Exit 2013, stage left! Enter 2014, stage right!

January

Ah the start of 2013.  I'm going to be honest and say that January sucked.  I was super stressed out from the upcoming move and I was long-distanced out of our relationship.  It actually snowed and I started vloggin (which lasted approximately 4 weeks before the linkup died) and doing It's Ok Thursday (which I really enjoyed, but it lasted approximately 2-3 more months before the linkup was cancelled), yes I saw the trend.  I got sick at the end of month and flew to Dallas, TX (for Teh Stepsister's boot camp graduation) with sinuses that might have almost exploded.



The Skyping was still going strong.



February

Teh Bear went with me to the graduation and came back to MD to help me move.  I learned my landlords were awesome when I received a card in the mail from them with a $25 Target gift card.  It was my birthday and Teh Bear bought me my awesome Scotland ring.  We went skiing.  I got food poisoning and our relationship lost all its mystery on Valentines Day.  I got my first GEGR foster dog named Donner.  I started watching The West Wing, which made me feel politically savvy and let me crush hard on Rob Lowe.   I was real about the fact that adulthood is hard.

March

I started off the month studying for my PO1 exam and after taking the exam I became a reasonable individual again.  I stood watch.  We had real talk about babies and marriage since my LDR was still long-distancing me out.  I admitted how much the month of May doesn't matter to me.  I participated in the Carabox exchange, which was a flop (not so much in what I got, but what I gave my person didn't seem to be what they expected.. who has expectations of a GIFT?  whatevs.  Then there was drama between myself and the girl who organizes the exchange I finally just said fuck it, I was pissed.  I have only participated in a single Reddit exchanges since this).  Teh Bear came to visit, but it was too cold for cherry blossoms.

April

I told you how to get Sirius radio for cheap.  I encouraged modesty when it's hot outside.  I went to my first sex toy party where I had to pretend I was bangin' my LPO (boss) on a sex swing (I can't even make that up).  My 2nd foster dog, Rudy, broke my spirit and hurt Phil.  I went and saw off Teh Sister when she left for Army bootcamp.  I had a dog event filled weekend when Miley came to hang out with me (I miss that girl so much!).  I finished off the month with a Twilight marathon and babysitting and judged the shit out of myself.

I miss you baby girl!

May

I did a blog every day challenge.  I ran the Color Me Rad 5k with Miss Reflective.  I gardened, in real life.  Fashion Doesn't Agree With Me posts became regular.  I then ran The Color Run 5k in DC (my last run with Miss Reflective ): ).

June

June started with a trip to VA Beach for a commissioning ceremony.  On my way back to MD I picked up Teh Bear from the airport so he could complete the last part of the process to get the job in MD.  That was also the same month that I had a leadership turnover after a VERY explosive situation with my former LPO, these things were not causal, but I'd say the change came at a great time.  Blogs in June were mostly Sunglasses posts and I finally finished the November 2012 vacation recaps.  My favorite post of the month was the Biltmore Gardens post because all.the.flowers!  At the end of the month, Teh Sister and I went up to NY to attend a wedding for one of my NY cousins, we kept a log of the ridiculous stuff we said.

July

July meant the River Concert Series was back at St. Mary's College, which was awesome, despite it being so ridiculously hot.  I spent the 4th of July NOT in a hospital room!  Google Reader got the ax.  I considered starting a Master's program.. and then I started.a.Master's.Program....  I ranted about being the photographer friend.  I told you about my inability to tolerate spicy food.

Hercules on Netflix is always a win.

August

Usually the most stressful month of the year, based on historical review, this year didn't fail me.  But, it balanced out when TEH BEAR MOVED TO MD!!!!  My last solo weekend was unimpressive, but I documented it anyways.  I suggested you encourage and challenge little girls in the same way you would little boys.  The bitching about school started.  And we finished off the month by with a long weekend that went into September.  We got a new foster pup, Ruthie, who almost stayed, I permed my hair, we did the touristy thing in Annapolis (where I was educated that Annapolis is the capital of MD, not Baltimore), and followed that up the next day with the touristy thing in DC.

