Crazy German laws

Germany is known for the completely crazy laws.. here is list of the ones I think are the most ridiculous.. and funny.

1) It is illegal to build an office without a view of the sky.
2) It is an offense punishable with a fine and points on your license to run out of petrol on a motorway.
3) A "quiet time" is observed between noon and 3pm when it is forbidden to mow the lawn, wash cars, play loud music or hammer nails.
4) It is forbidden to hand washing out on Sunday.
5) A pillow is classified as a "passive weapon" and hitting someone with one can lead to charges of assault.
6) It is illegal to wear a mask while on strike.
7) It is illegal to tune pianos at midnight.
8) You can be fined 20 euros for calling someone an "arse" but 5,000 euros for calling an official a "little Hitler".
9) It is against the law to deny a chimney sweep access to your home if he demands it.
10) It is illegal to have the ashes of your loved one stored in an urn at home after cremation.
11) During Oktoberfest, noone is actually legally drunk, no matter how much they have consumed.
12) Illegal to run out of gas on the Autobahn.
13) Illegal to wash your car on Sundays.
14) Against the law to change your own oil.
15) Illegal to have a sound system with bass in your car.
16) Illegal to have the front windows tinted. (We actually had to peel off our tinting of the front windows when we got there. We could not register it until it was off and could pass inspection)

Their is a ton more but here are just a few I wanted to share. Enjoy.

NAVTA

 I really want to share something with all of you. I am pretty excited. I am finally a [student] member of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA). Its the professional Association for Veterinary Technicians just like Nurses and Doctors have their own associations and what not. I am starting to actually feel like a professional in a real profession.
  Being apart of a professional association sure has its benefits. There is discounted Medical, deals at Dell, Target, and other retail stores, discounts on Stethoscopes and pet insurance, discount car rentals and hotels, trips and vacations.. pretty exciting, right? I also receive the NAVTA journal every two months which is a magazine that updates all the professionals about new diseases, medications, specialties, and things of that sort. I received my first issue just a few days ago.. yep, definitly starting to feel like a professional.
  Since I am just a student, I hold a student membership until I graduate and get licensed. Every year NAVTA does a conference for CE (continuing education) where you go listen to people speak and get to interact in workshops where you learn new techniques and new things about the Veterinary field. Its always located in a vacation spot and usually a few days long. As a licensed Veterinary Technician, I have to obtain so many hours of CE to stay licensed. As a student, its very cheap and I am looking forward to going to the NAVTA conference this year. I really hope I am able to. Well that is my exciting news. Learn more about NAVTA at www.navta.net.

Earthlings

Ignorance is bliss. That's the most stupid selfish thing I have ever heard. Everyone should know where their food came from. I have always been a Vegetarian, even as a kid. My Dad would yell and scream for me to eat my meat but I never did.. and I am thankful to have such a strong will. Let me ask you this.. Do you know where that Steak you ate came from, or where fast food restaurants get their beef or chicken? Do you know where your leather comes from? If you don't or you have a good idea, let Earthlings fill in the blanks so you can start making informed decisions. Who cares if you lose your appetite for lunch, it will give you a perspective that you will cherish. So get informed and start making those decisions for yourself.
Earthlings is a documentary. Steve and I watched it and it has forever changed our lives. You can watch it for free on youtube, they broke it down in to ten parts. click here 


You will have my respect if you watch it.. this documentary needs to be seen by the public.. most are ignorant and don't know, and/or they don't want to know. 

What's next??

When Steve first joined the United States Army, he wanted to be in for the full 20 years until he retired. I was planning on being there right by his side the whole time. Through Deployment after Deployment. Well times have changed and we both have changed... This last Deployment has changed us a lot. He has some health problems both physical and mental, he has signs of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) but has not yet been tested for it.  After this last Deployment, he said no more. He is getting out of the United States Army. I am very thankful for that because I honestly don't think I can handle another Deployment. I have a lot of respect for the women who have combat husbands that keep it together during Deployment after Deployment. I have a lot of anxiety problems (I have had them since I was a kid) and start losing my breath and have anxiety attacks when the TV is even too loud. Military life has challenged our marriage and faith and we are ready for a normal civilian life with normal jobs and in a normal house with normal conversations.. instead of here living in a foreign country in a military issued apartment that was made so cheaply and you can hear every conversation in the next apartment over, or talking about war games, guns, and who is getting kicked out of the Military because they beat their wife or kids.. yes, that is all normal conversation about Steve's day at work. Yep, we are ready for "normal"... a new normal anyways.
 The countdown begins... As of today, we have three months left in the Army, three months until we go back to America, homeless and jobless. That's five more Army paychecks, two more German phone and internet bills, three more FRG meetings, THREE MONTHS!!
  You would probably think we would have a savings, a plan on what we are going to do, where we are going to live, and so on.. and we do.. sorta. We are lobbying between what we want to do with our lives next.. We have a few ideas.. here they are-

1.) Get out of the Military, move to Pennsylvania, and have Steve got to Penn State University for his BA in Nursing.

2.) Leave active duty Army and reenlist to join the National Guard or Army Reserve for stability so we can keep the free medical. Move to where ever the Army sends us and have Steve go to college at a local college there. (National Guard and Reserve are considered Weekend Warriors. He will never deploy, just train with his unit every few weekends and activated when there is a hurricane or something like that to protect the public).

3.)  Get out of the Military completely, pick a State that is known to be really nice, move there and have Steve go to the local college there then move to the next State we choose every few years.. and so on so we are not stuck on the same place for the rest of our lives.. We like the "moving" lifestyle.

 Well that's it folks. We are still trying to decide what path we are wanting to take. If you have any input, suggestions, or advice, please let me know. I would love to hear it. I guess in three months we will ALL find out what we will end of doing because right now, none of us have a clue.