Prepairing the House

Sunday began early, I took Rich into the FSI to meet-up with his class for Immersion week. It was a bit comical watching them try to pack the van, to much stuff and to little room! But with the men packing while the women watched I couldn't help but notice that the cases of Beer were the first thing's in!! Oh well...it's true-to-form for German week.
I've been getting things together for our pre-inspection and in doing so also got some pictures to send to the people who will be renting the house next. The only item that belongs to us is the TV. Here's a couple of pictures taken on the First Floor:

Craft

material- $5.40 My "before" picture...

 Rich keeps asking if it's an Easter Basket.....no, it's just a basket.

Saturday Already!

I know it's been a couple of days since posting....sorry. Life around here is nothing if not exciting! We're definitely keeping busy. Last night was dinner and a movie with two of my favorite men, The Crazies was a real good movie for all of you edge of your seat movie goers. 
Today was spent getting a few things at the PX and Commissary, then it was on to the ER where I was given some medication for an ear infection. After getting things settled at home it was off to the shops to up-date Corey's wardrobe...{which was badly in-need} He was able to find some real nice things and if I must say, he looked very handsome in his choices! 
Rich is currently packing for his Immersion week, his class will be going to a place where they will speak nothing except German for the entire week. "What about me?" I'm planning a week of R&R with just Mikey to keep me company. Corey will be in and out; but with his schedule I'll not see much of him. But all is fine...I'm used to it!!
Now to post some photos.....

Crafty

Today turned out to be crafty for me. As I was cleaning out the kitchen "preparing for our move"; I found a wooden fruit box. {the small crate that Tangerines come in} Anyway, after a much needed break- I sat down to see what kind of project I could come-up with. I'll post a picture once I figure it out. I've also begun to take pictures of the house, I'll have to post those for you as well. I've been receiving e-mail from the CLO in Switzerland and it sound's like they will keep me quite busy! I will join the International Woman's Club along with the Embassy Wives club- between the two I'm sure to have a lot to do while we're there. I also received a job announcement for an Embassy Visa clerk, the job sound's good but their trying to fill the position ASAP and we are still 5 weeks out. If it's still available when we get there I might give it a go! To work or not to work...........

Birthday # ???

Well, today was Birthday number...25 or 52......can't quite remember; but that's alright it's just a number. It was a very nice day though.
Rich came home tonight with what seems to be another cold. He never get's sick- except this winter seems to be kicking his keister! Hope he feels better soon, I keep telling him that he doesn't have time to get sick. But he's not listening!
I think I'll sleep sound tonight, I've had a busy but productive day. Hopefully tomorrow will be just as nice.

It's a Monday!

After a fairly quite weekend, today we received the news that Chris has been hired by the Montclair Police Department! He will Graduate from the Police Academy in a few short weeks and they have asked him to begin work the following Monday. Great news for him and Marissa; not so great for Rich and I. We were hopeful that he would be able to take a week off before work began so he and Marissa could hit-up our storage locker and take some things that they wanted. But that's not going to happen, {this time}.
We were able to also talk with Craig, he and his family are doing fine. They will also attend Chris's Graduation--so we will be able to see everyone "one last time before going to Switzerland" Speaking of which, thing's seem to be moveing right along. We got our photos for our Diplomatic Passports, and will have them in hand soon.
As I write this, Corey is getting ready to go to work. I've been a bit disappointed with how little time we have been able to spend with him; but his schedule has remained full with classes, work and research papers. Thus is the life of a future Neurosurgeon. One day, I may just have to make an appointment with "Dr.Fisher" just to catch up and spend time with him!!LOL :)))))

MRI Results

Four Doctors and a year later, I have an answer {by phone}. A patella strain/sprain with ligament/tendon pull...now I have to talk to the Dr. to learn more but at least I can get this fixed! Next is a visit to the Orthopedic, I'll know more on the treatment after I see him. I cant wait to get rid of this pain once and for all! My life is definitely looking-up.
As for renting the house- look's like I've found someone already! They will be in the area end of March and want to come by to look at it. I'm still going to post it on craigslist though; one never knows if people will follow through on their plans. 
Do you ever miss the days when a persons word and a handshake were as good as a contract? I'm all for progress and advancement...but I think some things should be continued- Honesty seems almost alien. It makes me wonder what Norman Rockwell would paint today.

