It's Ok Thursday #1 and 30 Second Thursday #3

So I'm adding something else that I've seen and wanted to do but never did until today...

There's a lot of times that I give myself grief over things I do for no reason other than I just don't accept myself sometimes...  But "Its Ok Thursdays" is here to remind me that I just need to let somethings go....

Soooo.

It's Ok....

...to not have everything packed the day before you move.
...be excited over your REAL 27th birthday.
...to have told people for the past year that I was 27 when I was actually 26.
...to have coffee after 4pm and then take a sleeping pill before bed.
...to read Twilight and enjoy it.
...to keep the vow to NEVER read "Fifty Shades of Grey".
...to be in a dating relationship with your Nook.
...to wear NC State shirts 2 days in a row (because we beat UNC..again).
...to be disappointed that the snow melted.
...to be unbearably excited about moving into a bigger place.
...to be wishy-washy about the return of NHL.
...to be frustrated when you feel like you're getting the shitty end of the deal more often than not.
...to believe mind over matter about getting sick.
...to put off vlogging till a day when you're hair looks... acceptable.
...to accidentally find out what your significant other is getting you for your birthday and be ridiculously excited about it!!!!!
...to be absolutely unbearable when you finally catch the sickness that everyone else has been passing around.


See, wasn't that fun!?!?  I need to keep reading these things over and over till I just accept them!


Part 2:

Hosts:

Kaitlyn // Wifessionals

Samantha // Hooah And Hiccups

Hallie // Life Oceanside

This weeks prompt:
What is the most hideous item of clothing you own?

After recording the video I realize that I don't sound as congested as I feel.  Although, in between takes I had to keep blowing my nose to ensure that it wouldn't drip while I was recording.  Sexy, right?

Also, when you upgrade from kleenex to a tshirt, you know it's bad.

Moving again....

The process of moving is often a "cleansing" ritual for me.  Yes, I can call it a ritual as I usually move every year-ish.  This time it will have been 15 months, but eh, who's counting.  What this really means.. LETTERS TO MY STUFF!!!

Dear books,
I love you.  You will always have a place in my heart.  But, lets be honest.  I've been lugging you around for years now and rarely do I re-read you.  Some of you have been lucky enough to have the dust wiped from your cover (and inducing my allergic fits) and your spines cracked for some good time page fingering from me.  Most of you.. haven't.  And now, Nook in hand (but don't blame Nook for these things (yes I might have just named the Nook, Nook... I know, I'm clever)), I feel empowered enough to say..

Here is your eviction notice.

I'd like to profit off of you and sell some of you, but I doubt that will happen since most of these books are chick-lit or other random books.  I considered making a list of all the books I'm getting rid of to see if anyone would buy them for maybe a few dollars (really just enough to pay for shipping), but I'm not sure if I'm willing to go through that much effort so close to moving time.

Some of you have seen my tears, I'ma need you to take that with you to the grave, mmkthx.  Some of you have been with me since high school.. a few of you even before that (I'm lookin' at you Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul 1, 2, 3, and journal).  Some of you came to me during the time of the Ex-fiance.  Some of you helped me through the Ex-fiance.  Some of you never got opened (yay free books!).  Some of you have thrilled me and urged me to finish your series.  Others of you crushed me with your repetition (looking at you Nicholas Sparks books).

It is with a heavy heart I say you must go.  I feel like it's time to reclaim some bookcase and for you to go out into the world and find new homes.  Maybe you can whisper to the Gentle Readers that you range from Nicholas Sparks to Mitch Album.  You include the Wicked series, the last of the Shannara series, many books with pink covers (which the Ex-fiance claimed because I saw those first, so I was more likely to purchase them, color marketing works, what?).

Man, I miss the used book stores in Raleigh and I'm kinda bummed I won't be making a trip down there any time soon.


Dear Teh Sister,
Now is a good time to come claim all those things of mine you've been wanting...  You know, like you like to do every time I move?  Get here.  Kthx.
PS.  Phil stays with me.


Dear Utility Companies,
Charging me $100 to move my existing connection down the street is absolutely ridiculous.  That HAS to be price gouging or something.  $25 isn't as ridiculous, but still.. Charging me to keep paying you but som where else??  Shouldn't you just be happy I'm staying with your company?


Dear Kitchen Stuff,
You seriously are the hardest part of packing.  It was easier in Bahrain when I had stuff that wasn't mine to use in the meantime.. but I keep forgetting to use disposable plates.. which makes it hard to pack the plates.  Also, I'm sorry to the poor mover that gets to move the pots/pans box.  I've been seriously trying to make them light, but sometimes, it's just hard.


