Five on Friday #228

EINS - Random Shit

This is what the run calendar looks like now.. oops.

March:
7 - Myrtle Beach 5k for the Bless Your Heart medal
21 - Run Skidway Island half marathon
28 - Rock n Roll DC half marathon with Teh Bestie and Matilda

April:
4 - Myrtle Beach Divas half marathon
9 - i5k because tech and local and it's just a 5k.
18 - Tarheel Double Down Challenge: 4 miler + 10 miler.

June:
6 - Floppin Flounder 5k
12 - Hot Persuit 5k

July:
18: Rock n Roll Chicago 5k
19: Rock n Roll Chicago half marathon

September:
5: Rock n Roll Virginia Beach 5k
6: Rock n Roll Virginia Beach half marathon

December:
12: Kiawah half marathon

Total medal count for these 13 races: 19!!
I imagine there will be more races added in October and November.

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I opted NOT to put my dirty dishes in the dishwasher while Teh German was gone and he came home and got upset about the sink with dishes in it when he came home.  He asked why I didn't put my dishes in the dishwasher and I said, "You don't do your own laundry when the hamper is empty."  Apparently, this wasn't acceptable and I had to say that I was tired and didn't feel like it.  I could have.. I just chose not to... because sometimes, husbands don't need to be spoiled.

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Runcations with Teh Bestie and Matilda are the best.  Here's why.

Matilda likes making the hotel reservation.  We split it 3 ways, she gets points, we get to stay in nice places.  Everyone wins.

Teh Bestie manages the expo and race start time/place details.  She gets us where we need to be on time.

I manage the food situation.  I scour Yelp for good places and determine what is reasonable and what isn't. I make suggestions before we go to make it easier when the time comes to make a decision.

Each person manages their own travel situation.

Everyone is winning.

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Oh, yeah I was an asshole and didn't show you the outfit that I/we actually selected for the award dinner.  Mah bad.

With my red power heels, of course.

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I brought my coworkers Krispy Kreme doughnuts for Fat Tuesday since I had to go into the office for a meeting.  Gah, I'm awesome.

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The 2nd worst thing about Teh German changing companies.  He is no longer working right by the airport for when I need someone to drop me off.  The #1 worst thing is that he's not in a convenient location for drop-bys, which I used to do fairly regularly just because if I had the time.  No more.  Boooooo.

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On Teh German's birthday, I discovered my $100 chopping knife that we received as a wedding present in the dishwasher to be washed.  DO YOU KNOW WHAT DOESN'T BELONG IN THE DISHWASHER?!  MY $100 KNIFE.  Do you know what I did?  I took it out and hand-washed it with all the love it deserves and said ZERO THINGS to Teh German about it, because 1- it was his birthday and 2- I rarely use that knife because it has to be hand-washed and I know he hates that.  I will admit that if I see it again, I will definitely say something.

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Let's assume you receive a file named "Lastname Firstname CompanyName FormName.pdf".  When saving your file, would you:
A) Name it whatever the fuck you want like the rebel (asshole) you are.
B) Leave the name the same and let the computer decide if it wants to put a (1) after it or not.
C) Some combination of both
D) I'm not downloading your stupid form, it's probably a virus you are trying to get me to download.
E) Fill in the format given with your applicable information.

Because my coworkers tend to think that any option but E is a solid choice.
WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK PEOPLE.

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There is a Trump rally in Charleston today.  We've planned to completely avoid the area.  Also, why it have to change from MAGA to KAGA?  (vomit).  This rally comes AFTER the shitshow that was the democratic debates on Tuesday night that also took place in Charleston.  Our primary election is on Saturday, so I know why all of this is happening, but it doesn't make me hate it less.

I'm over here all, "Get off my lawn!" and my lawn happens to be all of SC now.  Sooo there's that.

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For Teh German's bday, we went to his favorite pizza place for dinner and I suggested dessert, even if it was just a vanilla milkshake.  He really went all out and ordered a Snickers milkshake at Cookout.  I ordered from my standard options: peanut butter fudge or strawberry cheesecake. 

When we got home... I shared my strawberry cheesecake milkshake with the garage floor.  You better believe that I salvaged what could be salvaged and put it in a bowl and ate it (no pics of said bowl, but it happened). 

I told Teh German that we were going to have to start taking more selfies since there were almost no photos of us together since NYE.

SOB.
The verb and the noun.

