Weekend Review {1/30}

FRIDAY

Friday was a lazy type of day and it was good.  After 2 evening events during the week, we were in need of a recharge.  I slept in a little too long and had to rush to work in the morning to make it on time for my 0900 meeting, oops.  Fortunately, I made it right on time to dump everything in the conference room and start up the meeting.  Since it's a 96 hour pay period, those 9 hour days add up and I got to have a short day.  Around 2, I left work and headed to the gym to meet Roux's Humom.  After a good workout, we headed home. 

I started working on the DJ's website.  I've officially given up on creating a client portal for her.  1- Nothing I'm finding that I would be able to build will meet her needs, 2- The things I am finding aren't compatible with the technologically challenged (her more so than me) and/or would be expensive to maintain, 3- The website I'm using to build the site doesn't have a client portal option and I really like using this website, I think.

Teh German came home and we were debating about what to do with the evening.  After he had just said he liked the idea of just staying home and figuring something easy out for dinner, he informed me that Twin Dad had messaged him about going out to a brewery for some beers.  He then followed up with that thought later when he came downstairs with changed clothes that he was going to the brewery.  I wasn't actually invited, but I told him that I wasn't interested in beer so I wasn't going.

With a quiet evening to myself, I spent 30 minutes debating whether I wanted ramen for dinner or if I wanted to go out and pick something up.  What this really meant is that I had to pick a place that would keep for the drive home.  Picking something up meant the dogs got to go on a ride, which was the perfecting outing for them.  I finally decided on Ye Old Fashioned since I could also pick up ice cream and bring it home for dessert for days.

After the mission was accomplished and my egg salad sammich and delightful brownie sundae were consumed (or as much as I felt comfortable eating), I hit the couch with my kindle (for puzzles) and decided to watch a movie.  A wild idea hit me a few months ago when I noticed there was a new Bridget Jones movie coming out.  I couldn't remember ever actually seeing any of the BJD movies, so I decided I would.  I started with the original, Bridget Jones Diary, and reveled in all the 90s-ness of the movie. 

Teh German had told me before he left that the brewery closed at 9, so I figured he'd come home after that.  At 2150 I got a message from him that said they had relocated to a different bar.  At which point, psycho-Megan started to emerge.  The last few times that Teh German had went out for a beer, a beer became several too many and it was followed up by a venue change, which resulted in gin and tonics and him being unable to drive himself home.  Obviously, I'm a completely glass-half-empty person.  I checked his FB to make sure there were no gin and tonic group selfies.  None. 

Since I had some time on my hands, I watched the 2nd BJD movie.  Equally 90s-ed, I remember seeing parts of it on TV at some point in my life since the part of her in jail was familiar.  After the movie ended and Teh German still wasn't home, I watched the first episode of Grey's Anatomy of the most recent season on Netflix.  After it was over, I tried to tell myself that I was being unreasonable for being irritable for zero reason and headed upstairs to get ready for bed.

As I was getting in bed, Teh German came home.  It wouldn't have been an issue, except that Meri and Phil were closed in the bedroom with me and they couldn't go downstairs and explore who had come in and was messing around in the pantry.  Phil doesn't overly care about these things, but Meri was not only barking, she was ruff at him at regular intervals, which was making me crazy.  It took 2 yells of "JUST COME UPSTAIRS AND LET MERI KNOW IT'S JUST YOU SO SHE WILL SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY" for him to finally come upstairs and see what I was screaming my fool head off about.  Lesson: next time, just leave the door cracked enough for the beasts to get through so they can investigate and not disgruntle me.

Having eaten his snack and being moderately intoxicated, Teh German got ready for bed and crawled in with me and we were out.

SATURDAY

Teh German's alarm went off  at regular M-F time and I was super confused and thought maybe he'd just forgotten to turn his alarm off.  Nope.  It was when he got out of the bed that I remembered he was going to work.  #outofit

I stayed in bed and tried to sleep in, mostly unsuccessfully until about 0730, when I finally dozed off again and then had trouble getting up at 0830.  When I woke up at 0853 I knew I had to get my ass out of the bed since Roux's Humom would be at the house to pick me up at 0930.  Meri is the best sport ever and we played for a few minutes to get me uncozy so I'd be more motivated to get out of the bed. 

Right on time, Roux's Humom arrived and I was out the door.  We were meeting Twin Mom at the Charleston Kennel Club dog show.  We were going to take photos and see cute dogs.  I also did some shopping and picked up a fuzzy toy and some chews for Meri and Phil because I have no will power.  After the dog thing, we met Teh German at Tiki Taco in Summerville.  Based on the amount of Hispanics at the place (it was a building and a food truck with a pavilion between them), the food was very authentic.  That said, we weren't overly satisfied.  The food was good, but it wasn't blow-your-sock-off good.  They did have lingua, which is always a good time for me.

Cruella de Vil, Cruella de Vil,
If she doesn't scare you,
No evil thing will.
Saw this baby at the gas station when Roux's Humom stopped at the ATM.

All the little, hairy, dogs.
Sadly, all the other photos are still on my DSLR.  oops.

After Tiki Taco, we all parted ways.  I rode home with Teh German and it was lazy day for the rest of my evening.  I laid down for a nap while Teh German headed out with Mr. Golfer to a boat show.  When Teh German had gotten his hair cut, his lady had given him free tickets to the show, which was perfect.  I was awake by the time Teh German got home, working on the DJ's website. 

Mexi-cokes are the bestest

Teh German was hungry, so we started dinner, steaks and potatoes with a salad.  I was pretty pissed when I noticed that the spinach I had purchased on Tuesday was already going bad.  Add to that the cantaloupe that I had gotten on the same day was growing mold and I'd had to toss it earlier in the day, I was very disgusted trying to pick out the least-bad spinach leaves for us to eat.  Teh German manned the grill while I took care of the potatoes and salads.  #bestteam4ever

America steak made us LOL

After dinner, we sat down for an episode of Sherlock.  I continued working on the website since I was on a roll by that point and because we're still on season 3, which I've seen.  After the episode, I continued working on the site and Teh German was messing around on social media.  I didn't realize he was waiting for me to say it was bedtime.  He ended up going upstairs first, but I followed him soon after.  We were in the bed by 2230, but it was 0015 the last time I looked at the clock. 

Most of that time was spent reading side effect comments about the Mirena.  I've been having some serious hot flashes since the install.  I mean to the point of sitting downstairs where I'm normally chilly and sweating with thin pants and a long sleeve shirt on.  I used to sit downstairs with the same outfit and a hoodie on and a blanket.  I've also been having this issue at night and during the day at work.  It's the worst.

SUNDAY

Sunday was slow start day.  Roux's Humom messaged me to ask if I wanted to go to the gym at 0830, but I was still asleep.  When I got up, I messaged her to let her know it was slow day and if I went, I'd go later (hahah).  It was nice to get to hang out in bed with Teh German as we woke up slowly.  Meri had cocooned herself between us, which is adorable and annoying at the same time. 

After discussing our breakfast options, Teh German and I agreed that we'd go to Holy City for brunch (cause chicken and waffles).  He had an invite from his riding buddies to go on a ride at noon.  We rode to Holy City and then went straight to the meeting location.  I didn't decide till we were on our way to the meet up location that I'd just ride with them.  I had considered going home and getting more website complete.

It was a decent ride and productive.  While we were on our way downtown to take pictures of the bikes (because that's what motovloggers do), Teh Dad called.  Not 3 minutes after Teh Dad got off the phone with me, Teh Mom called.  We had parked on the Battery and it was super windy, so we decided to go to a cobblestone street for some photos.  We were told by the parking enforcement officer that we weren't allowed to park where we were and we explained we were just taking photos and she let us be.  Yay for nice people.  We weren't actually there for very long.  We also pulled the bikes up on the sidewalk and took some pics, but because it's not a busy street, no one said anything.

Eventually, we were done with the bike porn and we headed to one of the guy's houses to pick up a vehicle we could put groceries in, then we headed to the grocery store to buy ingredients for a cookout.  Teh German had ridden with these guys several times, so I wasn't worried about getting murdered.