Dear Nook,
You are a serious distraction now that I've downloaded books that I've been wanting to read for a while.  The Twilight Series and Harry Potter series.  No, I haven't ever read any of them.  I've been packing a few boxes and then taking Nook breaks.  I really enjoy reading, but I really need to finish getting everything packed up.  Preferably before I leave for OK.  I promise to bring you with me though!


Dear Weekend,
I love you.  I love you even more when you have extra days attached to you.  Just sayin'.


Dear Teh Bear,
I get to hold your hand this week.  3 weeks ago feels like it was a long time ago.  I guess that is good and bad.  Also, you're helping me move.  I'm sure that it's no longer as scary for you since I hired the movers.  It's only moderately less scary to me since hiring the movers.  Please no dents in Yurtle, kthx?  Also, I pre-apologize if I get stressed out and take it out on you.  I really shouldn't do that, and I try really hard not to, but sometimes, I'm just not very good at it.  Also, there might be tears if something gets broken, even if it's my fault....


Dear Teh Phil,
I will miss you while we are in OK and while we are moving.  I promise to put down rugs for you so when I bring you home you won't have to be so freaked out about the slippery floors.  Also, pretty sure the funniest thing you've ever done is backed up the stairs because you were afraid of the slippery dining room floor when we met the new landlord.  I appreciate you being reassured by my reassurances and not backing up all the way UP the steps (yes it looked as awkward as it sounds) and coming down without too much of a fight or needing bribery.


Finally:
Dear Snow,
Please stay as long as you want.  Forever preferably.  I love you more than you could ever know.  More than the love of the entire states of MD and NC combined.  No jk.  I'm serious snow bizness.

Teh Megan and Teh Phil in our first snow of 2013 (and Phil's first snow ever).

Fill in the Blank Friday #33

2 more weeks and I'll be living somewhere else.. That feels strange to me.  But not as strange as the fact that I used to live in a Middle Eastern country.  That's still the weirdest thing ever to happen in my life.

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1.   My current obsession is   thinking about the things I should be doing and then proceeding to not get any of those things done... like packing.. or blogging (hello November vacation, I member you).. or packing..  

2.   Sleeping puppies   make me happy.

3.  My greatest strength is   being mostly objective.  

4.   Being stubborn or procrastinating   is my greatest weakness.

5.  My life is   not going how I had planned.  

6.  In high school I was   a "popular kid" by proxy, I think... But I didn't really hang out with the "popular kids" since I was usually with the band nerds or working... mostly anything but sitting on the river drinkin..  

7.  When I'm super tired   I tend to get stupid and silly and will laugh at most anything... after I get through the grouchy stage.  

30 Second Thursday #2

Ahhhhhh!!!  Week 2!  SOOOO EXCITED!!!!  I'm like a child, really.  I can't help it.  

Hosts:

Kaitlyn // Wifessionals

Samantha // Hooah And Hiccups

Hallie // Life Oceanside

This week's prompt is:
What is the WORST present you've ever received?

Ok, so more like 1 minute Thursday.  Whatevs, don't yell at me.  Kaitlyn said that the time had been extended up to 1 minute since 30 seconds was proving to be quite a challenge.

PS. I might get better at eye to camera contact one day, maybe.  Although if a tv production class didn't help this problem, it's probably best that I never tried to be an actress.

PPS.  I don't know what the sound is in the background.  It wasn't in last week's video, so I'm wondering if I was just turned the wrong way?  Computers are finicky you know?

PPPS.  If the worst present ever wasn't already packed, I would have shown it to you.

PPPPS.  If I do these for long enough, I'm going to have the best blooper roll ever.

Long weekends are the best...

On Friday, I was informed that I might have to work this weekend.  Nothing kills the joy of getting a long weekend like the possibility of having to go into work.  With the possibility of having to work on Friday meant that there was no leaving early on Friday either.  Le sigh.  I guess this kinda worked out for the best though...

As I was driving home, I was about to pull into my apartment complex and there was a dog meandering in the middle of the street.  I debated just letting the dog find it's own way home, but it was cold outside and the dog wasn't staying on the shoulder or in the grass, he preferred the middle of the street.  I was legitimately afraid that he was going to get hit by a car, so I pulled over and tried to coax him to me.  It wasn't working.  Before I finally was successful, 3 cars had stopped as to not run the dog or me over.  That was kind of them.  I gathered up Neutron and went back to the car.  He was shivering because of how cold it was, but otherwise he was fine.  He had a phone number on his collar, which was also how I knew his name.  I gave the lady a call to tell her that I had her pup since he was wandering the streets.  

