It's Ok Thursday #8

It's Ok....

...to be sad and frustrated and angry and unable to move on from certain things until I tell Teh Bear..
...to feel almost instantly better about a situation after telling Teh Bear.
...to be happy that he's on my side, no matter what.
...that my Cara Box did not impress, nor were my gifts appreciated.
...to be disappointed/frustrated that there were "standards" to meet, that I wasn't aware of.
...to drive 45 minutes to get your oil changed because that's the nearest "home base" for Yurtle (decoded: the nearest Kia dealership is in Waldorf).
...to have Monday and Tuesday evening planned with cleaning because Teh Bear is coming and I have a birthday party on Wednesday evening to attend.
...to clearance shop for clothing.. ESPECIALLY children's clothing.  Seriously, who prices leggings for a 1 year old at $15?!?!  and who is the idiot who pays that much????
...to sport Lisa Frank bandaids over my serious paper cuts... while in uniform.
...to have changed out of my uniform for some event/activity/appointment every day this week, one day more than once.
...to look like a bag lady coming into work because of having to change clothes.
...to put on sunglasses inside when the front of the store is all glass and the sun is making your head hurt.
...to have not built my brief until the very last day possible.
...to get impatient and refuse to wait on people to help me do things, at the risk of bodily injury (yes, I may have moved a futon mattress from Yurtle all the way up the stairs by myself).
...to be disappointed that Teh Sister didn't get to surprise me with her news.
...to have slept better snuggling with a dog than the 3 nights prior without the dog.
...to not take the dogs on a walk for the 2 days prior to my PRT.
...to yell at the dogs and then apologize to them a few minutes later.
...to accept their kisses and be happy they love me no matter my psycho-ness.
...to have gotten Teh Sister something random and to use Easter as an excuse.
...to be disappointed I couldn't find any more Sweetart Bunnies, Chicks, and Ducks during my last trip to Target.
...to skip Fill in the Blank Friday..  I mean, it's not a link up, so nbd.
...to update my FB status several times within an hour.  Don't judge me, I don't have Twitter because you can't limit awesome to 140 characters.

Cara Box Exchange

What is a Cara Box Exchange?

My Cara Box arrived!!!!  The Cara Box idea was created by Kaitlyn of Wifessionals.

There are few things more exciting than arriving home after a long (yet not sooooo strenuous) day at work to see a box sitting on the porch.  It's like Christmas.  Really.  Being in the military gives you a whole different perspective on mail.

I was matched with Megalin (so I would be sending a box to her) and Meighan was matched with me (so she sent me a box).

March's theme was to use the first initial of your match's name as the theme for whatever you got.  Spending no more than $15, you send 5+ items (I didn't realize there was a + after that 5 and I was limiting myself to 5, so now I kinda feel like a turd, ughhh Teh Megan fail) to your match.  How do you know what to send?  You talk to the person and ask them questions.

I'm about 100% sure that Meighan knows more about me than she ever could have possibly wanted to.  Think of my really long blog posts..  Yeah, she got emails like that.  I guess that was my way of making up for the first Reddit Exchange that I did where I wasn't specific enough and my match somehow found Teh Bear on Reddit and asked him what to get me.  No jk.  The internet is crazy stalkable, yo.. CRAZY.

Sooo, less yackin' more revealin'?

Mmmk.

YAY PACKAGE!!!
Also, it wouldn't be a good pic if there wasn't a Greyhound in the background.
I think Rudy the Foster Dog snuck in this one.

BUBBLE WRAP!!!!
I don't think Meighan intended for that to be part of the exchange, but still...
who doesn't LOVE bubble wrap?

Sorry, at this point I got too excited to take pics as I took items out.  My bad.

All the loot!
With Teh Phil in the background.

It was after I had taken out the magazines and candy that I realized that 5 was probably a minimum, not a maximum.  /facepalm.

I received:
-a frame with my name in it.  Simple and cute!
-a different kind of chapstick than my fave Blistex Raspberry Lemonade, but I'm willing to try it!
-magazines (I haven't read a new Cosmo since Bahrain, so I'm pretty hyped about that!)
-nail polishes/file (my nail file went missing last fall and I was prob more excited about receiving that than a sane person..  AND I it's a long weekend, so maybe some nail polish testing?)
-a RED tumbler with a SWIRLY straw with an M on it (my own cup with a swirly straw?  You'd think I'm 6 with my excitement level.  And it's NC State red...  Seriously, sweeeettt!)
-candies: Mike & Ike and M&Ms
-a little tub with my initials and an anchor on the other side with lifesavers in it (tehehe I just got the lifesaver reference (if there was a reference there to the Navy.. or I mean L for my middle name.. either way, I GET IT!))

Thank you soooo much Meighan!!!!

The forever long month of March

Can I just say that 2013 is passing at a weird speed?  January felt pretty quick (maybe it was because I had so much going on?).  February seemed semi-quick, but we'll blame that on it being a short month (and because I had an extreme amount of things going on).  March seems to just be dragging it's feet.  I'm just like, why is it not April yet?!?!

There is one month of the year that I don't really acknowledge.. and that month is May.  Mostly this is due to my inability to correctly recall the months of the year, but after it happened several times, Teh Bear decided that I obvious have something against the month of May.  He built a powerpoint presentation for me about all things that are important about the month of May.

Let me show you Teh Bear's devotion to the "Merry Month of May":

Particularly that one about skipping the month making the year shorter was specific towards my problem because he sent this to me while I was in Bahrain and we were counting down to his visit in July.  I wanted to skip May so July would come faster.  Made sense to me.

Anyways...  for 2013, I'm ready for May to get here.  I vow to acknowledge the month of May this year.

Why after so much May hate am I ready for May?

Wellllllllllllllllll....  let me show you!

Yeah so what that picture represents (since I can barely read it) is:
-Color Me Rad run in Virginia Beach with Miss Reflective on the 5th.
-Greyt Expectations Picnic on May 18th.
-Color Run in DC on May 19th.

