Tag Archives: birthday

Bill, lessons learned, love, marriage

My last night to be 50…

Tomorrow, I will turn 51. It’s hard to believe how fast the years have flown by, and how my life has, so far, turned out. I certainly never envisioned myself where I am today, and where I am today is definitely not a bad place.

As cranky as I can be sometimes, I do know that I am extremely fortunate. Fate has, so far, dealt me a very generous hand. In 1999, I innocently went into a not so innocent chat room and met my husband, who was about to be dumped by his ex wife. I didn’t know he was married until we’d been chatting for three months. I didn’t meet him in person until his divorce was about a year in the past. The whole time he was talking to me during their separation, he was completely platonic (and Mormon). I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. I should amend that to say, it’s hard to believe until you meet Bill. He is an extraordinary man in so many ways, and I owe this epic trip we’re on to him.

Below are some photos of us from today… If you’ve been on the travel blog, you might have already seen a couple of them. But I have a different and much smaller audience on that blog. No one can make me smile like he does.

Anyway… sorry to be a sap, but this man really gets me, and I adore him. We always have so much fun together. And I know that we’re very lucky on so many levels. I met him in a very strange place, under stranger circumstances. And I never thought I’d be a second wife and stepmother (to two children who were so totally estranged for so many years)… But everything we’ve been through has been worth it.

Just to bring this post back around… Yesterday, we were in a bar, and they were playing a lot of 90s music. Bill loves music from that time period, because it helped him cope with Ex. However, she had a bad habit of weaponizing books, music, movies, etc. I’ve written about that before in less happy postings.

One of Ex’s pet songs was “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” by Bryan Adams. Sure enough, that song came on. I looked over at Bill, who appeared fairly placid as he drank his Guinness. Then, not long after that, “Strong Enough” by Sheryl Crow played. It was another one of Ex’s favorite “teaching” songs. She used it as an object lesson to keep Bill in line. I looked over at him while the song was playing. For once, Bill enjoyed it. It’s a good song. Why let Ex ruin it because she’s sick and doesn’t know what she had? Now, as for the Bryan Adams song, I don’t think he’s a fan of that one, regardless… but, it’s not because of Ex, but because of Bryan Adams. 😉

I don’t mind Bryan Adams myself… there are a lot of other singers I’d rather listen to, though.

I’m not sure what we’ll do tomorrow. This hotel is overrun with cruisers picking up their ship(s) in Bergen. We will be doing the same thing in Stockholm on Friday. I think I’ll dump some more photos on the travel blog. Maybe tomorrow, I’ll write about being 51.

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Back from Heidelberg…

I’ve been busily updating my travel blog with the story of our quick trip. I always like to write travel posts soon after I get home, so I don’t forget too many details. We had a great little break. It reminded us that we need a longer one… perhaps out in the country in a beautiful self-catering house near a beach… or in the mountain near a lake. I’m flexible.

My birthday was great! We spent lots of money and ate so much good food… and drank a lot of wine and other alcoholic treats. Sadly, we had a bit of a mishap last night. As Arran was cozying up to Bill, having a reunion bonding session, I noticed blood on his coat. At first, I wondered if he got hurt at the boarding facility, which would have been a huge bummer. But then I realized I have a video of him right before we picked him up and he was fine. Then I looked at the wound and realized it was really fresh. I think Arran ran under one of the bushes in the backyard and cut himself. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s done that. He did it a few months ago on his right shoulder.

I realized the cut was pretty deep, although it wasn’t bleeding much. Bill ended up taking him to the emergency clinic. They had to wait many hours before they could be seen because last night was very busy. Bill got there at about 9:30pm and wasn’t home until 4:30am. Arran got debridement, five stitches, antibiotics, and painkillers. The bill was 825 euros. He doesn’t seem to be any worse for wear, other than the shaved part of his left neck near his shoulder. He’s been napping today and was happy to take a walk a little while ago.

