Officially in College.....again!!

Monday I applied & today I registered. So I am officially a student of the University of Maryland, Europe!! Since it's been so long since I finished my Associates I lost a few credits. But I'm gonna do it!!! This time I will finish!!! 43 more credits to earn my Bachelor's degree..... 77 already done! I got a long road ahead of me, but it is for the best. I am sad I have to take a math class. My math is at about a 5th grade level. But, somehow I have to do it. Hopefully my calculator will help me through! LOL

Good things are happening all around. The husband has started studying for the board. He is hoping to get his E6 in the next 6-8 months. I am super proud of him, all his hard work, & motivation. Of course, with the Army, everything is subject to change so it may not come that easy or fast but I know he will get it soon!!!

Today I had an appt at the auto care center for them to fix a couple of things so our car will pass inspection. So the way they do it is 1st come 1st serve. They say to drop the car between 730 & 8 a.m. I surely wasn't excited by this news. What happened to making an appt and showing up at your appt time?!?!?! After just 3 hours of sleep, I woke  up and raced to get to the car center by 715.Ugh, wouldn't you know it 4 people had beaten me there. After awkwardly waiting in the waiting room with some creepy guy & a mom and her 3 children [all under the age of 4] I was sooo read to get outta there. Finally, at 11:00 my car was finished. That seemed like the longest wait of my life. Good thing they sold Dr. Pepper there or I might not have made it. Then I came home to nap....needless to say I will be up allll night! Why do I do this to myself?!?!?!?

Oh well..... later peeps,I'm off to watch some Sons of Anarchy [my new love Jax]

boring around here

Life has not been too exciting round here lately! I have watched every season of every episode of every show that I'd ever thought about being interested in. I have read more in the last few months than I probably ever have b4. The house is clean [if u don't count the attic]. lol I catch up on fb, e-mails, & pinterest everyday so I know what everyone is up to. {sad, I know} .......

Luckily, I have some things coming up that make me oh so happy!!! BAKING!!! Well, a new friend is having a baby shower Saturday & has asked me to host [since her hostess just recently PCS'ed] & make cupcakes & soda pop brownies! A lil nervous about hosting since there will b some people there I don't know but I'm sure I will do fine!!

A few days ago our FRG leader asked me to head up a new program getting FRG members to bake a cake or cupcakes to deliver to our singe soldier in our unit. I am super pumped about this program b/c I love Birthdays, I love baking, & I couldn't imagine being young, single, alone & so far from home on special days like B-days!!! I really am hopeful that this program is a hit.

Recently, I stumbled upon a great recipe for marshmallow fondant. Normally, I would not use fondant b/c it tastes gross like a gummy nothing. & although it makes cakes so much prettier I was totally against it, but I don't think you could go wrong with this recipe of marshmallows, vanilla and sugar!! Yum! I can not wait to try it this!!! I am making it soon!!! :o)

.....language class tomorrow!!! The highlight of the week so far unless you count this weeks episode of Army Wives or True Blood. lol N E WAYS..... Homework complete, I can now spell my name & say my handy[cell phone] number..... in German, of course!!! GO ME!

around town

I went out around the big ol' village of Hirshau to check out the produce at the local grocery store. Of course I wanted to attempt some German while I was there. That was an epic fail. It is really intimidating to try and speak a new language in front of strangers. All I got out of my mouth was "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" or do u speak English. The lady answered back nein or no, so I shrugged my shoulders and we went about our way. After I left, I was so mad at myself b/c I can ask for help in German & I can say do u have, when clearly I wanted to find something I didn't see. UGH! Next time, I will do it!!!!! Well, I came across a few things I have never seen b4. Of course I snapped a pic to share with you.....

They are gooseberries. I did not buy any to try though I should have. Have you ever tried these??

Then onto yellow kiwis. I have never seen them b4 in the states. I had to try them. These were more sweet than the typical tangy green kiwi. I liked them lots.

This was from the frozen section. I was kinda amazed and a lot of grossed out when I saw you could buy frozen sushi & snails. EWWWW!

Well it's definitely always an adventure, even at the local grocery store, you never know what you may find. lol

Line Dancing with the Germans

Our friends introduced us to a pub in the cute lil village of Parkstein. It's definitely where the hubs likes to hangout and it is much better than the loud night clubs that many people around here prefer. The people we have met there are awesome! Every Friday night a line dancing group comes out from Weiden to do "their thang!" Well last night, I decided to participate. I got Danny to video for me b/c I know a few people who would love to see it!! lol enjoy [but don't laugh too much]

oh, how i have missed u

So, I noticed I have been a bit neglectful to my dear blog in he last week. :o(   So much has happened. I finished my Welcome to Bavaria class. It was amazing & I left the class [sad it was over] but feeling much more knowledgeable about the area I am in and even feeling a bit better about my language skills. I still have tons of work to do if I plan on learning Deutsch but I am doing pretty dang good. Next week I will start the language class. I'm ready to get through the 1st part of it b/c I have the #, colors, & greetings down packed & I do pretty well at the food part. That was top priority so I could make my way though the grocery stores on the economy!

On Monday I had to get our car inspected so we can get rid of these ugly red temporary licence plates that get me weird stares as I drive through these villages everyday. After waiting in line for 2 hours the guys have to break for lunch & wouldn't you know the last car they take at 1130 is the car in front of me. UGH. So an hour later they finally ask me to pull through & all that time wasted to just find out our car failed. As the guy is going through all the things that failed.... the handbrake, the tires, the lights, the stickers, & even the first aid kit we had was wrong. I just stare at the guy like a deer in the headlights. Except for the 1st aid kit and stickers I had no idea what he was trying to tell me. So finally he filled out a paper and said just take this to any car place and give it to them. & still not knowing what exactly I needed to pass inspection I did just that, went to the car care center on post  they understand all he had wrote & fit me in at the next date available....... July, 24th. Well thank goodness it was this year huh?!?! It is times like these when I want to scream * F  * YOU * DEPLOYMENT!!!!! ;o)

One good thing [& there aren't many] about the hubs being gone is that there is no junk food in the house that temps me (well, except my good friend Dr. Pepper). I've been trying to cut out processed foods & eat a lil better. This has led me to eating many more salads. It is always great to find a new recipe that gives these salads a lil kick. I thought I would share this one. Since it's just me eating this, I didn't mix the dressing with the salad so it will keep longer (but here is a pic of what it looks like when you mix it). Enjoy!

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad
Dressing:

• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2/3 cup light sour cream
• 1 tablespoon minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad:

• 4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
• 2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup diced peeled avocado
• 1/3 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (8 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, rinsed and drained

To prepare dressing, combine first 7 ingredients, stirring well. [I just loaded it all in my Ninja (food processor) & a few spins of the blade later, wha-la, salad dressing yum]
To prepare salad, combine lettuce and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.
Tip: Add a spoonful of adobo sauce for a spicier salad.
Yield: 4 Servings Servings Size: Approx 2 1/2 cups

Nutritional Information
Calories: 249, Fat: 8.2g, Saturated fat: 2.8g, Monounsaturated fat: 2.9g, Polyunsaturated fat: 0.7g, Protein: 23.3g, Carbohydrate: 25.1g, Fiber: 7g, Cholesterol: 50mg, Iron: 2.2mg, Sodium: 650mg, Calcium: 106mg WWPP 6

Adapted from Cooking Light AUGUST 2006