It's OK Thursday #4

Better late than never.

It's Ok....

...to forget it's Thursday all day long until I was catching up on my Reader and saw Amber's post.
...to want to get off work 10 minutes early.
...to almost get in the wrong traffic lane to make the turn to go home.
...to enjoy stinky dog breath.
...to enjoy popping zits/getting blackheads out.
...to enjoy popping zits/getting blackheads out of a dog (yep, it happens).
...to watch the final season of Private Practice in 2.5 days because I signed up for Hulu Plus since it was free for a week.
...to sign up for stuff to get the free stuff, then cancel before they charge you.
...to be excited over a $15 credit to your Verizon bill even though the charge was for $30.
...to be relieved because the Verizon rep was extremely pleasant.
...to not have really done much work this week due to studying.
...to not have done as much studying as I could have to make a brief for the XO.
...to have redone the brief several times and not be done with the redos until 10 minutes prior to the brief.
...to not do my 30 Second Thursday this week because I refuse to acknowledge the Harlem Shake phenomenon.  Sorry guys!

Just keep swimming.. just keep swimming..

I know I made that obvious reference to Finding Nemo just there, but this morning, as I was doing my laps in the pool (because that's what I do for PT), I was thinking about just how awesome swimming is.

Literally and figuratively, but mostly literally.

Me in high school on the swim team.
I still wear that same swim cap.  It's my fave.

Swimming is a sport, but its mostly a solo sport.  Unless you're swimming on a relay team, you're a one (wo)man show.  Yes, there might be people there yelling and cheering for you (if you're at a meet), but in the water it all sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher.  The only noises you hear are the water in your ears and yourself.  Swimming is about you.  It's as hard as you've trained, it's as hard as you push, it's as far as you go.  No one can help you, you can't kick the ball to anyone else, you get to the end and you come back.. as many times as it takes.

Which is extremely peaceful for me.  Yes, I love having people in my life to cheer me on, but I'm the strongest when I'm pushing myself.  When I know I can do it, I will achieve my goal.  Just 5 more laps, just 3 more laps, 2 more, 1 more, just to the end.  And that satisfied exhaustion when I finally come up for air at the end of my set, knowing that I could have stopped 5 laps ago, but pushed it out to the end.  I could have quit at the 30 minute mark, but I pushed another 15 minutes.  I am my biggest supporter.

I was thinking about all these things this morning as the warm-ish (80°F actually) water surrounded me.  5 strokes, breathe.  5 strokes, breathe on the other side.  5 strokes, breathe.  Sometimes more strokes, sometimes less, but usually 5.  Sometimes, I forget to switch sides to breathe on, and just stick with the side that is the most comfortable.  Except that my not-as-comfortable side I can get more air.  Isn't that weirdly funny?  I think so.

I was thinking how I quit the swim team my senior year of high school because..  I was too busy with marching band and work and homework and I wasn't that good.  I also pulled a muscle at the very beginning of the season in my stomach (which meant that the doctor Teh Mom brought me to thought I was pregnant, which started a long line of suspicion from Teh Mom, despite me explaining that wasn't the case), so it was easy to just walk away completely since I was already on a break.  It was too easy.

But when I boil it down to a singular reason, I quit because I didn't think I was good enough.  I wasn't the best.  I was never the best.  Ever.  Very rarely am I the best at something I do.  And it has been within the last few years that I've learned that I don't have to be the best at everything I do.  My job that I've given myself since graduating college is making life a little better for others.  Not like I have to buy them everything, but "improve morale."  Which, I've learned sometimes can cause the biggest changes.

By making someone laugh, you ease their tension, you help show them that the issues aren't as serious as they might think.  By making them smile you help someone realize that someone else does care, that not everyone else in the world is a jerk.  By doing little things, that barely even take an ounce of effort, you can change big things that you never knew were possible.

I quit because I didn't know better.  I didn't have anyone there telling me that I was strong enough to carry a job, the swim team, marching band.  I didn't have a cheerleader encouraging me.  I've come a long way to realize that I have to be that cheerleader.  I have to be that voice when all the voices turn into Charlie Brown's teacher because I'm in the water.

When you can keep doing what it takes to get to the end and back, over and over and over again, then you realize that you're able to make a difference along the way...  even if its just to make someone smile.

PS.  It's really too bad "morale improver" isn't a good Navy eval bullet, becuase I've mastered that category now.  TFLN emails in GTMO, an unofficial gambling ring at the weekly meetings, little games and food in Bahrain, being awesome in VX-1..  Master.