Reflextions

Thing's change in our life's every moment, and most of it has no direct impact on us personally; But still find's a way to distract our moments of thought. When you think back on your life, are there pages you want to rip-out or have a re-do day? Perhaps you would do the same exact things or go in a different direction all together. Or like me...you'd maybe change a paragraph or two but basically keep everything the same. Whatever your pleasure I hope in the end you'll have wonderful memories to look back on. I've heard so many people say that they wish they had more patience, understanding, even courage to do more to have lived a happier life. My wish tonight is that you will never have bad memories or uneasy feelings about your past. Even if you have to start today....do all you can to make yourself and those around you happy. "no-regrets"

Visits

My day began like any other; coffee, shower and Motrin for knee pain. I've had trouble with it ever since I "bumped-it" in Israel. The Dr.'s are good at dishing out pain meds, but I'd rather find out the problem and fix-it!! So tonight I spent about a half hour in a MRI machine. I sure hope we find the cause of this before we leave the country, I'm afraid that I'm running out of time and patience.
As of today we've already begun penciling-in visits for Switzerland. Look's like Rich's sister Robin and her family will be the first visitors! Of course my cousin Linda and her husband,Chris will be there first..but they don't count as visitors {more like neighbors}...they are living in Germany. I can't wait to take her factory shopping, she's never been!!! Linda and I will also be traveling a bit together, we both love to cook and will be taking a few Foreign cooking classes. THAT should be a reality show itself!! Especially with my nickname being Lucy..but I don't see Linda as Ethel...either way, it's going to be quite an adventure.
So if your planning a visit while we're there; you should think about tentative dates. I can tell you that August 2011 is off the book. We have our Fisher Family vacation in Scotland.

52 more days

Another productive day..the feeling of accomplishment is quite nice. Thing's are getting done every-day, moving us closer to our new "Host Country" Only 52 more days.
We are going to try to help-out the owners of this house and post a rental advertisement on craigslist. Sometime this weekend I'm going to have to go around the house taking pictures. It's too bad I wont be able to capture the front and back yard, but there's too much snow. People will have to use their imagination and/or wait for Spring.

I'm back.....

Sorry for the disappearance...I had a few unexpected matters to take care of and wasn't able to post. The good news is that we purchased the new luggage, I ended up taking my friends advice and went to LL Bean. "Thank-you Betti" I hope it's the last set I have to buy for awhile; The Airlines can be a bit rough at time's.
Also I want to let you know that my Blog is being "watched", I was told not to write "date's and time's or specific places of when or where I'll be. WOW, wish me luck on that!! Just one of the perks of being a Diplomatic wife. How much do you want to bet that I'll get a few 1-800-spank-me's...LOL!

And it begins..

Another busy and productive day. With everyone out of the house today, I was able to sail through and get a lot done. When Rich got home we made a run to Costco and got a few things we want to ship over to Bern. We heard from the housing office today, we had sent our "housing request" and she wrote back with the statement: piece of cake! I know it's going to be difficult for her to find what we want in the middle of the old city. We may have to forgo some space to live downtown, but I think it will be worth the sacrifice. If she's unsuccessful by the time we get there we'll do some looking on our own. They are all set to pick us up at the airport. Thing's are moving right along. 
Rich was helping out a friend the other day and looked up some contractors overseas. He told me today that they have a job opening for a Strategic Planner in Graf. Germany, I must admit that I've been dreaming about it way to-much; to be able to move back home permanently would be amazing- but when he got the job with the State Department we agreed to give it a fair amount of time to see if he was going to enjoy the job. So...here I am, moving-on.........

After the snow

Another beautiful day, Rich went out this morning and took some pictures.."after the storm" This was taken across the street facing our house. Notice the street is yet to be plowed.