Bagheera is a lady, so I couldn't resist parking her by the pink flowers.

After a very interesting grocery store run, we headed to another house and started prepping the grill and having some snacks.  While riding is a great activity, it's not a social activity for sure.  While we were cooking, I was able to talk with the other riders.  They were all Turkish guys (foreigners attract foreigners) and the guy who lived at the house we were at has an American girlfriend.  Not that it mattered, we were all just hanging out and judging 2000s rap videos and making sure the food didn't burn. 

After what felt like forever, we finally sat down to eat around 620.  The grill was small so all the veggies were first, then the steaks, but since we'd bought porterhouse steaks (since they were on sale), they were super huge and we couldn't fit all 5 on the grill at the same time.  It was totally worth the wait.  No pics because I devoured that shit.  Teh German and I split a huge ass steak, which was perfect. 

Sadly, we had to eat and run since it was way past when we had wanted to get home (before dark), it was also well past doggy dinner time.  It was a chilly ride home, but we survived.  After the beasts were let out and fed, I headed upstairs to soak in the tub and get warm again.  I finally finished watching S6 E1 of Downton Abbey.  It only took 3 sessions, but I finally finished!  When I got out of the tub, I did my German lessons and a puzzle and waited on Teh German to come to bed.

Eventually, he did come to bed, even if I had to prod him with a text.  And just like that, the weekend was over.

Gratuitous flower photo

_____________________________________

This weekend felt long and short at the same time.  I'm glad Teh German was able to hang out with other people and that we got to go on a ride, despite the chill.  It was nice for me to meet new people as well and get to hang out with some of my people on Saturday.  I didn't go to the gym, and I definitely noticed Monday morning (#sadface). 

Next weekend is BIRFDAY WEEKEND!!!!
In a strange turn of events, Teh German and I decided we were going to switch it up from NOT getting each other presents for our birthday.  I presented Teh German with a grand idea on Saturday evening.

I've been wanting the Roomba and he's been wanting an after-market grill for his truck.  After looking at all the different options for a stupid grill I knew that I couldn't surprise him with the grill and I'd have to talk to him about it.  So we agreed that we'll buy our birthday presents from each other for ourselves.  Meaning, I'll buy my Roomba and he'll buy his new grill.  Yay birthday presents!

Teh German and I also devised a celebration idea while we were eating brunch on Sunday.  We'd go to Thai Basil downtown and then go to the improv show.  Already there's been a wrench thrown in the plan since Thai Basil is closed for renovations, but that's a "simple" solution of just picking somewhere else to eat downtown.   Quotes because picking a place downtown is not simple at ALL.  Le sighhhh.  #Firstworldproblems #meganproblems #monday



Happy almost February, Gentle Readers!

MegMo2017: R&D- The Vendor

R&D (research and development) is actually the first step of the strategic planning cycle.

After suffering through the best and worst of the internet to find the information you need, you've probably got something to go off of!  If you're like me, you probably had to "contact me" for no less than 5-10 vendors per item you need (venue, photography, caterer, etc).  For me, I took a little over a week to wade through the murk.  I was shooting off emails and contact requests left and right.  Some of those were actually over email, some of them were through The Knot's "request information" thing, some were just via websites with the perfect amount of information.

I had warned Teh German when I started wedding planning that it was going to be all or nothing.  I wanted to dive right in, accomplish the big pieces from the start and be done with the most stressful stuff right away and not let it take over my life for an extended period of time.  I know how I am when I'm trying to make decisions and I feel stressed and it's pretty nasty, so this way of going about the process was best for me.  Obviously, this method may not work for you.  #differentstrokesfordifferentfolks

I am very lucky that I had a chunk of downtime at work where my projects were quiet and I didn't have much in the way of tasking.  I was able to devote most of my time to wedding stuff and things.  This also corresponded with when my coworkers found out we were engaged, so they were hyped and excited to help in whatever ways they could (the ladies who plan our holiday dinner every year were happy to help with food and venue suggestions).

During the wedding blitz week, we had appointments every afternoon after work except for Friday (which was just lucky and also because most vendors are already booked on Fridays with events).  We met with a photographer on Monday evening, a wedding coordinator on Tuesday evening, 1 venue on Wednesday night, and another venue on Thursday night.  In addition to all that, I was sending out emails back and forth with so many vendors my head was starting to spin.  Also, I went to a venue alone on Thursday at lunch since I could go during the day when Teh German couldn't.  It wasn't ideal, but I did actually take pictures at that one!  I took Teh German by the venue I had toured during the day after our appointment at a different venue on Thursday night.

Here's the decision breakdown:

• We decided on catering the week before when I had half-jokingly suggested one of our favorite restaurants and Teh German agreed it was a good idea.  When I checked the prices, they were definitely in our budget, so that was an easy yes.

• We agreed to use the coordinator on Tuesday night after we got home from meeting with her.  I had spoken with one other coordinator and wasn't overly interested and 2 people in real life had highly recommended this coordinator for various reasons that directly affected us (anything she owned we could use for free (decorations/tables/etc) and she provided solid bartending servers).

• We made a venue decision Thursday night over dinner between the 3 places we had looked at that fit in our budget.  One place had cowboy boots (2 boots to be exact), one place had fish on the walls (it was a boating club), and the other place was on a public park-ish area.

• Teh German put the photography decision in my hands since it was my biggest priority, and I confirmed my number 1 choice on photographer on Friday after some price negotiations.  I was in contact with no less than 10 different photography vendors with vastly different price ranges.  I know my photography style so that helped eliminate many of them if price hadn't already.  Price was actually an eliminator for my #1 choice originally and I had selected another #1 choice within our budget.  When my original #1 was willing to negotiate, I couldn't say no.  Ok, I could have, but I didn't want to.

• Also on Friday, I may have found a DJ that is willing to give us a discount in exchange for website creation services.  She was already willing to give us a discount because I had pointed out that her website was lacking vital information, but when I slipped in that it was easy to create a website, she offered a trade and I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I am still working on decisions regarding videography.  I'd love to have video of us saying our vows and the toasts and first dance and kiss and reception entrance, etc etc.. but videography costs as much, if not more than a photographer and well.. that just isn't in the budget.  I can't even pretend it's in the budget.  I think I have found an alternative, but I need to find a few guests with a steady-ish hand who are willing to watch what is going on through a screen before I pull the trigger on that commitment.

I have appointments at 3 different dress places in Charleston the weekend of Feb 19th.  Teh Mom, Teh WJL, and Teh Running Bestie will all be coming to Charleston at the same time (holy moly!) and my goal is to find a dress that weekend.. in my budget.

I have started researching hair/makeup persons.  It's going poorly, as I expected, because this is something I care very little about.

I'm less worried about Teh German's outfit because if all else fails, I know he has 2 suits in the closet that he can wear, even though he's already said he wants a new suit.  Cool bro.  I'm taking care of my wedding clothes, you can take care of yours.  PS.  I'm probably wearing white.  Anything matches with that.  You're welcome, love you, bye!

Our coordinator has said that she knows people for hair/makeup, cake, DJ, servers, bartenders, and rentals (chairs, ugh).  She also informed us that she can create our bouquet/boutiners and table centerpieces with flowers.  File all those things under "things I don't have to overly worry about" if I can't make a decision.

Oh yeah, and one final vendor that I almost forgot about.
I signed up for an annual membership at our city's gym.  At $50 a year, it's way better than a box gym and way less busy.  I'm not planning on losing a bunch of weight, but mostly maintaining where I'm at once I lose that one extra holiday cookie.  This vendor is actually a 2-fer since I workout to clear my head and get some me time. 

I'm feeling fairly confident that I've got all the big stuff tackled and now it's just a waiting game (as always) to get to the finish line.

How long did it take you start the R&D process?
How long did it take you to select vendors?
Tell me all the details!  I'm here to make you feel less like a crazy person!

"Light" Reading

I'm in a holding pattern at work until I get some answers, so I was filling my time by educating myself.  After seeing the first few days worth of executive orders (EOs) from President (barf) Trump, I knew I needed to get over being disappointed that Trump is actually our president and that I was a lazy ass and didn't go to the Women's March.  I needed to start educating myself.

