Merry Christmas

In less than 24 hours I will be on a plane flying to Guatemala to spend my daughter's first Christmas with her. My husband is not able to go as he has work commitments. It will be our first Christmas apart since the 2002 the year we got engaged. This back pain reminds me of then...

see wavy lines as Rebecca remembers back...

2002 - It was coming up on Christmas with all the hustle and bustle we all know. I was working a minimum of 45 hours a week in the burn unit at our hospital. Alan was 80 miles away at Ft. Leonard Wood. My back was hurting me as it often did, but I made no mind of it this weekend. Alan was coming for the weekend and I had packages to mail and things to do. I was going to be making Christmas dinner this year at my mom's house and all the family in town was coming. Alan and I had only been dating since October and so this season was especially joyful with the thrill of a new and special relationship. It felt like anything could happen. It did. I tried to stretch my back out and it seized up on me. An ambulance had to come and get me. I couldn't move and I was in the worst pain imaginable. On a scale of 1-10 I was at a 10 (I really hate it when someone says on a scale of 1-10 they were a 15. You can't be a 15 on a scale of 1-10! The most you can be is a 10! but I digress...) By the time I was admitted to the hospital I had been given 25 mg of Demerol, 20 mg of Ativan (used to relax the muscle), more Demerol and morphine. Those amounts I don't remember, but I'd been given a lot of drugs and finally the pain was tolerable. Alan had come and stayed with me the whole time. He left around midnight. Some time in the night I awoke to noise all around me. I could hear the nurses say they were giving narcan and oxygen and I thought, "uh oh. Someone's in trouble" Then my bed was moving and I opened my eyes. I was on o2 and they were moving me to another room. I was the one in trouble. They had given me too many pain meds. I had stopped breathing and the nurse aide had found me with an 02 saturation of 35%. Not good. Fast forward to Christmas Eve. I am still unable to move much at all. I have IV fluids and oxygen. Alan was supposed to be coming to spend Christmas with my family, but I wouldn't be there. I couldn't leave the hospital. There was snow coming. We got 2 feet of snow in about 4 hours or so. I was worried because Alan had called to say he was coming before the snow got really bad. It was normally a 1.5 hour drive and 3 hours later he hadn't arrived. I watched the news and saw people off the road everywhere. It had taken my sister-in-law an hour to make it a mile. I was so worried about Alan. He should have stayed at home. Finally he came. Still in his uniform it had taken him 4 hours but he'd made it. My brother and sil left to make it home in daylight. Alan and I watched TV and talked little. (Isn't it nice to have someone you can just be quiet with?) The next thing I know he had climbed over the side rail and is laying in the hospital bed with me. I looked at him like what are you doing, the nurses will kill you. (I'm a nurse. I should know) He looked at me and said Rebecca will you marry me? and pulled out a box with a beautiful solitaire diamond ring. I was so excited and said yes. He put the ring on my finger and kissed me. A few minutes later he was getting out of the hospital bed (they weren't made for 2) and turned to me and said, "That wasn't the drugs talking was it?"

wavy lines as Rebecca comes back to the present

No it wasn't the drugs. lol I meant it then and I mean it now. :) That is my favorite Christmas memory so far.

This is my last post this year as I will be away until after the New Year. From our family to yours we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year.

May there be peace on Earth,

Rebecca

Weekend

We had a long but wonderful weekend traveling around. We went to Metz in France and visited their Christmas market. Last year, we were wandering around France and when we decided to eat we were near the town of Metz. We found parking and a nice restaurant. After we ate we went walking around the shopping area and came across a wonderful Christmas market. So, this year we decided to go back. We walked around and bought some lovely ornaments, sampled the muled wine (it was freezing cold and the mulled wine was much better than what you get in Germany) bought some home made soaps that smell wonderful and enjoyed the atmosphere. We found a wonderful little Italian restaurant for dinner and then drove back to our hotel. We did some shopping in Kaiserslautern and met Dawn and her husband for lunch on Saturday. This was the first time we had met in person. They were interesting and intelligent and we had a good time. I currently (and all weekend) have had a pinched nerve in my back so that has been a trial. Please pray that it gets better before I go to Guatemala.