Gettin' warm.

Phil seemed very unimpressed at the new addition I'd brought home.  I gave the pup a few handfuls of dog food and some water since I didn't know how long he'd been loose.  After that, Neutron settled down and I took Phil out for business.  I still hadn't gotten a call back from the owner, so I tried calling again.  This time, I was successful and she said lived a few neighborhood's down and she'd come pick him up.  Our time together was short-lived, but I could tell Neutron was happy to be back with his mom.

After that, Phil and I had a mostly quiet evening waiting on Kody to arrive.  Except for that one part where I got a random motivated streak and packed several boxes.  My apartment was a disaster when company arrived.  I actually apologized for the state of the apartment, which I don't usually do.  Once Kody arrived, the party winded down and we went to bed soon after.

Kody surprised me when he actually slept on the floor the first 2 nights of his stay.

Like clockwork, every morning Kody would wake us up at 0645.  After being taken out and fed breakfast, everyone was able to take a nap, which happened.  Every.day.  

Kody tried to help me eat my breakfast this morning....
That hole in the eggs was from his help.
I was impressed at how quick my response time was on this impending disaster.

Saturday morning, I was re-woken up by text messages, so I got up and answered the texts and signed onto Skype to talk to Teh Bear.  We talked till he had to go pick up the kids, and then I had spark of motivation.  I showered and went out to rent a Uhaul for moving day!  Then on the way home, I stopped to get Yurtle a bath.  She needed it very badly.  I also had perfect timing because while I was waiting on Yurtle, I saw the liquor store manager collapsing boxes.  I ran out and asked him if I could have the boxes since I was moving and he not only gave me the stack he was working with, he went inside and found another stack for me!  

Clean car meant I could finally "Greyhound-ize" Yurtle!

When I got back, I took the pups out and let Kody play for a little bit while Phil got pettin's from one of the other dog park frequenters.  Proud of all my new boxes, I decided to repack the large bookshelf boxes that were ridiculously heavy into the smaller liquor boxes.  It made them much more manageable.  I told Teh Bear he was welcome for my thoughtfulness.  After the motivated streak ended, I decided it was time for dinner, which was the smörgåsbord of leftovers, and a movie, The Lorax.

I liked The Lorax overall, but I was ultimately disappointed by the use of the Minion characters as the wildlife creatures in The Lorax.  I love the Minions.  Seriously, I do.  But I don't want to see them overused or commercialized.  It just made me think of the Disney Princesses who only exist now to make money, not to be in films.  Or at least that's what it feels like to me.

Kody.  All day long.

After The Lorax, I talked to Teh Bear for a little bit and then finally decided it was bedtime.  I downloaded a free novella for Nook and I was pretty disappointed that it was only 65 pages.  Apparently, you have to invest in books to actually find something worth reading for Nook that isn't 100+ years old.  Le sigh.

Kody was snuggled up tight!
Hooyah, Navy.

Sunday consisted of a super awesome church service in the morning.  I'm a believer in signs and there were just a lot of signs that I was in the right place at the right time and that getting out of bed (even though I really, really didn't want to) was the best decision of the day.  Saturday night I had felt very lonely.  The very first petition (ok prayer, since I'm no longer really a Catholic) was, "For all those who feel alone."  I kid you not.  I had even told Teh Bear when we chatted the night prior that I had just been feeling lonely.  I was exactly where I needed to be Sunday morning.  

After church, I headed to the Commissary to buy meats so I'd be more motivated to cook dinner/lunch for the week than go out day after day, which has been mostly successful (considering it's only been one day and I've cooked twice).  I got home and chatted with Teh Bear for a little bit and then when he had to go pick up the kids, I got super motivated and went on a run and came back and did some core work out.  As I was finishing my workout, Teh Flying Metal Mouth came to invite me over for pizza that evening.  I accepted and told him I'd see them later.  After my workout, I went downstairs because I heard my neighbors outside and told them that they should come and get the loveseat out of my apartment if they wanted it.  They said they were going to go inside and find/make room for it and I decided to relocate the loveseat (that has a foldout bed in it) all by myself to the porch.  Which I did.  All.by.myself.  Because I'm a freakin' beast.  I might have scratched up the wall and door, but the wall was already scratched so I wasn't too worried.  I already have a list of things to fix when I move out anyways.  No big deal.

Proof it made it out of my apartment.