I'm horrified at all the things I found.

Most importantly, did you know there is a site where all legislation can be viewed?  It is true, it exists.  It will also show you the present state of said (proposed) law.

This specific link will take you to all legislation for the 115th Congress Session (2017-2018).  You can filter your results how you'd like.  Be aware there are plenty of items of interest from the 114th Congressional Session that are still up for review.  Also, some of them are simple (a proposal to change the name of a federal building), some of them are creepy (a proposal for porn not to be allowed on federal IT processing machines), some of them are stupid and should be considered common sense (a proposal to apply disciplinary action to certain federal employees for misconduct or breaking rules), but some of them are also horrifying ("To prohibit United States contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Green Climate Fund."). 

I like living under a rock, but I think the time for that has passed (sadly) and I'm very afraid of what is going to happen in the next few years.  I was willing to give Trump a shot, but we haven't even made it through the first week and I'm disgruntled (more so than normal).

These are my new mottoes for the foreseeable future:

The hardest illusion to give up is the majority illusion, where we confuse our neighborhood with the world. https://t.co/2Fm1pmB4Uf

— Clay Shirky (@cshirky) July 22, 2016

"Stop thinking about losers and winners, and using the tired argument that the ‘losers’ should stop debating, and instead start looking at the wider possible implications of what you just voted for."  -Tobias Stone

I found these three OPINION articles very interesting.  FYI, they are long articles, so if you plan on reading them, cut out some time.  Skimming isn't effective.

History is cyclical and we should pay attention.

Follow up to the first article by the author.
This article discusses Brexit and Trump and how history can potentially be used to predict what will happen.  Humans are, after all, just animals.  This isn't to say things WILL happen, but they very well could.  Stone uses the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand as the pivotal point behind 17 million people dying (the Holocaust/war and leading up to it).  Some of it sounds kinda conspiracy theory-ish, nonetheless, there is still truth to what he is saying.  Stone also warns about echo chambers (which I am totally guilty of) and not getting trapped in them... say like how confident some of us were about Clinton getting elected president.  We were hearing the cries of those people like us, not our opposition.

I agree with Stone.  I do believe in the cyclical nature of history.  I also agree that there is possibly very little we can do about it.  While I hope we can mitigate the fall out and maybe push back the inevitability of whatever is going to happen, happening, I believe that history will repeat itself.. and that really, really sucks.  I believe that unless some significant changes are made (changes that I'm not even sure what they are), we're headed for disaster because while a dumpster fire is contained, a train wreck is NOT.. and we're more of a train wreck than a dumpster fire, imo.





***SUPER long***
Circumstances that led to Donald Trump becoming president.
This article written in May 2016 speaks to the fact that Trump rallied the disgruntled and won an election and it was calling for people to be aware of what was happening and the dangers of electing Trump as president.  It strongly leans on Plato's writings, so another "based on history" type of opinion.  Please see that I've repeated: OPINION.  Everyone is entitled to one, which we'll get back to.

This article shows that with Trump as president, the Supreme Court will be locked 4-4 (which I have opinions on the fact that the GOP refused to accept any of Obama's nominations, which is an absolute failure of our system of government) and gave examples of how Trump chooses to ignore current laws in favor of bullying as a means of getting things done.

And if you don't believe Trump is a textbook bully, prove me wrong. 




And this piece of drivel, OMG so much rage.
Comparison of women's rights march from the early 20th century vs 2017's women's march.
Let me repeat, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but when your opinion is based on obviously slanted articles used to incite rage, your opinion is less valuable.  It's impossible to accurately compare a march from the early 20th century to the march in 2017. 

Things aren't even CLOSE to the same now as they were then.  Let me just start out with the most obvious fact: We don't dress like that anymore.  I don't hear many women complaining about that.  I hear lots of women complaining about the trashiness of other women, but those are, yet again, opinions.  What I wear, be it a hat or vagina costume, shouldn't make a damn difference to you.  I'm in no way harming you, other than your delicate sensitivity, but you're also (potentially) the same person who is bitching about all the "special snowflakes" and "fuck political correctness, I'm just going to be honest."  Well guess what, we're allowed to have differences of opinion and you don't have to like what I'm wearing, just like I don't have to like what you're wearing.  But what you're wearing has zero effect on me, so I choose to move on to more important issues.

Another YUGE difference:  In 2017 we have the internet.  Yes, they had news papers during the time of the first women's marches, but if try to tell me that the internet doesn't hold way more power than the newspaper, I'm going to call you an idiot, #notsorry.  I am able to speak to people in a moment. 

A signal goes through some wires and more wires and maybe even to space and through some more wires and through a few signals and arrives in the hands (possibly literally if they are on their cell phone) in a matter of nanoseconds.  THIS is the power of technology.  Millions of women were able to march around the world because they were aware of other marches. 

If I had a friend in Germany or South Africa or India or any other non-North American country in the world, and I wanted to tell them about the march, I would have had to send a letter in the early 1900s.  A letter.  When was the last time you wrote a letter, a physical letter, on paper?  I can tell you it was in December when I mailed something to Australia.  I didn't write a letter, I wrote a short note, on a notepad, I didn't even opt for a huge piece of paper.  Because I can speak to this person on the internet in a matter of seconds.  I don't need to write her a letter.

So after you write said letter, you have to mail it.  It took several weeks for my package to arrive to my friend.  WEEKS.  Let's say it's 1920, I just found out about a sufferage march going on next week.  I told my friend about it in my letter to Australia.  Weeks after sending my letter, my friend would have received it.  It's too late, the march is already over by then.  Yes, she could organize another march, but lets be honest, in 1920, the number of people in Australia who cared about women's rights in America was mostly nonexistent. 

So they had newspapers.  Cool, bro.  Guess who were the printers of the newspapers?  Your "enemy".  So newspapers potentially weren't a reliable source for disseminating information.  Also, those signs from the early marches?  CRAZY!  Those signs were definitely considered rude and possibly vulgar at the time. 

We are now 100 years later in time.  Do you remember how long it took for LOL to take root into our culture?  Let's say a few years.  If you need a bigger picture, how long did it take for you to assimilate to a new form of communication (be that an acronym, social media site (FB, Tweeter, blog, etc), any way of sharing information with other people)?  Probably not too long.  Maybe a week, maybe a month, maybe a few months, maybe even a year, maybe you're still learning (which is perfectly acceptable because that makes you the most adaptable for new things).  Ok, so now imagine all the things that people have become acclimated and accustomed to in the last ONE HUNDRED YEARS. 

Abbreviated list of a few things that were invented/accomplished in the last 100 years:
-Electronic devices (TV, computer, cell phones, game consoles, pocket calculators)
-Space travel
-sticky notes
-Loud speakers
-RADAR
-alkaline batteries
-Vaccinations (tuberculosis, polio, influenza, rubella, hepatitis B, HIV/AIDS, anthrax), some of which led to WHO claiming that some diseases were completely eradicated (at least in the US).

My point is, our world is bigger, yet smaller at the same time.  We live in a global community.  We don't know our neighbors anymore, but we might be well-acquainted with someone that lives in another country, who we can speak to in an instant.  To compare the women's marches of the early 20th century to the women's march of 2017 is like comparing apples to oranges in some ways.

___________________________________________

While I understand that supporting a candidate 100% is very unlikely, if you can tell me that NONE of the executive orders passed by Trump during the first week of his presidency haven't concerned you, I need you to explain why to me.  So, soooo many of these EOs feel like a slap in the face of progress (to me).

-I can't understand why it's so important for there to be laws about abortions.  Why does MY choice matter to YOU so much?  Are you trying to save my soul?  If so, that's great, but you don't need laws to support your argument.  A law about abortion isn't going to bring me closer to God.  Separation of church and state are there for a reason.