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As a surprise to Teh German, I had a BroBasket delivered to Teh German at work.  It wasn't an actual delivery person, but FedEx and the package arrived the afternoon before his bday, but thankfully he had already left and then there was a mix up and someone ended up opening the box?  IDK, it was weird when he was telling me about it.  Thankfully, they realized it wasn't work related and the package was ultimately delivered to Teh German's desk.  THEN.. THENNNN he proceeded NOT to open it ALL DAY LONG until he got home.  WUTTTTT???  He's the worst at presents, I swear.

I mean, I'm glad I got to watch him open it, but it was meant to be opened at work so kinda give him a boost for the rest of the day.  Siiiiiiigh.  I explained to him it was my version of sending him flowers, since he probably wouldn't appreciate flowers in the same way (he concurred).

I did a customized BroBasket with a beer selection, cigars, some pretzels, and beef jerky.  I would totally do it again.  Then again, I could just reuse that same basket and load it up and deliver it myself for cheaper.

I'd show you a pic of the basket, but Teh German opened it so fast and I didn't even think to take a photo while he was opening because I was in the moment.  #NotSorry

He even commented that it was an awesome crate he could use for something else.
So I felt like I did pretty good.
Too bad his coworkers still don't know my #BestWifeEver status since he refused to open the package at work....
Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

ZWEI - Money Shit

-All the race registrations.  ALL OF THEM.
-AirBnB for one of those races.
-Runcation in CLT (meals, gas, hotel, parking, etc)
-Bendy Brewski Yoga
-Sunday brunch
-Fancy award dinner outfit/professional outfit
-Krispy Kreme
-Dog donations for WV track greyhounds
-New phone case for Granny after she showed up with the manufacturer's loose plastic still on her phone.  No wonder she "can't see" the screen and "can't get it to work"......
-Paid for the remaining balance on my phone after the rebate hit
-Chuggle for Granny.  She has never stopped talking about that game since 2002.  There was an ad after every game and I wasn't even playing it, but was annoyed by it, so I spent the $6 so she could play ad free. 
-Gas
-Bojangles
-Groceries

DREI - From My Phone Shit

I live with a monster.
Obviously.

If your pumps have TAP TO PAY, ENABLE THEM.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.
So much rage when my excitement to use tap to pay was denied and I then had to fetch my wallet and my credit card to pay like a peon.

Potato skillet bowl:
Fried potatoes
Crumbly sausage
eggs
mushrooms
+ cheese, cilantro

My Stats teacher left this photo of Jack the service dog up for the entire class to boost morale.
He also brought in a package of oreos.
And he also extended the homework by a week.
Best teacher ever?

Sweet, sweet Easter, how I love thee.

I made sunset soup.
otherwise known as: BABY FOOD.
/facepalm for days.

Q: HOw many steps are there in the OPSEC process?
A: Two, Five, Six, Too Many.

When your bestie sends you are super soft hoodie shirt like she has because she loves you!

And then the string from the new shirt comes out in the wash and it was too long anyways, so a problem was solved.

What do athletes wear on Leap Day?
Jumpsuits.

VIER - From the Internet Shit

Be brave and say what the heart longs to say.
-MHN

You have known what it means to lose and you have also known what it means to look within and find that courage to come back stronger than you have ever been
-MHN

FÜNF - Things that made me happy this week

1. Not being overly sore from the race on Saturday and all the rain this week.
2. Birthday surprises for Teh German.
3. Birthday date with Teh German.
4. Sweet tea at work.
5. Teh Granny coming to visit, even if she got lost and caused me to have to leave work due to a "family emergency" during a meeting.  Granny being lost = a family emergency.
6. Soup for dinner on "cold" nights.
7. Plans to gather with Teh Neighbor Besties this weekend.  It's been like 1290481934910342 years since I did that (they were all together without me last weekend at the beer festival).
8. Teh German agreeing that we should take more photos together.
9. Sitting/snuggling with Teh German on my couch since Granny had taken his normal seat last night.
10. HOODIE WEATHER.

Happy Almost Leap Day, Gentle Readers.

Teh German's Birthday Tribute

Let's be honest, I'm not the most affectionate person you've ever known, but this post is going to be pretty publicly affectionate.  Also, it's a not a secret that I have obnoxiously high standards and I have to be realistic about that.

So really, the true hero in my life is Teh German.  Not just for me, but for ALL OF US.  Not only is Teh German great, he also meets my high standards (98% of the time and the other 2% I'm just being unreasonable) and makes my life infinitely better.