September

The first real weekend of September we attended the First Friday thing in Leonardtown, which wasn't as impressive or packed as Denver's First Friday and the MD Renn Faire.  The next weekend I did the Color in Motion 5k with Teh Greyhound Neighbor and her daughter, which didn't super impress me, but at one point I did feel like Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) with all the pink and blue.  I told you how to make Chicken and Gnocchi soup, which is delicious and mostly unhealthy.  We finished up the month with the Battle of Britain celebration, where we got dressed up, and I made a trip up to NJ for my Godson's baptism.  Teh Bear was going through training during September, so we had a relatively consistent schedule.

October

In October, I finally watched season 8 of How I Met Your Mother, we went to the MD Renn Faire again, we brought Ruthie and Phil to a greyhound fun run.  We started Shopkicking, which has been a trial in patience due to my cell phone.  I told you how to make a Sopapilla Cheesecake, and learned that cooling it is a MUST.  We had real talk about dollaz.  Ruthie got adopted.  I ran the Monster Glow Dash 5k and then went to a Halloween party as a runner, because I'm clever.  Teh Bear started working his normal work schedule in October, so our schedule got a bit wonky until we figured it out.  It's been pretty smooth sailing and I kinda like the extra alone time it affords me.  After several years of plenty of alone time, it kinda became a necessity.  I also started my 2nd and 3rd graduate classes, and I subsequently learned not to take 2 classes at the same time ever again.  Finally, Teh BFF came for a visit over Halloween and we went to the zoo (which I've yet to post pics from, obviously I'm the best blogger ever).

November

November was the halfway point of the 8-week semester.  The work load got heavier and I fell off the blogging train other than sunglasses and weekend wrap-ups.  I bitched a lot about school.  We had another real talk about my multiple personalities babies.  I started the reoccurring 4 Things blog subject.  Teh Bear and I went to NC to get Yurtle inspected.  We also hung out with Teh Worldwide Jesus Lover, Teh BFF, and Teh Family and we went to the NC Renn Faire (wooo!).  I experienced the most shameful moment of my life that weekend, all while ignoring the final papers I had to write to finish the semester off.  Thanksgiving happened and Teh Bear had to work, but Teh Greyhound Neighbors invited me over.  I gave you my thoughts on the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.  I ignored homework for a few more hours and finally finished reading the last Harry Potter book (PS, this was my first time ever reading them).  And I finalllllllyyyy concluded the semester having written over 25 pages worth of educational regurgitation in about 10 days, mostly sure that I was doing my HR plan completely wrong (but with no format and a lack of general guidance other that "do it," I didn't care much) and knowing I would probably fail my intel papers just on principle of my professor sucking.



Phil's big accomplishment of November was that he finally learned to be a real retired racer and enjoy the couch.
This photograph is the only time he's ever snuggled me.



December

December 1st came with a sigh of relief that the school semester was finally over and there was no looming homework assignments hanging over my head!  There was celebration via a real Christmas tree being purchased.  Teh Bear and I started watching the Harry Potter movies since I was finished reading the series.  I got caught up on Grey's Anatomy which I'd not seen since episode 2 of season 10 (how did we make it to 10 seasons with all the dramatic life ending events that Meredith Grey is a part of?), which required a temporary Hulu+ subscription (uggg).  I finally got my grades back: HR class- 98.7, Intel class- 86.9.  We attended the VX-1 Holiday Party, where for the 3rd year in a row I didn't win anything.  We hosted an Ugly Sweater Birthday Party for Teh Bear.  I met Teh Sister in S.VA to exchange Christmas presents to save on shipping.  We had real talk about family.  I showed you our Christmas card and Teh Bear's surprise present.

Goodbye 2013!  Hello 2014!

