February mid-month catch up...

I feel like there's so many things to tell you, Gentle Readers!  It's been so long since we had a weekend wrap up!  So lets go back...  It was almost my birthday...

**This is going to be a really long post, so I completely understand if you just look at the photos and move on.  I had a lot of fun during those 2 weeks and wanted to document it for my own sake.  Yay for having Teh Blog!***

Friday, Jan. 31st-
Friday was my last normal work day before going to class.  When I left, I actually said, "Don't call me.  Don't call me maybe, don't call me period."  Within 2 hours, someone called me.  True to my warnings, I didn't answer.  Since I needed to pack for my class, Friday meant doing the laundry.  We spent Friday night being lazy and we (finally) finished watching The Office.  While I understand why they closed the show the way they did, I might have been happy without the final 2 episodes.  Although, I was going to be VERY disappointed if Steve Carell didn't make an appearance in the final episodes.

Saturday, Feb. 1st-
The official start of my birthday weekend!  I finished up the laundry and we spent most of the day hanging out with Teh Humanitarian and Teh Coast Guardian.  We played mexican dominoes (and felt pretty technologically superior using Teh Bear's new tablet as the score keeper (yay having an app for everything!)) and went to the base theater to watch a free preview of Monument Men, which was actually pretty good if you're looking for a feel good movie (which I was after seeing Saving Mr. Banks a few nights before that).  We hit up Red Robin for dinner after the movie (yay for a free birthday burger from the rewards program).  After we made it back home, I started the process of packing, sans my suitcase, since Phil always gets really mopey as soon as he sees me pull out the suitcase.  Although I'm not really sure why since me leaving usually means that he gets to go hang out with his "real" furever family...

Sunday, Feb 2nd-
We headed to church to start the day off.  We came home to find that Phil had eaten a LOT of mini chocolates we hadn't eaten at the movie, which meant that he got a peroxide and milk shot in the yard as soon as we walked in the door.  After he had successfully regurgitated his breakfast and anything he could have eaten since then, including all the chocolate, we went back inside where Teh Bear was cleaning the carpets since they were sticky.  I didn't even feel bad getting out the suitcase after that.  Teh Bear checked the mail before we left and I had a package from Sprink, which was an excellent self-birthday present.  I packed way more stuffs than I really needed for my 2 weeks away and we got everything and everyone loaded into the car.  We dropped Phil off with his "real" forever family where I received a birthday present (shamrock collars for Phil and Sam and earrings and a bracelet for me, thank you!) and headed to DC.  We weren't sure what my class schedule was going to be on Monday, so we wanted to celebrate on Sunday just in case.  After checking into the hotel, Teh Bear and I headed out to my birthday dinner at Bertucci's, an Italian place Teh Bear had found on Urbanspoon that was nearby.  I'm always satisfied with Italian, so he did good.  We made it back from dinner to see the Broncos get slaughtered.  We were so bored we even turned off the game before it ended, the commercials weren't even worth it.  Take that super bowl for stealing my birthday every few years.

While I was gone, Teh Greyhound Neighbor-Wife made sure that I was getting as much Philbo as possible via photos.  They all made me so happy.  If you'll look, you'll see just how happy PHIL is, which is why we call Teh Greyhound Neighbor's his "real" forever family.

Teh Greyhound Neighbor- Wife lubs Phil, and I'm pretty sure the feeling is more than mutual.

Teh Greyhound Neighbor- Husband lets Phil on the no-dog-cough and Phil knows how special he is.

Zoe, Olive, and Phil get treats from tGN-H at the dinner table.  Word on the street was the treats were steak.

Phil and Olive chillin' on the doggy couch.

Zoe and Phil chilling on the doggy couch.

Monday, Feb. 3rd- MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!
Monday was my first day of class.  It was pouring rain when I arrived, which wasn't very delightful since it was also right at freezing temps.  The best part was that I got to go into the visitors center to get a parking pass and then return it to my car, then go all the way to class, which I had no idea where it was...  Oh, did I mention it was pouring and I don't own a black umbrella?  Good times.  Once I got inside the building, I had no idea where I was going, and I happened to find a group of lost looking Marines who just happened to be going to the same class as me.  WIN for being lost together.  After finding our classroom together, I discovered I was the only Navy person in the class out of 23 military, the rest were Marines.  We also had 3 civilians, but they only counted kinda since they were the minority.  Fortunately, we were out of class by 3, which was awesome, since Teh Bear was chillin' at the hotel waiting for me to get back.  Since it was my birthday we were going to go out to dinner, but I wasn't sure where.  As we started to debate this issue, Teh Monopoly messaged me and asked if we wanted to meet her and Mr. Kilt for dinner at Rock Bottom.  They said the food was delicious which was all the convincing I needed.  We met at the Bethesda location.