-I kind of understand why there are immigration laws.  But I question how effective this ban will be on people seeking asylum from war-torn middle eastern countries (some of which we played a part in, the war-torn part, not the middle eastern part).  As someone who supported drug testing for welfare recipients and seeing what a waste of money it was, I imagine that these immigration laws will have similar results.  Also, as someone who lives with a foreigner, I question how these changes could affect us (yes, I know that Teh German is a white, male, from a non-middle eastern country, but as Trump touts about making America great again, all I can think of is how FDR for so long wanted America to be isolationist and then we were pulled into global events via Pearl Harbor.  I feel like Trump's ideals mimic FDR's isolationist policies very closely and then those articles from above about history repeating itself come into mind).

-Dakota Pipeline Access.  The EO to speed up environmental reviews is a definite slap in the face.  One does not rush Mother Nature.  Science is based on facts and we need to look at them.  Sometimes it takes longer to find the facts than others.  There are so many groups worried about the fallout from this project and none of that is being taken into consideration.  Why do we choose to be so blind?

-ACA.  Do you know how many people the ACA helped?  Yes, you might be afflicted with rising healthcare costs because we have a problem with our insurance companies, but soo, sooo many people who otherwise would not have been able to seek healthcare assistance are now able and that means so much more to me than having to spend more on my own personal insurance.  Yes, I know that some people were affected with significant increases, but I feel that the system is messed up to start with.  If you don't believe health insurance is a racket (as well as most other kinds of insurance), then again, please explain why.  Also, the ACA might have never been perfect, but it was slowly chipped away at by lawmakers in DC until it became what it was when it was passed.  I don't know what all the ACA entailed before it was passed, but I don't believe that the system was created without the best interest of the majority in mind.

-Regulation freeze.  This one is astounding because Trump is essentially blocking legislation that Obama was trying to pass before he left office.  Maybe this is one of those things that happens when the presidency changes hands and I'm just not aware of it, but what a fucking stupid waste of time.

 EOs I don't know much about, but should be mentioned:
-Border wall
-Federal hiring freeze
-Manufacturing regulation/use of American materials
-TPP



PS.  When I typed in "Trump exec" into Google, the first search result was "Trump executive producer".  Volumes were spoken.




TL;DR: I tried to give Trump a chance and then he passed all the executive orders which absolutely terrify me and people agree with him and people don't.  This post is about critically thinking about the things you read and hear and making your own opinions through educating yourself.  AKA, don't be a sheep.

Confessions {1/25}

-Having templates drafted and scheduled for my blog posts makes it 95% easier to actually post blogs.  I can see what is coming up and it's easy to just write a little at a time since it's already formatted.  BOOM.  #blogginglikeaboss

-Not going to the Women's March is more disappointing now than I anticipated it would be.  Still feeling all the feels and guilt about this.  Especially now that I've seen some of the executive orders that Trump has already signed.  #pleasehelp #GermanyIsOurPlanB

-I am an idiot and thought that Executive Orders had to be approved by Congress.  They don't.  #FML #sendmebacktomiddleschool

-Phil.  I swear.  That dog.  He is afraid of our "slippery" (aka non-carpeted) floors so I bought a $700 worth of rugs for downstairs.  Usually, he always has at least 1 foot on the rug, it's a very rare occasion that he takes more than a step or two onto a "slippery" surface.  That son-of-a-bitch (literally, HA!) apparently had ZERO issues crossing over the perilous floors to snatch the garlic bread off the counter that had been there for several days and eat the shit out of it in his bed right in front of Meri who was locked in her doggy jail.  #ButHesMyAsshole  #GlutenAddict

He must have really wanted that bread.

-The bread eating comes on the tail of him eating a tennis ball (but not the fuzz, which is how I knew).  Luckily, he barfed up some of the tennis ball the day he ate it.  I later found the rest of it in a pile in the yard.  I also found 2 earplugs when I was scooping poop.  #MYassholes #TheyAreSoCute

-My BAB gig is going well.. I think.  I didn't realize there were actually rules to follow until after I wrote my first post and then received an email saying they use AP formatting and not to double space after a period.  This blogging thing is completely unpaid for the "Real Brides" and there are ads all down the side of the page, and I'm being told not to use 2 spaces?  Seriously?  Other than the fact that it's muscle memory, spacing after a period is completely subjective.  Essentially, it's in the same boat as the oxford comma.  Fortunately, it's an easy fix to paste my entire post into a word document and ctrl+f all the .(space)(space) and replace with .(space).  But still, principle.

-That said, there is no interaction encouraged.  It's literally, give us your post, that's it.  I feel like if they focused more on interaction and content, they might actually be bigger and more successful.  Also, featuring blog posts that are over a year old?  #desperate #justmyopinion

-Last thing on BAB, there are SO MANY ADS on that site.  I really hope that whoever we are writing for is making something from our efforts.  It's not that I didn't volunteer, but now that I'm in it, I can see it more clearly.  #intheweeds

-This ad on FB made me LOOOOOL.  Funny they are supporting African American History Month, but those models look white.  I actually had to do a double take to see they might be black women.  There were no better photos?  Really?

-I looked into creating a Honeyfund thingy so people can give us money towards a honeymoon instead of gifts.  Problem: They charge a % to do credit card transactions.  How tacky is it/should I give a fuck if I just say we're accepting honeymoon donations and include our paypal email address?  I just don't want to give some company 8% of people's money because they are trying to give us money when I KNOW there are free ways to do it.  #free99

-I thought I found an alternative solution to register for our honeymoon with their site.. except that a coworker informed me that they ran the same racket, they also charge a % for the transaction.  #DONOTWANT  #givememymoney

-I sat at my desk on Monday and Tuesday and today I'm back to standing because my hip hurts so damn bad.  #DancerHipSucks

-I'm still working on learning Drupal to build a website for the DJ.  I thought I found a easy solution instead of Drupal to just use a Wix website, but there is no way to do a client section through Wix, despite years and years of people requesting it.  #ofcourse

-I did some Yelp stalking today on the new Yelp friends I made last night at the Yelpies.  #makingfriendsishard

-I won an award at the Yelpies last night for writing over 100 reviews in 2016.  #boom #LikeAnElite

-I had .83GB of data rolled over for this month.  That is of 2GB per month.  Yeah.  Yay for wifi at work and no crazy travels from 24 Dec- 24 Jan. #nomoredatadiet

-In an effort to combat my ridiculousness from last weekend, I created a list of things to do in Charleston in Google and shared it with Teh German.  Unless it's raining and everywhere is closed, we should have plenty of options of places to do things, even if we have to drop some dollas.  We need to experience our city, dammit.  #ThingsToDoInCharleston #besideseat

-YUGE announcement that I will speak to in the future:

(PS.  I love my planner)

Weekend Review {1/23}

FRIDAY

Friday was a busy day.  I skipped out on an AM gym session with Roux's Humom so I could get to work early since I knew I'd be leaving early.  Just a reminder: standing is hard work.  I stood at work for most of my time there, it was horrible, but my hip appreciated it.

We had an all-hands meeting at 1130 while we discussed the new projects we were taking on.  Lunch arrived at noon, yay free Evo pizza!  The meeting was supposed to end at 1230 (but our meetings always go longer than scheduled).  I had to leave at 1230 for certain.  I had an appointment scheduled for 1.  I had ridden Bagheera into work since it was projected to rain all weekend (which it did).  My appointment?  A massage.  #notsorry.

It was a super good massage.  The guy worked on my hips, which are giving me all kinds of hell right now from an activity I do not recall.  After my massage, I went home to drop off Bagheera and pick up Yurtle, then I headed to the Chiro's office.  I had meant to go before the work meeting, but had gotten side-railed and then ran out of time.

I pulled up to the Chiro's office at 3.  I noticed his car in the parking lot, but no other cars.  No bueno.  I then looked up the office hours online and they do not have afternoon hours on Tuesday OR Fridays.  UUUUGGHHH.  While I stared at the hours deciding whether or not I was going to be angry about this situation, I looked in the mirror and saw the Chiro come out the door.  I opened my door and asked him if he had time for just one more session today.  For me, he did.  Have I mentioned lately how much I lurve my chiropractor?

While he aligned me, he explained that it was his anniversary and he was headed home to pick up his wife and they were going downtown to celebrate.  Coincidentally, Friday also happened to be my 2-year anniversary with Company.

After pops, I headed home to wait on Teh German to come home.  I finished up my first BAB (Broke Ass Bride) post (not sure when it's going live, but don't worry, I'll share it when it does).  Teh German came home early, which was a surprise.  Then shit started to go downhill.

I kinda wanted to go out and do something, but I didn't know if he was interested.  I bounced some ideas off of him and got no response.  Then I got irritated and told him that I was tired of making all the decisions and he should find something for us to do.  He spent about 3 minutes searching somewhere on the internet for things to do then announced, "I can't find anything to do."

The rage... consumed me.

Now, I'm not sure if the very minimal progesterone levels of my new IUD (Merena) were effecting me or if me even considering them is me trying to blame my rage on something, anything beside legit reasons, but I was pissed.  I would also add that the wedding decisions we've I've been making also played a part in this rage.

As he sat in my office watching videos on social media, I stewed and got more and more pissed.  I finally went upstairs to shower.  While I was in the shower, I decided that I would go out on my own and find something to do (go to a movie, attend a comedy show that was in town, go walk on the beach, anything).  After getting out of the shower and getting ready, I went downstairs and told Teh German I was leaving and he asked where I was going and I told him I didn't know yet.  His response, "Ok, I'll come with you."

I couldn't even control it anymore.  My face gave me away (I was holding back tears) and Teh German asked, "What is wrong with your face?"  Then, the eruption happened.  "YOU!  YOU are what's wrong with my face!"  My heat-of-the-moment game could probably use a little work.  I tried to explain through my tears that I didn't think it was unreasonable to expect him to actually plan an event for us to do every once in a while.  He explained he hadn't found anything and I countered with the fact that I had found no less than 3 things to do with a quick search.  Crickets.

I am not mean enough to say, "Anyways, you weren't invited," nor was I willing to deal with whatever fallout would come from that situation, so I just clamped my mouth shut, blew my nose and wiped my eyes, while I waited on Teh German to change and come downstairs.  When we left, he asked what we were doing.  I said, I didn't care, he should decide.  He said he was hungry and then suggested Mex 1.  Mex 1 is something I suggested last week since they were having a special restaurant week deal.  I didn't mention the lack of originality, I just let it all happen.

When we pulled up to Mex 1, they were slammed.  There was obviously a wait.  Since we didn't have anything else to do, I suggested (of course) that we try Page's Okra Grill for dinner, which was 30 minutes away, rather than deflect his suggestions that we have something close-by.

When we got to Page's I wasn't really in the mood to wait, so we sat outside under a heat lamp.  Our food was delicious.  We were having some serious communication issues and I'm sure that the people sitting near us could feel the tension.

We had some delicious noms.  Teh German ordered the pimento cheese fries with bbq and coleslaw and they were AHHHMAZING.

Even my rage couldn't take away from how delicious they were.  As we were advised, we only ate about half of them so we could save room for our meals.  Teh German ordered a salad and I had the fried chicken.  As we were finishing eating, I asked Teh German what he wanted to do next.  It was only 8ish.  He didn't know (of course).  He asked about the info for the comedy shows I mentioned and I explained they were downtown.  He picked one he said sounded better, but I could tell he didn't really want to go.  I just knew.  I also knew that I was in an epic-ly foul mood and that I wouldn't enjoy it very much in my current state.  So I suggested that we just go home.  As expected, Teh German jumped on this idea and agreed.  I reminded Teh German that it wasn't lost on me that I had made all the suggestions for the evening and that I hoped he didn't tax himself with all these decisions.

When we got home, I started to get ready for bed almost immediately.  Teh German was doing things downstairs and I didn't really care what.  While I was getting ready, Teh German came upstairs, got ready for bed, and went to bed.  He wasn't facing me when I got in the bed (abnormal) so I didn't bother to say anything to him as I crawled in bed and tried to sleep.

SATURDAY

Saturday morning, I woke up and fed the beasts.  Roux's Humom and I set off for the gym by 8:30.  I was still so angry, I forgot to even tell Teh German that I was leaving.  I did accidentally walk on him in the toilet closet and I was pretty sure he'd seen me getting ready in the clothes closet, so I wasn't overly concerned.

After a solid workout, we returned back home.  Roux's Humom had asked if we wanted to join them for breakfast at a local diner that I hadn't been to.  I told her I'd ask Teh German and we'd go from there.  Much to my surprise, Teh German was awake.  He was laying in bed social-media-ing (less of a surprise).  I asked if he wanted to go to breakfast and he agreed.

Mr. Golfer and Roux's Humom were set to pick us up at 10:30.  I had jumped in the shower first and was holding it hostage.  I knew that Teh German had to shower and I also knew that he had to listen to me if we were in at the same time.  When he was finally out of things to do to pass the time while I was in the shower, I finally told him to come in.

I tried to explain how I felt without being emotional.  I feel like I make all the decisions and come up with all the entertainment.  This is probably coming to a head right now because I've made a lot of huge wedding decisions in the past few weeks and I didn't feel like it was unreasonable to expect him to plan something for us every now and then.  I also pointed out that he doesn't have a difficult life where he has to make a lot of decisions.  He doesn't often help me even decide what we will eat for the week, rarely makes the decision to clean, and almost never comes up with activities for us to do.  He didn't really have a response for that and actually said to me, "What do you want me to say?"  I had no idea and I told him so.  Truthfully, I wanted him to say that he would make the effort to contribute, but we both knew that if he said that it would probably be a lie.  I wanted him to say something to make my brain quiet, but I knew it wasn't the right time to say something like that.  As he finished his shower he said that he felt like I had attacked him Friday night with my outburst.  I explained that when he had said, "What's wrong with your face?" I probably didn't have the best response and that I wasn't trying to attack him.

As we finished getting ready, I explained that I wanted this to be a conversation, not a one-sided statement and he made the excuse that it wasn't something we had time for since we were already late for breakfast (we weren't, for once).  I let it go.  We were at an impasse and I knew he needed some time to process.

We headed to breakfast once Mr. Golfer and Roux's Humom came to pick us up.  Breakfast was pretty good.  We all came home full and, for our house, in better moods.  As soon as we got home, I realized my phone was missing.  Teh German called it and got no answer.  Then he called Mr. Golfer and Roux's Humom who also didn't answer.  Then he got a text from my phone from our server that had picked my phone up and said he'd keep it until the owner came to claim it.  Perfecto.

With the dogs in tow, I headed back to the restaurant to pick up my phone.  There are approximately a mabillionty things I wanted to do on the way to the restaurant with my phone that I couldn't do because I didn't have my phone.  I wanted to take a pic of Meri and Phil when we were stopped at the red light.  I wanted to listen to my audiobook.  I wanted to look up an address.  Really, I'm handicapped without my phone.  #firstworldproblems

It was a quick trip and when we got back home, Teh German and I had a skype session with his mom, chatted with Teh Dad for a bit after we ended the skype session, then we started cleaning.  Teh German agreed to vacuum the entire house and I would clean all the bathrooms.  These tasks take about the same amount of time for me since I'm very OCD.  While Teh German didn't do all my OCD vacuum things (use the hose against the baseboards with lots of dirt/near the crate/dog areas), he vacuumed, so I did not say anything.

Once we were done with our cleaning, we settled on the couch and started watching Sherlock.  Much to my happiness, Teh German really likes it.  He sometimes struggles with how fast the actors speak, but we always have captions on (Megan preference) but he really enjoys the characters and the story lines.  In excellent news, there aren't 24 episodes per season, so it won't take us long to get caught up and then move on to another series (Modern Family, unless I come up with a better idea).

I heated up leftovers for dinner and we ate in front of the tv, which is a rare treat for us.  We conquered season 1 and then we started the process of getting ready for bed around 9, because #oldpeople.

SUNDAY

Sleeps were super rough on Saturday night.  I was hot, I was cold, my hip hurt, my brain wouldn't stfu.  I ended up sleeping through Roux's Humom's texts about going to the gym.  We finally woke up around 0915.  We stayed in bed for a bit scrolling through social media (like we do) and eventually got up and heated up some leftovers for breakfast.

I knew I had to edit photos from the Twin's birthday party last weekend, so that was my goal of the day.  I started the laundry first.  I also responded to blog comments that I'd gotten.  Finally, I started on the photos.  After an hour and a half, my head started to hurt so I took a break to eat leftovers for lunch (we seriously had an obscene amount of leftovers from the week/weekend).  After I finished eating, I worked on the laundry and went back to photo editing.  An hour later, I was finally done.  Lesson: Never take more pictures than you are willing to edit, especially when using new equipment (a flash).

The house was clean.  Meri was helping decorate with all her toys.

After I finished the photos, I had Teh German bring me his documentation and sign onto the tax website so I could do his taxes for him.  Yes, I know this is ironic since I wanted him to come up with his own things, but I know that some things very much overwhelm Teh German and official government forms are one of them.  I also knew that his taxes would take all of 5 minutes since he has zero deductions.  It's literally just putting in his W2 info and his bank info for the return and then clicking submit.  Since he had saved his password info, it took even less time than anticipated!  With that done, I moved on to fun things: blogging.

I worked on a BAB post and then this post.  I almost started doing Drupal lessons, but instead decided to be blog productive instead.  All the while, Teh German had been watching the football game.  When it was over, he asked if I was hungry, which means that he was hungry.  I heated up leftovers (yes, again) for dinner.

After dinner, it was Sherlock and chill and laundry.  Eventually, it was time for bed since it was a school night and we had both slept like shit the night before.

_____________________________________

Overall, the weekend was meh.  It started off rough and got progressively better.  We were both very glad that Sunday was Sunday since we were both exhausted.

So, you may have noticed that I didn't go to the Women's March on Saturday and I'm feeling some sort of way about it.  I was super conflicted about going, I am super conflicted (and disappointed) in not going.  But I'll be honest and speak to what is on my heart..

I wasn't sure WHY I was going to the march.  There were a lot of women that I know who attended marches, but I couldn't tell if I felt peer pressured or not.  I also didn't have a specific reason I was going and that made me second guess myself.  What was I fighting for?  Was I attending just to say I attended?  Was I attending because as an on-the-fence feminist I was expected to march?  Was I going to fight for my rights that haven't been affected (yet/to my knowledge)?  Who was I fighting for and why?

I couldn't answer any of those questions with a straight answer and it was embarrassing to me.  If I couldn't answer those questions, why would I march?  I also had a fear that the march would turn into an anti-Trump event and I wasn't interested in that. 

Also, it was raining, shitty excuse since we totally have ponchos from Disney I could have used. 

Then it was after the fact and I was almost sick with disappointment that I didn't go.  Was I disappointed in myself because I knew others would be disappointed in me?  Why should this even matter to me?  Why did I need a reason to go stand up with other women around the world?  I shouldn't need a reason to stand up for my gender, to be a voice among the crowd for others who are definitely marching for something.  Maybe I just needed to do more research, but honestly, I didn't want to find more reasons to be pissed off.  What if attending the march was the spark I needed to become more involved?

I've recognized the fact that Trump was full of hot air during the election process (as all candidates are, don't deny it).  There are things that he said that I know will never come to fruition, even if I have no idea what those things are.  My immediate example that comes to mind is President Obama saying he would close GTMO down when he became president.  You guys, GTMO is still open for justifiable reasons.  Not as a place to harbor terrorists that isn't on American soil so we don't have to apply due process. 

At the end of the day, I think I didn't march because 1- I'm lazy and going downtown is a major pain in the ass, 2- I didn't have a personal reason, and most importantly, 3- I'm hoping that Trump isn't going to fuck us over in all the ways we think he might.

That said, I'm very scared I am wrong.  I'm scared I'm going to regret not dealing with the inconvenience and attending a march for RIGHTS.  Not women's rights, not LBGT(etc) rights, just rights.  I am very aware that I have a blind faith in people and that I'm often disappointed, but I really, really hope I'm not putting my faith in the wrong place this time.

When I was reading through my blog subscriptions this morning, it made me extra sad that I hadn't attended the march.  So many reasons were pointed out to me as reasons to march that I hadn't even considered.  Live and learn.

via

Five on Friday #97

EINS

Random things that don't take up a whole section:

• Alt codes for special characters are where it's at.  I'm lookin' at you degree symbol and you, too, umlaut U.
• I spent an hour trying to figure out why WordPress was cock blocking me.  I was even trying to read CODE and error messages and just was absolutely baffled and then had the random idea to turn off my adblocker and VOILA!  MAGIC!  Everything was fixed.
• This was following over an hour of troubleshooting with someone else why I couldn't sign in to WordPress or the BAB calendar at all.  #roughstart
• Working from home to recover from my IUD insertion on Thursday didn't hurt my feelings none.
• I started learning how to use Drupal this week.  I have high hopes I can do this without having to watch ALL of the tutorial videos after I get through the initial set up.
• I really want a Roomba.  It's totally first world, but I think it would make a HUGE difference downstairs, considering how much grass and shit (sometimes literally) Meri and Phil drag in from outside.  Buttttt we're saving for wedding and it's $$$.  :(  Someone please come up with an argument to help me convince Teh German we should get one.  I swear if he suggest maybe WE just vacuum more, I might throat punch him.  Because WE always ends up being ME.. as in MEgan....

ZWEI

I got my new IUD "equipped" Wednesday.  While the doc told me to wait until March when I went in December, I didn't feel like that was really necessary.  Also, with all these imminent healthcare changes, I wanted to get that taken care of sooner rather than later (even if I've read that it would take at least 2 years to make any changes to the current plan).  This makes it one more thing that isn't on my ever-growing to-do list.

I didn't remember it overly hurting the last 2 times (yep this is IUD #3), but I had worked myself up and was pretty sure I might die.  Ok, kinda, not really.  I do this mind-over-body thing.  I essentially ignore it until I can't anymore and then once I'm presented with the problem, I do some deep breaths and just hope it ends quickly.

My OB/GYN is nothing if not efficient.  While I did have to wait on him past my appointment time (a pet peeve), he was quick about the procedure.  He warned me when I would cramp, when it was going to pinch, when the worst part was coming, and even explained that my uterus was hurting because it had essentially "grabbed" the IUD and was hugging it.  Essentially, I was cramping like a mo-fo because my uterus was "welcoming" it's intruder.  Most excellent.  Doc also did his best to try and distract me.  I was also prepared with my book on my phone just in case I needed to distract myself.

I was fine immediately after.  The Doc stayed in the room with me for a few minutes to chat (aka observe me) and then when I didn't present with any reactions, he said I was good to go.  Honestly, I walked out of there fine other than some more intense than usual cramping.

I had told Teh German if I wasn't dying then I was going to stop by the butcher to pick up steaks for dinner.  It was about the time that I started pressing the gas and brake pedals that I regretted my life choices.  You don't really just how much your muscles are connected until you do something that shouldn't effect something else but it totally does.

I managed to make it to the butcher, but it was up there with "driving while passing a gallstone" level of enjoyment.  Once I got to the butcher, I took a number and noticed there were no seats available.  I walked around the corner and came back and a seat had opened and IDGAF how many old people were around, I plopped down on the bench and clutched my purse for comfort.  I could tell my body was adjusting and my symptoms were a lot like shock.  I wasn't shaking, but close and I opened up my camera app to confirm what I already knew, my face was deathly white.  I felt like I waited forever, but it was really probably more like 5-10 minutes.  I couldn't focus to read, so I just sat there, willing the people in front of me not to have complicated orders.

I miraculously didn't collapse when my number was finally called and I stood up.  I picked out my steaks and headed to the register.  I wasn't really in pain, but I was feeling pretty woozy.  After getting checked out and getting back to the car, I managed to get myself home.  I let the dogs out and starting preparing the marinade for the steaks.  I could feel myself start to feel better.  Roux's Humom had asked me to go over and let the dogs run at her house, so I made my way down the street.

As I sat on the patio watching the beasts play, I realized I was back to feeling 100% normal (ya know, for me) again.  I guess the shock had worn off.  From that point, I was able to move like normal with zero issues.

As expected, there was some bleeding.  When I had left the Doc's office, he had even told me we could have celebratory no babies sex that night.. although it would also be crime scene sex.  At least he's real about it.

DREI

Wedding things:

• I'm officially set up to start blogging for Broke Ass Brides.  I just need to start writing.  That's always the hardest part.
• After pinning a mabillionty things last weekend, now I want to go organize my wedding board.  Surprise.  Not.
• Met with the potential DJ yesterday.
• I think we've finalized our guest list at 166 people.  We have A, B, and C lists.  We are aiming for 100 guests.  I have a feeling we're going to be over 100 people and I haven't told Teh German yet.
• I did inform him that at my current projections for the budget, we will be over our figure.  He wasn't pleased.  At least he can't blame the photographer budget anymore since I got a deal on that.
• So many brides buy more than 1 dress.  I don't get it.  
• Also under things I don't understand: Buying a wedding dress then losing a massive amount of weight.
• I want a mailbox like from Up for wedding cards.  And Teh WJL can also put out the "Adventure Fund" bottle with balloons.

I want to share our details here but I'm holding back for reasons that I know are completely kinda silly, but kinda not.  One day.  I promise.

VIER

I wish this was the way we actually spoke to girls.

Saturday, January 21st is the day of the Women's March so it's not too late to find out if there is a march in your area.

FÜNF

10 things that made me happy this week:

1. Appointments available right away.
2. Sore arms from lifting.
3. Peanut butter frozen hot chocolate.
4. Seeing my tax return estimate.  Hello wedding dollas.
5. Getting to ride Bagheera last weekend.. and today.
6. Working from home.
7. Not being super sore from the IUD procedure.
8. WAYYYY better sleeps than last week.  Decisions = less stress.
9. A massage AND a Chiro appointment on the same day.
10. Lunch provided by Company.  Woot.

Happy Weekend, Gentle Readers.

Confessions {1/18}

-Maybe you saw it yesterday on Teh FB page... but I'll tell you again if so... Guess who got accepted to be a Broke Ass Blogger?!?! MMMMMEEEEEE!!!  YAY!  Obviously that blogging market is totally aimed at very specific people, but its an every other week blogging commitment, which I think I can handle.  Also, it gives me an outlet for all the wedding stuff, which I just wasn't sure about putting it all here (the struggle was real).  #separationoflifeandwedding #megmo2017

-Yes, we have a hashtag already, are you really surprised?  We also have our own email address and website (its not finished yet).  #nerdstyle

-Meri eats poop and it infuriates me because I don't know how to make her stop.  #turdbucket #literally

-I'm mostly a slob, so when I'm at work, I prefer to eat out of a mug so I'm not pushing shit all around a bowl or plate.  Some might also call this energy conservation.  #savingbowls

-After waiting a few weeks, I finally called and set up 3 different appointments on Tuesday. #getshitdone

-I STRONGLY disagree with Obama's decision to cut Bradley Manning's sentence short.  STRONGLY.  It makes me extra angry that this seems like his last fuck you.  Manning (no matter what his first name is) deserved a 35 year sentence.

-I spent 15 minutes at work this morning pruning my herbs that the building manager of our previous building gave me.  More importantly, those bitches are still alive.  ALL of them.  Even the one I have at home.  #greenishbrownthumb

-I knew that going to DC for the Women's March wasn't feasible and I was feeling some mild (Catholic induced) guilt about doing nothing while everyone was fighting for my rights.  When someone on my FB feed shared about the march in Charleston, I was all over that.  I'll be downtown Saturday at 11 with a whole bunch of strangers who care that I get to make my own decisions about my own uterus.  #mypeople

-My biggest fear about the march is that it will turn into an anti-Trump rally, which I am not interested in.  I don't support the man, but I sure as fuck don't want him to fail.  If you haven't already seen it all over social media, let me share the graphic with you:

-I now have a 2nd desk at work.  One for sitting and one for standing.  It's almost like I'm in GTMO all over again with my 2 desks.  #notsorry

-I requested a standing desk because whatever the fuck is going on with my hip, Teh Chiro suggested standing instead of sitting while I am at work.  His exact directions were to stand and rest my knees against something, so I've rigged an awesome setup with a chair to rest my knees against so I'm not locking my knees AND I have padding for them.  Pretty sure I have "dancer hip" like Marshall.  #standingishard #imoutofpractice

-Restaurant week is going on in CHS and we haven't even bothered.  I did look at a few menus and Mex 1 (my fave mexican in CHS) is having a super awesome deal and Carolina Ale House (one of Teh German's fave places (because beer)) is having a decent deal, so we may partake before it ends on the 22nd.  We'll see.

-I told Teh German that if he stopped ordering beer when we go out, I'd stop ordering sweet tea.  He shot me down quick like.  Ugh.  So much for saving money when we go out.  Sweet tea is usually $2-3, so lets say $2.50 average.  Teh German's beers usually cost $6-9, so let's say $8 average.  That's $10 saved PER MEAL alone.  But he's not willing.  Apparently asking a German to NOT drink beer when they are eating out is like asking them to give up being German.  Ugh.

-At the current rate of spending, we're already over our wedding budget.  FML. 

-Teaser photos are really a life saver.  For everyone involved... #familiesaredemanding #thesethingstaketime

Weekend Review {1/17}

FRIDAY

I spent most of my Friday thinking about this place:

Our venue.

We made the decision on Thursday night.  #progress

I rode Bagheera into work since Charleston winter is a lot like NY summers.  While at work not only did I potentially find a DJ who was willing to give us a discount because I pointed out that her website wasn't complete, buuuuttt I also got my original numero uno photographer who agreed to give us a discount for a weekday event and paying in cash.  Yes, please, kthx,  I worked until around 1:30, then I could no longer withstand the temptation of a beautiful day with my bike parked outside.

I headed out and made my way to the coliseum to pick up our Shrimp and Grits 5k race packets.  In a moment of poor planning, I hadn't bothered (or remembered) that there was a children's run on this day.  FML because there were children swarming the entire area with their screams and not paying attention and running around and almost running into me.

There was some drama at the pickup because Teh German's packet didn't exist.  Apparently they had never registered him.  Ugh.  I spent about 10 minutes trying to find the copy of the check I wrote back in April at the Bridge Run expo, but technology failed me.  I gave up and just settled on running alone, ugh.  I perused the expo and then headed out.

As I walked out of the building, I stopped and kinda gathered myself after having to dodge no less than 5 children within 20 feet of the door.  There happened to be 2 police officers sitting on a bench nearby and one asked me if I was ok.  I explained that there were just a lot of people and it was kinda overwhelming, but I was fine now.  He noticed my helmet and asked me what I rode and we chatted about bikes for a minute or two.  So many people villainize police officers, but I just don't understand it.  I've never had a bad interaction with a cop.  Even when I've gotten pulled over.  I'm the one in the wrong, so my bad attitude doesn't mean they shouldn't do their job.

I continued on my way to Bagheera.  As I was preparing to leave (which takes several minutes because I have to turn on my headset and turn on music and make sure it's the good jams and put in my earplugs and put my key in the ignition and pull my hair back and put on my helmet then put on my gloves and actually get on the bike and start it, it's a process ya'll), I noticed a car waiting on me to leave since I was in the closest spot available.  I didn't bother to hurry.

Getting on a road was a relief since it was pretty warm in all my layers with my coat and gloves and helmet on.  I headed home and it was time for laziness.

When Teh German eventually came home, we ordered pizza for dinner and watched HIMYM for the rest of the evening.  Knowing that we had events scheduled on Saturday meant that a lazy Friday evening was perfect.  Also, we're halfway through season 9 and while I love HIMYM, I feel like we've been watching this show for eons and I'm ready for it to be over already so we can start watching something else (Sherlock, Modern Family, so many options).

SATURDAY

Saturday morning came wayyy too early and honestly, I almost just skipped the 5k and let my registration fee go as a donation to the North Charleston Arts in School blah blah blah.  But, I was already awake and I really wanted the medal and I hadn't been in Charleston to run the race the 2 years prior...  So I dragged my ass out of bed and did the damn thing.