Teh Bear's Christmas Surprise

Gentle Readers, you probably don't know this about me, but I am awwwwwwwful at keeping a secret/surprise.  THE WORST.  So, when Teh Bear's PS3 died on Cyber Monday I was like, "Score! Christmas present win!"  Ok, not really, I hadn't planned on spending that much, but I will say the old PS3 chose the right day to die since it was so insistent on being dead (due to overheating, anyone know how to fix a PS3?).

I am also a really bad liar.  All the classic signs that someone is lying to you?  I do them.  I'm so textbook.  Fortunately, Teh Bear didn't notice (or isn't admitting if he did).  So I ordered it that same day, and I thought Teh Bear had seen my Amazon screen (which was showing my recent searches), he says he didn't.  In actuality, he was probably too distraught over his original PS3 dying to have cared what was on my screen, but when you have a secret, you're always super defensive.. or maybe that's just me? 

So anyways.  Teh Bear was expecting a package delivery the same day the PS3 was supposed to arrive and the worst liar ever (me) checked the tracking info and I was excited so I announced that my package was also out for delivery.  Teh Megan fail.  Later that evening when the doorbell rang, Teh Bear made a movement to get off the couch to check the door and I glared at him, which he understood meant he was NOT to be relocating.  I would have thought this behavior suspicious, but Teh Bear thinks I'm crazy, so it was probably nothing. 

Knowing that the box was going to be outside, I unlocked Yurtle on the way to the door, hoping that the TV was loud enough that Teh Bear wouldn't hear the beeps.  I opened the door and quickly assessed the packages and found the one for me and ran it to Yurtle, I quietly shut the door, and ran back to the door and said, "Well, yours came but mine didn't," as I moved the remaining two boxes inside for him.  Teh Bear was very upset that my box hadn't arrived and told me I should call UPS and check and see where it was.  I had to play it off like it was no big deal (another weird behavior for me) and that it was probably just "Lexington Park mail" (which is probably the worst mail processing center ever, it competes with overseas military mail, which takes a long time) and that the package would come tomorrow.  Teh Bear let it go, thankfully.  I was starting to feel the pressure of the secret.  It was like the pressure of The Ring in LOTR. 

The next morning, Teh Bear was sleeping during the day since he had to work that night, so I decided to wrap the present and stash it at Teh Greyhound Neighbors' house so it wouldn't be at Teh House.  I was in such Top Secret mode that any trash paper I brought to Teh Greyhound Neighbors house to throw away so it wasn't even in the trashcan. 

After much thought, I finally figured out how I was going to set up the present situation.  I didn't want the PS3 under the tree.  Teh Bear has that ability to shake/feel a present and know exactly what it is.  I couldn't have that.  No way.  The mission had come to far to fail at the end.  I decided that I was going to put the PS3 under the downstairs bathroom counter and ensure there was an empty toilet paper roll on the holder, so Teh Bear would have to change it if he needed TP.  I was worried for a few days because all the rolls of TP that we were using were full and I wasn't going to be able to get an empty roll to put on the holder.  Fortunately, we finally used an entire roll and I pulled the empty roll out of the trash to stash in the bathroom until Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Eve, I went on a walk with Teh Greyhound Neighbor-Wife and after our walk, I picked up the PS3 from them.  I left the PS3 in Yurtle when Phil and I got home, locking the car at least 3 times, just to be sure.  Before bed, Teh Bear decided to take a shower and it was like Lady Fortune was smiling down upon me.  I took advantage of the opportunity and ran outside and grabbed the PS3 from Yurtle and put it under the bathroom counter and changed the TP roll to the empty roll.  In my excitement, I was speedily going back up the stairs and when I went to make the turn, I slipped due to non-grippy socks, grabbed the railing for dear life and felt my feet shoot out from under me in the wrong direction.  After hearing my outburst, Teh Bear comes out of the shower to check on me, despite me telling him I was fine, because he thought I had fallen down the stairs since he knew that I had been upstairs when he got in the shower.  I was torn between aching and being unable to breathe and being relieved that he hadn't heard me go out the squeakiest door ever to retrieve the PS3 from Yurtle.  After I was finally able to move all my body parts again, I went slowly up the stairs to get the stocking items so I could fill the stockings.  I was much more careful moving after the fall.

