Sunday, March 30, 2014

#30 Days of Lists: 30

This is the last list for this round of #30 Days of Lists. I am super bummed that it has come to an end, especially since I have no idea what the theme of next month will be for me. I had decided after uring Currently all of February and #30 Days of Lists in March, that I was going to try to do a theme each month if possible. No idea what I will be doing for April. At least I still have another day to come up with something!


♦ Rosa Parks
♦ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
♦ Marilyn Monroe
♦ Winston Churchill
♦ Helen Keller
♦ Anne Frank
♦ Leonardo Di Vinci
♦ Vincent Van Gogh



Saturday, March 29, 2014

#30 Days of Lists: 29

Spent today in Rammstein with some friends. Checked out the "mall" there that everyone talks about! Can't believe tomorrow is the last list. :(

I don't have any here in Germany yet, so I will use local businesses back home or in NC.
Some of these are actual Big Name stores

* Walmart (I miss the crap outta that place now that I can't access it)
* A.C. Moore
* Michaels
* Joanne
* Target
* Hot Topic
* Spencers
 *Clothes Line Too (FL)
Never really visited Mom and Pop shops at Bragg because there weren't that many. The only one I can remember from near my parents house was a cool little Consignment store where we bought all my dresses in high school.



Friday, March 28, 2014

#30 Days of Lists: 28

Happy Friday peeps! I hope this finds you all well. I am so glad that it is Friday because it has been a kind of long week. Not to mention I am excited to take a trip to Rammstein with some coworkers for the heck of it and to visit their mall.

I can't believe this month and this set of lists is almost over. It kinda blows my mind and makes me a little sad. I just can't believe that I will have made it threw every list (written some early) and will have at least shared all the lists here on the blog! I can't wait until my stuff gets here so I can make a proper book of some type or put them in my PL album.

♥ I am happy
♥ I spend time with Zeke
♥ With friends and Family
♥ My stomach acid is under control
♥ I'm on an adventure
♥ Crafting
♥ Being lazy and watching TV

When do you feel your best?
Make sure you keep an eye out for my new travel series!


Thursday, March 27, 2014

Traveling Europe: Nürnburg

Hello all and happy Thursday to each and everyone one of you. I'm rather proud of myself because today I finished my homework for my two new classes, posted today's list for #30 Days of Lists, and even managed to upload the pictures from today's trip much quicker then I thought I would. I figured that I could work on the first part of a new series, Traveling Europe.






Today I got to travel to a city in the Bavarian region of Germany known as Nürnburg (sometimes called Nuremburg in English). Nürnburg is the second largest city in Bavaria. According to a book I picked up at my PX called Germany by Rock Steves, it is known for its "glorious medieval architecture, important Germanic history museum, haunting Nazi past, famous Christmas Market (the biggest Christmas market in Germany), and its little bratwurst." This city was a Roman city until the Nazi's took over during the war.

I can't wait to go back there with no agenda and actually enjoy everything. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy today, quite a lot, but we didn't get to see everything because we had a schedule to keep. Today I just wanna show you some of the pictures I took and give you a little background info on some things. All the pictures can be found on my photography FB page J.L. McClure Photography. The more I visit, the more information I will try to share!

This is the outside of the St. Klarakirche (St. Clare's Church). I can't find when the church was originally built, but according to the Tourismus Nürnburg website, the church was partially destroyed on May 16, 1945 in a bombing attack. They reconstructed it from 1948-1953 and rebuilt it in 2007. The outside still has the same architectural style from when it originally was built, but the inside is completely modern. It threw us all off a little bit when we went inside.

the inside of St. Klarakirche

We went to one other church while we were there and this one was simply AMAZING!!! This one is called St. Lorenzkirche (St. Lawrence's Church). It was built in the 1200's and it just blew my mind. It was originally a Catholic church but now serves as a Protestant church.


 I love all the high vaulted ceilings and just all around beautiful architecture. I'm sure I could do a whole post on this church alone!


This is where we had lunch at. Its a nice little German restaurant that served some great food. Most everyone got the bratwurst while I was the odd ball that had chicken breast and spiced noodles. Decent prices and it was a nice clean facility. We got a table in the back together, and although we all need to get used to sitting so close and not having as much room, it was a great lunch. The teacher taught us a little about Bavarian etiquette while eating and the differences between Bavaria and America when it comes to some things.

The last major place we visited before leaving was the Imperial Castle which is known as Kaiserburg. This castle was used in the Middle Ages by Holy Roman Emperors while they were in town. The whole thing has a total of around 45 buildings all together. There is a Hostel located on the grounds, which was a nice little place. Very clean and modern, surprised some of the people I was with. We walked up a kind of steep hill and got to look out over the city skyline.

