ring Thing

All of the engagement rumblings are now a roar, thanks to an email I received yesterday. Quick background: before Mike left, we went to a travel agency to book a trip for after he comes home. The woman asked if this was a honeymoon trip . . . definitely a legit question, but we told her it was just a post-deployment getaway for the two of us.

Fast-forward to yesterday, where Nancy (our agent) sends me an email with some resort information in Cancun (we're doing an all-inclusive trip). She titles the email, "It's time to book the land portion of your honeymoon trip!"

Mike thought this was hysterical. He's been asking me every day if people still think I'm getting engaged in Germany . . . when I say yes, he says, "okay!"

Then the clincher. "Well, it won't be a honeymoon trip, but it'll be an engagement trip . . . maaaaybe!" Done. This girl is now ring-obsessed! Mike had asked me, about a month ago, to email him some ideas. Below are the ones I sent him:

One of my friends said that she had no input on her ring, and when her now-husband proposed, she hated it . . . and still does. Mike initially did not want any hints, but realized that he wants me to love whatever he picks out.

My best friend is ring-obsessed, and she makes it well-known to her boyfriend of 5 years. Her boyfriend is a good friend of mine, also (I met him before her), and he told me that the more she pushes, the less he wants to do it. I make it a point not to do that with Mike, and he's told me point-blank that it makes him want to propose more.

I blame deployment for these kind of talks. Being apart from each other has made us really realize how happy we make each other, and how great our relationship is. I was never the popular kid in school, and I didn't date much . . . I went through years of feeling insecure, but it was all worth it to feel the way I feel now.

11 days to go!

Walkin' on Sunshine

I've never been so happy to see the first of August! 1 more week of my summer class, and two weeks until I travel across the pond to see Mike in Germany.

Anyone reading this who knows me in real life knows I'm a very positive person. I have my moments, because I'm human, but I try to avoid being a Debbie Downer. A funny incident happened at work, that I thought I'd share.

A few weeks ago, I walk into work on a Friday morning around 8. I did my usual . . . smile, and say "good morning" to whoever is already there. Not like, "good morning, Patty," and "good morning, Sue," but just a collective greeting for the few fellow early birds like myself. I get to my seat, start up the computer, and walk to the fridge to put my lunch away.

As I'm heading towards the fridge, I hear the woman next to me say, "she's always like this in the morning. She ruins my day by coming in so cheerful. When I was her age, I was happy all the time, too."

Say it with me . . . really?! You were serious? Okay, just checking.

I take what this woman says with a grain of salt. My unit is under review for possible outsourcing, so at the age of 65, she is basically training people in India to take her job. She also lost her husband in May, so I understand that life isn't fantastic for her right now.

However . . . big however . . . we all have things in our life that aren't perfect. No one's life is perfect. Don't take it out on me. She's the kind of person that will, throughout the course of the entire day, huff and puff, moan and groan, until someone asks her what the problem is. Then she complains about whatever task she has at the moment. D-r-a-m-a.

One of my co-workers calls her the "topper"- whatever story you have, she's got one to match it. Like when my sister's baby passed away? Well, she was supposed to have an older sister, but she also died . . . 67 years ago. This is what I'm working with . . . see what I mean now?

She tried coming up to my desk a few minutes later, to talk about some random work project, but I didn't even look at her. I'm not fake . . . if I don't like someone, I just avoid them. Hasn't happened since, thank goodness.

Time to focus on the positives. Germany in 16 days!