Christmas morning, we got up and slowly started functioning.. meaning I let Teh Bear sleep until 7:30 and then it was time to get up for PRESENTS because CHRISTMAS!!!  There were no photos of us opening presents because it was just the two of us.  Teh Bear didn't express his disappointment that he didn't get very much in the way of presents he didn't know about from me because he was on the phone with his kids while they opened presents from him by 9.  While he was on the phone, I was in communication with Teh Greyhound Neighbor-Wife, telling her that we'd had "no movement yet" because there's a 50/50 chance that a dude will need to use TP, and Teh Bear had only been to the bathroom once and there were no loud exclamations, much to my disappointment.  I had observed that his "movement" the day prior was around noon, so I was anticipating having to wait for a while. 

When he came downstairs, I could kinda tell something was up, but he wasn't really saying anything, so I hopefully assumed (and was semi-correct) that it was due to the inability to skype with his kids.  I had purposely not given Teh Bear one of his presents to open since it was a PS3 game and I didn't want him to think that he had gotten a PS3, but I realized the truth of the situation was that I had purchased the game on Black Friday when he still had a PS3.  I gave it to him and told him the explanation that I didn't want to rub it in but I had purchased it on Black Friday, sorry..  He opened it, and he was like "Aw, thanks, a game I can't play," and stacked it with the other PS3 games.

Teh Bear was messing around in the living room, then a few minutes later I heard him go in the bathroom.  I quickly messages Teh Greyhound Neighbor- Wife and said, "I think we have movement!"  I was wrong, but Teh Bear, being the swell guy he is, saw the empty toilet paper roll and decided to change it.  He opened the cabinet and there was a strange box staring at him (probably should have gotten photos of that).  I heard the toilet flush and Teh Bear came out and said, "Why is there a box under the bathroom sink?"  I said I didn't know.  He said, "There was a note on it that said it had to be opened in front of you, what is in it?"  I responded again that I didn't know and maybe he should just bring it out to open it in front of me.  I messaged tGN-W back and confirmed he had found the box.  He brought it out to the living room and I grabbed the camera.  I figured by this point, he would know what it was... apparently not.

After a wrapping paper scandal for his birthday present (where it was suggested that I had just given him a Christmas gift for his birthday AND the wrapping paper was "Christmas-y"), Teh Bear commented that he liked this wrapping paper.

"YESS!!!  A box from Amazon!"

"AAAHH!!!  Another box!"

"I was wondering where all the dog towels had gone, I couldn't find any in the closet the other day when you were doing laundry."
I had put the towel in the box in case he decided to shake the box to figure out what it was.

Leftover garland can always be repurposed.

I think this made up for the fact that I gave him a pack of underwear for Christmas.

Checking out the new toy.

"Reading" the instructions.

Setting up the new system.  This was pretty much the side of Teh Bear that I saw for the rest of the day, which I considered a success.

Honestly, having a working PS3 again has been delightful.  We'd been streaming Netflix through the TV, which is pretty horrible.  And the ghetto laptop was set up for Harry Potter marathons, watching Grey's Anatomy, and watching Amazon Prime, which isn't available through the TV. 

While Teh Bear was going through intro videos for GTA5 and Skyrim, I took a nap.  During our Christmas Hangover (which apparently is a real thing, although I thought Teh Bear was just being silly when he mentioned it, but it was confirmed via the blogging world), Teh Bear handed me a remote and we started playing Little Big Planet together.  Despite my lack of skill and our frustration outbursts, it's a pretty fun game.  One of the first things I accidentally learned was that you can stamp yourself, so I will now always have rainbow shoe face.