Soooo TWO color runs and over 100 Greyhounds in one place???  YESSSS!
Additionally, Teh Bear and I are hoping for good news on his MD job situation by then, which could mean he'd be in MD for permanent as long as I'm here, fingers crossed.

Also, Memorial Day could be a long weekend?  I won't get my hopes up, but I mean.. just sayin'.  May is shaping up into a pretty decent month.

So, March, are you over yet????????
PS.  You could just get to the part where Teh Bear is in MD for the very end of the month and I'd quit whining.

Being left behind.

This post is going to be full of "feelz" and pretty serious.  Sometimes, I can get into some pretty somber moods, which is probably good because most of the time I'm pretty wacky and crazy and sometimes downright spunky, so the somber times kinda balance me out.

This subject is very hard for me to discuss because its very personal and it pertains to my real life (RL).  The one with my RL friends and their real lives.  My disclaimer for this post is that I'm not angry, upset, disappointed, or any other "feelz" towards anyone (RL friends, blogs I'm subscribed to, people in general, strangers) for what I'm about to discuss.  I'm actually super glad to have the people that I have in my life, at their exact places in their lives.  But this is something I've been thinking about a lot recently.  And since this is my blog and I do what I wawnt..  I want to discuss it.

So WTF am I talking about?

Marriage and babies (not necessarily being in that order or simultaneously).

I've been through 2 addictions of wedding porn.  Not like 2 married people having sex porn, no no.. I mean looking at someone else's wedding and ooh-ing and ahh-ing and wishing and hoping that one day that would be me.  Subscribing to blogs to see what was trendy and hip (and really, bunting?) and how much stuff costs and.. we'll just simply call it "window shopping".  You know, when you walk by the store and see all the shiny stuff in the window but know you won't be buying anything?  That was me.  For several months.  Then I cut myself off.  I called it quits on the wedding porn.  I unsubscribed from the blogs.  I read other stuff.  I moved on and pushed the proverbial box in the back of the closet to let it collect dust (like I did with actual wedding magazines that one time when I was actually engaged).

Then a few months later, I just couldn't help myself.  The bug bit me again and I was back and looking at the wedding porn.  I told myself that I had it under control this time.  I was reading WeddingBee blogs and wishing I could be a Bee.  No JK.  Can we just talk about the fact that I didn't even have a fiance'?  In fact, nothing even close to that level.  The first or the second time.  Yep, under control, ya'll.  I had it totally under control.

Finally, I put my foot down.  I quit looking at the wedding porn, cold turkey.  I quit taking it to heart that everyone but me was getting married.  I quit taking it to heart that everyone but me was getting engaged.  I quit taking it to heart that everyone but me was able to live with (or within a reasonable distance of) their significant other.  I tried to tell myself to stop being jealous, because that's exactly what was happening.  Jealousy.is.NASTY.  (Told you there'd be feelz.)  And by all those declarative statements that "I quit..".  I actually mean, I tried to quit (except for the wedding porn, I definitely quit that, which helped the most).

I mean, I have a good life.  I've written about it before.  How grateful I am for everything I have?  For my American life.  Yet, I'm human, and there's things that I desire that I just haven't accomplished yet.  But even after I tried to quit taking everything to heart, the things that were bothering me started showing up in the mundane details.  Almost everyone I work with is married with kids, except for those who aren't because they choose not to be or are barely even legal.  Lots of the blogs I subscribe to, the writers are married or engaged or living with or within a close proximity of their significant other... or getting pregnant (we'll get to this).  It's hard to find a good single girl blog that doesn't talk about "outfits of the day" or beauty products or getting smashed all the time.  I'm saying it's hard to find someone like me.

Not to say that I'm single, but when you're in a perceptually forever long-distance relationship, where people actually say to you after meeting your boyfriend for the first time, "Oh, he is real, you weren't just making it all up." (jokingly, of course), your relationship status becomes a vague thing where its just easier to be categorized as single than try to keep explaining, "Yes, my BF is looking for a job here so he can move up, but since the civilian market here is pretty much saturated with prior military contractors and military dependents, its tough going."

I know, woe is me.  I'm not asking for my Gentle Reader's sympathy or even apathy.  I'm not really even complaining.  I'm just getting this off my chest... and lets be honest, my chest is big enough without additional baggage.  You've seen pics, it's ok to just agree.

I'm 27 years old.  I'm not really OLD.  I'm not so much YOUNG anymore, but I wouldn't NOT call myself young in comparison to someone who is say, idk, older than 45?  I don't really think 40 is old.  But 30 feels old.  Let me rephrase that.  ME being 30 feels OLD.

Me being 30 = Teh Dad being 56 and Teh Mom being 52.  Even having done the math, I don't view 56 and 52 as being OLD.  Maybe it's because I'm talking about my parents  Maybe its because they don't currently look like they are actually in their 50s/close to it.  IDK, seriously.  Feelz topics are hard, yo.

Maybe ME being 30 feels OLD because I had all these plans.  Plans that never worked out.  Incredulous plans that wouldn't have ever worked out from the moment I created them.  Plans of getting married and having kids.  And I'm not doubting that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be in my life.. but at what point is a girl allowed to get impatient?

So, there is one of my struggles.


On to the next one, on to the next one...  (yeah, I just rapped that for you)

Babies.


I have a friend who knows over 14 women that are pregnant right now.  Several of them are due within days/weeks of each other.  Yes, I know that women all over the world are getting pregnant and having babies, but ONE person knowing THAT many.. Crazy!  I have friends that are on kid number multiple.  I have friends that are pregnant right now.  Even Meredith Grey is having a baby (yes, I went there).

In regards to so much pregnant...  I know that being married and having babies isn't necessarily linked together anymore.  Well, I hate to be a traditionalist feminist (btw, I know Teh Bear is going to make fun of me for calling myself a feminist), but for me...  Marriage and kids are mutually exclusive.    Case closed.

Yes, I might be able to handle 3 dogs simultaneously (maybe barely), but I can say that if I had help with 3 dogs, it'd be a ton easier.  I do it because I like being able to help.  I like being able to maybe say I made a difference.  I like being able to say I helped out a friend (dog-sitting).  I like knowing that in some way, I'm growing from my experiences.