All moved!

I'm not sure if you picked up on the fact that I was planning on moving/packing to move/moving/unpacking/no longer moving...  I know that sometimes I don't always share all the pertinent information with everyone, but.. I moved.

I went from a 850ish square foot apartment to an almost 1300 square foot townhome... for the same amount of rent per month.
Did you hear that?  That, my Dear Gentle Readers, was a sweet, sweet sigh of relief of no longer feeling "pent up" from me and Phil (and that dog is seriously a sigh-er, he probably learned from his Mom.  /shrug).

It.is.marvelous!

Often I have described my decorating style as cozy and a few blogs ago someone asked to see photos of the new place.  I was waiting to get stuff unpacked and mostly settled, but YOU WILL HAVE PICTURES AND YOU WILL HAVE THEM NOW!!!

See, sometimes I let you down (November recaps), but sometimes, I'm all over this shiznit, yo!

Ok first some "how to properly wear a Greyhound scarf" photos.
Donner really wanted to snuggle the other day.  I sat down in the floor to snuggle with him and he decided that he just wanted to hug my neck... with his body.

He might be looking away from me, but he was leaning on me so hard he almost knocked me over.

Ok, ok on to the tour!

Living room..

The dog crate wasn't up to begin with, but now that I have Donner (my first foster Greyhound), it's safer the crate is up... Even if it takes up 1/4 of my living room.
The really awesome "rug" at the door is because it's been raining a few days a week recently which makes my "fenced in grass spot" reallllllly muddy and Phil doesn't really seem to like to walk around the edges where it's NOT muddy.  Jerk dog.  So there's a towel for standing on and a towel for wiping off paws.

 Other side of the living room.
That bottle on the back of the couch is fabric softener mixed with water to try to help eliminate the static electricity build up.  I've been shocked so much and usually I get shocked touching a light switch, which makes it even worse!

 The final angle of the living room.

If you were involved in the FB voting for canvases back in December, you can see some of the winners displayed here!  The rest are in the tree dining room.

Moving onto the right side of the kitchen.. 

PS.  That is the cutest Valentine's doggy hand towel on the fridge door.  Seriously.

And the left side of the kitchen (this is starting to feel like the Cupid Shuffle (not because all the Valentine's stuff!))

PPS.  We fit FOUR people and 2 Greyhounds in here Monday night.  No JK.  My last kitchen could barely contain one person and a Phil.  So.much.more.spaces!?!?  I even have unused cabinet space.  

No jk.  LUUUUBBBB.

The dining room from the kitchen.

The table is fully expanded all the time now that I have the room.

   The dining room from the front door.

 Oh, hai Phil!

 Hall where the washer/dryer/HVAC/water heater/coat closet/downstairs bathroom are all located.

And we are now upstairs.

That's the StoryPeople print that Teh Sister got for me for Christmas this year.  :)

Master bedroom to the right.  You can't see the half bath past the closet doors.

And yes, those are Christmas lights.  I surprised Teh Bear with them (its special to us).

The other end of the master.  Phil used to barely have room for his one bed.  Now I could fit like 8 of his beds in the bedroom.  LUUUUUBBBBB.
Also, where my uniform is hanging is a walk-in closet that is the size of the outside storage room, which is really big for just clothes.  So much room for activities!!!

The only full bathroom (which some would consider a bad thing, but I didn't care about extra showers, only extra toilets).

And Donner, hai!

The monsters are seriously awesome.  I'm sad they no longer make this set... because that means I'm stuck with only 4 towels and 1 of each hand towel and only 2 of the wash cloths.

   

The storage room.  This is where a lot of work needs to happen.

Most of this stuff could be consolidated and put into the closet of this room and the spare bedroom and the rest could go outside in the outside storage room or under the stairs.  

SO MUCH MORE SPACES!!!!!

The other side of the storage room.

Teh Bear keeps telling me to get rid of the Cessna Engine (the fan) but I think I'm attached to it.  

I'm like a Hoarder almost.

The spare bedroom.  My first spare bedroom ever.  Also known as the "Clearance Room" because all the bedding (at least) was purchased on clearance and the bed was purchased off Craigslist.  

The light is on because I was waiting on Teh Sister to arrive for her first MD visit when I took these photos!

Casa de Teh Megan, we leave the light on for ya...

A final gratuitous shot of the hounds, because I just can't get enough of them. 

It's ok, you can admit you love them too... even if you think they are too skinny (they aren't!)