I was pretty late.  In fact, as I was walking to the start line from where I parked, I heard the gun go off.  Oops.  I walked up to the start line right as the people at the back of the line were starting to walk to get to the start line.. sooooo right on time.  Teh Running Bestie would have never allowed this if she was here.

The run was mostly flat (the Lowcountry way) so it was nice.  I've been dealing with some hip pain over the last week and a half, but when I'm working out it doesn't hurt, so it's a nice reprieve.  The run was easy, I got my medal, walked through the end area, decided against eating shrimp and grits for breakfast and after a run and headed home instead.

Our next event was the Twin's 1st Birthday part at noon.  After I got home, I showered and got ready.  Knowing that "Teh German Time" is usually in effect on the weekend, I had to prod Teh German a little to start getting ready.  He's so very cute.

We made it right on time to the party.. It was everyone else that was late.  I agreed to take pictures for the event as a birthday present.  Twin Dad had smoked pork butts, which meant that BBQ was on the menu for lunch.  NOMMMM.  We ended up leaving around 3.  I was so exhausted that I went home and took a nap.  After a week of sleeping super shitty, it was catching up to me.  I woke up a little bit after 5:30 and heard Teh German answer my phone and chat with Teh Dad for a bit.

I felt like downstairs was too far to go, so I stayed in bed reading and pinning on my wedding board on Pinterest for the night.  Teh German didn't come upstairs because he thought I was asleep.  He also only watched his YouTube videos on his iPad instead of through the TV, which was glorious.  I never realized how much I appreciated silence until Teh German came into the picture with all his music and YouTube videos and noise.  At one point this weekend he had a German radio station streaming downstairs (which is pretty cool in theory), then went upstairs to shower and turned on his Spotify.  Yeah, no.  I shut the downstairs noise off quick-like.

Eventually he did come to bed and it happened to be right around the time that I was done with being awake.  Win.

SUNDAY

Sunday we got a slow start since there was nothing on the schedule other than the neighbor's kid was having a birthday party that we were invited to.  Instead, I scheduled an outing with Roux's Humom and Mr. Golfer.  Teh German tried to get sassy with me because he'd told the kid we'd be going to her bday party the day before, but I was unaware of this.  He said he felt bad because he'd told her he'd go and I said she wouldn't even miss us since all the kids were going to be there and I wasn't really up for that.

Mr. Golfer picked us up at 1245 and before we left, I ran across the street and dropped off a birthday card with $10 in it for the birthday kid (to make Teh German feel better), then we headed to local 9-hole golf course.  It's like beginners level golf.  Oh yeah, I should mention, I've never ever in my entire life played golf before.  Mini-golf yes, but not actual swing and aim at a tiny hole half a mile thataway golf.

Spoiler alert.  All nine holes, hole-in-1.  BOOM.
JK.  Definitely not.

We didn't keep score, but I know that at least 3 of my balls are in the ponds at the course.  I tried to explain to everyone that sports with balls and I don't usually make a good combination, but no one wanted to listen to me.  Additionally, Mr. Golfer is, as you can imagine, SUPER into golf and he's really good.  I am not.  Additionally, I have things that prohibit me from even being a mediocre golfer, specifically big boobs, a bad back, and I've currently got something going on with my hip that makes it hurt all the time.  So yeah, turning my body and swinging and bending and moving, not so much my idea of a good time.  I had committed to going to golfing, not actual golfing.  I was there to be cute.  I have the text to prove it.

That said, I can now say I've (shit-itly) played golf.  There are absolutely zero pictures to prove this.  #bloggerfail

When we got home, I checked up on some internet things, then I agreed to go to the auto stores with Teh German so he could pick up some things to change Suzi's oil.  I knew better than to go in the store with him and just opted to sit in Baloo and wait.  A mabillionty years later, Teh German finally comes back.  Seriously, a mabillionty years, I had check FB, Instagram, and had even started reading but it was making me sleepy-tired, so I just reclined the seat and kinda drifted in and out.  Forever.  Of course, that store didn't have everything we needed so we had to make a stop at their competition across the street.  Fortunately, that trip only took a few minutes.

Teh German had suggested we get a milkshake to make up for his less than stellar attitude.  Instead, I talked him into going to Ye Old Fashioned for ice cream.  We weren't super hungry, but we decided to split a tuna melt and a basket of bacon cheddar fries and it was perfect.  Then we had half of a delicious brownie ice cream sundae.  NOM.

With that, our errands were complete and we headed back home.  While I was inside working on wedding spreadsheets (for the rest of my foreseeable future), Teh German was in the garage changing Suzi's oil.  There was yelling and I checked on him and he wasn't hurt so I came right back inside.  I've learned that my presence isn't helpful, nor is my help actually helpful, so I just leave him be.  Saves me from hurt feelings and much distress.  #notsorry

Apparently the oil catcher container thingy was leaking which was causing some serious drama.  I just pretended like nothing was happening.  Eventually, I was tired of the computer and moved to the couch for some reading time.

Later, Teh German came inside, crisis resolved, changed into lazy clothes and sat down on the couch with me.  NBD, except that he wasn't speaking to me.  I didn't know why, but I could feel the tension and I couldn't figure out the problem since I knew I hadn't done anything to piss him off.  I started having some kindle/library problems and got frustrated, then I blew up on him because he wasn't speaking to me... #womanlogic  I ended up going upstairs at that point and getting ready for bed.  Obviously, I needed some alone time to think about what I had done.. and some sleep.

MONDAY

Monday morning we had a skype date schedule with Papa G, but we were still able to get a slow start.  I messaged Roux's Humom and told her that I was interested in going to the gym if she was going.  We ended up joining the morning crowd around 9.  Teh German wasn't out of the bed yet and I had just been tossing back and forth since I'd fed the beasts, so it was for the best that I leave.  1.5 hours of workout, we made it back.

Teh German was up and eating breakfast.  We hadn't really recovered from whatever was going on the night before.  I went upstairs and showered and when I came back down, Papa G was already on skype.  We discussed wedding plans and progress and Teh German made some commitments that I wasn't pleased with (more things we need to do.. don't even get me started).  After Skype, I encouraged Teh German to start getting ready so we wouldn't be late for our 1230 appointment with our wedding coordinator (see what I just did there?).

Of course, we were still late.  Something on Suzi had to be adjusted and oil level checked and just blah blah blah.  We arrived 10 minutes late, which is pretty good... considering.  First things first, I told her I brought her a present and presented her with an old towel.  When Phil pooped on her floor, she cut up an old towel she had laying around.  Well, I replaced it.  After discussing some details, setting up a meeting for February, and paying her, we were free for the day.

Since it was supposed to rain at any point, we made a quick stop by Tractor Supply Co for Roux, then we came home to be lazy.  Ok, I was lazy.  Teh German did more work on Suzi.  I played around on social media then got bored with it and went to the couch with my book.  Reading was making me tired, so I took a very short nap.

I had invited over Roux's Humom and Mr. Golfer for dinner (to be nice and because I knew we'd have a lot of leftovers) and I knew I needed to get started cooking at 5.  I got up and got everything started and fed the beasts.  Company arrived at 6:30, right on time, and dinner was served after I almost charred the bread.  Oops.  Shitty oven problems.

After they left, it was time for a few episodes of HIMYM, then time for bed since it was a school night, ugh.

_____________________________________

It was a very much needed long weekend.  Last week we had after-work appointments every day except for Friday.  This was my own doing and a necessary evil.  With that one week we were pretty much able to make all of our big wedding decisions and it should be way less running around from here on out.

Also on the positive front for the weekend: I got my W-2 which means tax return!  Which equals wedding dollas!

This Monday-Tuesday was only slightly Monday-ish, which was nice.

Hooray for a short week!  Let it actually feel like a short week!!!

PS.  For those of you chomping at the bit on wedding deets (ok probably not many of you, that's ok), I have an announcement tomorrow on the wedding front that is a pretty big deal to me (you may have already seen it)... :D