But in my plan.. I was married before 27.  I had started a career before 27.  I might have started a family by 27, or at least discussed starting one.  In that same plan, I had graduated college and gotten a good job.  I never, ever, in a million years, joined the Navy.  I was probably living in North Carolina, but NOT too close to home, home.

I guess what makes me jealous about marriage and babies is that was my plan...  and everyone else is fulfilling my plans.  Yet, I'm not.  I'm not even close in reality.  I'm not even sure I want to have babies anymore (and I'm sure my feelings on this will change again, and with a frequency, as it already has).  Maybe my problem is that my Step 1 (get married) isn't even close, so if my biological clock was actually blaring in my ears, Step 2 (have babies) isn't even possible yet.  Cue, frustration.

I love my life, but sometimes, I feel suffocated by all the desires that I have that I haven't fulfilled.  I feel suffocated by everyone else fulfilling my desires.  I've had to unsubscribe from blogs because I was getting too many wedding/baby posts.  They get me down, yo.  These aren't topics that I should be down about.  Seriously.  I also feel like if I'm purposely seeking these things I desire, I will never find them.  Good things come to those who wait, or whatever.  I mean, live with a purpose but don't focus on one thing.  IMO.

So I wait.  I wait to get orders back to America.  I wait out my time in Bahrain.  I wait on legalities.  I wait on Teh Bear to get a job in MD.  I wait on my own stipulations.  I've waited to wait more and the discouragement looms larger and larger.  No longer on the horizon, but right HERE, right NOW.  Unavoidable.

I put up my umbrella, to trot through the rain, to splash in the puddles.  To weather the storm, faking it till I make it, because good things come to those who wait... and I continue to wonder, did I plan for everyone else's life?  Am I being left behind?  What if I didn't want to be part of that generation who moved out and got married later in life?  I didn't sign up for this.

I'll just keep telling myself this...

It's Ok Thursday #7

It's Ok....

...to not know the day of the week.. frequently.
...to unsubscribe from a blog because the blog is featuring way more pregnant/baby posts than I'm comfortable with... as in.. more than 1 a week.  Don't judge me.  I'm just not in a baby-frenzy.
...to not be as affected by dog farts as my company is.
...to be ridiculously excited about Teh Bear's visit next weekend (not this upcoming, but Easter weekend).
...to not be motivated to get the Air Warfare pin anymore..
...to accept having one pin.. because IDW rocks!
...to talk to someone about civilian jobs and actually be excited about it.
...to meet people who retired from my Navy job and be excited to just be NEAR someone else that knows what my real job is.
...to be the only person that is excited about snow no matter what season it is (or supposed to be).
...to accept doing my PRT a few weeks early because I have resigned myself to the fact that I'd do as good now as I would in a few weeks.
...to be creeped out by sleeping Greyhounds whose eyes roll back in their head and their 3rd eyelid comes up and they look possessed.
...to be pained yet excited about reading the 5th Game of Thrones book.  These are all the characters I'd missed in the 4th book.
...to really enjoy the Harry Potter series because they are an easy-to-get-lost-in read.
...to kinda miss reading Twilight.  Judge me, judge me hard.
...to looooooove Teh Nook, my best surprise Christmas present of 2012!
...to buy new shampoo/conditioner before you are completely out of the stuff you're using because you've been using it since November and you've been disappointed with the way it smells since you bought it... but you bought it in super-size so you felt obligated to at least use it until you knew you were close to running out.
...to love the cooling feeling of Clean-and-Clear's Deep Clean face wash... since middle school.
...to actively seek out specific candies at specific holidays.. Lookin' at you Sweetart Chicks, Bunnies, and Ducks candies.  YUM!  (PS. I could only find them at Target!)
...to make sure that the last thing Teh Bear sees when we end a Skype call (unless I'm angry or in a hurry) is me smiling or making a silly face.
...to be super excited about the LivingSocial deal Teh Singing Cat Lady shared on FB for a National Harbor boat tour during the Cherry Blossom peak time!  YAY for doing something Teh Bear has been encouraging me to do since I arrived back in the US.  AND YAY for breaking out the DSLR for prob the first time since Nov. Vacation.... which we just won't talk about.
...to catch up on Grey's Anatomy late.
...to cry over the proposed name change to the hospital.  (Sorry for that semi-spoiler)
...to question why the Navy renamed VX-1 3 times from 1943-1960.  Can you think of the money wasted? WASTE, FRAUD, and ABUSE PEOPLE!!!
...to post this before bed because I honestly forgot that it was Thursday since I was thinking it was Wednesday all.day.long.  oops, my bad.

It's Ok....  to only like EXTRA sweet tea.  

Reflections of a dutiful watchstander... #3

1515:  I have assumed the watch... early!  Despite the post office dude yappin' my ear off, I still manged to make it to work 15 minutes earlier than the required 15 minutes early.

1530:  Of course it would be AMAZING outside now that I'm at work.  Today would have been the perfect day to take the dogs for a walk/run.  It was gross and cold until at least 1pm, which was when my naptime started (having to stay up till at least midnight gives me a pass to take a nap). 

1531:  During naptime I came up with the most ingenius idea ever.  I usually have very cold toes.  Today was no exception.  But today, I got smart about it.  I put my heating pad at my feet and warmed my toes.  My nap would have been delightful had the dogs not been waking me up everytime they ran up and down the stairs like a herd of elephants.

1545:  I think the real job of the duty person is to be the VX-1 Operator.  I've transfered more calls in the past 30 minutes than on an entire Saturday watch.

1600:  At least with weekday watches you get to see people you know.

(Backstory:  VX-1's hangar is across the street from the parking lot.  We have a crosswalk with 2 blinky lights (one in each direction) to alert drivers that someone is crossing the street.  The lights blink when you push the button, and almost everyone uses the crosswalk lights.  The speed limit on the road in front of the hangar is 25mph.)

1623:  Dude pushes crosswalk light button and steps out to cross because the car coming wasn't that close and would have time to stop.  Car did NOT stop and the driver actually held her hand out like she had magical powers to stop the guy from crossing.  He almost got hit by a car.  I wanted to yell at her!  He just kept walking and she didn't even slow down a little.