So that is the official tour of Casa de Teh Megan.  My lease here is for 2 years, which kinda makes my heart pound a little bit harder because that's a LONG time to be locked into a single place.. especially for ME, Queen of Moving Every Single Year Since 2004 (no jk).  Honestly though, when I walked in the door of this place when I was just looking for a place to live, I relaxed.  It felt like home before it was even my home.  

Sometimes, you just know when things are right and this place was right.  And I was right, this place is a sigh of relief every time I come home.  My landlords are unbelievably awesome.  Seriously.  They sent me a "congrats on your new place" card and a $25 gift card to Target when I moved in.  My landlord!  The people I will be giving money to spent money on ME.  I was shocked.  I wanted to hug their necks.  My landlords who met me halfway the Saturday night after I moved in because I locked us out.  A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

Proof they really sent me a card.

Yes, I live across from a potentially shady gas station, but it means that I can walk to the ATM if I need cash.  Yes, I live across from a red light where I have to listen to some "thumper cars" (the cars with the obnoxiously loud bass), but I'm 15 minutes from work in bumper to bumper, all the way there, traffic.  AND... FOUR HUMANS AND TWO LARGE DOGS can fit in my kitchen AT THE SAME TIME.

I looooooooove my new place and I'm super glad I have a place to call home... and hopefully soon Teh Bear will be here with me!!  Fingers crossed, we're waiting to hear back on a job in the area...

Fill in the Blank Friday #36

In honor of NOT celebrating Valentine's Day... I give you Friday Blanks on lub.  Although, I suppose these would have been more fitting yesterday.  But, eh.  I do what I wawnt.

(image)

1.   Love is    selfless..  I'm not very selfless sometimes.  I should probably get better at it.  But getting out of bed on Saturday morning to apologize to Teh Bear for being a crankyass was probably more loving than being totally selfless.. 

2.   Being in love feels like   PMS....  Seriously.  It's a roller coaster.  You've got 2 people who have "feelz" for each other, but they still manage to hurt each other and make each other laugh and cry and smile and feel safe... but sometimes you get pissed off..  It's difficult. 

3.  My favorite quote about love is    "Immature love says: 'I love you because I need you.' Mature love says: 'I need you because I love you.'" -Erich Fromm  This has always been one of my faves since I bought a book of quotes back in middle school. 

4. The most important thing in a relationship is    trust.  The knowledge that the other person will be there no matter what, no matter how much it hurts, no matter how stupid you're being, no matter how smart you are, unconditionally there for hugs and snuggles when you deserve it least. 

5.  A "deal breaker" for me in a relationship is    the inability of the other person to take care of themselves.  I am NOT your momma.  I will NOT be your momma, you already have one. 

6.  The way I show love in my relationships is    by doing nice things and gifts and trying to be affectionate (which is hard because I wasn't raised in an overly affectionate family). 

7.  I love    seeing Teh Bear laugh when I'm funny.  For a long time I was made to believe that I wasn't ever funny, in fact, I was barely tolerable.  Teh Bear is showing me that I am actually pretty funny, even if sometimes I think he just laughs to make me feel better... ;)

It's OK Thursday #3 and 30 Second Thursday #4

I've missed my new weekly linkups!  I know that most people do them to put their name out there, but I really like the theme for "It's OK" and the challenge of vloggin'!  Thursday blog day is one of my favessssssss. 

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 just jump right back on the horse and giddyup when it comes to the bloggin' world.
...to have vegged for a whole day to make up for how busy the last 2 weeks have been.
...to buy stuff off craigslist
...for the stuff purchased off craigslist to not be in the best condition, but to be better than nothing!
...to put a queen sized mattress pad on a full size bed.
...to buy a full size bed instead of a queen... so I have an excuse to buy more cute sheets.
...to limit those cute sheets to only those on clearance... along with anything else related to the room.
...to have finally read the "Twilight Saga" and maybe, just a wee bit, enjoyed it.
...to be relieved that I finally finished the ENTIRE "Twilight Saga".
...to be tired the next morning because I stayed up too late because I was finishing the 4th book.
...to be angry at technology, no matter how much you love it and how much of a nerd you are... over the microphone that Teh Bear got me for my birthday for my vloggin'...
...to be angry at technology, no matter how much you love it and how much of a nerd you are... over my TV refusing to let me adjust the color setting while I'm streaming Netflix...  because Netflix is too dark.




Hosts:

Kaitlyn // Wifessionals

Samantha // Hooah And Hiccups

Hallie // Life Oceanside

This weeks prompt:
"What things are you shallow about?" (Name brands, certain jobs, ANYTHING...yep, embarrass yourself...)