YAY for a successful Christmas!!

4 Things 10 Thing Challenge: Day 8

Day 8:

1. Counting Stars - OneRepublic

2. Red Hands - Walk Off the Earth

3. 10,000 Reasons - Matt Redman

4. Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jempson (and I give you the chatroulette version which is HILARIOUS!)

Merry Christmas, Gentle Readers.

Our Christmas cards didn't go out until the end of last week because Teh Bear was apparently being pressured to have awesome an AWESOME Christmas card.  I think he made it happen.

Additionally, Teh Bear approved of my sharing his masterpiece with you... we'll call it his present to Teh Blog.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Happy Another Day in December/whatever dammit.

Fashion doesn't agree with me... #37

No words.

Woah.

At least these frames are moderately sized!

Why is this necessary?

What you can't see is the sides of the truck where there are spare fuel tanks.  I've seen this "vehicle" around town several times and every.single.time, I'm just like WTF?

Who do you choose?

The holidays are often a rough time for those who are away from family.  I learned this several years in a row after I joined the Navy.  From boot camp, to GTMO, to Bahrain, there is a certain distance that Skype just can't cover.  

Yet, no matter what, I was always surrounded by "family."  In the military you learn that your family is who you want them to be.  It doesn't matter if you're not related, you don't look alike, or even if you don't like someone, they might still be your family.  

So hug your people tight if you can and remember those who can't.

Sometimes, I'm quite insightful.

Fashion doesn't agree with me... #36.5 (hats edition)

Thanksgiving Special... which  you might recognize if you follow Teh Blog on Teh FBs.

There's a shark eating my head.

A dalmatian hat?  WIN!

Five on Friday #10

UNO

Five day work week, you suck.  On Wednesday, I thought it was Thursday, on Thursday I thought it was Wednesday.  Friday, you're an elusive jerk.  I feel like surviving this week has been an accomplishment! 

DOS

I really, really, really should work on getting my EAWS pin.  For my non-Navy Gentle Readers, EAWS = Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist.  It's like the IDW pin I got in Bahrain (you member?), except for the aviation community.  I have been tasked since I arrived at VX-1 to get this pin and I just have zero motivation to get it because my allegiance to the aviation community is practically nil.  I know I will get it, I just.. wah wah wah, excuse excuse excuse.  My goal for December was to finish getting signatures on my last few sections (like less than 5 sections to get signatures for), learn all the content, and have the test and board completed by the end of January.  Part of my motivation problem was that my last school semester really burned me out and I just wanted an educational break.  I don't want to learn, I want to blog and be lazy and watch Grey's Anatomy and not have to do anything (except wrap Christmas presents).  But, now we have passed the halfway point of December and I've yet to do anything with it, except print out some flashcards to study from (even though I made flashcards, yes I'm an overkill master). 

TRES

I was checking out ratemyprofessor.com and it's really not looking good for any class I could want to take.  The reviews are horrible for all the professors teaching the next 4 classes listed in my academic plan.  It's like AMU puts the good teachers on the initial classes so students get a good experience and you've already started the program so you're less like to transfer out, and then the other teachers are designated to teach in classes later down the line and they are horrible.  I know that what I'm seeing on the website might be skewed, but I've posted on that website since starting school again, so I do value those opinions in a way.  I really miss NC State's professor review website, which doesn't seem to exist anymore.  It came before ratemyprofessor.com and was extremely helpful in which classes and professors I took.  Most of the poor reviews I'm seeing have to do with the instructor's lack of participation in the class.  Which only makes me reflect on my INTL501 professor and what an awful experience that was.  So after being burnt out from last semester and the poor reviews, I'm scared to sign up for more classes.  The lack of instructor participation makes me wish I lived closer to DC so I could go to a brick and mortar school and instead have to worry about getting to class rather than lack of instructor participation.

