Spouses of Deployed Soldier's Retreat

I FINALLY got accepted to come down for a retreat! Husband and I have been trying to get on one of the Army marriage retreats for over a year now. And lucky me, I get accepted to go on a retreat for Spouses of Deployed Soldiers. From what I understood it was put on by the Chaplains and was going to be about Communicating with your deployed soldier. 

I was so excited to be picked because I really wanted to see what all the hub-bub was about! Even though I am atheist, I respect other people's religion and don't mind hearing about it *sometimes*. So I thought I would give it a go! I also really wanted to get away for a few days. Because I was getting on edge. A free vacation with a little bit of learning sounded pretty darn good to me! 

So, last night, there I was trying to get shit together to get going on this mini vacation. I felt like I had no idea what to pack! I also wanted to catch up on my shows and have some relaxation time because a friend of mine picked up Koodge to watch for me while I get my "retreat on"! Lucky me that I've got a great Dog Sitter (my friend) I have gotten 3 pictures already! :) I love getting pictures of my pup! 

So this morning, after going to bed at 0200... I set my alarm for 0600 because I had to be to post by 0730. Luckily I took a shower last night, because... I would NOT have made it on time otherwise. So I get to post on time and am waiting on the buses that will take us down to Garmisch. There were two buses, and I apparently, of course, picked the wrong one! There were SO many kids on the one I picked. Thankfully they weren't too loud. But I get all on edge around kids... They drive me batty! 

Garmisch, Germany

So since I got approximately 4.5 hours of sleep last night I tried SO very hard to sleep on the bus. I had two seats all to myself, and I made sure to bring my cuddler blanket. I wrapped it around my head and tried to sleep... I ended up just resting my eyes for 4 hours... Half way through the trip, we stopped at a rest stop and I got some hot food, eggs and potatoes. Ate it, and then went back to "resting my eyes". No sleep for me on the stupid bus.

As soon as we arrived in Garmisch all the kids were like "WE'RE HERE!!" and I was thinking "SHUUUUTTT UPPPPP". The photo on the right is the first thing I saw that was kind of picturesque. The weather is shitty here in Germany... So don't expect any sunshine photos from this weekend.

We arrived at the Resort (Edelweiss Lodge and Resort) finally, and I stood in like to try and get checked in. They had no rooms. Of course check in isn't really until 1500, but I was just having high hopes that one room for me would be available... But no... I was just having high hopes. I really need to stop doing that to myself... 

So I spent an hour wandering around. I walked outside for a minute, and while the weather wasn't spectacular, it was nice because it was just warm enough not to have a jacket on! I grabbed myself a not-so-Starbucks Starbucks, Giant Sized of course. And I was ready to roll! I took in my surroundings and headed back inside to get on with these seminars. 

I went inside, and I honestly only knew ONE person's name. And that was just cause she is a friend of a friend. It was UNCOMFORTABLE. I had no idea what was really going on, or what was about to go down at all. At least I had my trusty Starbucks to keep me company. 

So here I am at one of the tables in the front, each table can sit 6 people. I always sit at the front. This way, I can SEE the speaker, HEAR the speaker, and SEE whatever is on the board, or ... whatever I need. I need to be in the front to pay the best attention. I am weird like that. So I just start writing husband a letter while I am waiting. Ladies are streaming in, loud and obnoxious... Beh... And people were LATE! It was supposed to start at 1315... but we didn't start until well after 1330, and that bugs me. We were given a schedule ahead of time... WELL ahead of time. I am just always disappointed in people. Ugh.
 

We get started and start talking about the 5 Love Languages. I haven't read the book, and don't really know what mine or husband's love language is... I think he has told me... But I think we should do it over again. Read the book again, and take the little quiz things together. And really figure it out. I really do want the best marriage possible, and I think this would help! And we get to keep the book! Nice! I love free stuff!

We continued talking about other things. But I can barely remember because: 1) I was so super tired and 2) people were pissing me off so badly because they were being so disrespectful! I wanted to hit someone! 

While I must admit that the chaplain wasn't the most interesting thing to listen to... He was so quiet, and seemed not very assertive, and would just continue talking (not that I could hear what he was saying, AND I was STILL sitting in the front), EVEN THOUGH the women kept talking over him! It was so frustrating to me, it just showed lack of respect and common decency. And it pissed me off. Not only was I getting a lesser experience, but I am sure the chaplain couldn't have felt too great about it either! This would happen EVERY time someone else spoke out loud to answer a question or put in their two cents, or when he was trying to say something. 

After the first session it was supposed to be dinner time. But I didn't want to eat, I had that huge coffee and was still full from it. So I skipped dinner at that time and decided to get my room. I got my key and everything, lugged my junk up to the room (all the while being super duper sore from work outs last week).... The room key didn't work. I about broke down and cried right there in the hall way for everyone to see. I didn't want to leave my stuff in the hall way so I lugged it back down to the front desk. MY KEY DIDN'T WORK. They gave me a new one and I entered.

I was soooo flustered but glad that I had about 2 hours to do whatever I wanted. I got to talk to Husband and he calmed me down and made me happy. Before the next seminar, I grabbed another coffee because I felt like I was going to pass out where I stood! I was so exhausted!

The second seminar was much more interesting. I think the chaplain was pretty tired for the first one because he seemed to have slightly more energy for the second one. I think he took a nap. But it still sucked because people were being even more disrespectful!

After the second seminar it was REALLY time for me to eat something. I had heard good things about one of the restaurants in the resort so I wanted to give it a try. Everything was so expensive, so I decided that I was allowed to treat myself to a fancy meal at least one time during this stay!

The soup of the day was Broccoli Cheddar, and MY GOODNESS was it ever amazing?? Perfect ratio of broccoli vs cheddar and neither of the flavors were competing. It was absolute heaven. 

I snaked a little on the bread and butter that was provided to me and awaited my meal. I ordered the broccoli alfredo and asked them to add chicken to it. 

...

IT WAS TERRIBLE. Salty and gross. (Bottom left photo of the photo on the left). It looked great... but tasted something awful! Needless to say... I ordered something else. ESPECIALLY since that alfredo was supposed to be worth $17! I decided to order the Grilled Sirloin Steak with mashed potatoes and then I added SHRIMPS. The potatoes and shrimp were to die for and the first part of the steak was cooked perfectly... However, the second half was still... bleeding. But I didn't care at this point because I was absolutely and totally full!! The waiter dude was SO awesome about getting me my 'better' meal and totally didn't treat me any differently for wanting something else. All in all, food was a great experience, even though I got something gross the first time around!

I really hope tomorrow turns out better. I am sure it will because I will not have to put up with another seminar! I get to do whatever I want, and I am contemplating a MASSAGE!! I am so sore, and think I could really use such a thing! :)