Also, a shout out to Teh Bear for getting me a mic to use for 30 Second 1 Minute-ish Thursday.  Even if I got frustrated at it and hurt my finger trying to thump it to show him I was using it, which he said I was, but I disagreed, but I know he was right...  Lub that dude.

PS.  Really sorry that it's as loud as a mouse...  I'm going to blame the new mic.

PPS.  The frozen face that YouTube inevitably gives me is always amusing.

Friendly Feelz

Have you ever gotten upset at someone about something and NOT wanted them to know because it was kinda selfish that you were upset, so you tried to ignore it...  except you are the world's WORST poker face, so anytime the reason why you were upset came up, everyone around could SEE that you were, in fact, VERY upset about it?  Which of course leads to talking about it with those people that have noticed you're upset...  which usually is NOT the person you are actually upset at.  And then, because you're friends with people who are friends, the person who you were upset at finds out about it...  and you didn't want them to know you were upset in the first place?

Feelz are hard yo.  By "feelz" I mean feelings.

I like to pretend that I'm all tough and badass and mostly feelz-less..  But sometimes, there are things that matter to me and my feelings get hurt pretty quickly if things don't turn out like I want them to.  Which is kinda childish, I'll admit, but I'm adult enough to admit it, so I feel like it kinda balances out.

And so, when your friend finds out, they call you out on why did they have to find out from someone else that you were upset with them (ya know, like adults wouldn't do, ever)?  And every reason for not saying, "Hey, you hurt my feelings by doing blah blah blah," just doesn't make up for the fact that you felt selfish for even being upset to begin with because you know that they are right about their facts and you are right about yours?

Le sigh.

Seriously, adulthood is hard.

You then manage to have a pretty tense conversation with your friend about the whole situation and it's wrapped up with a, "Well, I hope we can more forward from this and it doesn't affect our relationship," except you feel like it's extremely hollow because the damage has already been done from both sides.

It hurts even more than it did to begin with.  You question why you had to be upset in the first place, why feelings are so freakin' difficult.

Too much feelz.

I guess my problem is that I felt like admitting that my feelings were hurt in the first place wouldn't have changed anything why is why I kept my mouth shut to begin with.  Adulthood is hard.  Where's my crayons?

It's been so long!

Dear Gentle Readers,

I apologize for my sustained absence and your only getting Thurs/Fri updates, that was shitty of me.  BUTTTTTTT... hopefully, "I'M BACK IN THE GAME!" like Cameron said in 10 Things I Hate About You... wasn't that just one of the best movies ever?  I didn't even know it was loosely based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew until after I saw previews for O later which was based on Othello.  And that is your literary lesson of the day.  You're welcome.

So, since my last non-scheduled, link-up post....  there has been:
-Snuggles
-An Army bootcamp graduation
-My birthday!
-Moving
-Skiing
-Work
-A foster Greyhound
-Unpacking
-Food Poisoning
-A lack of snuggles

That's real life right there, yo, real life.

So, after I finished freaking out on Teh Blog about definitely NOT getting everything accomplished before I left for OK, I went and tried to finish packing.  I failed.  I didn't get everything packed.  Actually, the stuff wasn't even all completely packed the day the movers came, but they did leave me with one practically empty apartment, so I approved.

Wait let me back up!  Bootcamp graduation!

One more step back, so you can picture the complete miserableness that I was feeling.
I finally caught "the death" or the sickness that everyone else had 1-2 months ago, 2 days before I left.  The day before I left for OK they sent me home from work so I wouldn't spread my plague.  My civilian coworkers were asking my LPO if I could go home.....  I got some super-Sudafeds from my Doc and drugged up and passed out.  I did NOT feel better the next day.  I did NOT realize what flying while in the congested sickness state was going to do to my body.. but I would learn..  Oh how I would learn.. on the.worst.flight.ever.

My flight from BWI to DFW was the most turbulent ride ever due to the storm system that was over the east coast at the time.  I'm not usually one that gets motion-sick, but I'm pretty sure the poor lady beside me was extremely worried about making it off that plane without vomit on her.  Hell, I was worried about the vomit thing.  We finally made it out of the storm system a little over halfway through the trip.  We'd been gaining and losing altitude the entire time in the turbulence to find a steady path, but there was none to be had.  My sinuses wanted me to go beat the pilot down and tell him to quit being a jerk.  I figured that if I wanted to keep my job, I shouldn't be a terrorist, so I just tried to sleep.