Apparently, SoMD has ruined me for customer service.  The waiter we had at Rock Bottom was amazing!  From Teh Monopoly's dietary restrictions and her talking to a cook to my desire for sweet tea, which the server made happen with unsweet tea (boo!) and simple sugar from the bar and to free beer samples for the boys.. he definitely earned that tip.  Everyone at the table claimed he was "just doing his job" but I think that's where SoMD has ruined me.  I'm not even used to wait staff "just doing their job" so I was super impressed with this guy just doing his job.  Either way he got an excellent tip because he made sweet tea happen for me in a place with not a lot of sweet tea.  After a great dinner, it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for day 2 of school.  I finished off the evening with a call from Teh Worldwide Jesus Lover and we giggled until I was almost falling asleep.  She wrote me a 2nd birthday poem (the 1st one was created back in the dorm room days) because she's awesome and obviously talented.  I loved it.  I keep going back to read it because it makes me giggle and smile.  She's good at that.

Yay Sprink-ified!

Birthday jewelry!

Tuesday, Feb 4th-
Teh Bear left while I was at class.  It was definitely lonely and quiet in the hotel room without him once I got back after class.  I took the quiet to catch up on blogs and read And the Mountains Echoed.  Teh Bear and I got to be nostalgic and Skype before we went to bed.  He even gave me some face time with Phil, who does not respond in anyway to my voice over the computer.  Jerk dog.

Wednesday, Feb 5th-
Wednesday was pretty much a repeat of Tuesday, except it included watching longer movies during class.

Thursday, Feb 6th-
After "saving money" on Tuesday and Wednesday, I was finally starting to go stir crazy in the hotel.  Mr. Scrooge was in DC for an interview and we decided to meet up.  I had went out for dinner at Houlihan's and felt like it was overpriced for what I got, even with a Yelp deal.  After dinner, I headed out to Penn Social to meet Mr. Scrooge and his friends.  After playing some shuffleboard (which I quickly learned I suck at) and a few games of Jenga, it was suggested we all go to a hookah bar, so we headed there next.  Mr. Scrooge and I were definitely still on the same page after 5 years, which was apparent when we both started elbowing each other at the same time when we saw a woman wearing underwear length "shorts" with a full sequin long shirt at the next table (I can't go so far as to call it a mini dress because I could clearly see the "shorts").  Neither one of us could believe that she wearing such a lack of clothes in public especially since it was so cold out.  After one of Mr. Scrooge's intoxicated friends decided to walk out of the hookah place completely smashed, it was time to call it a night.  After driving everyone back to their hotels, I finally made it back to my hotel around 1, got to talk to Teh Bear for a short bit before finally passing out for what Sleepytime considered a nap.

Friday, Feb 7th-
Teh Bear returned to DC to hang out with me for the weekend.  Teh Bear pulled into the parking garage right as I was parking Yurtle, which was really great timing.  We went inside for a little bit before heading back out to The Crazy Dog Lady's house.  She was putting on a canine blood donation night at her house, which meant that we would get to see LOTS of puppies!  Greyhounds and galgos and borzois and afghans and salukis and puppies, oh my!

Me and Josie (it is suggested that Sam will look a lot like Josie)

Luke is still a puppy, and he's not really THAT big, but this proves that angles can make me look like a midget.

Janeen getting lovins from Teh Bear.

Misha was all about the lovins.

Borreguito and Emma were also a fan of all the pettins.

John and Heidi are snugglers.  /swoon.

All puppies love pizza bones!

Emma smelling Teh Bear's head.

There is never too many doggies.

We left covered in dog hair and it was totally awesome, since I was really starting to miss my Philbo.

Saturday, Feb 8th-
Despite threats of winter weather, Teh Bear and I headed into DC to do some sight seeing.  We planned to check out the National Archives and the Library of Congress, which we were successful at.  We also stopped for lunch at Good Stuff Eatery, which was pretty delicious.  It started snowing while we were eating lunch, but it didn't last for very long.  Once our feet started hurting and we started to venture into the Capitol, but we decided to save something for later and head back to the hotel.  We had dinner that night with doggy friends at Guapos.

We rode the Metro into DC so I didn't have to worry about paying a mabillion dollars to park Yurtle.