1630:  I am told on FB by a friend of a friend that I am obviously NOT in the military due to my ignorant statements about using the MGIB if Navy Tuition Assistance (TA) were to get cut.  I have a feeling I'm about to submerge myself in several hours of research on the MGIB to make a blog post about TA cuts.  I can only handle so much.

1645:  Seeing drivers with earbuds in their ears makes me crazy.  At what point has that EVER been legal?  Might I suggest a cable that runs from whatever you are listening to, to your car stereo auxillary port?  Yes, you car is new enough to have that.  Those cable are also cheap.  And if you don't have an auxillary port, I would suggest the radio tuner one.  Crazy what technology is capable of these days.

1700:  I really want to eat my little oranges, but I don't want to get mesy and get orange peel under my nails.  I'm such a girl.

1702:  My duty driver is of Indian/Pakistani descent.  I gathered this from his subtle accent and the fact that I can smell his aftershave/cologne for several minutes after he leaves the office.  Or maybe thats my Bahrain PTSD acting up again.  He's a really nice guy though. 

1703:  I put my Sweetart Chicks, Ducks, and Bunnies away becuase I was going to eat the entire bag.  I really want one though.  Except I have no will power because they are delicious.

1704:  I wish the Admiral and Skipper would leave so I can call Teh Dad and wish him a happy birthday.  He's so close to a senior citizen discount!

1726:  People that purposely try to skew answers to questions annoy me.  I really should have just restrained myself from even joining the TA discussion on FB.  UGHHHHHHH.

1730:  Daylight savings time sucks when you sit in an office that is 3/4th windows.  SO MUCH SUNLIGHT.. WAAAHHH.  My cheeks hurt from squinting.

1741:  Boredom wins.  I will read the Nook.  I will start Dance of the Dragons so Teh Bear can talk to me about it.  I will try not to read the 2nd Harry Potter book. 

1748:  The Duty Driver did the sideways head bob.  Fulfilling stereotypes.  I can't even handle it.

1808:  I really struggle reading the A Song of Fire and Ice series because I feel like I'm being thrown in pool and being commanded to swim.  I hate the lost feeling I have when starting out Martin's novels.

1819:  Sometimes, people make me giggle.  2 dudes just jogged by and one of them had his shorts pulled up to his belly button with his shirt tucked in.

1830:  Soooooo hungry...

1849:  Dinner plan made!  BBQ here I come.

1850:  Crap, have to wait until after colors to leave.  uggggghhhhh.

1920:  Freeeeeedom!

1935:  YAY bbq sammich for mah belly!  And a free drink, which I feel is satisfactory since I answered to "Sailor." 

1950:  Holy crap starving dogs are scary!  Beasts are let out for business while foods are prepared.  Mud wiped off Phil's paws prior to being admitted inside.  Dogs happy.

1959:  Sweet, sweet food, you are so delightful to me. 

2020:  But, I don't wanna go back to work.. wahhhhhh.  Carrots for doggies and out the door.

1228:  Gate guard got a laugh at my ID.  Mission success. 

2030:  Signed back into computer.  Facebook checked.

2035:  New page made in the logbook.  Watch gets way more boring when it's dark.

2045:  Time to call Teh Dad and tell him Happy Birfday.  YAY!

2102:  Time to get back to Westeros.

2123:  Weekend duty has better parking spaces.

2146:  YAY BRAN!!!! 

2203:  Is it time to go home yet?

2223:  Is it time to go home, now?  I think I might have eaten too many Sweetarts.  Apparently, birds, ducks, and rabbit don't mix well?

2225:  Potentially a Bear will be in my Northern terrority Easter weekend....... !!!!!!! YAY!  I wish Southwest would run promos when I needed them to.

2227:  My fingers smell like bbq.  You'd think that I didn't wash my hands (I did).  No wonder Phil tried to bite off my finger when I gave him carrots.  He's really not doing good with "easy".  And Rudy is "broken" and pooped in my dining room this morning.  And he killed my ZepZep stuffy night before last.  I don't even know where he found the stuffed dog.  Life with dogs.

2246:  Brrrr.. It's chilly in the duty office, but I don't want to turn on the heat since it is so finicky.  My heating pad for my cold toes is going to be deeeeeelightful tonight!

2302:  And the midshifters are off!  30 more minutes... Sweet, sweet relief...

2320:  Relief came early!!! WOOOO!!!!!!  Time for my cold tosies to get toasty with the heating pad that is waiting at the foot of my bed.

Fill in the Blank Friday #39

(image)

1.   You should always take time to   be grateful.  Not always as a reverse psychology method to stop whining, but when things are just ok, be glad they aren't worse, be glad you've had better.  

2.   Chocolate and clean mountain air   make(s) the world a happier place to be.

3.  I can hardly wait for   Teh Bear to get a call back from the job he applied for in MD.  But, luckily, I'm really good at it by now.  

4.    Sunday   is my favorite day of the week   because I get to do all the things I forgot about doing on Friday/Saturday and I get rest for the week ahead and I often get to socialize  .

5.  Something totally dumb and ridiculous that I love is   vacuuming the carpet.  I just love the sound of all the stuff getting sucked up.  It sounds like progress.  

6.  If I could, I would   buy a house so I could adopt more dogs..  Yes, I'm the dog lady.  

7.  I rather like   (the fact that this sentence started in such proper British English)  when Phil gives me kisses when he can tell I'm absolutely down even though I haven't just finished eating, when Teh Bear knows it makes me angry, but he does it anyways, when he makes me stop doing what I'm doing so he can make me feel better with a hug, my heated seats in Yurtle, the job the Navy trained me to do.. the list could go on.. 

It's Ok Thursday #6

It's Ok....