Then, oh then.. we started landing.  Guys and gals, I have NEVER, ever, in my ENTIRE life felt a pain so bad as what happened in my face as we started losing altitude.  I was pretty sure that my sinuses were going to start expanding out my eye sockets and nose.  I'd already been that gross person on the flight who is constantly blowing her nose (I did try to face the window so it wouldn't gross the poor lady beside me out too much), but that didn't help.  NOTHING HELPED.  I wanted to cry, but couldn't do that because it hurt too bad.  By the time we landed, I was crying, ready to vomit (again), and just done.  Teh Bear landed around the same time I did (due to our delays from the storm) and he gave me a big hug and that made everything a little better.

Then... Dallas.  Other than flying through that place, I plan to NEVER have to be there ever.  Seriously, who designed that ridiculous road system?  Teh Bear and I had agreed to wait on Teh Sister (and the rest of my family) to land till we headed up to Lawton, OK.  While we were waiting, Teh Bear and I decided to get food at a restuarant one of his friends had suggested.  No big deal, we had Suzy.  Stupid, stupid Suzy.  We put in "Cheddar's" as our destination, and checked the option to avoid tolls because that would have meant a $25 charge from the rental car place since we hadn't rented their toll pass thing for $6.99 a day... and we ended up in a business complex where Cheddar's HQ might have been... not once.  THREE TIMES.  So the 3rd time was our fault for not noticing the address, but still.  WTF?

Finally, we get the actual address from the website, which is what we should have done to begin with instead of relying on Suzy (who is semi-smarter than an Apple Maps App, but barely when it comes to Dallas).  We manage to get there, but I can't seem to find the ONE driveway that will let us access the parking lot we need to drive through.  BUT, since I was right beside that driveway, I just waited till there was not much traffic coming and went against traffic to do a u-turn onto this driveway.  I felt like a Saudi.  I also felt relieved because I was probably way past hangry.

Luckily, this place had fast service.  We were so starved that we ordered cheese fries, which was one of the reasons we'd went there in the first place.  They were the best cheese fries I never tasted.  Yep, never tasted.  If I blew my nose and then quickly ate a bite, I could kinda taste it, but "the death" had it's grip on me and I knew there was nothing I could do.

My very first ever Chicken and Waffles.  Sadly, the chicken was too spicy for me to eat, but the waffle was as delicious as it could be for my stuffed nose.

After we were fed and happy and done being called "baby" by our overly affectionate waitress, we tried to head back to the airport to pick up Teh Sister.  We couldn't seem to get there because the only way to the airport is via a toll road... apparently.  So we finally gave up and decided to meet her at the rental car place.  Which we could only find the car return area, which we weren't trying to do yet.  We actually still aren't sure how we managed to make it to the rental car waiting area, but we did.  There was a U-turn and some pointing and lots of luck.

I.hate.Dallas.  I probably could have liked it more if Texas had some cash tolls.  I wouldn't have minded paying their tolls, but NOoooo.  They have to be all like, CASH LESS TOLLS, bwahahahahahah!  Jerks.

Finally, we were on the road to Lawton.  Our stay there was pretty uneventful, other than the hotel not turning in my uniform for dry cleaning and Teh Bear being right that I shouldn't have waited until we got to OK to get it cleaned.  For the record, he was right A LOT during this trip.  But he didn't rub it in my face once, which might be way worse, I haven't decided yet.  I think he realizes that him NOT rubbing it in my face makes it worse for me, which is why he just holds out.

Teh StepSister didn't mess up her name or her home of record, so that was good.  I was the only person there in a Navy uniform, hooyah.  It was a fun game of listening to all the soldiers say their names/location and feel validated when I pegged their accent before they confirmed my guess with their location.  Then Teh Bear sang The Army Song, which I felt like I should have been singing Anchors Aweigh, but didn't want to be disrespectful, so I just gaped at him singing instead.

Teh StepSister is a soldier now!  Hooyah.

I'll be here representin'... while Teh Bear tries to photobomb.

Teh Megan, Teh Bear, Teh Sister

Battle Buddies

Rawr, I'm a monster!
Sadly, the hat was a little too small or I would have purchased it.  The gloves, not so much.

This play area had the squishiest floor.  I just wanted to walk on it forever because it felt so good to my knees.

People take us seriously.

Stocked up on Color Run/Color Me Rad prep gear!!!! WOOOO!!!
May, are you here yet?!?!
PS.  YAY for Claire's!