This was the Hostel on the castle grounds
One of the buildings on the grounds.

A side view of the skyline

One of the skyline shots I got

Like I said, I can't wait to visit Nürnburg again! There is a Nazi Rally Ground that I would LOVE to be able to visit as well as see more of the German history and how the Nazi's effected this particular town. I can't wait to see the Christmas Market which is like the biggest in Germany or something and basically that is a big deal! I just want a little more time to explore the town when I am not on a schedule.

Please give me feedback on how you liked/disliked the first segment of Travel Europe. I was trying not to overload you guys with pictures from the trip because there were 145 on my camera,  not counting the ones that were taken on my phone which I haven't gotten too yet. Let me know if there is other stuff you'd like to see in a segment like this that I can keep in mind for next time.





#30 Days of Lists: 27

Today was the last real day of in-processing and I thought it was freakin fantastic! We took a trip to a city called Nurenburg and spent most of the day there. I took a butt load of pictures that I can't wait to share, but I need to do my homework first. I started another two college classes today. Wish me luck!
Tomorrow I will put together the pictures from today and it will be the first part of my new Traveling series!





Sadly I really don't have guests, especially not since I moved to Germany. When I was in the States, it depended on if I was at my parents house or not.
RECIPES:
* Aunt Char's Shrimp Dish (Affectionately called Heart Attack in a Pan!)
* Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice
*Cajun Chicken Pasta

MEALS/ PLACES TO EAT:
*Olive Garden
* Moe's Southwestern Grill
* Beer and Salsa
* Mi Casitas
* O'Keefes
* The Palm Pavillion


Wednesday, March 26, 2014

#30 Days of Lists: 26

Today is the first day of "Host Nation Orientation" or "Cultural College" and it was absolutely fantastic! The lady took a little getting used to, but over all I loved the class. She taught some history of my area and Germany in general, some language, about the food. Told us about traveling in Europe, clubs, the festivals, beer, and fun stuff like that. The first thing I did when I went home was tell Zeke all about it!


* International Snail Mail Day (Saw someone who shared this and thought it would be PERFECT)
* Spend A Day Reading
* Craft Appreciation Day
* Celebrate Family Day
* Best Friend Appreciation Day
Photography Appreciation Day


Tuesday, March 25, 2014

#30 Days of Lists: 25

Guten Tag! (German for Good day). This is the second day of in-processing this week and it was definitely kind of boring. -.-' Just a lot of people telling us about what their function here on post was and random stuff like that. I can't wait for Cultural College to start tomorrow, that will be the fun part.


"Going Under" Evanescence
"Bring Me to Life" Evanescence
"I'm Yours" The Script
"My Town" Montgomery Gentry
"House That Built Me" Miranda Lambert
"God Gave Me You" Blake Shelton
"Raise Your Glass" Pink
"Shameless" Garth Brooks
"Mine Would Be You" Blake Shelton
"Dirt Road Anthem" Brantley Gilbert & Colt Ford
"Glass" Thompson Square
"Compass" Lady A
"If I Didn't Have You" Thompson Square

Honestly, I could keep going. Haha. I love Country music and some rock and roll. Just be glad I didn't start in with some Disney Songs. Haha.



Monday, March 24, 2014

#30 Days of Lists: 24

I am trying to ignore the fact that today is Monday. 
Today is the first day of drivers training and hoping to get my German drivers license.






♥ Hugs
♥ Smiles
♥ Kisses
♥ Love letters/ little notes
♥ listening
♥ caring
♥ cuddles

This one was kinda easy... although again it makes me really miss Zeke. I miss his hugs and cuddling with him and little silly kisses and just being silly in general. -.-' I've only been gone two weeks as of yesterday and I still have a couple months until I get to see him again.

Hopefully I will get to go see him for his birthday, depending on where I am at in the training program. I really hope I can take a couple days to go see him!

one of my favorite pictures of us at our friend's b-day party

Sunday, March 23, 2014

#30 Days of Lists: 23

Hello! I didn't get to sleep in as late as I was hoping today, but I am being super lazy today so its alright. I did however already accomplish my laundry and a quick walk to the PX.... and now I am just going to watch movies until I hopefully get to call Zeke and talk to him for a little while on the phone. Let it be known that I HATE talking on the phone, but Skype isn't cooperating for us.... so its my next best option at the moment. Hopefully we can get it fixed because I would love to be able to video call him and actually see his face!