QUATRO

Teh Bear will be working this weekend, which is totally ok since we will be off together for Christmas, so I'm taking the opportunity to save on shipping costs, by having an increase fuel cost and meeting Teh Sister to exchange presents.  I also will be enjoying English Christmas as one of the Brits from worked invited us to their house for mince pies and mulled wine.  I'm excited since I missed out last weekend on an invitation since I was party-prepping Teh House.  For church on Sunday, I'll be in the sound booth again, but this time potentially using the new computer and presentation program, which is scary yet exciting. 

CINCO

YAY for Teh Bear's birthday!  I didn't make a bday post for him which I've seen several bloggers do for their significant other's birthday.  I didn't even get a card, which I admitted to him, made me feel super guilty.  Then again, we did have a party on Sunday, a nice dinner (which he actually cooked) on Tuesday, saw Thor 2 on Wednesday, and we have plans to see The Hobbit next week when we're off together at one of the theaters with the recliner seats.  It's like perpetual birthday celebration.  He did remind me to not let him open future birthday presents early, as he was a bit disappointed that he didn't have anything to open on his birthday.  Yet, he's used his bday present every day since opening, so I feel like it was a pretty good trade off.  He announced last night that Earl Grey Tea is delicious, so maybe that's his favorite?  I know that we've been going through mugs much faster than I ever did.



YAY for 2 short work weeks, 2 weeks in a row!!  See, there are good days in the Navy!  The ones where you don't have to be there.  :D



Linking up with these ladies since it's FRRRIIIIIDAY:

4 Things 10 Thing Challenge: Day 7

Day 7:

1. Don't waste your money joining all those clubs. Yes, you will get out of class to go to the "meetings" and it should look good on your "student resume".. but honestly, no one that is looking at your "student resume" they are looking at your transcripts.

The one club worth joining? The foreign exchange club. You'll meet cool people from all over the world and you might even get to go on some short term exchanges yourself. If you can't afford it, sell the shit out of those candy bars. GO!

2. Save some money from those jobs. You'll thank yourself later, and you won't be so confused regarding where all the dollars went.

3. Break up with that idiot. Don't feel guilty. If you're miserable, you're torturing yourself and him by staying together. Man up, Buttercup and say those hard words and feel AMAZING about yourself when you've done the right thing.

4. Take the fun classes. Yes, colleges will be looking at your transcripts, but if you're worth it, colleges will forgive you for taking the video production courses so you could help with the morning announcements.


PS.  Don't be ashamed to look like a dork.  You'll be having the time of your life.

Keep that swim cap.  You'll need it later and when people make fun of it, just glare.

Fashion doesn't agree with me... #36 (hats edition)

This is modesty hat.  It prohibits closeness.

It was like a surprise that she had her own zipcode with that hat on.

Disgruntled Teh Megan was not impressed with the hat...
or when Teh Sister admitted to owning a floppy hat similar to this one.

Free stuff

Mid-November, a friend from GEGR asked me if I was interested in owning a rowing machine.  I had only ever rowed before in Bahrain, which I did to kinda mix up my workout, and I enjoyed it.  She could no longer use the machine and she said if we could come pick it up it was ours.  SCORE!

The next evening we picked it up and subsequently learned after we got it home that we didn't have the proper set of allen wrenches to put it back together.  After getting the allen wrenches, Teh Bear finally put the machine together again, and we've been using it.



Wooo for a good workout!
(and this was after a run with the pups)

 This is also the same friend who brings Phil to his blood donation sessions once a month.  She is AWESOME!!!!!!

Party Hardy!

Yay for a long weekend!  The weekend started about midday Thursday when I went home early from work so I could put my sexiness on.  The VX-1 "Holiday" Party was Thursday night, and its always abound with drunken sailors and prizes and an open dance floor.  Another year went by with me NOT winning a prize, for the 3rd year in a row.  If you don't hear that bitterness, let me just tell you, it's there... it's DEFINITELY there.

There was food and dancing and general fun was had.



Hidden in this present was tequila.