Teh German is the one who celebrates my wins with me and consoles me when I'm distraught.
He is the one who manages not to get headbutted by my when I'm jumping up and down with excitement over something and the one who wipes my tears when I just can't go on anymore.
He is the one who sighs heavily at me when he's not in the mood for me/things and laughs at me when I make his stupid tisk noise at something.
He is the one who ensures my heart (and the garage) are full.
He is the one who helps me be a better person and reach the stuff on the high shelves.
He is the one who encourages me to do the crazy things I do (school, run) while taking care of things at home.
He is the one who ALWAYS says good night to the dogs even if I've already tucked them into bed.
He is the one who ensures that the doors are locked and home security is attended to (while I live in a state of comfortable ignorant bliss that the world is a good place and no one would actually break in and rob us).
He is the coffee maker, carpenter, and engineer of our house while I maintain the nerd and Betty Crocker duties (with some help).

But ultimately, I couldn't live this life without Teh German.
It would be less fun, less satisfying, and way more stressful.

I'm thankful for Teh German being my family and for his unwavering support of all my crazy ideas.  I'm thankful for his (sometimes limited) patience.  I'm thankful for all the things he does for our family to ensure we have such a good life.

Happy Birthday, Teh German.
You are my favorite person/thing of all the persons/things.
I look forward to the rest of our years being celebrated together.

Weekend Review {2/24}

FRIDAY

Friyay for real!  I headed to work in the AM with intentions to go to class.. but then I was going to be late to class, which meant potentially missing the quiz, which was the only reason I was even going to class, and so rather than risk getting to class and not being able to take the quiz, I just skipped class entirely and headed to Charlotte.

Fun cup Friyay.

Teh Bestie was running ahead of schedule since DC traffic hadn't thwarted her progress, which was part of the reason I was inclined to just skip class.  #Priorities, yo.  We met at SouthPark Mall since 1- we needed lunch, 2- I needed to find an outfit to wear to the award dinner I'm attending in March.  We decided on Cheesecake Factory for lunch since we were right there and we had planned on picking up cheesecake anyways.

Carb loading with the chicken picatta, which is never disappointing.

After lunch, we headed to the department stores to find something acceptable for me to wear.  It was an adventure, for sure.  Also, I tried on my first jumpsuit.  It was just as hilarious as you'd imagine.

We managed to find a super awesome outfit, I used a $50 gift card + some Belk's coupons and it ended up only being $121 for a 3 piece Tommy Hilfiger outfit (my first ever Tommy Hilfiger anything, kthx), which made me super happy.

After shopping, we made a stop at Cheesecake Factory for take-away cheesecakes, then we headed to the hotel, parked in the hotel garage, then headed to the expo to pick up our packets and peruse the tables.  It was rather disappointing, but that meant money saved.  We also picked up Matilda's packet for her.  On the way back to the hotel we stopped at The Greens, a park with books and book things!  Super adorable... Except for all the dog shit, which was a huge buzz kill.  For real, pick up your dog's shit, especially if you're in a public place... LIKE A FUCKING PARK IN THE MIDDLE OF (down)UPTOWN.

By the time we got back to the hotel, we saw Matilda pulling into the parking garage.  She parked near us and we all unloaded no less than a full week's worth of luggage per person from our vehicles and headed into the hotel to check in and get settled.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Cheesecake is LYYYFFEEEE, Gentle Readers.. LYFE.

After eating half our cheesecake, we finally figured out a place for dinner.  I had suggested several places, but none of them were within walking distance, so we reassessed the situation.  Teh Bestie found Queen City Bites and Brews and we walked over for dinner.  The place was tiny, but cute.  We found a table that a guy was leaving from, thankfully.

I ordered a beer with dinner.. WUT???

The food was satisfactory.  After dinner, we headed back to the hotel room and I talked all of us to sleep.

SATURDAY

Saturday morning we were up at 0630 for the race.

I sent Husband a kissy face text and he sent one back.
/swoon.
He's so cute.

We missed the National Anthem, Teh Bestie's only request, but we did get a solid stretch in.  I opted to stay with Matilda and Teh Bestie for this race since it was a fun run.  When we left the hotel, the weather app said it was under 30°F, but it, thankfully, didn't feel that cold.  There was never a point, once we got into the sun, that we felt cold.

We finished the race in ~2 hours, which was the goal.

After the race, Matilda said she had time for brunch, so we hit up Redeye Diner, which did NOT disappoint.  I had scoped out this place earlier in the week as an option.  I didn't realize until we got there that LIVERMUSH was a menu item!!!! YAY!  I lurve livermush.  It doesn't love me, but lawd how I love it.  With breakfast consumed, we headed back to the hotel for showers and stretching/rolling/vibrating.