Christkindlmarkt

Yesterday we went to a wonderful restaurant commonly called steak on a rock. They bring out these large cuts of meat raw on a way hot square stone that cooks it. So everyone can have it cooked as much or as little as they please. On the side are various sauces to dip it in if you choose. The only one I like is the garlic butter. You can order several different meats. It could be that I have posted on this before, but if I have you can see how great it is by me mentioning it twice. You can order what they call a t-bone steak which I would call a huge porterhouse, bison, crocodile, kangaroo, ostrich, or rump steak. I don't recall there being any others. Anyway, it's just wonderful. Hubby always gets the t-bone, but last time I got the bison and this time I got the ostrich. Ostrich is a red meat and tastes quite a bit like beef, but then most red meats that I have tasted do taste similar.



Anyway, after that we went to the Chriskindlemarkt here in Bamberg. Last year we went to the one in Nurenburg and we may go again this year. Last night the stores in downtown Bamberg were open until midnight. They do this once a year and so we went to enjoy. We tried the gluhwein but didn't like it. lol we liked the non-alcoholic kinderpunch that the children drink. We had a good time anyway.

The Diet

Well, it's really not a diet. I should just say I'm trying to reduce. A lot. These are the things I have learned in the past 2 weeks or so.

My goal here is to only eat when I'm hungry and then to eat fewer carbs. The reason for the low carbs is that carbs convert to sugar in your body very quickly. They leave you feeling hungry faster because they are digested faster. My sister thinks I need to give up sugar all together. I have cut it way back, but I don't know if I can give it up all together. So, I have eaten hard boiled eggs and made homemade beef and vegetable soup etc. I did cut out drinking anything with sugar/calories in it. That hasn't been a big problem since we have that good bottled water and then too I drink a lot of iced tea and put splenda in it. I'm working on eating more vegetables and fruits trying to get more fiber. Yes, I'm still eating Spaghettio's. :)

My name is Rebecca and I'm a foodaholic.

They say that recognising and admitting you have a problem is the first step. So there it is. One night at the beginning of this I was just nervous. I was anxious and upset and restless. I paced around the living room and was positively nervous. I remember thinking, "this is how I felt when I quit smoking." Then it hit me. I was jonesin for a fix. I wanted to eat something, but I wasn't hungry. I really, really wanted to eat. It's a real addiction. The thing is that you can't just quit cold turkey like you could with alcohol or cigarettes etc.

So, as time goes by I will journal my challenges and victories. Feel fee to come along on the journey with me.

Friday

Whew! Another busy day here in Bamberg. Woke up this morning to find that Smokey the cat had played all night in the coupons I had so carefully sorted and stacked. Coupons everywhere. Could the Lord be preparing me for motherhood? 3 loads of laundry today, wrapping Christmas presents, making dinner and the bed of course. 4 pounds lost. Errands run.
Yesterday was bizarre. I woke up when I heard a loud noise just after my husband left for work. I thought, "Oh stink! I forgot to put my water bottles out for exchange! The delivery is today! So I get up, throw my robe on, look outside to see if I could see the truck. I didn't see it, but it was only 0915 (yes a late start I know). Anyway, I had a little water left in the current bottle and I wanted to exchange all the bottles so I hurriedly empty the water into some pitchers, and get the bottles out side. Can you just see me in my bathrobe with hair sticking out everywhere? Anyway, I went on about my day but I waited to take a shower because I didn't want to be in the shower when they came. After a couple of hours and no one came, I call the company. The call doesn't go through. I tried every number I could but it either wouldn't go through or no one was answering. Now I was getting upset. I went outside to see if they came early and left a note in the mail box like they are supposed to. No note. I called my husband and asked him to call thinking maybe he would have better luck. He got through, but there was no answer. I got more and more frustrated and upset. Then I discovered that it was Thursday and not Friday. The delivery day is Friday. OOOPS! lol The whole day I was thinking it was Friday when it was not. Confused my whole day.