...to have a "weird" week.
...to cry because someone else's mom died.
...to tell Teh Mom you're glad she's not dead.
...to get anxious after hearing so many people have died this week...  seriously.
...to be stupid excited that the cancelled Pioneer Day from last week got pushed to this week.
...to be relieved to get to have "date day" with Teh Bear on Friday, ferrr shizzle.
...to be ready for a visit home.
...to smile every time I see Rudy "roaching".
...to have the TV on as background noise, even if you're missing most of the episodes of The West Wing that you are trying to actually watch.
...to be sad that there is no 30 Second Thursday prompt today.
...to be irritated with those "on the band wagon" about certain issues.
...to get ENRAGED when people can't: spell your name correctly or address you properly when it is displayed right.in.front.of.them.  WTF?
...to focus on the things you know about a topic instead of trying to learn new things.
...to be annoyed at listening to the neighbor's TV anytime I'm home (because my couch is on the same wall as their TV).
...to hate cooking for one person.
...to wish that Teh Bear would hear back on the job he applied for in MD so that I could tell people who as me about it, something besides, we still don't know.
...to feel sore after a not hardcore workout.
...to do pushups and situps right before bed because you told yourself you should do them every day from the beginning of March till the PRT.
...to NOT have done the pushups and situps you vowed to do every day...
...to have only done the pushups and situps more like once a week.
...to feel relief at $1200 being NOT missing from my bank account anymore.
...to have went on a shopping spree this week (new dog bed, new carpet cleaner, new toothbrush holder, new sheet set, new dog food, more pills for Phil)... 
...to have went on a DOG shopping spree this week, with the exception of the cute octopus toothbrush holder and the sheets
...to realize that it's been since November that I've used my DSLR.
...to be excited about the month of May (Color Me Rad 5k, GEGR picnic, The Color Run 5k)
...to be excited about being a Godmother..  I feel like it's adulthood initiation.
...for this list to be incredibly long.
...to go through all your favorite radio/Sirius channels and see if there is anything good on, despite starting on a channel that had something acceptable playing...
...to go back to the original channel after you scan all the other channels.
...to be sad that my $25 for 6 months Sirius subscription runs out in April.  Anyone wanna pay for my 1st World Problem Satellite Radio Subscription?  :)
...to really, really want to adopt a small, black, female Greyhound who roaches and is a puppyhead.
...to refuse to foster any black female Greyhounds because at the first sign of a "roach" I'd have my first foster failure.
...to refuse to adopt another dog at this time so I can continue to foster more Greyhounds.


Who can resist this level of cuteness?

I throw my (paws) up in the air sometimes..
Saying AYO!!!  Gotta let go!

Socialization diarrhea...

(I pre-apologize for the lack of photos.  Suzy (the ever-delightful cell phone that I own) is currently not uploading my photos to picasa.  I'm not really sure how using the G+ photo upload stuff works, so if anyone wants to school me on it, be my guest.  I want to find a way to upload them that the photos aren't public, but visible to anyone with the link.  Picasa does this.  G+ probably does, but I can't find it!  Technology is stupid.  Gosh.)

After the hell that was the weather on Wednesday that brought about the potential cancellation of the exam on Thursday (which didn't happen, thankfully).  Then the hell that was Thursday in taking the exam (where I'm pretty sure the USN is going to kick me out when they get my scores back).  Friday, I was back to being Teh Megan, a reasonable 2nd class who was no longer psychotic or angry at the entire world... or threatening to blow things up (not seriously of course).

While I had been studying for the exam, I mostly became a social hermit.  This weekend, I made up for that.

After giving a deeeeelightful (short but meaningful) security brief to a significant amount of folks I deal with at work (although NOT the folks we were giving the brief because of... grrrr), it was time to go home early.  I personally felt like I deserved it.  Knowing what my schedule looks like for the upcoming few weeks means I know I deserve it.

People have been mentioning my going on vacation in the near future and while I hadn't planned on it, apparently other people have been foreseeing it.  I might have to take their advice!

Phil's yearly vet exam went off without a hitch.  His vets were just as confused by the mysterious limp being gone as I was.  He took all his shots like a champ and gave all the vets and techs love.  Phil really is a star.  Sadly, we didn't get our usual vet, and when I heard her 4pm appointment had canceled, I almost told them to give me that appointment and someone could have mine.  I didn't though, because I figured I should get to know another vet there.  Luckily, she did stop by and say hey as I was paying and Phil greeted her excitedly.  I really appreciate that Phil isn't a pain when it come to going to the vet.  Phil was super awesome and provided a poop sample after taking a short walk, and when I presented the poop bag to the receptionist, I had to explain that the little round black things wasn't something wrong with him, they were black beans that he'd gotten for breakfast.

Having a pet gives me a whole new perspective on conversational topics.  Also, getting older does too.  Now I'm more willing to talk about poop, or pee, or zits, or general gross stuff.  I'm sure that these conversational topics are very offensive to some folks, but I just don't care.  I do it, Phil does it, Teh Bear does it, we all do it.  I ain't shy (which Teh Mom knew at a very early age).

Game night on Friday fell through and despite Teh Bear's encouragement to do something, I sat at home all evening being boring, did the laundry and watching The West Wing.  Teh Bear and I skyped for a little bit and watched an episode of Community before it was finally time for me to crash.

Saturday's goal was to sleep in past 7am.  I made it till 7:08am, at which point Donner wouldn't stop whining, so I got up.  I checked the GEGR forum and realized that someone had put down "Megan H." as a dog dryer for the Groomathon, and the person who makes the schedule often gets my name incorrect, so I figured she'd put me down, despite my signing up only for the Adoptathon...  I was late arriving to GEGR's Greyhound Central (GHC), but I was earlier than the original time I was planning on arriving.  This was all smoothed over by a stop at Starbucks.  Once I arrived to GHC, I learned there was actually a "Megan H." that wasn't supposed to be ME, Megan.  Relieved, I stood around petting dogs and socializing with my Greyhound peeps, and doing little tasks like delivering paperwork.

Once adopters starting coming, Donner started whining because he was locked in a crate and all the activity outside was winding him up.  Eventually, I just took him outside so he'd stop whining, which he did.  I tried extremely hard to sell Donner to potential families, but no one was interested in him when compared with other dogs that were there.  I know I'm not supposed to be affected by this, but it was a bit disappointing to me.  I wanted him to get adopted, genuinely.  Not just so I could get the next foster dog, but because I want all animals to be able to find non-shelter/kennel/abusive homes.  Also, Donner is a very sweet boy who will be a perfect dog for a family that doesn't have me in it.