Noyzi did very well at the boarding facility. I think the lady who watched him fell in love. I can understand why. He’s very handsome and sweet. So now that we know he’ll do alright at the boarding house, maybe we can travel more and my mood will improve. I like having things to write about that don’t involve complaints or politics. I just wish our local Internet was better. When I try to upload batches of photos, my Internet crashes.

I haven’t had too much time to read the news, so I can’t think of anything newsworthy to write about right now. Actually, I feel like I need a nap after last night’s drama. I can only imagine how exhausted Bill must be. He is a day person who doesn’t sleep well in the best of circumstances. I’ll bet he’ll be dead on his feet tonight.

Anyway… my birthday was great. 49 is not too bad so far. Bonus… Aunt Flow didn’t bother me while we were enjoying our trip. My sister sent me a birthday e-card starring Donny Osmond. How could it get any better, ignoring Arran’s veterinary mishap, anyway?

Maybe tomorrow, it’ll be back to business as usual.

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Off on a very brief holiday…

My birthday is Sunday, so Bill and I are going to go to Heidelberg for the weekend. It’s our first trip away since October of last year, so we’re looking forward to it. This morning, we took the dogs to the Hunde Pension, and it was the first time I had been out of our immediate area (not counting the local Army installation) in many months. This is Noyzi’s first time in a short term boarding situation, which is why we’re only doing two nights.. I think he’ll be fine. There were lots of friendly dogs at the hotel and I think he’ll make friends. Arran, of course, seems to love going there.

We managed to get our COVID passports done, so we should be all set to enjoy ourselves. I probably won’t post anything tomorrow, because I will be too busy enjoying a much needed break and I don’t plan to bring my computer for such a short trip. But I expect on Sunday, I’ll be writing posts on the travel blog, at the very least.

Hottie knotty…. although at this point, I’m just hot because it’s 90 degrees outside and there’s no air conditioning.

Hope everyone enjoys celebrating Juneteenth, Father’s Day… and if you are also having a birthday, Happy Birthday, too! As of Sunday, I’ll be on the glide path to 50. Time flies when you’re having fun.

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48… has started out great!

Here’s a quick post to let everyone know I survived my weekend “away”. Bill took me to a hotel in Hofheim, which is about twenty minutes from where we live. This particular hotel is attached to a “therme”, which is basically a big pool park/spa. The therme re-opened a couple of weeks ago and is offering a scaled down experience. No steam rooms, massages, or infusions are offered right now, which was okay with me. I like massages, but I can enjoy the water park without them.

I’m going to write up the actual trip on my travel blog, but I wanted to update this one with some positivity. It was great to get out of the house and look around. Being in Germany really put things in perspective. I think my negative mood is mostly caused by social media and reading stuff by Americans who are in America. Germany is not like America right now. The mask thing is not such a big deal. Yes, people are wearing them or face shields, but since the COVID-19 numbers are well-controlled right now, people are fairly relaxed. So now, I’m feeling a lot less stressed out and depressed than I was a couple of days ago. I really needed to get out of the house and see the world, even if it was just for a few hours.

We only went twenty minutes from our house, but I feel refreshed and relaxed, and so grateful for my husband, who took the time to show me a wonderful time on my birthday. I think one of the highlights yesterday was going down a waterslide… something I have not done since the early 90s… or possibly even earlier than that. I used to love waterslides, but somehow I lost my nerve along the way. I will admit that yesterday’s slide was a bit terrifying… but it was also quite a thrill. I need more thrills in my life, I think. Maybe the waterslide is like a metaphor for life in these scary pandemic times.

So… while I’ll continue to look at my homeland with sadness and fear, I’m also so grateful that at least for the time being, I can be in a place where people are sensible, kind, and considerate.

Not so bad…

And… special thanks to my friend, Andrew, who introduced me to the awesomeness that is Aubrey Logan. I really relate to this song especially… Listen and smile!

The lyrics to this song are pretty amazing.
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