Monday

You know, house work never ends. Now, I realize that this is not a huge revelation to well to anyone however some days it just seems endless. Today I truly felt I was climbing Mt. Washmore. Between sweeping and mopping the floors (we don't have carpeting) emptying the dishwasher 3 times and loading/running it twice, making the bed, 5 loads of laundry done completely (2 more to do tomorrow) rearranging the pantry, putting up Christmas decorations and some other organizing, I'm a bit tired. While I'm writing this I'm instant messaging with my brother in Missouri. He's watching some PBS show that we wont get to see and bragging about it oops I mean telling me about it. Oh wait, make that 3 loads to do tomorrow as I have baby wash to do to get ready to go to Guatemala. Not that I'm complaining. I'm not. I'm thankful to have the clothes to wash and a husband to cook for and a baby to wash for, but I think most of you know what I mean about some days it just seems endless. I hope you all had a wonderful day.

The Long Awaited Spaghettios Post

OK here it is. I love Spaghettios and I have discovered that it is not the junk food that some people purport it to be. Lets take a look at the label.

One serving = 1 cup That's 3 servings to a large can and 2 to a regular sized can.
One serving = 180 calories
1 gram of fat
No trans-fat
5 mg cholesterol ( that is extremely low)
850 mg Sodium (this is the one thing that is not so great about it that = 35%
of the recommended daily value)
3 grams of fiber (that's pretty good)
6 grams of protein (also pretty good)
Vitamin A = 10%
Calcium = 2%
Thiamin = 10%
Niacin = 15%
Iron = 10%
Riboflavin = 15%
Folic Acid = 25% (those of us still wanting to bear children really need this)

Note that the website information and the information on my can differed in regards to the sodium content. The website explains this.

So, if you eat a whole regular sized can (2 servings) you are getting a decent amount, it tastes good and you have only spent 360 calories. Plus you gave yourself 6 grams of fiber, 12 grams of protein, and of course double of all those vitamins and minerals listed above. That's pretty good! Now if you get the kind with added calcium you are increasing your calcium intake per serving to 30% and adding 25% of your Vitamin D.

How is that not healthy? OK now for those of you who are salt sensitive or have congestive heart failure or some problem where salt is an issue that is probably too much salt for you to be taking in at one time. However for the rest of us, Dig In!

OK, now I can hear my sister and see the appalled look on her face. lol I'm sure I'll hear about it later. Post all comments. I'm sure some of you will disagree with me and that's OK, let's just keep it nice.

DISCLAIMER
I am not recommending this as a health food and I am not saying that we should eat this every day. However, for the occasional lunch on the go, I believe it is fine and not unhealthy. I'm saying I personally don't believe it to be a junk food.

Things I Learned From My Site Meter

I got on my site meter today to see who has been around and where people come to my blog from. I always think it's fun to see what countries people who read my blog are in etc. I learned two interesting things today. The first is that there is an actual place called Land O Lakes, Florida and the second is that someone from Canada got to my blog by googling the words "training wife to obey." For anyone who knows me that is scary and down right weird. I went to Google to try to find it but there are over a million results from that search. I saw the first 21 pages and didn't find me, so how that person did I don't know. How do people get to your blog?

Bread

Well, the bread turned out so nicely that I'm baking another loaf today. I'd show you a picture but it got eaten rather quickly so there is nothing left to show. lol

I said good bye today to another friend from PWOC. She has a 2 week old baby and she and her husband are PCSing today (that's moving to you civilians).

It's Christmas shopping time again. I have most of mine done. Just a little more and I'm through for the year.

I am going to spend Christmas and New Year's day with Alaina. Everything paperwork wise is done now. We are only waiting for the outcome. If any of you are considering international adoption feel free to email me. I have lots of pointers and tips and I know quite a few who have adopted internationally. There are some agencies that are better than others and there are some social workers who are exceptionally good so feel free to ask anytime. I am so ready for her to be here. It's like a part of us is missing and we're not whole until she comes home.

Why?

