Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Volksmarch

So I had a wonderful weekend last week (not this past one...I was at work and loved it) when a few of my fellow nurses invited me to go to a Volksmarch. This is something Germans like to do on Sat or Sun. There are the 5k, 10k and 20k. They each are followed by a small town festival with the usual fair. Well the one I went to on Saturday was followed by a bus ride and a wine festival. I had soooo much fun and bought a bottle of wine that is now sitting in my car for me to drink some day.
It was an all day thing and I had so much fun. The extra wonderful part was that the weather we nice and it was a truly beautiful day!! Here are some pictures!









Then on to the wine festival. We were on the Mosel though I can't recall the town.









Had a wonderful time and look forward to doing it again. Oh and another bit of news. Just this last Thursday I found a house. I will be getting the keys come Friday so I am hoping to get those up over the next week.

Love ya and will keep you updated!
Rachel

Posted by Rachel at 5:36 AM 1 comments  

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Nine to Five...well kinda


So this past weekend I did start to work...kinda. Orientation is always a fun process especially when you are learning new computer system. I did pretty good and had a nice preceptor Cpt Dennis aka Bob who showed me around the place which was very nice of him. I did manage to take a few pictures, no really good ones but just a few to show that no matter where you are a nurse you still have to clean sh*t up!!!




Thought y'all would get a kick outta that!!


Any way!!


Weather has been pretty good, defiantly fall here but as I was house/apartment hunting I took these pictures of the country side. Oh and BTW no home for this girl yet. Please keep me in your prayers that I find a home. So far housing is pretty "tight" and I have not found anything I would let a pig live in....*shakes head*. My spirits are up and life is getting pretty good, gonna get a car this week so that will be WONDERFUL!!!

So here are some pretty pictures to look at.






Well I love y'all and hope to talk to each and everyone one of you soon!!!!

Rachel

Posted by Rachel at 11:52 AM 1 comments  

Monday, September 29, 2008

Death by Power Point

I kid you not, I think it could be an actual medical diagnosis. I have spent a solid week and a half it seems just being shown power point presentations on how things are done at my new job. Oh and I have now seen every security video and seen countless power point slide shows about knowing every measure I need to take both when traveling as well as just living out in the community to identify a terrorist. I really never knew that I would be come a CIA agent instead of nurse here, boy am I surprised!! (FYI this is all in good humor...or so I think)

I am being funny here...well only a little bit. I really do think that the Government should take out stock in Power Point ie Windows office. I have as of yet not worked a single hour as a nurse in my two and a half weeks here (though my neighbor has been her two weeks longer than me.....).

What I DO have to show for my time is an id card, health insurance, a ration card (no joke they DO exists), passed my health exams (hearing, sight and physical), passed a drug test (or so I think), I also have a drivers licence and a few more piece of knowledge on how to spot a terrorist.

It is not all bad really. I did get to look at apartments today, and have an idea on what kind of car to buy etc.

For all those wonderful friends and family that check this little blog I do what to let you know I am not homesick yet, though at times I do wonder what I have gotten myself into!! Those moment are fewer these days since I have gotten most of my computer training done (getting this computer training done has really become a milestone in my life. It is on some of the most ridiculous stuff I have ever come across!! but any who) which as now led my bosses to the conclusion that I can now....dun dun dun............WORK!!!!

Yes folks your read it right I get to actually work as a NURSE come Tuesday Sept the 30th in the year of our Lord 2008!!!!! I have to be there at 0630 (yeah that one hurts me to read too!!) and get my scrubs on and get report at 0645. I know that the excitement I am currently feeling will wear off by 0631 once I truly realize how early I had to wake up but for now I am pretty excited.

I will try to take a few more pic this coming week so y'all can have more to look at then my poor excuse for writing!

Just to let y'all know I am doing well, loving this new adventure and do miss each and everyone of you!!

Love ya!
Rachel

Posted by Rachel at 2:10 PM 0 comments  

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Oh what a swim!!

Sooooooooooooooooooooo here I am in Germany!!! It was a long long long flight but I made it! Sorry it has taken me so long to write y'all the internet here just sucks! Here is a pic of me at Baltomore before I got on my flight to Germany...I was soooo tired and hot at this point!!





My sponsor Michelle was at waiting for me once I got my baggage and we then proceeded to drop my belongings off in my room and then started a long line of paperwork at different offices. I had to swear in with the flag to defend the constatution, that was fun. I may have to re-enact it so I can take some pictures!! Any way about the paperwork, I must say they do ask some strange questions! For example one questions is weather I can move and think simutanulusly.....ok then. Well I managed to get through a few more questions before I totally went looney from lack of sleep!! We then did a small tour of the base and then headed over to the grocery story ie the commessary. Over all not a bad first day!