We considered ice skating, but decided to save our ankles for walking around buildings that were heated.

No construction!

The couple at the high table were wearing ONESIES.
I can't even make that up.. and I couldn't get a good photo.

Checking in.

At the Library of Congress.

Just amazing.

This is part of a Bob Hope monologue.  Hilarious.. and accurate.

We ventured to the Capitol, but decided after one exhibit to just head back.

Sunday, Feb. 9th-
Sunday we slept in and were lazy.  We met Teh FL Greyhound Wife and Husband for dim sum at Tony Cheng's Seafood Restaurant in Chinatown.  It was my first time ever having dim sum and other than spilling my hot tea all over myself and the table, it was an enjoyable experience.  The best thing was definitely the pineapple buns.  We considered doing some more sight seeing, but I really needed to accomplish a load of laundry so I'd have enough underwear and socks until it was time to go home (see, I didn't over pack on somethings).  We went back to the hotel and I was reminded of dorm living when I moved someone's laundry to the top of the machines since they were occupying a machine that I needed (I didn't even feel bad since the pile was still there when I went back down to move the laundry to the dryer).  After the laundry was finished, I messaged our doggy friends again and asked if they wanted to do dinner again.  They said yes and we agreed to meet at Mike's American Grill.  I tried not to eat too many of the delicious rolls, which we had been warned about.  After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and crashed for the night.

Chinatown.

A Rita's in Chinatown!  (sadly, it was closed for the season)

Mike's steak scale.  Please check well done.

Monday, Feb 10th-
Teh Bear headed back to SoMD after I had left for class and as soon as I got back to the hotel boredom set in.  I realized that I had definitely gained some weight, so it was workouts pre and post class.  This was very helpful in making reading progress.  Monday, I went back to The Crazy Dog Lady's house for some socializing, dog lovins, and SHUG dolly stuffing.  After a plethora of dirty comments about stuffing things in the butt (which just happens to be how SHUG dollies are stuffed), I was tired and it was bedtime.

Find your own SHUG dolly here: SHUG FB

Tuesday, Feb 11th-
I was still super excited about getting to watch movies every day, truly.  Going to class didn't even hurt my feelings.  The Marines even let me sit with them at lunch.  Tuesday was my last full day in DC, so I spent the evening working out, eating dinner, and packing.  I was really glad I had Teh Bear take some stuff back with him, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to fit it all in my suitcase.

Wednesday, Feb 12th-
The last day of class included our final written exam and our capstone event.  I loved it.  I miss doing my real Navy job that has nothing to do with security or visit requests.  I was the first person to get my certificate (apparently being the only one does mean something).  I headed back to the hotel to pick up my stuff and head back to SoMD before the snow started and people started getting stupid.

Friday, Feb 14th- Valentines Day
I managed not to give myself food poisoning on the 13th, but that didn't mean Vday was spectacular (I slipped on the ice and cut my hand, work was work, and candy wasn't on sale yet).  Teh Bear and I don't celebrate Vday, other than trying to hit up the store to buy 50% off candy, which we even failed at that this year and paid full price because I had no intention of facing the public 2 days in a row.  I went into work where everyone said, "Oh, I thought you weren't coming back till Tuesday."  Which really only served to make me want to go home even more.  After 3 hours of plowing through emails and fielding questions and catching up on all the things, I took care of my travel claim and spent some time with the ITs proving how stupid I am studying for EAWS.  I finally gave up and went home, at which point Teh Bear and I headed out to find candy.  We came home and Teh Bear walked Phil while I went on a run.  I made chicken piccata for dinner and we finished off the final season of The Big C.

Yurtle sheds..

This hole became MUCH larger after I slipped and fell in it......

Saturday, Feb 15th-
Teh Bear made breakfast before I got out of bed, which was delightful and delicious.  We spent most of the morning internetting and watching Modern Family.  I took a very delightful nap and then headed over to Teh FL Greyhound-ers house to learn some EAWS.  After I finally gave up learning, Teh Bear and I had pizza for dinner while watching Modern Family.

Phil was obviously entertained.

Sunday, Feb 16th-
After church, Teh Bear and I had lunch with Teh Singing Cat Lady and Teh Singing Podcaster at McDonald's.  After lunch, I headed to Teh FL Greyhound-ers house for more EAWS learning.  After studying, I went back home and Teh Bear and I spent the evening watching Modern Family and I even made dinner (bbq porkchops and mashed potatoes)!

Phil's favorite part of us having mashed potatoes for dinner.

Yay for being caught up!



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