Today I am asking the question "why". Yesterday I subbed for the school nurse and today I have been busy with getting yesterday's work done. I just got back from running an errand where I ran into an acquaintance. It's a lady I've known for a while and we are friendly though I wouldn't say we are "friends". She took me aside and basically said that another person whom we both know was talking bad about me to others. I was quite surprised at this because I had always thought I had a good rapport with the person who supposedly was now against me. I say against me because I was told "she has something against you" and that she was trying to make trouble for me. I was and am quite shocked. This person has gone out of her way to help us in our adoption process and I don't know why she would be so unkind behind my back when she has been so wonderful in front of me and in front of my husband. The thing that bothers me most of all is that I know the one who told me this has issues with the one she is accusing. I know for a fact that she filed a work place discrimination complaint against her. So, I see why she'd want to get people on her side but honestly. Even if what she said is true why would she tell me this. It hurts my feelings to think this person who has been so kind, whom I would do just about anything for has been so snarky (a word I got from Mrs. Wilt) behind my back. I would think it would hurt any one's feelings so why would you tell some one? The accused in this case cannot do anything to really hurt me (other than my feelings) so if she doesn't like me and thinks ill of me why should I be told about it? Obviously the accused has not seen fit to show me her disrespect why should someone else feel the need to point it out. I have to agree with Mrs. Wilt (though I may put it more bluntly) If you don't have anything nice to say...shut up! So I say again my question today is why. Why would anyone go out of their way to hurt someones' feelings with information they don't need to know?

In other news I am trying my hand at baking bread again. I'll let you know tomorrow how it went.

Sunday

Thank you for all the prayers directed our way in past few weeks. We have needed them. Hopefully Tuesday will bring us very near the end of the road with this adoption.

Today after church we went to a lovely Greek restaurant. Alan had salad, lamb and okra and I had salad, and appetizers. We shared some garlic bread with zatziki. (i hope I spelled that right because spell check wants to change it to Suzuki) It was really good. The rest of the day has been spent quietly. An afternoon nap and a quiet evening. I hope you all had a wonderful, restful day as well.

Giving Thanks

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,When sorrows like sea billows roll;Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,It is well, with my soul,It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,Let this blest assurance control,That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well, with my soul,It is well, with my soul,It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!My sin, not in part but the whole,Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well, with my soul,It is well, with my soul,It is well, it is well, with my soul.

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:If Jordan above me shall roll,No pang shall be mine, for in death as in lifeThou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

It is well, with my soul,It is well, with my soul,It is well, it is well, with my soul.

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,The sky, not the grave, is our goal;Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!

It is well, with my soul,It is well, with my soul,It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,It is well, with my soul,It is well, it is well, with my soul.

In the midst of the storm we've been in this past week (lots I haven't told you yet) The Lord has given us His peace. When you hold on to Jesus He will see you through. Things got so rough I couldn't write much or eat much (a rarity for me). I am reminded of a song our former pastor used to sing about a lighthouse in the storm and if it wasn't for the lighthouse...

Right now I don't know why the Lord has allowed us to go through all this but He does and I can trust Him with that. When He brings us safely to the other side, it will likely be so clear.

Happy Thanksgiving. This year I once again am thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Praise The Lord!

Good news! We received an email from our attorney in Guatemala after midnight today that the funds have been found and he has received them! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the earth hear my voice! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice...And give Him the glory great things He has done! lol We really needed that and right when we got it too. OK, I'm off for more stuff to do. We are really working hard right now and I'll try to post what's up when I can.

Banking Problems

OK, we're back from a long weekend away. Here is an update on the money situation. We asked the bank to wire money to our attorney in Guatemala in September. Two weeks later when it had not been received, we asked the bank to trace it. They said they would. They said to give them two weeks to trace it because it takes time. More than two weeks after that we went in and asked why we had not been contacted. They had never traced the money. They said it turns out that their fax machine was not working when they sent the fax and apparently wasn't working for two weeks and so it never went through. When we asked why no one had checked in over two weeks on the progress they kept saying well the original fax didn't go through. I questioned the rarity of a busy bank only faxing one thing in two weeks time because if it wasn't working I would think that some one would have called and said hey you said you were sending a fax and I never got it. Interesting how that never happened and they never noticed it until we went in there and asked for answers. They are currently claiming it isn't their fault because they sent the money. We contend that if they money was not received they are still responsible. They are refusing to reimburse us. We finally got in contact with the bank that owns them which is Bank of America. The home office says that the bank here on post never did anything until the day I went down there and demanded an answer. They are currently trying to find it.