I was a little less subtle with my liquor and just put it on the table for those on our level.
And apparently this isn't how you eat the cupcake.  I wasn't even drunk.




This was the dress that didn't win the Battle of Britain dress competition in September.
I loveeeee it.



Friday we were off work, which was great because the beasts needed baths and I needed to do housework to prepare for our shindig (yes, I called it that) on Sunday.  Friday I started the morning off with a youtube video session and some kitchen cleaning.  Once Teh Bear woke up, we watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  We're slowly making our way through the videos.  With them being so long and my inability to sit still for extended periods of time, we don't do marathons.  When Teh Bear left for work, Phil and Mary were given baths, which is always an adventure since Phil doesn't do slippery surfaces.  Although I think I found a work around by putting wash cloths and a rug gripper under his feet.  It wasn't perfect, but neither were his rubber booties.  And getting Phil in the bathtub is the most difficult part.  My heart just breaks when he slips and slides and falls.  Last time he just laid down for me to finish his bath, but this time he wanted to stand up, so I made sure to reposition the grippy items anytime he moved so he wasn't on the slippery parts, which helps minimize his freak outs.  Friday night, Olive came over for another slumber party, I had dinner and waited on traffic to die down and decided to make a field trip to Walmart to pick up some party items, items for stockings (Teh Bear traditionally does candy and small gift, while my family usually did hygiene products.  Together we will have candy and hygiene products), and etc items that were on the list. 

Of course there were interesting things at Walmart, like the 2 ladies, one of whom was wearing pink pjs with bedroom slippers, who managed to get in front of me several times who were meandering through the store like they needed to look at every item on every shelf with no regard to anyone being behind them.  Obnoxious to the max.  There was the older man driving one of the mart-carts who was cussing at a kid because the boy walked out in front of him, the boy was walking out of the aisle and didn't see the cart.  Really?  You're going to f-bomb the 12 year old?  Chill out old man.  And there was the ever-classy jewelry department give away going on while I was checking out, which only took 20 minutes in line and 10 minutes for my transaction... mostly because I was using coupons, $20 worth actually, woot!  I purposely didn't go in a hurry because I knew that would only serve to frustrate me, so it overall wasn't a bad trip.  The best part was coming home and nothing was destroyed and only the front door rugs had been peed on.  Knowing I wasn't going to be gone for too long, I left the dogs out, which is always a risk when you add a new one to the mix.

I ended up staying up late and finally finishing The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom.  I was disappointed, honestly.  I just need to reread Tuesdays with Morrie and call it quits.  His last few books haven't really impressed me all that much.  It feels like another Nicholas Sparks situation for me, but without the obvious formula involving North Carolina.  I recently downloaded lots of books, like all the Nicholas Sparks books, because there are a few that I still like, and the Hunger Games series, and a few other random books that Goodreads had on their "top books of the year" lists.  I'm still in the middle of my first Jeff Shaara book, which I want to finish, even though my ADD has taken oven.

Originally on Saturday, there was an adoptathon schedule for the foster dog.  But since there was a threatening of winter weather, they decided on Friday to push it until Sunday.  With an open spot in my schedule, I decided to catch up on the remaining episodes of Grey's Anatomy that I was behind on.  I won't give away spoilers, but if you follow Teh Blog on FB, then you may have seen my post after I finished the most recent episode.  I miss Shonda writing for Grey's.  I know she's all bigger than Grey's now, but if she could just come back, that'd be great.  Sometimes, you just gotta stick with your roots.  I would almost bet that if she was writing for the show again, ratings would go back up.  I've seen several people talk about Scandal (her new show) and how awesome it is.  It's her people.  It's Shonda-freakin-Rhimes.  She's amazing at what she does, that's for certain.