 This next one is of our front sidewalk:

 And Rich was able to capture a good picture of the road out front:

 The good news is as I'm writing this post- the snow plow has come by, so Rich will have it a bit easier getting out in the morning. YES..the Federal Government is open tomorrow so Rich will be back in class. He's very happy and I must admit..so am I. Don't get me wrong, I love him very much; as he does me...but we are past the "I need to be with you every-minute" mind-set. If any of you have been married for more than 10 years, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
We also received a call this morning from our packers-- they will be coming for a pre-inspection March 17th. So they'll know how much packing material they will need on moving day. {surely not much, we are living out of our suitcases}Speaking of...I'd better add: buy new suitcases to my list of thing's to do!

Mikey, Baking, and Snow..

Mikey's new scarf and winter coat is coming in very handy this week.
Today was nice, quiet and productive. I made a double batch of Whoopie Pies and 2 loaves of homemade bread. While the winds were blowing hard and snow falling strong and steady outside...inside was warm, comfortable, and smelling really good!! I love day's like this. I couldn't help but think about when the boy's were little and everything would be shut-down: I'm not sure who loved snow-days more, the boys or me!"I hope their memories are as warm as mine"

For what will be the fourth straight day the Federal Government will be closed. I think Rich is ready to be back in the class room; German calls. In the mean time he and Mikey check out the snow. And as you can see..he's keeping the walkway clear. So far other than loosing cable for one day, we remain one of the lucky and still have power. Far to many are not as fortunate.

Still Snowing

This is a picture of the back yard patio. As you can see we will not be sitting on the swing/bench anytime soon! Last time I looked- it was still snowing pretty hard. For the third day in a row the Federal Government has shut-down...it's definitely a record for DC and poor Rich just isn't used to so much "down-time" when we're not even on vacation; so in that prospective view he's getting a bit stir-crazy. Corey was able to make it home for a few hours today, long enough to shower, grab some clean cloths and have some dinner. He studies so hard....between his classes and work we hardly ever see him. The joy's of being a Pre-Med student.

Snowed in?!

Today was day 4 of being semi-snowed in. We were able to venture out to the grocery store this afternoon. It was obvious that deliveries are not getting in, no milk, empty bread isles and the fresh meat department was very sad. They are predicting another snow storm tomorrow that could bring another 10-20 inches, I'm not quite sure how the city is going to handle another large scale storm. The side roads are pretty bad and where they DID plow...the snow piles are gigantic. However on the lighter side, I'm having a great time {enjoying the storms immensely!} Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to post some pictures. Rich went to bed very sad again tonight....the Federal Government is being closed down again tomorrow, so he has yet-another day off!! I hope everyone has a peaceful night and wonderful day tomorrow. Here's a photo of Rich walking Mikey...

Shealynn

Today is Shealynn's 7th Birthday. I cant believe how fast she's growing! We were able to phone her earlier this evening to wish her a Happy Birthday...she was extra excited, giving us the news that she also lost her front tooth today- so not only Birthday presents, but the Tooth Fairy will visit as well!! 
Today has been nice, we got 3ft of snow yesterday and last night. It's just beautiful outside. We did lose our cable for most of the day- but we were very lucky not to have lost our power {a problem so many are experiencing right now.} We have another snow storm coming in Tuesday with an expected 4-10in. The Federal Government is closed tomorrow so Rich went to bed happy this evening! I'm looking forward to getting some thing's accomplished tomorrow, so with that I will sign-off a try to get some sleep myself.

Up-coming move

Well our moving date has been pushed-up from June to April 2010. It seems the guy Rich is replacing is anxious to return to DC and begin language training. This work's well for us...we're just as anxious to get to our new "home" in Switzerland! It's been a little over three years since I've seen any of my household belongings, "our last posting was Tel Av iv Israel" {it was a furnished post} so the only items we took was our king size bed, a few kitchen items and of course my Christmas decorations!
We received our travel arrangements today...we will be packed out on April 8th, and our flight is in the evening of the 11th- which will land us in Zurich Monday morning on the 12th. I can hardly wait but I know the time will fly-by. We have so much to do.