Bits And Pieces

How was your weekend? Mine was different. We just hung out all weekend together and played games and such. We had a pizza fiasco on Friday (the place couldn't get our order right for anything and then the second place couldn't either.) Alan ended up eating french fries and crust while I pulled off the toppings and ate that. Alain is allergic to pork you see and they kept putting it all over the pizza. The first was delivery that went wrong and the second was a local pizza place. Bizarre. Then we had Chinese take out the next night. It was wonderful as usual. Then of course I was sick the whole weekend. I had a fever all weekend and migraines and yes it started before the take out. Sunday we awoke 15 minutes before church and lol boy did we scramble! We made it just as they were starting. After that we went to eat at the mess hall since I still wasn't feeling well. Today I stayed in bed most of the day and then took a long bubble bath. I felt so good after wards that I was able to make dinner (Steak, beans and rice, and broccoli - I know it's a weird combination) clean up the kitchen and sort through my coupons in preparation for commissary and PX shopping tomorrow. Please pray for one thing for us. The banks seem to have lost a $15,000 payment that was wired from our bank to our lawyer's bank in Guatemala. Please pray that it can be located. Apparently the bank in Guatemala is saying that they are not governed by US laws and therefore they do not have to provide information regarding what happened to the money. We are looking into it. I'd think there would be some sort of international law regarding money transfers between banks. Still, DH is very upset and needs peace not to mention that this may hold up the proceedings. Even so, God is greater still. Even than international money snafu's.

A Whole Week!

Oh my goodness it's been a whole week since I posted last! I have been so busy. I substituted for the school nurse on Monday and Tuesday. Monday night we had a dinner party to go to. Tuesday night we had friends over who were to move back to the States early Thursday morning. Wednesday I spent the entire day baking for a bake sale the proceeds of which were to offset the cost of the Christmas Ball for the lower enlisted soldiers. This is something I very much believe in and since I had made that suggestion at the last coffee...well you see. I baked 4 dozen corn muffins, 3 dozen chocolate chip cookies and 3 pans of brownies. Thursday was the sale and then today was spent cleaning house and doing laundry since little of that got done all week. We have been enjoying our new Culligan water cooler and delivery service this past 2 weeks. I know, I know, not very frugal, but when you consider that the water out of the tap tastes bad and smells like fish, and consider the yuck that collects in the water filter, and the cost of buying water in small bottles and hauling it in, it's worth it. It doesn't cost all that much anyway and we love having fresh, good water to drink anytime we want it. I have laughed over how much more water we drink now that we don't have to go get it, carry it up the stairs from the car and then take the bottles to recycling. Anyway, I apologize for being gone so long. Just got caught up in life.

Frugal Friday

I have a new tip today for Frugal Friday hosted by Crystal Paine over at Biblical Womanhood. This is something I just discovered the other day. As you know, a few weeks ago I got a great deal on breakfast cereal. The other day, I was emptying the boxes into a very large Tupperware type container so I can measure the amount I eat out. (trying to slim a bit you see). As I was tearing off the boxtops for education things and flattening the boxes for recycling it hit me. The waxed paper bag that the cereal goes in has a second use. I was fixing to throw them away when it occurred to me that they would be perfect to use in the microwave as a cover for dishes that don't have a cover. ie. warming a plate of food etc. Normally, I would tear off a square of waxed paper or a paper towel to go over it to keep food from exploding all over the microwave. Well the waxed paper inserts do a wonderful job and often enough I can just put the dish inside the bag! When removed if it is messy just throw it away. At least now it has been used twice and I have not had to use a sheet of waxed paper from the roll. Recycling and saving money too. What could be better?

BREAKTHROUGH!