There was photos and clothes changing (for me) and shopping and eating both days that Teh Stepsister was able to be off-post. We headed back to Dallas (/shiver) Friday evening and stopped at Joe T. Garcia's Mexican Restaurant NOT in Dallas that Urbanspoon recommended. It had a Casa Bonita like feel due to the line at the entrance, but it turned out to be pretty good.  We were confused at first by the limited menu options, but we were pleasantly surprised at the food, Teh Sister enjoyed the corn tortillas, I enjoyed the bbq chicken in the mini-tacos and Teh Bear loved his beef mini-tacos till he tried my chicken one.  The thing we were ALL impressed about with Joe. T's was the turn-around time for tables being sat.  We actually timed it.  We started the timer when the last person left the table and when the first person sat down after it was cleaned.  LESS THAN TWO MINUTES.  They are doing it right.  It's too bad that all other restaurants can't do that.  AMAZING!  The only thing about that though was that the pace of the restaurant was very hectic.  We felt unintentionally rushed.  I felt like I could slow down when we walked out of the restaurant.

YAY so much foods!

Fort Worth has lit up buildings like Richmond at Christmas!
I took this one for Terri!

We made it back to our hotel and Teh Dad arranged to pick up Teh Sister early the next morning since they weren't getting into Dallas till ridiculously-late-o-clock.  Teh Sister is a ninja.  I'm a VERY light sleeper and the only thing I heard was her unlocking the deadbolt to the room door when she left.  Why can't all people be that quiet?????

Teh Bear and I picked up breakfast/lunch at a place that offered Nutella crepes on their menu.. because I have priorities in life and Nutella crepes is one of them.  After toting around a box of kleenex with me the entire trip (no jk, Target was actually the first place we stopped in Dallas so I could pick up a whole box of tissues for the weekend), I was finally able to start tasting things again.  I was glad to be able to enjoy my Nutella crepe as well as I could.

I asked for ice cream, but they didn't have any.  Oh well, I tried.

We made it back to the rental place with no issues (since we were already experienced with where the rental car return was at....) and headed to the airport.  Our flight to BWI was MUCH, much better than my flight to DFW and I was thankful to God, Allah, and any other deities that might have been playing a part in that...  Then, to make up for my awful landing in DFW, IT WAS SNOWING WHEN WE LANDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EEEEEEEEKKKK!!!! YAY!  Except that we were headed to Norfolk from Baltimore, and something I've learned in the past 2 week is to avoid 295 around Baltimore at all costs.  The traffic on that highway is stupid.  I'm not sure why, but having traveled on it at random times during the day, it seem to always be congested.  /wrist.  It snowed all the way to VA where it rained for a little bit then eventually just stopped precipitating all together.

Teh Bear and I stayed with Miss Reflective that night and we all got to hang out and catch up and tell stories.  It was super, super late when we went to bed but the next day was.... MY BIRTHDAY!!!

We headed to Yama for sushi with Miss Reflective, Teh Lumberjack (who was in from Japan), and Miss Difficult Last Name and other GTMO/Bahrain friends and their significant others.  We racked up a pretty sweet bill and spent a few hours chatting and catching up.  It was definitely awesome.  After Yama, a few of us headed over to Krispy Kreme for doughnuts, NOMNOMNOM.  I checked the doughnuts there (and so did Teh Bear), since I have the worst luck ever with getting my correct order at all KK's).

12 free doughnuts for a dozen doughnuts?!?!?!
YES PLEASE!

After hanging out for a bit at KK, I finally decided it was time to head back to S.MD so I could finish packing and not be in a "travel" state anymore.  We got back, I unpacked (so I could pack.. haha), and started packing.  Teh Bear did not appreciate my prioritizing when it came to packing, but I was not to be deterred  the magnetic poetry had to come off the fridge...  Teh Bear really did the most effective packing, but I tried.

Monday, I got up and went to PT and went to work only to find out that we didn't have work, which made me SUPER RAGE TEH MEGAN and then I got over it because I got Teh Bear hugs and it meant a day to get stuff done that needed to be done.  But seriously, lack of communication is one of my biggest pet peeves, especially when it comes to something like that...  Like setting an alarm and getting up early on the ONE morning I could have slept in with Teh Bear.

Tuesday was literal moving day.  Movers came, only my cheap Target bookshelf was broken, although my bed definitely got some abuse, some of which made me pretty rageful, but moving is what it is and things can't be perfect for always.  Although, now I definitely have a use for that box spring "refresher" that I posted on Pinterest a million years ago...