I ending up bringing home another reindeer though!!  This time, I got Rudy, which is short for Rudolph!  Despite, his 330/430am (depending on if you reset your clocks before bed or not) regurgitation of a WHOLE sock and some stuffy pieces and him peeing in the spare room (which made me want to cry since I had been motivated enough to clean the carpet with the borrowed cleaner on Saturday afternoon), it looks like we'll be ok.

Phil is accepting of Rudy, in the same way he was accepting of Donner..  as long as they don't get too close or try to take his food/treats, no growls are had.  I had given Phil a huge bone that I bought him after Christmas (which made a disaster of my floor) and after chewing on it for several hours, he was just as tired as Rudy from being at the Adoptathon all day.  After naps, Phil and Rudy took turns chewing on the bone and eventually, I gave up on them sharing it and just opened up a beef knuckle for Rudy.  I had given Donner   beef knuckle on Friday when I took Phil to the vet and the only part that was left of it when we got home was just round joint.  The big part that takes Phil weeks to month to finish had vanished.  I still haven't found it.  I have NO CLUE what Donner did with it, and I'm pretty sure it was physically impossible for him to eat the whole thing in less than a hour.

I worked on GEGR foster blogs for most of the evening before finally deciding to be lazy and make ramen with an egg for dinner for the 2nd night in a row.  Maximumus Lazius = Teh Megan.  After dog feeding and Teh Megan feeding, it was time for some West Wing in between Teh Bear's work breaks.  Due to the springing forward of time (which I hate the most since daylight and I are mortal enemies, ask Teh Bear, he will confirm this), everyone went to bed early.

I learned that Rudy absolutely loathes everything about stairs.  Up, down.  He refuses.  I had to push him up the stairs Saturday night and push/pull him down Sunday morning.  If I hadn't been so afraid of more pee in my floor, I would have just put a belly band (which is like a dog diaper for boy dogs) on him and waited.  My mental state would have rather fought a stubborn greyhound than deal with pee in the floor.  So fight we did.  and I won, kthx.

After feeding the beasts, it was time to get ready for church.  For the first time in a long time, I pulled my hair back.  That means it's growing, ya'll.  It felt weird pulled back, but normal at the same time.  Church was good and afterwards, Teh Singing Cat Lady and I went out for lunch at Panera and then to Wal-Mart and BJ's for my shopping list.  I have almost all the items for my CaraBox Exchange!  YAY!  I'm waiting on one item to be shipped to me and hopefully that is sooner than later!  I think I did pretty good.  And I even stayed at the $15 range.  Maybe a dollar or two over, but I don't consider that so bad.

Once I got home from our lunch date, I chatted with Teh Bear for a few minutes, then got walk-ready and put the dogs in the car to go on a dog-walk-date with my Down-the-street Neighbors.  I received some Miley kisses and then 3 greyhounds, 1 Lhasa Apso, and 2 humans went out on a walk.  Miley tuckered out before the rest of the hounds and the littlest dog was leading the pack!  I thought Greyhounds were fast!  hahahhaa.

After hanging out and getting spoiled by Mr. Bruce with rawhides and squeaky toy tosses, it was time for us to head back home.  A little while later, Teh Humanitarian called and asked what I was doing for dinner and said they were making tacos if I wanted to come over.  I countered her offer with my own, better offer, by saying, "I say everyone should come here for dinner because it's already made.  It's a roast with carrots and rice.  If ya'll come, I don't have to eat the whole thing myself."  She didn't even argue.  She said it sounded like a most excellent idea and that kinda mixed up their plans a little since Teh Flying Metal Mouth's family was supposed to be going over to their house for dinner, but I was easily able to clear that up.

I did a quick vacuum of the floor since Baby April would be coming over and pieces of bone chips being everywhere probably wasn't so good.

Everyone arrived for dinner, humans and dogs and babies all filled Teh Megan's residence.  We learned that Rudy isn't even small dog safe, so he got to spend time in the crate.  We learned that Teh Megan's house isn't baby proof... or anything close to it.  But fortunately, we were quickly able to see the spots that Baby April pointed out to us that needed some work...  Like the magnetic poetry on the fridge that was within her reach.  Oops.  I'm still missing a magnet that I can't find.  Babies are crazy, yo.

Phil got a little too physical with the littlest Doxie, Gizmo, with his playing (which he rarely does and he only likes to do it with TEENY TINY dogs, so it freaks me out that he might get a little carried away too quickly and I won't be able to do anything), so he got exiled outside for a while (since it's warm enough to do that!) and eventually we let him back in, but only with a muzzle on.  I wasn't willing to pay $500 for another dog for them if Phil got out of control... so YAY for muzzles!  Everyone kept wanting to take it off, but I told them that the muzzle wasn't bad and Phil wasn't being tortured and he was fine with it on.  Phil eventually settled down under the table, he let Gizmo (the littlest dog) clean his ears and he just laid there.  I'm not really sure what it is with Phil and the small dogs, but he is such a strange dog.  I lub him.

After dinner and birthday cake was had, everyone headed home.  The boys and I enjoyed some West Wing and a call from Teh Bear.  Despite it feeling like 2045 instead of 2145 (subtract 12 from the first 2 numbers), I pushed Rudy up the stairs and called it a night.

Monday starts a new week of brief building (yay for doing my job!) and a breakfast with coworkers.  Even though I'm not part of their rate, they still include me, which is nice since I don't get to have breakfasts out with people that are all my rate.  OR MAYBE I SHOULD!!!  :D  Hehehehe..

Yay for awesome weekends and social Sundays.  I needed an awesome weekend like this to make up for the 2 6-day work weeks.  Not that I'm ready for Monday, but I'm a little more ready than if I had worked on Sunday (again).

Fill in the Blank Friday #38

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1.   My favorite thing about this week was/is   its over.  Seriously.  This week was hell.  I got so grouchy on Wednesday, no on wanted to be around me.  After the exam on Thursday, people could see a difference.  By today, I was back to normal.  

2.   Colder weather makes me   wish for snow and grateful I'm not in the desert sweating through my underwear.  

3.  Three things that make me terribly happy as of late are   snow flurries (even if they refuse to stick), Phil giving me stinky-breath kisses on terrible days, Teh Bear listening to me /rage even when he doesn't understand why I get so stressed out over stuff.  

4. If I could only wear one kind of shoe for the rest of my life, I'd choose   (judge me, its fine) Airwalk's version of Crocs.  They are WAY cushier than the Croc name brand and just as easy.  And, as a fun fact, the navy blue Croc-like shoes that Addison (from Grey's Anatomy) used to wear were the Airwalk brand and they were for sale on the Grey's website.  

5.  My personality type is   loud and colorful.  

6.  I have a serious problem resisting   sweets, laughter, helping someone in need, being serious.  

7.  My favorite color to wear is   bright colors.  Reds, greens, yellows.  I wear navy blue most of the time, so anything that isn't boring or camouflage (digital or not) print is acceptable.  

Thank Allah the weekend has come!
Hopefully Donner will get adopted tomorrow and I'll be sharing pictures of a new, strange dog next week!
Luckily, I will NOT be working this weekend, for the first time in 2 weeks, which while that number doesn't seem large, after working 6 days and having 1 day off (which usually included doing something besides sitting around in my sweatpants), I'm exhausted.

Also, after this week's rain storm (due to the significant lack of snow, grrr), looks like walks/runs are back on the scheduled program since it's warming up!  Wooot!

It's Ok Thursday #5 and 30 Second Thursday #5

It's Ok....

...to post a linkup blog and forget to actually... LINKUP.  Teh Megan fail.
...to be irritated when people interrupt when you are actually working on something.
...to say you've stopped studying the night before an exam, and then to continue studying until bedtime because you just can't stop.
...to be disappointed Pioneer Day got cancelled (but not really surprised).
...to be relieved that the E-6 exam is actually going off as scheduled, weather notwithstanding.
...to be annoyed that the briefs I was supposed to give this week have been pushed back.
...to be using this post as a way to NOT study the morning of the exam.
...to be angry when you feel like someone is messing with your paycheck, but you can't figure out who it is, or where the money went.
...to be unbelievably disappointed to get only snow flurries from the storm that rolled through this week.
...to be irritated that my yard is a swamp due to only getting rain from the storm vs the semi-anticipated snow.
...to fall off the train as fast as you got back on (being involved on the 20SB forums).
...to kinda wish you would have said no foster dog this time as a break from the last month with Donner (who is great, but definitely not my dog).
...to be anxious about my first groomathon/adoptathon with GEGR on Saturday.
...to be disappointed that our planned "date day" got cancelled with Pioneer Day being cancelled. Grrrr.
...to order the largest size coffee since it's free.
...to become more socially inept as I become smarter during studying (this really happened).
...stop coming up with more things so I will remember to linkup after I post this.
...to not usually post blogs in real time (as in, I usually have them scheduled from the night prior).

Hosts:

Kaitlyn // Wifessionals

Samantha // Hooah And Hiccups

Hallie // Life Oceanside

This weeks prompt:

"Is it easier being a boy or girl? Would you ever trade?"

Donner kept trying to be in the video, but he finally settled down after the 4-7th take.
Vlogs are art, yall.

How did I get so lucky?

Lucky enough to get TWO 6 day work weeks in a row!  Isn't that the American Dream???  Pst, I'm extremely grateful to be "with job" and this is me complaining but still being grateful.  It is possible to do both things at the same time, ya'll.

Last week I had watch on Sunday (where I started typing up a "watch blog", but it was way too boring to actually share since absolutely nothing happened that I could make fun of) and this week I went in on Sunday to open the office so one of the pilots could work on his test plan while I took the opportunity to study for my rate exam on the 7th.

So while it was a short weekend for me, I took advantage of the time I did have.

After not being able to get off (that's what she said, ha!) early on Friday (the one thing I try to look forward to each week, usually to my own disappointment), I came home to change into pajama pants and a hoodie to be absolutely lazy and snuggle with the hounds for the rest of the evening.

Friday evening was date night with Teh Bear.  It's been a while since we've gotten to hang out together (in our own virtual way) due to schedules conflicting.  We watched episodes of Downton Abbey and Community.  I fell more in love with Downton Abbey again (as I do with every episode) and I'm slowly falling out of love with Community.  Of course, Troy and Abed make me giggle, but I feel like everyone else's character is lacking depth or getting too much at once.  That's my opinion of course.  After staying up way past my bedtime, I crashed.

Saturday was going to be a lazy day, which included skyping with Teh Bear and watching the next episode of Downton in the morning.  Later, I was propositioned by some Greyhound Friends to go take photos of one of the local lighthouses.  It was pretty dreary outside, so I suggested the dog park instead since Donner and Teh Phil were driving me nuts and I was going to bring them to the lighthouse if we went there anyways.  There's only so much of one velcro dog I can handle, two is just too much for me.  I diverted our plan successfully and after deciding that our fingers and faces were too numb to hold out any longer (they wimped out before I did as they just arrived to MD from FL) and getting tired of listening to Donner have a conversation with another dog (and starting to fear that the other dog was going to get aggressive with Donner), we decided to take a walk then head home.

After the beasts had been given dinner, I texted my Greyhound Friends again to see what they were up to for dinner and I ended up meeting them for Japanese/sushi and we hung out for a few hours just chatting.  Also, baby octopus are creepy when served for eating (apparently, my phone decided I didn't really need to keep that photo).  We traded off a carpet cleaner for some (dog) ear cleaning solution since Donner decided that the guest room was an appropriate place to pee and one of their dogs had really dirty ears.  I also confirmed that despite the issues they were having with their new place, for what they are getting, its really not a bad deal for this area (since everything here is overpriced).

Sunday morning came way too early (via Donner's whining to be let out at 7am).  Knowing I had to go into work today made me super unmotivated, but I sucked it up and went on with the day.  My hair is finally long enough to put into pigtails (because I'm an adult and I do what I want), which made me a wee bit excited since I've decided I'm growing my hair out again.  No one (that knows me) is surprised by this announcement as I usually cut off my hair and then quickly decide to grow it back out again.  Teh Bear didn't even pause between my announcement and his next subject.

After a good time at church, I scurried out to head across the street to base to open up the office.  I haven't had a chance to chat with Teh Singing Cat Lady and Teh Guitar Playing Podcaster in a few weeks due to after church commitments which makes me feel pretty bad for ignoring my homies.

In the 5 minute drive from church to VX-1, I realized there were snow flurries falling and I stopped dreading going to work.  Sometimes, I get just the right signs, right when I need them.  I wasn't really super bitter or upset about going into work, but I was dreading the hours of studying I was about to force upon myself and the snow flurries made me smile and realize that its ok.  Everything is ok.  It's cold and I get to wear layers and I have heated seats in Yurtle and smelly-breath Phil at home and I'd get to talk to Teh Bear before he went to work today (after a very disappointing evening where I missed ALL his breaks the night before).  I'm even better than ok, because there was snow.  Not a lot of it, but enough to say it was snowing, which Gentle Readers know is my most favoritest weather type ever.

I arrived at work before anyone else, which gave me a few minutes of quiet to check my work websites and then check the GEGR forums to see if anything new was going on (and to share that Donner is being a jerk who has decided that his "business" is most appreciated in my spare bedroom (it isn't)).  A few minutes later, the LT arrived and quickly got to work.  After settling in and updating my Senkaku Islands brief for the 10 millionth time (the 10 millionth and 1st time will be tomorrow morning and I'll be giving the brief at 2 since I'm awesome), I decided it was lunch time.  I came home to release the hounds and skype with Teh Bear while eating leftovers.  After lunch, I went to pick up the LT's lunch, since it was on the way to Starbucks, and because sometimes I'm ridiculously nice, even to the people who are the reason I have to come into work on the weekend.

My birthday was a month ago (to the day!), but if you use a Starbucks gift card to purchase your beverages you can get rewards.. like a free ANY TYPE ANY SIZE beverage for your birthday.  WIN!
Also, thanks to Teh Stepsister for getting me a Starbucks gift card for Cmas.

When I got back to work, it was buckle down time.  I realized that I might be a little too thorough with the pubs that I'm supposed to be studying for my test, because I was only able to make it through 3 pubs.  At 3pm, I gave the 2 LT's that were in the office the 1 hour warning... mostly because the 2nd LT had arrived at 2:30 and it would be a cold day in hell when I let him keep me late on a day that I was doing them the favor of having the office open, especially since it had been open since 10:45am and he showed up to the game late AND he'd been the one that killed my chances of leaving even 5 minutes early on Friday.  The LT that I'd opened the office for wanted to argue for more time, but I politely shut him down with a simple, "It's Sunday.  We'll be open at 0730 in the morning for all your test writing needs."  He didn't argue, which I think took us both by surprise.

We left at 3:55.  I was so proud of both LT's for being on my program.  I'm sure that this will be the only time, ever, that I get what I want, but damn it felt good this once.

I came home to 2 dogs that have apparently never seen a human ever and while their excitedness is cute for about 30 seconds, not being able to really walk more than 3 steps into the house gets irritating within 1 minute.  After setting my stuff down, I gave them both some extra lubbin and snuggles and then settled in for an evening of The West Wing which Teh Ginger used to talk about in GTMO (and he's right, it's awesome, even if I don't really care much about politics.. and it's got Rob Lowe, who is just.. deeelightful to look at and makes me miss him even more in the last season of Brothers and Sisters).

I fed the boys dinner and myself and chatted with Teh Bear on skype on his breaks.  Finally, it was time to crash early so I could get in some light reading (I'm reading Harry Potter for the first time ever) before sleepy time.

This week is looking work-tastic with a schedule of extra long hours of studying all day/as much as possible for my test on Thursday morning, which I'm sure will leave me feeling incredibly stupid and like I shouldn't have the job that I have in the Navy.  Word on the street is that Friday could be a Pioneer Day (no work), but I'll believe that when I see it and for now I'm counting on a delightful 2nd 6 day work week.

Also, if you didn't see it yet, check out Donner's blog (which might be taking up some of mine and Phil's blogging time here recently).  He's looking for a forever home in the VA/DC/MD/NJ/DE area.  Spread the word.  He needs a forever home.  He needs someone to love him more than me.

Fill in the Blank Friday #37

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1.   I am looking forward to   Donner getting adopted, Teh Bear getting a call back on the job that he tested for, my next (currently unplanned) vacation... 

2.  Something kind of embarrassing that I still love anyway is   catchy pop songs, like Call Me Maybe or Ke$ha songs.

3.  My favorite car is   the one I'm currently driving.  Yurtle now, and Teh Kaar when I was driving it.  I've never really been a car fanatic who lusts over other/nicer/better cars.  I sometimes still have overwhelming moments of gratitude for Yurtle (and having had Teh Kaar for so long).  

4.  If I could pick one type of weather to live with for the rest of my life it would be   SNOOOOWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm not really a huge fan of the beach (I definitely joined the wrong branch of the military, that's for certain) or the sand or being hot and sweaty.  I'd rather be snuggled up in a blankie with hot chocolate watching the snow come down and listening to how quiet it is after a snowfall.  

5.  My favorite thing to do after a bad/stressful day is   my favorite thing to do is get on the internet and whine about it, the most productive thing to do to get over a bad/stressful day is to go workout, which helps me actually get OVER the bad day and move on.  

6.  This weekend   I'm going to be lazy on Saturday because Sunday I have to go into work so one of the LTs can work on his test plan.  The only reason I'm willing and not super bitter is because it gives me a chance to study.  

7.  If I were a color, I'd be   blue-green (like a mix of both)   because,    my eyes are green and I'm usually very natural (no makeup, not really dressed up) and because blue is like water and it helps your problems just drift away and helps you be calm.... and because its pretty..