After the loveseat was relocated (reminder: which I did all by myself), I decided to vacuum because there were bone chips all over the rug (thanks Phil) and dirt everywhere (thanks rain for 5 days).  Kody wasn't phased by the vacuum, but paid me back for testing him by eating 4 pieces of parmesan crusted tilapa off the oven... which was kinda my fault since I hadn't cleaned it up after I finished eating.  After I was done vacuuming, I felt more relaxed.  Cleaning is soothing to me, which is disturbing and ok with me at the same time.  I fed the puppies and then headed to Teh Neighbor's house for some socializing, pizza, and baby time.  The other Teh Neighbors came home after being away all weekend, so we all socialized and had pizza and baby time.  I'm going to definitely miss that when I move away.  

Kody don't care none.

I headed home to skype with Teh Bear and we watched an episode of Community and The Big C before I finally decided it was bedtime.  After a bit of reading, I decided to go to sleep and Kody decided to join me for his last night at Teh Apartment.  There's something comforting about sleeping with a dog.  They keep you warm despite how hard it is to get comfortable when they are taking up valuable foot space, but you miss them when they aren't there.  It's really complicated.  I didn't mind that he joined me.  At 0645, like clockwork, Kody jumped off the bed and I figured that I'd be serenaded with his whining to go out, but he settled back down until 0730, at which point the serenade began.  Since he let me sleep in for 45 minutes, I got up right away.  After breakfast was served to all animals and the human, it was naptime again.  

My phone ringing woke me up this time, and it was Al, a guy calling about giving me an estimate on movers.  He said he'd come to my apartment to give me an estimate so I showered and waited on him to arrive.  We came to a deal at $300 for everything, even if it went over 4 hours.  He had originally asked for $80 for 2 men, so it's only $20 less, but he's willing to disassemble AND reassemble my mega-huge bed, in addition to move everything else, so I felt like it was a deal.  His quote was also $150 less than what the local company in town quoted me, so I was happy with it.  

I really didn't want to have to hire movers, but since I'm moving in the middle of the week and know very few people who aren't 1) already moving around that same time, 2) own trucks, 3) would be willing to help me move, it was just easier to hire movers because with just Teh Bear and I it would have taken more than 1 day to get everything moved.

After Al left, I made an appointment with the vet to get Phil's xrays done since his limp seems to be getting worse and worse and worse.  I think some of it has to do with the cold, but he's not even really wanting to run at the dog park anymore.  

Feeling ridiculously productive, I decided to make some lunch while Skyping with Teh Bear.  While I was doing that, my new landlord called to schedule to meet me (and Phil).  We also answered some questions that we had for each other and he seems very reasonable and easy going, so I'm excited!

After lunch, Kody's Mom came to pick him up and my downstairs neighbor asked for a ride to Verizon, which I was ok with since the Verizon store is in the same strip as Starbucks and I'd been wanting a Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino.  I brought Phil along for the ride so he could smell all the smells and get him out of the house for a little bit.  

Nirvana in a cup
AKA, what got me through A and C Schools.
AKA, the most delicious cold beverage on Starbuck's Menu
AKA, the chocolate drink with NO coffee in it (although there is a java version).
AKA.  Starbuck's Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino 

In a surprising twist of events, I spent a little bit of time editing some vacation photos while chatting with Teh Bear on FB while eating dinner.  I'm a multitasker, what can I say?  As I was finishing dinner, Teh Coast Guardian messaged me on FB and asked if Phil and I wanted to come over, so Phil could have ice cream and I could play WiiParty.  We accepted and headed over a bit later.  Phil was so excited about ice cream he would hardly sit down.  I told Teh Coast Guardian that Phil's overexcitement of ice cream was all his fault.  He agreed.

After WiiParty (where I didn't win, of course), I endured the Jersey Shore episdoe of South Park and the beginning of the inauguration ball.  One Alicia Keys had annoyed me for more than 30 seconds, Phil and I took our leave to come home and be lazy.

This week is filled with medical appointments and minimal manning at work, which always proves to be a good time.  This job is teaching me that I have to take care of myself in order to take care of everyone else, which is a very hard lesson for me to learn.  I'm always very concerned about work and making sure that everything is going the way it should, which if that means being there extra, then I will be.  I might not like it very much, but I have been trying to curb my complaining or at least trying to keep it to a minimum.  

Please note that there wasn't even one snide comment or whiny FB post about my having to go back into work for 1.5 hours on the night that they were calling for inclement weather in Pax River.  It was hard, but I controlled myself.  Being an adult, I got this.

YAY 4 day week this week!!!!

YAY 2 day week next week!!!!

YAY holding hands with Teh Bear in 9 days!!!

YAY MY BIRTHDAY in 13 days!!!

YAY moving in 14/15 days!!!

How our Skype conversations go..

Yesterday, I kinda cheated on Teh Blog and posted on on Teh Shared Blog.