Immediately after the movers left, I pulled out a suitcase and started putting our ski gear into it.  We were headed up to Liberty Ski Resort with Teh Humanitarian and Teh Coast Guardian and some of his friends for military/law enforcement appreciation day (yay for Teh Bear being part of law enforcement)!  We stayed at Teh Coast Guardian's parent's house that night and went skiing (and snow tubing) on Wednesday all day.  It was a blast.  I learned that I am better than I though, but not that good.  I was satisfied just going up and down the one hill that I was good at though.  Seeing little kids (like little kids, 4-6 years old, kids) ski better than me was a smack in the face, but whatevs.

Teh Bear, Teh Humanitarian, Teh Megan

We might have caused a traffic jam trying to take this photo.

Friend, Teh Coast Guardian, Teh Megan, Cousin, Teh Bear

friend, Teh Coast Guardian, Teh Megan, Cousin, Teh Bear, friend, Teh Humanitarian

Teh Bear and I riding up the lift.

My borrowed goggles matched my awesome gloves! :D

Teh Humanitarian and I being silly.

Teh Humanitarian, Teh Megan, Teh Bear...
we're professionals now, act like it.

The offer of homemade chicken pot pie and not having to drive 4 hours back to S.MD was too tempting for Teh Bear and I to refuse after all day of skiing so we stayed at Teh CG's parent's again Wednesday night and made the drive back to S.MD on Thurs morning to start the unpacking process.  We were smart enough to get the bed set up before we left on Tuesday night so we wouldn't have to deal with that when we got home.

Thursday was arranging the house so Phil could at least get around because he was arriving in the afternoon. We were successful in that we finished right as he arrived.  Phil is definitely enjoying his new digs and so.much.carpets!!!

Look at all these spaces!!!!

Phil was enjoying how I piled all his beds in a pile.

Friday was work for a day and then I got to come home and spend the weekend with Teh Bear.  We did fun things like unpack more boxes and make trips to Lowes and attended Teh Bear's first Meet and Greet and had dinner with my Old Neighbors and I locked us out of the new place (but my awesome landlord met us to give us his spare key) and we went to church and picked up my first foster Greyhound (named Donner, like the reindeer)...

Donner (yes, like the reindeer!) enjoying retired life.

Teh Bear and Donner.  Teh Bear was showing him how to "roach."

Donner just wanted to snuggle.

Monday-Wednesday included more work, which was hard to leave Teh Bear at home, bored all day, so I left him with lists of stuff to do!  :)  He was awesome and hung curtains and moved boxes and hung wall decorations and listened to Donner while all.day.long on his first day here and made lunch for us.  Wednesday night we had dinner with Teh Humanitarian and 2 others and I made brownies for dessert.  I wasn't feeling so hot that night before bed and I figured I'd just eaten too much since it was soo good!

At approximately 4:17am I woke up and realized I did NOT feel good.  I will spare you the details, because I like that you actually READ this blog (and that you've made it this far), but lets just say that after being in the bathroom for 3 hours in a row, on the hour, with stuff coming out both ends, even I was willing to go to medical, as there was no way I could endure work.  I somehow managed a shower, even though I had to take a break and sit down for a bit.  After another break, I manged to get some clothes.  After another break, I managed shoes.  I had let my LPO know that I was dying (probably) and most likely wouldn't be at work on Thursday.  I had contacted my doc/Australian Travel Buddy who set up a medical appointment for me within 30 minutes because he's great.  I barely managed the car ride, and immediately had to make a pit stop when I got in the building.  I was seen quickly where I was diagnosed with food poisoning, which Teh Bear assessed was because I'd eaten the brownie batter (the only thing he hadn't eaten that I had).  I came home, had Teh Bear take my clothes off and crashed in bed all.day.long.  The only thing I got up for was bathroom breaks.

Reminder:  Thursday was... Valentine's Day.  Valentine's Day 2013 is the day that my relationship lost ALL it's mystery.  /shame.  Teh Bear definitely saw me at my very, very worst.  The sexiest image for all Valentine's Day's to come, me, sitting on the toilet with the trashcan on my lap, vomiting and having diarrhea at the same time.  Yeah.  It happened.  Worst moment of my life, probably ever.

So Teh Bear pretty much spent Valentine's Day alone while I was upstairs wishing I would just die already.  He did have to catch me coming out of the bathroom at one point because I started falling since I was so dehydrated.  After that I started drinking with a purpose.  I wasn't sure I could handle the car ride back to medical to get an IV.