 
* Sleep
* Cuddles
* Relaxing
* Catching up on Letters
* Studying for my next test (maybe)
* Plan my travels in the next couple months

I'm seriously being pretty lame today. I don't want to do much, because I have no car. Its dreary outside so walking is kind of out of the question. And after this past week.... I just want to be lazy darn it!

This coming week should be interesting. I have the rest of my inprocessing which is just Driver's Training (hopefully get my German drivers license so I can drive my car when it gets here!) and Cultural College. Cultural College is two days where they teach you about Germany and its local cultural. From what I understand its maybe general German greetings so we don't look like total idiots when we go out into the towns, they teach you about the trains, and who knows what else. The second day we take a field trip to a nearby town, work the trains, and get to eat and just enjoy a little bit of Germany! I am pretty excited and can't wait to take some pictures!


Saturday, March 22, 2014

#30 Days of Lists: 22

Oh look, its already Saturday. This week has alternated between flying by and crawling. Today was pretty quick. Working on a Saturday is always a bummer in my eyes, I want to enjoy my weekend and take a break from work. Oh well. Not much happened during work, it was pretty slow on that end, but time still went by quickly.





This one is interesting because I ALWAYS have some type of music playing when I am in my room and not watching a movie. I don't know that I can just pick a few songs. So I'll share whats playing right now. :)

♥ Disney music -> We sing it in the Tower and then listened to it last night when we went out to dinner and to another co-workers house
♥ I'm Yours- The Script (playing as I write this. I really miss Zeke)
♥ Dropkick Murphys and Alkaline Trio
♥ I'll See You Again- Carrie Underwood
♥ Misery Business- Paramore
♥ Enemy-Drowning Pool
♥ Weight of the World- Evanescence
♥ 8 Second Ride- Jake Owen

There are a lot more I could add, but I will leave it to just this right now.

Tonight I went out with some of my coworkers, The Nobels and Eady and his wife Bianca. They took me to their favorite Greek restaurant (my mom laughed that we're in Germany and going to eat Greek). They chose that place because its right across the street from the Train Station and Marvin wanted to show me how to work the Train Station. It was a nice dinner. They had me try Ouzo for the first time.... probably never again. Haha. It's not my favorite. After that we went to Eady's house and hung out. We played some version of Charades on Bianca's iPad and it was hysterical. I am much better at guessing then acting things out. I surprised myself with the things I got right. 
Overall it was a nice night. It was nice to not spend it in my barracks and just get out and hang out with people I like here. Tomorrow is my only day off this weekend and I plan to be lazy (other then laundry and finishing letters) and watch movies that I brought with me.



Friday, March 21, 2014

#30 Days of Lists: 21

Happy Friday everyone. I wish I could say that it meant the weekend was upon me, but I still have to work tomorrow, so it doesn't count for me yet. This week has been alright here at work, kinda silly. The closer we get to the end of the week, the sillier the days become. Its like we're all losing our minds. I'm not doing much other then studying and taking tests while we wait for my appointments to return me to Flight Status so I can properly start training. I sit there a lot when I am not studying and try to pick up on things that are going on. Trying to learn the airspace, phraseology, and reporting points.... kinda hard.

The people here are nice. My favorite are a couple on temporary loan from another unit and our civilian, Mrs. H. They crack me up and really try to make me feel included even though I am new. The couple gives me a ride to/from work every day and are just super cool people. I am going to be super sad when they leave in a couple weeks. They go back to their post for a little while and are hopefully going to transfer back here for good in a month or two.

One of my Supervisors decided he wanted to cook on the grill today for lunch, which was fantastic. He made hot dogs, a steak or two, and brots. It was just a nice change from a wrap or Burger King.

♥ Day --> Good friends, happiness, and smiles
♥ Night --> Cuddles, kisses, and snuggles (I really miss this one right now)
♥ Letter --> Time, patience, and effort
♥ Craft --> Time, patience, effort, and good supplies. Maybe a little bit of planning
♥ Date --> Love, hugs, kisses, food, tv shows, and cuddles

This prompt was kinda interesting and I kind of had to think. I am a simple person. When I refer to my perfect date night.... for things like food I mean like a home cooked meal or ordering out. I don't need to go out to eat for a great date night. Zeke and I used to just order food and watch Netflix, which was perfect to me!


Thursday, March 20, 2014

#30 Days of Lists: 20


I'll be doing this from my niece's Kennedy and Savannah's age of 8.

* The year was 1999
* We played outside wayyy more then inside
* Didn't have video games and the internet was new
* Lived in St. Petersburg, FL

This one was a little difficult for me. I have no children and my youngest sibling is 17 (which in itself is a bit of a shocker..... time sure flies) I have a hard time remembering when I was 8 years old. Although I think that was around the time I first met my dad Tim, or maybe that was a year later.... I dunno... its hard to remember.

 


Wednesday, March 19, 2014

#30 Days of Lists: 19

Ooooo... this one could be dangerous. Haha! There are about a million and a half pins that I want to try if I ever get the time. Mostly crafty ones with a side of yummy food ones!






1. This pin would be fun to do with/for kids

2. I think I am definitely going to do this one once I get all my craft supplies.

3. This one would be pretty simple and just plain pretty. I think I will do this once I get someone to send me some pain chip thingies!

4. I want to fill my addiction to penguins with this.

5. I've got a ton of shirts to make this! Either I am going to make it or I am going to pay someone to make me one!

These are just the first few I found or else I would be here all day and you all would lose interest in my post. Haha! There are about a million pins I want to try, and I will probably do a follow up post.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

#30 Days of Lists: 18

This one will have to be based in Florida since I haven't really ventured far from post yet here in Germany.

gorgeous pic taken by my sister-in-law Miana last July of the bay by my parents house


* Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks (Tarpon Springs, FL)
* Clearwater Beach (Clearwater, FL)
* Oldsmar Flea Market (Oldsmar, FL)
*Disney World (Orlando, FL)
* Ft. De Soto (Fl)
* Honeymoon Island (Dunedin, FL)

I love the city that my parents live in and all the towns that surround it. I have a lot of great memories there and I don't even know which places I would like to share with people. 
The beach in Clearwater is a must. O'Keefe's Irish Pub is also a great place to have lunch.
 The Tarpon Sponge Docks are kinda fun, to see all the shops and the aquarium. You get to pet small sharks and sting rays there! We always go there when we go to the Sponge Docks. They have a great Greek restaurant that we visit a lot too.
I love Flea Markets because they are great places to find deals on cool stuff. You never know what you will find and this one has reasonable prices.
Walt Disney World... there is nothing more to say!
Ft. De Soto is a great historical site to visit! beautiful beaches too!!!
Honeymood Island is BEAUTIFUL!

Where do you take out of town guests?


Monday, March 17, 2014

#30 Days of Lists: 17

Happy Monday. At least I tried to make myself believe it was a happy Monday. Today was my first full day of work and other then it dragging after lunch, it really wasn't too bad. I spent most of the time studying for my first test, then had a coworker pick me up some Burger King while he was there, and then I studied some more and hung out and talked with everyone else.


My mom and I when I was a junior
This woman has been such an inspiration and a help to me throughout all the years. I get my enthusiasm about crafting from her as well as my smarts and love of reading. There isn't much this woman can't do or can't fix.

Lindsay
This chick here. Is my bestest friend!!! Haha. She is my inspiration into sewing and creativity in general. She is so kind and patient and caring. Stuck with me through thick and thin. She has a lot on her plate but still keeps her head up and keeps on going on.

Chelsea Gwaltney- A photographer that I went to high school with. She is part of the reason that I got interested in photography in the first place. The girl has an amazing voice and an amazing eye (she actually took the picture of Lindsay and I above)

Patti M- Most people in the crafty and pen pal world know her. She is amazing! And an inspiration! I aspire to be like her simply because her creativity is inspiring!

TK- One of my first NCO's and now someone I can call a friend. TK is definitely a fantastic role model of how an NCO should be. He cared about his soldiers and definitely "led from the front". He wouldn't ask us to do anything that he wouldn't do himself. He inspired us to go to college while we had free time to better ourselves. He treated us like actual people, not just our ranks. He didn't think he was better then us, he had just been in longer then us.

Who do you want to be like when you "grow up"



Sunday, March 16, 2014

"I Love" Sundays v.11

Hello and Happy Sunday everyone! I hope this post finds you all well. I am adjusting okay for the most part.... but it is still a little weird. For the most part I forget that I am in another country unless I hear someone from here. This post is definitely mostly American military and its kind of comforting. Please understand, I have nothing against the Germans or what not.... just this reminds me of home in a small way.

I really need to update and perfect this thing

♥ I got to talk with Zeke on the phone several times this week. That always makes me happy.

♥ The plane ride was rather uneventful... although I couldn't sleep during it. It did mean that I got to watch four new movies though, that was pretty exciting.

♥ The people I work with are pretty darn awesome. They treat me like I am a real human being and not just a rank. My NCO is F*&^%)# amazing! She drives me everywhere when she can and she is really taking care of me. One of the best NCO's I have ever met. She is giving me heads up on great places to travel. No one makes me feel left out or weird just because I am the new girl.

♥ Being able to talk to family, even just through facebook is always amazing. I miss home so much and I can't wait to go home and see everyone. On the other side of that, I can't wait to go travel and I am kinda glad to be here.

♥ Zeke is now officially a civilian! :) He is back home with his family and getting ready to start the next part of his adventure.

♥ Lots of inspiration for my PL books.... now I just need to sit down and do it!!!!!!

♥ My room is starting to come together (finally) but it will be much better once all my stuff gets here!

♥ Walked to the PX today and it was freezing. The part that I love is that two seperate people offered to give me a ride (one there and one back) because of the steepness of "Warrior Hill" One was an MP and the other was just a super nice Soldier who got here  couple months ago and knows how bad that hill sucks. Its awesome to see how nice the people are here!

What all are you loving from this past week?!?!?


#30 Days of Lists: 16


Well, this one should be fun. I promise that I shall try to keep it short.... but my to do list is like a mile long right now. Haha. I have a LOT to get done.

WORK
♠ Schedule Flight Physical Appointments
♠ Take Ch.1 Test
♠Complete in-processing
♠ Set up Soldier Binder and "I Love" Me Binder
♠ Reorganize Medical Binder

ROOM
 ♠ Build sticky note motivation wall
♠ Post Card Wall
♠ Go to PX to get last minute items (see list)
♠ Purchase stuff from Ikea (they deliver here :D )
♠ Move desk and set up properly

CRAFTING
♠ Organize PL Cards
♠ Plan PL albums
♠ Buy Raskog cart and organizing trays
♠ Work on travel notebook
♠ Finish cutting out printed journaling cards
♠ Need more organizing boxes for embellishments and such
♠ Organize Washi tape
♠ Organize wooden stamps and ink
♠ Kristal's wedding present(s)

OTHER
♠ Take more pictures
♠ Pen Pal Letters
♠ Update address book
♠ Buy stamps
♠ Finish Supernatural
♠ Take time to relax and breathe
♠ Plan entry's for Zeke journal
♠ Today's "I Love" Sunday's post
♠ Plan this weeks lists (I don't have a lot of time during the week)
♠ Read a chapter of Game of Thrones
♠ Purchase the City of Bones series

I know there is WAYYYYYY more on my to do list but I fear that the list will never be empty. I will have to print each part of this on to its own journal card just to put it in my album, hahaha. :)

What all is on your to do list?


Saturday, March 15, 2014

#30 Days of Lists: 15 & My latest adventure


♥ Bedding
♥ Headphones
♥ Car
♥ Wine (seriously.... only twice)

There honestly isn't that much that I have only bought once or twice. If there is more... then I can't think of it.... seriously.



So today I was supposed to go work for my new battalion and was there like an hour or two and nothing was going on. My NCO called the person I was working for to say I wasn't working tomorrow and he asked her if since nothing was going on, if she wanted to just come pick me up and I could go home for the day. She did. I was beyond excited because I was bored out of my mind. I was looking up stuff for this area so I was checking out the Facebook pages for the posts here, so that was a plus. When she picked me up, she asked if I wanted to go to Ansbach today instead of tomorrow so I can just hang out tomorrow and she can spend all day studying.

What was only supposed to be like an hour and a half drive turned into like a three hour drive. It was commical! The military installations in that town are spread apart, not like a normal base is, with all its parts connected or nearby.... no... the Ansbach post is ALL OVER THE DARN PLACE. And we found every one of them but the one we needed!!!!! We finally had to call a coworker, who is from that area, and he told us where to go. I miss how in the States, the military bases are very clearly marked and you know well in advance when you are near one. Cell service here is also kind of spotty.

Overall though, we had fun.... thanks to the ride. She told me about some places I should visit and some of the cool programs for the Single Soldiers stationed here in Germany. She is pretty cool to hang out with and I am pretty stoked that she is in charge of me. I got a set of the shelves I wanted so I can put my laptop, my computer screen, and my printer all on my desk and still have some room to function. I think I might paint them black though to go with the other shelves that I brought from Fort Bragg. I do need to order some things from Ikea or at least go visit one here shortly and pick them up. I am determined to get everything organized here and make the most out of the room I have. I may get two small sets of shelves or drawers and lay a piece of wood over them for another work desk, I haven't decided yet. I need to wait until my stuff gets here and I get completely situated to know. I will probably rearrange this room a dozen times in the next two months until I am satisfied! I'll probably share pictures of it all as I go.