Also, for those of you who get federal holidays off..
When you get depressed that today is Sunday and you have to go back to work tomorrow, remember that you don't!  YAY!  You can stay home and watch President Obama get re-inaugurated into the White House by swearing on four bibles.

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A Deafening Silence

Do you miss me?  It's ok if you don't.  I understand that this probably isn't the only awesome blog you read.  But, I'm just gonna be honest and say, I miss my Gentle Readers.  I've missed writing these past two weeks, but there were more pressing things that I had on my mind and HAD to deal with, no if, ands, or buts.  The week before this past week was pretty heavy for me/us to deal with and while this week has started on a higher note than last week, things still aren't completely in the clear... but clarity is coming, I can feel it.

BTW, I apologize for being vague (I hate that crap when others do it), but really the details don't need to be aired out in public and I just wanted to kinda explain in some way why I haven't been around recently (especially after the awesomeness that was 5 consecutive posts the first week of January (that was pretty impressive, at least to me)).

I wasn't even in the mood to hang out with Teh Neighbors.  Mostly because I didn't want my sour mood to be contageous to others.  I knew it would also seep out here as well, so I just kept my mouth shut.  Part of that whole, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all practice?  Sometimes I'm pretty good at that.

The rest of the month is looking busy, with a silver lining of getting to see Teh Bear at the end of the month for Teh Stepsister's bootcamp graduation in OK in 2 weeks.

Upcoming events:
Hanging out with Kodester (Jan 19-21)
Hanging out with Miley (Jan 25-26)
Dumping Phil on my GEGR neighbors down the street for the trip to OK (Jan 29)
Going to OK (Jan 30-Feb 2)
Coming back from OK and going to Norfolk (Feb 2-3)
MAH BIRFDAY!  (Feb 3rd!)  Please note that My Birthday>Super Bowl.  Don't care.  Also, my wishlist is available on Amazon.
Moving (Feb 4-11)
Teh Bear leaves MD (Feb 16)

Add to all that some Phil drama (ok not drama like teenage girls, but drama like he has a mysterious limp that vets can't figure out the cause) that doesn't seem like it's going to be cheaper than $1000 to figure out/potentially fix.. and that's a figure that I came up with hoping and pray that it actually won't be more than that, but knowing it probably will be.  That pet insurance that I looked at last year is looking kinda nice right now.  Live and learn.

In expected news, I still haven't finished editing the vacation photos.  It's not that I haven't had the time, I've had the time, I've still not had the motivation.  SOOOOO MANY PHOTOS.  There is an argument that digital photography means lots of wasted shots becuase you can shoot an unlimited amount of photos vs film photography where it was a waste to take a bad photo...  I am the most obvious example of digital photography gone crazy.  With over 2000 photos, I just get overwhelmed with the entire prospect of dealing with the photos.  Maybe next time I go crazy about shooting photos, I need to focus more on quality and setting up a good shot so I don't take a whole bunch of photos that are just "eh", at least in my opinion.

So maybe soon I'll be back on the blogging regularly (other than link-ups) train.  Hopefully anyways.

Also, getting 2 five-day weekends in a row for Christmas and New Year's really knocked me for a loop (now, not then, I loved it then!).  Having to actually work 5 days a week these past 2 weeks has been killer.  Maybe its just the regular work + at home stuffs = overwhelmed Megan.  I'm looking forward to being off on Monday, even if I know Kody is going to try and wake me up at 0-dark-30.

Can't you see all the snow?

Oh yeah, so the East Coast got a "crapton" of snow this week.  Except not Pax River.  Because apparently while I was in GTMO and Bahrain my center of gravity heated up so much that it will never again snow within a 50 mile radius of me... ever.  What do I have to do to get a job in Canada?

Fill in the Blank Friday #32

Pretty sure that yesterday's 30 Second Vlog post is my most commented on blog to date!  Thanks, new and old Gentle Readers!!!

I'm already looking forward to next week's vlog!

On to Friday's Blanks!

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1.  When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is   stretch and as I'm getting out of bed, I pop my toes against the floor.  

2.  I can hardly wait for   MOVE IN DAY!!!  For so many reasons... but mostly because I'm tired of feeling like I should be packing even though move-in day is far away, but not really since I'm gone for the 1/2 week prior... and what if I need something in the mean time??  Ugggghh, why am I too cheap to hire movers again??  

3.  The quickest way to my heart is   food (chocolate)   because   I'm from the South.  

4.  A little known fact about me is   I have a mild paranoia about mats in the middle of gym floors..  Stemming from when I fractured the growth plate in my left wrist in middle school.

5.  The best part about my job is   it's in America.  

6.  Something I couldn't live without is   colorful stuffs.  All colors make me happy.  

7.  Something useful that I wish I knew how to do is   sew.  

30 Second Thursday #1

I found a new link-up I'm pretty excited about.  Don't judge my addiction to link-ups, sometimes they are just fun!

This one also breaks into something that I've wanted to try for a hot minute, but can't ever seem to find the time/balls/plethera of other excuses to do it.... what am I talking about?  VLOGGING!!!

What is a vlog you ask?
Blog+Video= Vlog.
Obviously, the blogging world is full of very creative people who came up with the term.

So the new link-up is a short vlog of no more than 30 seconds talking about a prompt from our hosts.

Hosts:

Kaitlyn // Wifessionals

Samantha // Hooah And Hiccups

Hallie // Life Oceanside

This week's topic is:
What are the top 3 worst or most annoying things you can think of?

So this was harder for me than expected because I had a LOT more than 30 seconds of things to say about annoying things...  Just saying.

PS.  I hope you're disappointed by the LACK of Southern speech that just happened, because I've been trying to reign that in for years.
PPS.  Isn't it just fabulous how my hair only flips to one side.  Yeah.  No.  Siiiiiiiigh.



So, what did you think of my first vlog?  Are you happy it was just 30 seconds?

Liebster Award #2!

Ms. Wuf nominated me for a Liebster Award! Woo! Having just received one in November, I will skip the nominating part, but will definitely do some facts/questions.

The Rules

1. List 11 facts about yourself.
2. Answer the 11 questions given to you.
3. Create 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate for the award.
4. Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or less followers to nominate.
5. Go to each bloggers page and let them know about the award.
6. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.


Eleven Facts
1.  There were 2 blizzards on the east coast while I was stationed overseas..
2.  There has been minimal snow since I have returned to America.
3.  I'm extremely bitter about #1 and #2.
4.  There are few medical procedures that hurt more than getting a shot of lidocaine.  Holy hell that stuff burns!
5.  Teh Neighbors often feed me (because I suggest going out (since I'm tired of the same leftovers from all week long) and they are already cooking)
6.  I've been telling people I'm 27 this past year.  Apparently, 26 wasn't necessary for me.
7.  I want to pack, but I don't.
8.  I'm excited to move, but dreading it.
9.  I have 2 lint balls in my pockets right now.
10.  Ms. Wuf's email about winning this award woke me up from a nap.
11.  I haven't written Teh Stepsister any letters since she got back to bootcamp since Christmas exodus.  (Mostly because she wrote me a letter complaining about being home sick and I haven't found anything to say other than "I TOLD YOU SO"...  very adult-like, I know.)


My Eleven Questions from Ms. Wuf

1. What are your top 3 favorite TV shows?
-Grey's Anatomy (yes, still, even though I really wanted it to end after Season 8)
-Brothers and Sisters (even though it's over)
-How I Met Your Mother (because it gives me naive hope that things will work out)

2. What is the last thing you ate?
Shake 'n Bake pork chop and peas.

3. Favorite childhood memory?
Teh Dad once drove out to Lowes mid-blizzard to pick up my Pocahontas birthday cake.  So birthday+cake+Disney+SNOW=prob the best thing ever.

4. Do you have a favorite family recipe (or recipe in general)?
Mom's lasagna.  The secret ingredient is the velveeta cheese.  And I've only been able to make it well the first time.

5. If you could be any Disney princess, which one would you be and why?
Belle.  Cause she was smart and nice and patient and it took a lot of magic for the Beast to turn into that prince.....

6. What is your dream vacation?
EUROPE.

7. What is your favorite vacation you have actually taken?
Last November's vacation which included Denver, AZ, the Grand Canyon, and NC activities.

8. What is the oddest thing in your purse or wallet right now?
Bahrain International Circuit cards from Go Karts...

9. If you could live anywhere else, where would it be and why?
Probably Canada, because that's probably the only place where there's a 105% chance of it snowing.

10. Current favorite song?
I'm torn:
-Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jempson (because this song makes me think of Australia and it never fails to make me smile....  also this video is definitely the best parody out there)
-Wanted - Hunter Hayes (because when guys sing love songs, they are so much better when women sing them)
-I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons (because I'm pretty sure this is the story of my entire life)

11. Why did you decide to start blogging?
I missed writing.  I missed making people laugh.  I felt like I needed an outlet for my stories.  I needed something besides WoW to pass the time in Bahrain.  I wanted a way (other than FB) to share stuff with Teh Family while I was overseas.  I wanted to be able to document adventures.  I wanted something to do with my photos.  I was bored...  Ok, maybe the last one the most.




Thanks Ms. Wuf for nominating me!!!

Fill in the Blanks Friday #31

It's been pretty quiet around these parts since the Grand Canyon recap, I know.  I've got a lot going on right now though which means that Teh Blog might take a hit.  Sadly, I don't have any fun blogs as filler for the meantime, and a little quiet never hurt anyone.

Then again, neither did being on a schedule...  Without further ado, BLANKS!

(I felt like in the moving spirit, these were pretty appropriate)

(image)

1. My favorite room in my home is   the living room   because   that's my hangout space and Phil has enough room to play.

2. My current decor style is   traditional/cozy/chic?   but I wish it were more   modern/sleek/sophisticated.  

3. I wish I could redecorate the   bed  room in my house to make it more   cozy.  

4. My dream house absolutely has to have a   VERY LARGE, 2 person, jacuzzi tub.  

5. One house item I am willing to splurge on is  bedding...  I like spending time in my bed, and I spent a LOT of time there each night. 

6. A decor trend that I just don't "get" is   Hello Kitty.... when done by adults..  say.no.always. 

7.   Lots of colors and Phil's toys  is/are a little touch that makes my house feel like home.

Adventures with Teh Bear... Part 15b

We didn't get up super early, but early enough to catch breakfast at the hotel before heading to the Canyon.  We got to use my free pass to get in the park (woot!) and we headed to the visitor's center first.  After watching a short video on a screen that was a globe (kinda cool) we wandered around then decided to go see what the fuss was about this "big ditch."

We were impressed and sad at our first sighting of the Canyon.  There was a fire somewhere in the Canyon, so it was really hazy/smokey in the western portion of the Canyon.  We decided to start walking west on the foot path for a little bit.  Eventually, the elevation caught up to me and my head was hurting.  In order to combat the headache, I decided it was time for lunch.  Instead of taking the shuttle, Teh Bear wanted to walk back (sometimes, he really is the devil).  We were willing to head out of the GC to find food in the town (which we knew via Urbanspoon/Yelp was going to be pretty sketchy), but we got lucky and found an overpriced cafe near the gift shop/visitor's center.  Unfortunately, their machines had just went down.  Fortunately, I had cash.  We were able to eat and then decide on a new game plan:  go on a hike or drive down to the watchtower?  Since my headache hadn't really went away with caffeine and/or food, I suggested we just drive to the watchtower and take pics when we saw good overlooks to stop at.  Teh Bear agreed, although I suspected he was kinda disappointed we weren't doing the hike, which we both bought hiking boots for.  Hell, even I was a little disappointed.  But, Teh Bear had even purchased walking sticks.  I suggested that the next day we could do the hike, potentially.  We agreed to decide on this the next day, headache/haze depending.

Hello, Grand Canyon, nice to meet you.

Observation point.

Haze, please go away.  Kthx.

Some rocks.  Just some rocks.

Rawwwwrrrr.  That's the sound Teh Bear makes.

Phil treats!

YAY Grand Canyon!!

We drove the eastern part of the south rim.  I finally told Teh Bear that I felt like we were just looking at different parts of a really big ditch.  It's a geographic wonder, for sure, but there's only so much I can take of just looking at the same thing from different places.  We did kinda hike down (the non-maintained path, of course) a little ways at one of the overlooks, but we didn't go too far, knowing we had to hike back up.  Up was definitely harder than down.  We both kept taking breaks at about every other switch back.  UGH!  Real hiking!  That shit is crazy!

And here we have the Canyon of Grandiosity.

Let me see here.

Is it supposed to be this big?

This is my thinkin' pose.

Ahhhhh!!  The wind is takin' me!

Smoke over the North Rim.

Rocks.

So much Canyon.

Just danglin' our feet over the edge of the Canyon.

Me and My Bear

An impromptu hike.

We're professionals.
This is how you know.

My headache was ok until we got back to the top, then it started pounding.  Le sigh.  High elevation, we're obviously not friends anymore.  Too much Navy, at sea-level time for this girl..  and Teh Bear is from Florida, where I'm pretty sure the sea level is a negative number.  We finally made it to the watchtower where we got pics and souvenirs, including Teh Democratic Lawyer and Teh Democratic Muppet's new "Beyonce".  Their Beyonce had a chili-pepper-like pattern, which was fitting considering all the "not spicy" Mexican food we had enjoyed with them.  (From a recent update, I'd heard that the puppers got ahold of their Beyonce and I'm not sure that their Beyonce exists anymore.  Sadface.)

After the watchtower, we headed back towards the entrance and debated our next move.  We both really wanted to see the western part of the southern rim, so we agreed to drive as far as we could (the shuttle would take you to the very end part of the southern rim, but we weren't sure we wanted to go that far) and get out and see what was up.  When we got to the parking lot, we walked a longer distance than I intended to (wah) to get back to the Canyon.  We realized that the western side was really hazy/smoky, so we kinda gave that up and decided to find our spot for sunset pics since it was around 3:30pm.  We'd spotted a few spots on our drive from the watchtower, so we headed back that direction to see what we could see.

Soooo smokey.. :(

A squirrel rabbit thing critter....

Do you see the bunny?

Proud Elk!
Just like the sign!

Grand Canyon sunset

Watching the Canyon change colors.

These crazy birds were dive-bombing us and eventually landed on the car.
The couple behind us were amazed too.

There was an evening traffic jam due to Elk crossing.  No jk.

We decided on a place pretty quickly since it was getting to be sunset time and Teh Bear set up his tripod to be all "professional" in his picture takin.  I was still a little bitter at the tripod from the starry night photo session.  BTW, definitely love the new tripod (as I should since it was almost $200).  It's blue and small and I can fit it in my backpack and it only weights 2.5 pounds instead of 5.. which means if it goes in my checked luggage one day, I still have room for an extra pair of jeans.  I'm serious about packin, ya'll... Serious freakin' business.  But mostly, I just played the "I'm awesome and don't need a tripod" card while on vacation.  Teh Bear was serious freakin' business about some Grand Canyon sunset pics, though.  He set up his tripod and took a whole bunch of photos.  He also got some pics of us with the Canyon in the background and some pics of me being silly.. To include 2 photos that will definitely be made into a .gif because it's pretty funny when you flip back and forth between the 2 photos.  Probably the 2nd funniest moment of vacation was seeing how funny those pics were when you flipped back and forth between them.

You're welcome.

After the sun had finally set, we decided it was time to head out and find dinner (where we really learned about how sketchy the food options were in Tusayan (aka Tuscaloosa if you asked me where we were staying while we were at the Grand Canyon)).  We decided on the hotel restaurant at the Best Western since it had the best reviews and an elk appetizer   On our way out of the park, we hit a lot of congestion because there were some elk crossing the road.  Everyone had stopped to take photos.  Us included.  I mean, how often are you going to catch elk crossing the road?  We got back to the hotel and brought our stuff upstairs and walked over to the Best Western for dinner.  On our walk to the hotel, we saw a few elk across the street and several people were stopped on the side of the road taking photos.  Elk are apparently a big deal to everyone who visits the GC.

Our dinner was actually really delicious.  We got to sit in front of the fire place, at my request, Teh Bear was very accommodating and gentlemanly the whole trip, extra points for him..  He even gave me the window seats when we were flying, that's true lub, ya'll, true lub.  We never received our elk appetizer that we ordered, so the waitress made up for it by giving us free dessert.  We ordered the chocolate piano mousse.  It was literally a chocolate piano that was filled with mousse.  It was delicious, even Teh Bear agreed, and he's very particular about his chocolate mousse.

Literally.
WHOLE thing was edible.
So we made it go away.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to soak in the hot tub.  We were joined by several hispanic dudes who, we quickly observed/learned, were prior military.  The easiest one to figure out was the one with the devil dog tattoo on his bicep.  Finally, we headed back up to our room and crashed.

The next morning, Wednesday, we got up for breakfast, then headed back upstairs to pack so we could check out on the way out the door.  We went to the general store in Tusayan so I could mail off some of my clothes so my luggage might make weight for once (it didn't).  We also looked for some souvenirs   I found the perfect sticker for my water bottle and a picture frame, woo!  Since Teh Bear didn't find what he was looking for, we headed back up to the GC to stop at the gift shop.  While we were there, we went to the closest observation point to check out the haze situation.  The smoke/haze had gotten worse and had spread further into the Canyon.  We decided that we weren't going to do the long hike at that point.  Additionally, my head was already starting it's shennagains again, and I wasn't willing to mess with that....




On the next instillation of the November vacation recaps aka the longest recaps I've ever done we'll FINALLY make it through the rest of AZ... finally.

Vacation Recap Map:

Pre-vacation
Being in Denver for the weekend, part 1
Being in Denver for the weekend, part 2
Being in AZ for half the week, part 1
Being in AZ for half the week, part 2   (this blog)
Being in AZ for half the week, part 3
Being in NC for an extended weekend
-Carolina Renn Faire (photos)
-Biltmore Flowers (photos)
Being in MD for the remainder of vacation  (this blog)