I woke up the next morning and almost felt like a new person.  I was able to function at work on a minimal level.  Low blood sugar and probably severe dehydration made me pretty stupid, but I managed to make it through the hours.  I left for Phil's vet appointment, which I called and cancelled as it was time to leave because I wasn't feeling well enough to go.  I took a nap instead.  When I woke up, Teh Bear and I decided it was time for dinner, so we headed to Salsa's and had so.much.chicken.  Mexican probably wasn't my best choice of meals to eat after food poisoning.  Whatevs.  We hit Lowes (where Teh Bear said I put on my "Girlfriend Best Buy" face (I guess that's where you face goes completely uninterested in all things when you walk into a store your significant other is really excited about)) and Walmart.  We bought our 50% off Valentine's candy and 21 Jump Street for our NOT celebrating Valentine's date.  It was delightful to be able to snuggle up with Teh Bear on the couch and watch a movie and not really have anything absolutely pressing to do.

Mega-stuffed Oreos should be made year round.
They are better than the birthday Oreos or even the colored Oreos for the seasons.
But maybe not better than the red peppermint Oreos that were sent to me in Bahrain.

(and here's the part where we get to THIS weekend's wrap-up!!!  yay!)

Saturday morning, I was particularly grouchy and Teh Bear left me in bed for some alone time so I could maybe nap, which didn't work because I felt so bad about being so grouchy.  As I went downstairs to apologize he came up to me and started saying he was disappointed because he was gonna come up and snuggle with me before I got up, I said that he was lucky, because that was my plan after I apologized for being an asshole.  Finally, we decided we were hungry and headed to Linda's Cafe for lunch, one of my worst choices (other than the dry cleaning.. or eating the brownie batter) because you always wait a long time at Linda's.. which is usually semi-tolerable, except there was a huge table of children under the age of 8 beside us that ranged from well behaved (1) to screaming (more than 1).  Since they knew one of the waitresses, the tv went from the "I can make fun of this" weather channel to some children's programming where I wanted to kill myself.  Finally, food came, and I couldn't even manage to eat 2 eggs because food poisoning apparently leaves you with a significant undesire to consume food.  Le sigh.  We left and came back home to hang out with the dogs and watch Garden State (mostly because I might have been making Garden State references left and right) before it was time to leave to take Teh Bear to the airport.

It was snowing when we left S.MD to go to BWI.  It stopped, but all snow makes me happy.  It made a sad day slightly more tolerable.  I dropped Teh Bear off at BWI and headed straight home since my travels were interfering with puppy feeding time.  I waited until I got to see Teh Bear on Skype before finally calling it a day.

Sunday was church and talking with Teh Bear on Skype until he left for work and being generally lazy.  My phone was being a piece of crap for most of the day and all my calls straight to voicemail, I appreciate that Verizon, so much.  Glad I pay you every month... le sigh.  I'm pretty sure I found a full size bed for the spare room on craigslist, which is exciting.  The internet went down for a few hours, which was ok, because I'm determined to finish Breaking Dawn, the 4th Twilight book.  So far, I feel like this book is just dragging on and on and on.  When Teh Bear would call me on his breaks I'd tell him the most recent update from my place in the book.  She's knocked up, wolf-boy is telling the story, she's FINALLY a vampire!  Seriously, that part took forever.  The wedding took less than 50 pages, the honeymoon was 50 pages, pregnant Bella was 150 pages, Vampire Bella was 25 pages...  I'm just like, GET TO THE POINT!  When stuff happens, I'm enjoying the book, but when I'm just reading about wolf-people going on runs, I'm bored.

Today holds cleaning the new place.  It's pretty gross from moving in and getting unpacked and dogs and people and sickness.  In addition, the full size bed is going to be delivered (yay for Teh Sister having something NOT an air mattress to sleep on when she comes next weekend (you're welcome, btw)).  There might also be some reading.  I have a feeling those Italian vamps will show back up for Ness.. Renesmee.  /wrist.

So, on to real productiviity that isn't blogging.

PS.  I missed you guys.
PPS.  Sorry for the longest post not ever, but I've been saving this story for weeks now and I knew if I didn't get it all out at once, it'd never get finished (like those Nov. vacation recaps...)


And now for random photos that I want to share with you that didn't really fit in the text anywhere:

My birthday present from Teh Bear finally arrived!
I found a line of jewelry while I was in Scotland that I looooooooved.
Teh Bear got me a piece from her collection.  /swoon.

Look at all that space in the bedroom.  Phil isn't used to that kind of space!

Yes, Mom?

Oh, you didn't have anything for me.

But, I look so cute.

Cuteness-Extremus!!!

Yes, we are that couple.
:D