Well yesterday was a wonderful day for us. We have been trying to get a lady on the phone from the USA Consulate in Frankfurt. She is the lady who holds our paperwork to adopt Alaina and we haven't been able to find out anything about it. When we call the phone goes straight to voice mail where we are informed that she isn't accepting voice mail. Nothing was working. So, we found a way to make an appointment with an immigration officer at the consulate. We were hoping to at least find out something. The only thing we knew for sure was that they had managed to charge us the fee for processing because we saw it on our credit card. So up we got at 0430 and left by 0500. A long trip to Frankfurt and a long wait outside in the cold. Do you know that they wont even allow you to take a chapstick into the consulate? I never knew chapstick to be harmful. Then of course they argued with me about taking my epi-pen in. lol They tried to assure me that they would be there in seconds if anything should happen to me. Well anyway I won the argument and a good thing to because it would have taken them some time to find me where we went. Anyway, we finally got to see an immigration officer. We explained why we were there and he left. A few minutes later a lady showed up and asked if she could help us. We asked if she was Ms. _______ and she said, "No. Would you like to talk to her?" lol we both replied simultaneously, "Can we?!!" The waiting room erupted in laughter. lol guess we were too cute. Anyway she went and then there she was. Ms. _____. In the flesh. She was so pleasant and (I'm telling you God was working here) she adjudicated our case on the spot. Going so far as to fed ex our packet to the embassy in Guatemala City and give us the tracking number. She also sent a visa cable to let them know. How about that! We were jumping for joy. There is no telling how long our papers might have sat on her desk for her to get around to working on them. It was sooooooooooooooo worth the trip. So now they can start working on the Guatemalan side. Praise the Lord!

Chex Party Mix

Today I got up and went about my normal daily routine straightening up the house etc. One thing I did differently today is to make home made Chex party mix. We have a group of friends that gets together often to play games. Lately we have been meeting more often and including dinner and snacks. All of us love Chex party mix but the bagged variety at the store includes powdered peanuts. I am allergic to all nuts. The people at Quaker also make a kind of snack mix that is good but all those bags add up. So I finally went out and bought the cereal and made it myself. I only used the cereal as pretzels don't thrill me and of course nuts are out of the question. One batch I did the regular way and one I did using garlic salt instead of seasoned salt. Delish! Did I manage to bring any with me to party night? Nope, forgot all about it. Doesn't that figure. lol Oh well.

Not What I'd Planned

Well, today didn't turn out exactly as planned. I got up at 7 am after not sleeping so well or long enough (got to bed late) showered, and headed out to my class. Got there a few minutes late. No one was there. Checked at the clinic. No dice. Went back to the site and asked a very helpful man to call the Red Cross for me. It turns out that the class was cancelled because the instructer couldn't make it. They said they called me, but I was home all day and received no call. Then they told me that I wasn't home when they called (lol) so they left a message. Well now my answering machine could be a liar and is just hiding it from me and it could be that I left and went somewhere and I just don't remember but I don't think so! Never fear, I'm typing this light heartedly. lol I just get a kick out of it when someone tells me they called but I wasn't home when I was. Anyway. I went on home where Alan asked me to make him a pot of coffee (he was fixin to leave) so I walked over and flipped the switch for him. Rofl. He for some reason thought I had not set it up the night before. I do about 95% of the time, but he'd gotten the wrong notion and it's OK. I love him! I'm laughing as I write this because it was just all so funny this morning. That's what you get from me on little sleep.

So the long and the short of it is that I had the day to myself and took it off. I have done very little today but play on the computer and take a nap where I had a horrible dream about working an intensive care unit alone and Britney Spears was a patient. I ended up having 4 bizarre patients and only me and I wasn't doing anything right. Then the people from Top Chef came in and were dishing up pills to be served etc. It was all very weird. I figure Britney was in there because I had seen a headline about her on AOL. I don't know, but the part about Sam from Top Chef serving up pills in souffle cups disturbed me so bad I woke up with a terrible sense of dread and personal failure. Those of you who watch this show in the States will of course realize that our shows on AFN (armed forces network) are significantly behind those back home. It makes little matter as we don't watch that much anyway.

Don't worry about me playing all day. Hubby's supper will be waiting for him when he gets home. How was your day?