Day two: I slept as much as I could, though I kept waking up every few hours, oh well. I got to meet one of my "neighbors" (he is in the hotel room next to mine), whom is also going to be a nurse in the ICU, and we went to lunch. It was raining most of the day so not too much to do. We did get to the libary, I got to buy some calling cards that WORKED, etc!!!!!! Yeah I tried to call my family on Friday but the dang cards would not work, oh well porblem solved now. Over all not too bad a day.



Day three: The sun was out and so I planned to do the same!! Its Germany here folks so every thing is closed on Sundays so Jack, the neighbor, and I drove to a city that is pretty close and walked around to see the train station, buses, what the local shopping was like etc.






Here is where I will be living till I get a place



I have spent the last few days working on paperwork, meeting some of my new co-workers and getting stuff done. For example today I got my badge, was inproccesed, had a hearing test, and got my drug test done. Really this is a lot by the standards around here!!! It seems to take FOREVER to get the simplest things done. Oh well its my new life and I am going to roll with it. I did get a cell and will be working on getting my skype downloaded, will let you know how it goes.



Love ya,


Rachel
BTW I cannot get the spell check to work sooooooo sorry about that!!

Posted by Rachel at 10:18 AM 1 comments  

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Bare cubbard


So they came, they packed and then they loaded it all into a plywood crate and sealed it up. Yep the first part of moving is done and all my worldly goods are headed for a little trip across the pond. It all went far smoother than I ever thought possible, gives me a wee bit more confidence in this whole move thing. I now get to look forward to unpacking everything when I get my apartment in Germany!!!! Oh the fun I will have, or at least that is what I am telling myself, every little bit helps.

The count down is in the single numbers so I am pretty excited and am just ready to start this adventure.

Will keep y'all updated!

Love ya,
Rachel

Posted by Rachel at 11:49 AM 1 comments  

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Friends

As this process unfolds I have come to realized that I have been especially blessed with friends who are the best!! I was very happy that I got to hang out with two of them today. Bud is moving also in the near future so I wish her the very best these next few months!! Lindsay is on a new journey already with her new husband and cute dog!! I adore them both and am thankful for the time I got to spend with them today!!





Love ya ladies!

Rachel

Posted by Rachel at 6:02 PM 0 comments  

Moving right along!

So today was D-day, moving day. I have been spending the last week working on getting my stuff ready for the big move, packing, sorting and the like. Well first off I never realized I had some many pieces of clothing, so I first got that all sorted out. I then decided to be all "organized" by getting the kitchen items divided to one area, den items to another, bathroom, bedroom etc, you get the idea. I took pictures of everything..... well I think it is just supposed to be expensive items but this helped me make a more complete inventory if I could refer to a pic for each item listed, wow this makes me sound really anal retentive huh!!! So the whole making a list and taking pictures took some time too, about a day really.



It seemed to be quite a drag, not to mention I went down memory lane WAAAYYYYYY too much when I was going through my room. Oh and on a side note thank you Kate for helping me clean out my room over a year ago or this would have been a HORRIBLE process!!!! In the end though I think I am thankful I went this extra step since it did make everything go very smoothly this morning when the movers came. FYI they all asked how many times I had done this since I seemed like a pro! *blush and mental high five*





So now here I am with most of my worldly possessions all boxed up and ready to be moved in the am. This is a huge relief and it kinda makes me think that I can take on this whole move by myself, quite a feet! Over the last week as I have been packing I have honestly had my doubts, it just seems like too huge a project/life change to be doing all alone and with no prior experience at something like this *waves around*. Amazingly today calmed my nerves just by how smooth it all went and how well I had been able to prepare on my own, by just reading up and finding resources with the information I needed.

Thank you to everyone who has helped me find the information I needed, answered all my annoying questions, calmed my irrational fears and have just otherwise "been there" for me.
Love ya!!!

Posted by Rachel at 5:36 PM 2 comments  

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Norah Nu











I went camping one last time with my dear friend Amber and her family. I has so much fun and very thankful for the time we got to spend together. So while I was waiting on lunch I kinda made sweet Norah do a photo session and boy or boy is she a cutie pie!! So here is my favorite baby in the WHOLE world!!

Posted by Rachel at 4:25 PM 1 comments  

Party!

Here is some of my wonderful former co-workers who took the time out to come over to my house to play!!




I truly feel blessed that I have had the honor to work with such amazing ladies and nurses! Thank you all for coming by to see me one last time before I go.

Rachel

Posted by Rachel at 4:20 PM 0 comments  

Jenn's Shower




I had the honor and privilege of throwing a dear friends wedding shower a week ago. Since Jenn is getting married so far from her adoring fan club I just had to make sure she came here to see us all!!!! I cannot thank Jenn's mom enough for all her help and dedication to her daughter. She really went above and beyond to make sure Jenn had a special time while here in Ohio! Thanks Bev!!!! I won't go on and on and bore those that read this simple blag with too much reading, I mean I "read" blogs really for the pictures too!






Thank you to all those that came and wished Jenn well in her new life!
Love ya,
Rachel








Posted by Rachel at 4:01 PM 0 comments  

Sunday, August 10, 2008

All in the Family

Wow I have fallen behind in keeping y'all updated!! Ok here goes:


So my time working at the U, only six shifts left, is getting shorter and shorter!!!! I have been doing my very best to get all my paperwork done so that I can move to Germany. I have gotten all my Household goods paperwork setteled (I bugged them so much that they filled the paperwork out for me). I was given a flight to head over to Germany, directly into a base for September. I contacted my boss in Germany and have a sponsor...kinda. She has told me I am going to need a military ID to get on the flight. So I then used my thinking cap and made some calls, sent emails out etc. WELL my dear friends I am not currently in possesion of an ID cause the Army does not classify me as empoloyed yet, grrrrrrate. I will cont. to work on this little subject in the next few weeks.
I found this all out while out in Wyoming on a family trip to the Teatons and Yellowstone. I had wanted to make this trip since I was in High School so accomplishing this was truly a pleasure.

The Grand Teatons





Fishing out on Jackson Lake with Haley and Russell

Yellowstone


Ma and Pa at the Old Faithful Inn



That is all for now folks!! I will do the best to keep up with this blog a bit better now that time is getting short!
Yours,
Rachel



Posted by Rachel at 9:17 PM 1 comments  

Sunday, July 13, 2008

On a side note...

I got an email the other day and it was the official job offer!!! So now I have to make it to Germany by Sept 14th. I am sooooo shocked and then I was filled with an energy that has me walking on sunshine *breaks out in song*...sorry about that folks. I now have to hand in my resignation to my boss whom has been the BEST boss ever. I can only hope that as I continue on in my career I can have one that is of the same caliber. It will be sad to move away from such a great group of people but I think that I will be a better nurse because of it.

On a much happier note I have filled out a few more hundred pages of paperwork for the Government and now I have to go up to Wright Pat AFB to get my transportation worked out. I will iron out the details of moving EVERYTHING over seas, oh the joy. It is going to be such an adventure and I feel so blessed to travel it all with you.

I want EVERYONE to know that there is always room in my home for them and I would love it if every one of y'all would come visit me.

Love ya,
Rachel

Posted by Rachel at 2:21 AM 2 comments  

For Laura and Seth.....and Kate

So after Lindsay's wedding and then going camping with Amber and gang I headed down to TN to see the Sanders. It was an especially wonderful visit since Laura was finding out if she was going to meet a little girl or boy this December. WELL its a girl!!! As most of y'all know I am hardly with out my camera so I took a few snap shots for Kate since she is so far away right now, so here ya go!Waiting to go back..

Looking....looking, not really sure what they are looking at....


Ready Seth...its a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that we know who ya gonna call....



Well Kate and Meg of course!!!

It was a wonderful day and I cannot put into words how honored I was to be there. Thank you Seth and Laura for including me in y'alls big day. This little girl is going to be sooooo spoiled by everyone.


I wish y'all nothing but the very best!

Love y'all

Rachel

Posted by Rachel at 1:53 AM 1 comments  

Fourth of July Camping

I took a break and went camping with some friends over the Fourth.


my boots

Norah and I at the fireworks

I had sooo much fun even though it rained! The weather never matters when you have such wonderful company!




Posted by Rachel at 1:40 AM 0 comments  

Thursday, July 3, 2008

2min update

Lets see how fast I can do this, hmmm ok everything that has gone on in the last month..

Took part in Kelly and JB's wedding








Went with Holly as she committed herself to Christ










Took part in Lindsay and Mike's wedding



















So I guess you can call this last month two weddings and a Christ....sounds about right to me.


So in other news I have filled out all paperwork, signed my life away and been looking for apartments in Germany. Just a small rant here on one of said pieces of paperwork. Apparently 90% of the forms the government sends you are unable to be saved as you fill them out. You have to fill it ALL out then print right then. Well this can cause even the average bear to get burned out. For example I had to list all the jobs I have had in the last seven years, with the name and address of someone who knew me then as well as a supervisor name and address.......yeah. Well like most people my age this seven years covers my college years. Meaning that I had some random short jobs, the kind where you never even knew your supervisor name then much less now. Oh well I managed to get through it and give as much information as possible. They wrote me back today and said that I "passed" and they would be in contact with me. I just wanted to thank all y'all for your prayers and words of support. Have a wonderful day!!


Love ya,

Rachel








Posted by Rachel at 9:55 AM 0 comments  

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