After I finished up on my episodes I realized that I had a scheduling conflict originally on my schedule and that I could have went to a training thing at church, but I completely forgot about it in my upsettedness that the adoptathon was cancelled.  Additionally, it barely even rained here.  I got ZERO snow.  I got ZERO winter precipitation.  Argggh.  I'm not sure what it did on the rest of the east coast, because I try not to follow the weather predictions since I know I'm just going to be disappointed no matter what.  It's me, I'm sure of it, but seriously, don't expect snow if you're within a 25 mile radius of me.  That's just how it works, Gentle Readers.

When Teh Bear woke up, he informed me that ShopKick was doing 200 points for our local stores, so we went out for kicks and a few items at Target Despicable Me 2 and came home.  Upon getting home, I realized why my Target total was so high, they had charged me twice for the movie.  Ugggh, so I had to turn around and go back to Target.  Teh Bear was pretty much done with his party prep when I arrived home, at which point it was time for him to go to work.

After he left, I turned on the iTunes radio to my Walk off the Earth station, because it rocks, it does, try it.  Equipped with background jams, I found the motivation to make Teh Bear's birthday cake.  A made-from-scratch chocolate cake and icing.

Olive got picked up while I was cake making, which always makes the energy level of the house go down significantly.  I love my Teefs-girl though.  Her smiles and nips at my fingers just make her so adorable.  Then she roaches and she melts my wine-chilling heart.  After finishing the cake, I did a few more cleaning tasks and cleaned off the table before finally calling it a night.

Sunday morning, Teh Greyhound Neighbors - Wife came and picked up Mary to deliver her to the adoptathon for me since I was unable to bring her due to church commitments.  I told the little girl to find her furever family (which sadly didn't happen, but maybe next time) and ran back upstairs since I was already late getting to church.  We had musical week this Sunday, which meant no sermon, and a bit of extra work in the sound booth, which was a challenge, but fun.  I think the Catholic in me requires a sermon for my Sunday to feel complete though.  I looooove singing.  It's one of my most favoritest things about church, but no sermon really throws me off.  In the same way that not taking Communion every Sunday threw me off for a while.  I've finally gotten used to the once a month schedule of LPUMC, but it was difficult at first.

After a quick trip to the commissary, I came home and Teh Bear ran out to get more food supplies for the party.  We're obviously really good communicators.  He finished up his prep for his food items, meatballs and bacon covered water chestnuts, and we rearranged the dining room. 



Yeah, that's a countertop table, not a standard dining room table.
I love my Philbo.


Phil enjoyed the lack of chairs in the dining room since he loooooves the rug that is under the table.  Probably because the rug was his main place when we lived at the apartment.  Guests started arriving to our Ugly Christmas Sweater Birthday Party around 2:30 equipped with delicious noms.  We all socialized and some of us played Apples to Apples (who doesn't love this game??), where Teh Coast Guardian went off on a pretty classic tirade about an incident in Waco, Texas from 1993 that I didn't know about..  Because I was in the 1st grade and yeah.. didn't care.  Then was birthday cake, and I did really good at making and cutting the cake because there was only one slice of cake left after everyone was served.  Everyone said it was great, but I wasn't the biggest fan, which could be because I'm not really a chocolate cake fan.  I know, I know.  I love all other things chocolate though (except for plain chocolate ice cream).  After the 13 year old left (she was definitely good competition for Apples to Apples), we pulled out Cards Against Humanity and had a few cheek hurting laughter spurts. 



We definitely sang the world's worst Happy Birthday song..
it was kind of hysterical.


As the evening wound down, people started leaving and I gave Teh Bear the option to open his present on Sunday or on his actual birthday (Wednesday).  He chose to open it on Sunday, so yay for his new electric kettle and all my hot chocolate his tea its going to be used to make! 



PRESENT!
Phil-bombed.



After all the people left, we internetted for a little bit and headed up to bed.  It was a great party.  We were glad that so many people came to hang out and celebrate Teh Bear's bday.  Also, we rocked the Netflix yule log, which meant that our party was epic... because yeah, TV fireplace = rockin.




Linking up with all these ladies: