Need A Little Help Here....

I need some help from you, my smart friends...are you ready for this?

For my Managerial Econ. (yeah, makes me cringe to even say it) class, I have to know how much Colgate toothpaste was sold in 2009 or 2008 or even further back at the retailers: Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target, AAFES, and Kroger. What a weird combination, right? Yeah, I think so too. So confusing!

I have total Colgate sales information, now I need it broken down by retailer. So let me know when you have that information for me. LOL!! I can't find it anywhere.

If any of you smarty pants know where to find this sort of information, please do share. I will send you a yummy German goodie in return, I PROMISE!! I have been struggling with this project all week. 8 am to 2 pm on Monday, 8 am to 2 pm on Tuesday, 8 am to 3 pm on Wednesday, and have been at it for almost 3 hours now this morning. yep, almost 24 hours total for one project. I have to do a major Business Analysis on a company that I choose. It can be either a retailer or a producer. I chose the retailer AAFES because that's where I do the majority of my shopping here.

But........my professor has flipped his lid and now wants us to get creative. And I just want to finish this degree. Come on February 25th! 21 Bus. hours and the rest of my education electives left after this semester. Argh.....................

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU in advance for any info you may have on this. Everything I find online requires payment to view the information and this chick ain't dishin' out no money just for toothpaste information.

Gotta get back to it! ;) One pot of coffee down today, may have to make another...

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Um, I so wish I had my camera in the car this morning to show you all how cold it is outside today. Hello............. 12 degrees is what the temperature gauge in the car said this morning. Good grief! I have to wear all kinds of layers just to take Neeley to school in the mornings now. And that's while driving the car. Geez! I have heard from several here who have said we have had a pretty brutal winter so far, and yes, I firmly agree. I am sitting here at home trying to finish my preliminary business analysis for my Econ. class to turn in tomorrow before our crazy weekend, and when I look out the window right here beside me I see mounds of snow everywhere. But now the sun is shining and I just want to be out in it. I am so ready to soak up some rays! But not those 12 degree rays though. I am definitely a summer gal.

How about you? Are you a fan of winter weather? Not me, that's for the thick-blooded... ;)

Girl Scout Cookies, Get Your Girl Scout Cookies!!

We spent all weekend saying various versions of that phrase . . .



Selling the cookies is not my favorite part of it all. Instead, I like taste-testing all of them. Oh wait, what I really meant to say was I REALLY enjoy eating them by the case. And with a good cup of coffee. Yumm-o!! Momma's gotta have her some cookies, and I might share with my lil scout!!



Our Girl Scouts have such attitude . . .



But in a good way! They were so well behaved during our booth sales this weekend. We were at the CX and the PX and they never tired of trying to get these darn cookies sold. They were really working on learning how to count back change and work on memorizing the flavors and the prices. Very cute indeed! Our profits are going towards our end of the year camping trip and towards a troop trip to Sensapolis, a very fun place here kind of similar to Mid-America Museum. We are all very excited about those two.

What was your weekend like? We have another busy week and another busy weekend ahead. Hopefully one of these days I can step back and take a few minutes to just breathe.

Another Week Gone By . . .

Where did this past week go? Let's see . . . Ronnie left for his school, I have subbed a couple of days, we have cleaned, and played and watched some good shows on tv, and read and vegged but been extra busy all at the same time. We have to fill our time until the Mr. comes back home.

Neeley has been spending a lot of time doing this . . .



Chatting on Skype with one of her besties, Caroline, from Arkansas. I LOVE that she enjoys spending time on her computer on the couch for now because in a few very short years - I do have years, right? - she will want to be all holed up in her room with the door closed and locked. For now, we spend time together and we really enjoy each other's company.

We plan to spend the rest of this Saturday doing more of this, and reading, playing board games, catching up on our tv shows, and a nap may even be in the plans. Our snow is finally melting but it is still way, way too cold to get out and enjoy doing anything outside. I cannot wait for it to warm up a bit so we can get out and get some fresh air. That and I want to detail our car too before the salt on the streets renders it a rusty mess.

How are you spending your Saturday?

It's Somebody's Big Day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAPA!!!!

What Day Is This?

How many of you feel like this year is moving at sonic speed? Ooohhhh...... I do, I do!!!

Ronnie is now in the States for training and will be gone for a few weeks. I am learning to drive on my own here...ok, don't laugh, hon! ;)

My classes are moving right along at a pace that is way too fast for me. This SCARY econ. stuff is about to kill me. I am so looking forward to February 25th when this semester ends! Holding my breath til then... it took Ronnie and I well over 12 hours total to complete and fix 3 exams and 1 or 2 other exercises the other day. I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't have been here to help me. I don't do Calculus, that's for sure!

Don't you just love Girl Scout Cookies? We start selling this coming weekend over here and we are over the moon excited about it, mostly because it is much easier here than in the States. A certain number of cookies are shipped to us so there is no pre-ordering-we are given a specific number of boxes to sell and I might add that that number is ridiculously small. So that part is much easier. Is it fair for me to buy all 48 boxes? What? Did I just say that? Oh wait....let me retract that statement. Diet? What diet?

We are looking at another deployment square in the face right now, as in only a few very.short.months away. Not what we were originally told, but we take the bad and the ugly with the good and we roll with it.

School is still going good for Neeley. She has decided that she really doesn't enjoy playing the violin as much as she thought she would so today we are turning in the violin to her teacher. I can't really tell yet if I am happy or sad about that. Happy that we have one less commitment and obligation but now I have to find something else for her to do to replace that activity. She isn't involved in as much as she was in the states so she spends a lot of time on her computer talking with her Arkansas besties on Skype. While that makes our lil hearts all warm and fuzzy, it does nothing for energy levels and waist lines. Not that playing the violin really did much for either of those but it was something to do outside the house. I have been instructed to look up some of the dance classes to see if there are any spots left for the Spring semester. Oh boy!

Sparkpeople.com has become my new best friend in sticking with New Years resolutions. How are you doing with yours?

I must end here and get back to the ol' grind. I don't know what it is about Ronnie taking these trips, but every time he has to leave, I instantly get into this sort of nesting mode and I clean, clean, clean and organize and decorate till my lil heart's content. He usually comes home to some new things and a different look to our place. Let's see what I can do this time! :)

Who Doesn't Love A Good Ritter-Sport?

If you have never tried Ritter-Sport chocolate, I am sending you one. We took a quick trip to their Schokolade (Chocolate) Shop and came home with a bundle . . .

Look at all those chocolates!



This place is Heaven On Earth! ;)



Sensory overload, I tell ya . . .



And, yes, this is what we came home with . . . it could have been much worse, I promise!



They had a neat educational area. Here are my two favorite kids listening to some interesting facts about chocolate . . .



They also had this vending machine of sorts. It showed the process of making the chocolates in the factory, shipping them out, and then delivery by truck. A little truck went around on the tracks and delivered little individual Vollmilch flavored chocolates when the button was pushed. Look at Neeley and those boys! Mouth-watering goodness!



Neeley got to participate in the kids Chocolate Workshop while we were there. They whisked the kids up a flight of stairs and away from us parents - I'm guessing parents weren't allowed even up the stairs because perhaps the kids were helped in the test kitchen by a big bunch of Oompah Loompahs - and into a test kitchen of sorts. There, they got to make their own chocolates and learn all about the Ritter-Sport process, and secrets apparently. LOL Neeley chose Almond & Hazelnut for her own chocolates and I must say that is some mighty good chocolate. They got to decorate these cute paper containers to put their homemade chocolates in. Yummy stuff!



The trip was so much fun! We had heard so much about this place and had tried to get there a couple of times before but it just hadn't worked out until that day. Ronnie finally had his treats for his plane ride and Neeley and I have been enjoying each little delicious square of ours as well. I am trying to ration mine so my Sparkpeople.com daily motivator doesn't yell at me. :)

What are some of your favorite treats?

Laugh A Little More This Year...

Ski Videos

Aw, just had to show off Lil Miss one more time. :) I was able to take a few short videos of her skiing. They're not the best quality by any means but I blame that mostly on having to juggle it the video camera and two cameras and everything else I had in my front hoodie "kangaroo" pouch. That and the subzero temps made everything nearly impossible.

Enjoy!!

And The Rest Of The Story . . . (IMG Heavy)

Oh my!! We had a ton of fun in the snow at Garmisch. Neeley attended the full Saturday Just For Kids Ski School and had a blast! Look how cute she and all the little School kids were out there!




















We enjoyed some time in the Ski Lodge . . . it too was beautiful and so neat and cozy with the best restaurant ever. We all tried weinerschnitzel for the first time there and it was yummy!



When Ski School started bright and early Saturday morning, we all headed outside but not before bundling up . . . Bbbbrrrrrr.....it was so cold out there!! We each had 4 pairs of pants on, 4 shirts on, a heavy ski coat, 4 pairs of socks, our boots, and multiple pairs of gloves and scarves, earmuffs, hats and you name it. And I'm not sure about the other two, but I was so over the snow by 4 pm. :)




We were so fortunate to be there in Garmisch at the same time as some good friends so Ronnie went with them to snowboard for the first time. There he is on the right, board in hand, marching to his death. Kidding! I was so worried about them but I really enjoyed spending time with Neeley and the kiddos in the school. That and I could run in to the lodge at any time and enjoy a cup of coffee or hot chocolate whenever I wanted to. :)


I do believe Ronnie spent most of the day looking like this . . .


But eventually he got the hang of it and ended up showing off for the crowd . . .


I could not have asked for a better lil trip to help refresh the soul. It was just what we needed! We laughed a lot, we played a lot, we slept in, we ate good food, we did a little sightseeing, and just enjoyed our adventure. We came back home with a renewed spirit! . . . until we pulled on to post and found out we had received what is now about a foot of snow on the ground. **Eek** Will have to share pics of that soon too. It is EVERYWHERE!

Oh, I must now share some bad news . . . we had some technical difficulties with one of our cameras since SOMEONE dropped it. Well, I did when I had 8,297 other things in my arms and now the battery cover is held on with duct tape. Anyway, we thought it was okay to keep taking pictures as long as we kept holding the little cover closed to it would work with the batteries. Well, apparently not. We did take quite a few more pictures of that WONDERFUL fireplace and some other things at the lodge as well as our little detour in Munich to eat at Hard Rock Cafe on the way home on Sunday. And all of those pictures are now gone forever. Actually, they never were even taken according to our smart camera-geek friend. Breaks my heart but at least we were able to capture the most fabulous part of the trip. :) And that just means we have to go back again, right?

Hope you enjoy this little ski adventure of ours. We sure did!

Be looking for the next post with a few short lil videos of lil miss on those skis. You go girl! :)

Garmisch Tales - FYI: LOTS OF PICS!!

We headed to this WONDERFUL place early Friday morning. LOVED it! Garmisch is about three hours southeast from Stuttgart, but because of the weather it took us almost four hours to get there. Blizzard like conditions in some places and some of the streets were kind of scary, but we made it there in one piece. Once there, it was very relaxing, as you can see here...

The outside of the resort. I know it's hard to see, it was so foggy and there was snow everywhere!



They had several outside walls with these beautiful paintings on them.



Neeley found the fireplace in the lobby immediately...LOVE this!



We checked in to our cozy little room. The lodge has a rustic theme and this carried over in to the rooms as well. Oh, I wish I could have taken even more pictures. We had the best time and it was beautiful!



After taking a good look at our room (in true female style...), we headed out to get the luggage. Now, y'all, you would have thought we were going to be gone for two months with the amount of clothes and ski gear we had to carry with us. I hate that part!



Finally, we got to sit down for a minute and enjoy the scenery in the lobby.



How neat is that?





Our hotel had a little bit of everything. This is a case full of touristy things.





Aw, look what was found right outside on our own little patio...



We enjoyed that little sitting area as much as we could despite it being negative 2,000 degrees outside.





They had all these rocking chairs set up around the fireplace in the lobby. They were usually occupied every time we wanted to enjoy the fire, but not on this day and by gosh we planted ourselves there as fast as we could and had a great time. So warm! Just what we needed.



Neeley at dinner one night in the hotel. Such yummy food! I think we each gained a few pounds while we were there. Or maybe we worked off the extra calories by playing out in the snow.



Various houses and barns and huts and shelters and such in the area. We couldn't really tell what a lot of these were but several of them had open doorways which seemed like some sort of shelters.





Look at those Alps! Breathtaking!





I hope these pictures give you sort of a view of just how awesome this little getaway was. I will save the skiing pictures for the next post since I only took about 200 pictures over the weekend. ;) You can tell who the photographer in the family is, right? I hope you can all make it to Garmisch one day. The weekend was just what I needed, especially after finding out that Ronnie will be headed out of here for a little while. God's timing was perfect in planning this perfect little getaway for us!