Matilda ensured that we had late checkout (4pm), so Teh Bestie and I took our time.  I vibrated while she rolled and she kept stretching while I showered.  Then, I got dressed and relaxed in the bed, considering a nap.  Teh Bestie showered and she laid down too.  In the throws of what might consider a "runner's high" (which I apparently experience differently than other runners because for me in means making crazy decisions instead of having serotonin-flood induced happiness), I signed up for the Tarheel 10 Miler Challenge.   Oops.  Then, I, again, talked Teh Bestie to sleep.... and she had said she probably wouldn't nap.  Bwahahaha.

We left around 3 to get to our destinations.  The drive was going well until I was on 26... Then this garbage:

Thankfully, the backup didn't last that long.  I ended up making it home by 6:20 and the dogs acted like I'd been gone for years.  Meri was extra affectionate and Pax wouldn't let me out of his sight.  After the beasts were fed, I took care of the laundry, ate dinner, relaxed on the couch for a bit, and then was in bed by 8:30/9.

#3 for 2020.

SUNDAY

Sunday, Meri ensured that I was up by 0745.  I laid in the bed until 0830 as punishment for her waking me up early, despite having fed them 2nd dinner (where I split their dinner in half for the normal feeding time, then give them the other half before bed, in an attempt to be able to sleep in).

I got up, had to hunt down Teh German's spare truck key, moved the truck, moved the new bike (which has still not been named), pulled a crate out of storage for Roux's Humom and put it in Willow, then got ready for being in public.

I had decided to go to Bendy Brewski Yoga at Holy City Brewing since Sunday was the return of the brunch menu.  Before yoga, I hit up the grocery store to pick up the few items I needed for this week's dinners, considered blowing up the self-checkout area of the Bi-Lo I was at, managed to not violence anything, managed a LOT of fucks for a Sunday morning at 0915, and ended up using 2 checkouts to finally get my groceries scanned so I could escape that hell place.

Yoga was everything I needed it to be since my hamstring had been yelling at me during the race.  I was loosy goosey by the time we were done.  After, I paid and took a seat at the bar for brunch.  I opted for chicken and waffles since we were having potato skillet for dinner.  Again, it was everything I knew I needed.

After brunch, I headed home, unpacked the groceries, then went outside to scoop poop.  I was hoping it would be cold enough that all the poop would still be poopscicles, but it was not.  Boo.  Teh German came home as I was finishing up the poop situation and he agreed to go on a dog walk with me.  After the walk, I headed to the office to work on homework things... except that mostly, I just researched runs to do... and Teh German went out on his maiden voyage with his new (not yet named) bike.

I ended up finding 2 more runs I was interested in, realized that I'd missed my Stats homework due date and asked for an extension, organized my binder, printed out my submission for my database homework that is due this week, and tried to figure out the German readings situation. 

When Teh German came home, he didn't have any argument again my going on all the runs for every weekend in March, soooooo I signed up for more runs.  Ooops.

It's hard to be this cute, but someone has to do it.

I did some data science research coding stuffs and right as that was finished, Teh German said he was hungry.  He hadn't been listening to me talk his ear off about dinner, so he didn't realize we were cooking dinner, rather than heating up leftovers.  That meant dealing with a hangry Teh German, but he managed it well enough while helping me prep dinner (fried potatoes, sausage, mushrooms, scrambled eggs, +cheese, cilantro, hot sauce).

After dinner, the hanger dissipated, I headed back to the office to try and get a little more research stuff done and kept hitting road blocks.  Uuuughhh.  By 7:30, I headed to the couch with my laptop so I could continue downloading research things, upload runcation photos to the FBs, and watch Dark with Teh German. 

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Overall, a very good weekend.  Runcation weekends are some of my faves and obviously I was "high" (runner's high, I swear) and signed up for ALL THE RACES for ALL THE MEDALS this weekend. 

I did get some school stuff accomplished, so that was good.  Teh German wasn't hungover and felt well after his day-drinking with Teh Neighbor Besties.  He came home after his ride and essentially told me that he now has another love in his life... the new bike.  Made me lol.

This week includes:
Teh German's bday
VOTING on Saturday
HVAC maintenance

March is going to be a busy month, so I'm going to enjoy this last week of February, despite it's tumultuous beginning.

Five on Friday #227

EINS - Random Shit

This article about Hating Popular Books spoke to me... Because I'm a hater of popular things. #Sorrynotsorry

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Since I didn't go to the eye doctor last year because insurance wouldn't cover new frames (only new lenses and I knew my prescription wouldn't change that much, so not worth the hassle), I decided to go this year.  Because I'm cheap, I went to Walmart Optical (and also, I've been there before).  I decided on a whim to swing by on Tuesday when I left campus.  Miraculously, the doctor was able to see me and do an eye exam.  While we waited on my eyes to dilate, I tried on frames... ya know, one of my favorite past times.. (sun)glasses modeling.

Teh German's next frames, or something similar.
Bet me.

The doc straight up was like, "NO PUT THOSE DOWN. They have been there for 10 years, they are out of style now. NO!"

The doc had me try these frames on and then explained that I'm the only person she's ever seen in those frames that could pull them off.
Thank you, thank you very much.  /bow

Top contenders.
It's a red frames year.

DEM PUPILSSSSSS.

Fun fact, I can't get new glasses until after March 6th, since that's when I got new glasses in 2018.  Siiiiiigh.  But the lady in the optical center that helped me put a note in my record for the glasses I picked, so hopefully it's just a matter of going in to order them and waiting for them to come in.

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When hoarding stickers is actually a problem and you really do have too many stickers...

There were stickers that I didn't use, because of fit problems.  I also had to save space for a Holy City Brewing sticker, which is the large unoccupied space.

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Why Elizabeth Warren is my girl crush.

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It's been a snuggle Meri week.

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TODAY is meet Teh Bestie and Matilda in Charlotte day!! YAY!!! 
As expected, I forgot something that I couldn't pin down before I left the house.  I arrived at work and realized I'd left my phone charger.  Thankfully, I have chargers at work and in Willow, so it's fine.. it just won't be the super convenient 10ft charging cable that I prefer for hotel room stays.  #FirstWorldProblems

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I managed to fix the jets in the bathtub all by myself.  I just had to reset the GFCI outlet.  Glad those fucking things have taught me the solution is sometimes that simple.. Even if the lesson was incredibly frustrating at the time.

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Betty Crocker came to visit this week and she (me, I'm Betty Crocker) made tortellini soup and it was fucking delicious and there were zero regrets.

A bowl for the freezer!  Woot!

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Honestly, it's been a quiet week and I'm not sad about it.  Things are finally into a routine and I'm thriving in this space.  School is getting accomplished.  I was coding successfully the other day which brought me an obscene amount of joy.  I can understand 70% of the things my German professor says in German.  I am confident the database project for my lone computer science class (I don't count my research class since it's not a formal class) this semester is going to be relatively painless.  My Stats class is a breeze and I don't think about it much outside of class. 

Things with Teh German have finally settled and we're back into our groove as well.  This weekend we're apart while I go to Charlotte for a run and he goes to Columbia for the annual beer event with Teh Neighbor Besties.

After more than a month of strife, I'm glad this settled feeling has finally arrived.

ZWEI - Money Shit

-Groceries
-Spotify
-Valentines splurge 75% off candy
-Starbuckos
-Bojangles x2.
-Tickets for a Holy City event for Teh German and I in May.
-Commonhouse beers... for ME.
-A birthday suplize.

DREI - From My Phone Shit

When you gotta buckle in the fancy roses from Husband.

Teh German commented that this was a very German dish for me.
Grilled cheese (bread and cheese), tater tots (potatoes), and a salad; all the German meal staples.

80 days.  EIGHTY MOTHERFUCKIN DAYZZZZ.
Yes, that's a Starbuckos straw for my not-peppermint java chip frap.
I swear they have coconut syrup in a peppermint syrup container.  But it tastes like an Almond Joy, which isn't bad, and I'm afraid at how bad they'd fuck it up if they tried to fix the drink.. so I just let accept it.
As long as it doesn't taste like toothpaste, it's tolerable.

Meatball subs and salad, for when you gotta use the red sauce that won't fit in the freezer.

Teh PT Wife's new medal rack.

Chocolate covered kreme filled?
YAS PLEASE.

Thankful for a local beer that has that "yeast roll" aftertaste.
I bought myself a 6-pack.

When you want a fun cup instead of a boring cup.

VIER - From the Internet Shit

CAT FIGHT.
I'm for neither, kthxbye.

When the Navy CIO makes jokes.

$43 FOR A RIPPED UP SWEATSHIRT.
DAFUQ PEOPLE?!

FÜNF - Things that made me happy this week

1. Stickers on my work laptop.  So what if I look like a beer/dog-lover.
2. Being the adult and supporting someone's choices, even if I don't support the choice.
3. Putting my coffee in a fun cup this morning instead of a boring cup.  It's the little things.
4. Splurging on myself.  Food treats that weren't necessary, but brought me joy nonetheless.
5. Routine.
6. Successfully coding something.  Coding is so painful so much of the time.
7. A friend noticing my FB lurking.
8. Pulling out the suitcase.
9. Finishing Cricut projects that have been needing attention for a while.
10. Getting to see Teh Bestie and Matilda today!!!!

Happy Friday, Gentle Readers.