Dominoes, Destinations, Duty, and my Killer

There is only one more full work week till OUR vacation!!!!!!!!  The excitement is building, despite having no more plans to make, only events to show up for.  It's a feeling of surrealism that we're (Teh Bear and I, duh) actually taking a vacation, vacation, and doing something new and adventurous for both of us.

How did I celebrate this weekend?

Thursday night Teh Mom came in from NC.  She was going to Baltimore for the weekend, and she figured that stopping to see me wasn't a bad idea.  I agreed.  We hung out on Thurs night till way too late while I told her the story of my mystery pain and it's solution.  On Friday morning, I got up and went to work.  At lunch time she messaged me that she was heading out then called me to ask if I wanted to do lunch.  I agreed.  She said she wanted something "Southern Maryland-y" so I gave her two options of 2 places I hadn't been to yet:  Smokey Joe's (a bbq place) or Blue Wind Cafe (a gourmet sammich place).  She decided on bbq so I met her and drove us to Smokey Joe's.  We decided for "NC bbq" in MD it was actually really good.  After picking up a bbq sammich for my LPO (she needs a Teh Nickname), we left and I brought Teh Mom back to her car.  She headed on her way to Baltimore and I headed back to work.

After work, I came home and succumbed to the desire to take a nap.  It was delightful.  Afterwards, Phil and I went on a walk (since Teh Bear says I need to practice my walking for our Grand Canyon excursion) then it was dinner and dominoes, Mexican Dominoes to be exact, with Teh Humanitarian and Teh Coast Guardian and Teh Korean and Teh Flying Metal Mouth and 1 other friend later that night.  Teh Coast Guardian won Mexican Dominoes with doubles again, actually double doubles, but this time there was no argument if it was a valid play.  Phil and I came home to play on the internet and take a nap.

Saturday at 03, I woke up, got ready, took Phil out for a quick business and fed him half his breakfast, then left to meet my copilot so we could go transport some newly retired greyhounds back to GEGR's greyhound central (GHC).  At 05 we found out that the hauler with the dog was going to be 2 hours late.  We arrived 30 minutes early, despite getting some bad directions about taking an exit that wasn't necessary since we were already going the right direction.  I explained to my copilot that I had taken someone's watch that afternoon and that I needed a nap since the hauler was already late.  Hotel de Phil (the back of Yurtle) is more comfortable than I expected.  I wrapped myself in Phil's comforter and passed out till 0830 when my copilot woke me up to explain that the hauler was going to be even later than they had told us.  It was decided at that point that other people were going to come meet the hauler and that I could go home so I could make it to work on time that afternoon.  I felt like one of the ladies was frustrated with my having to leave, but both my copilot and another man there understood as they were both prior Navy.  As the man said, "I retired and I know that you can not be late to watch."  I agreed with him and apologized for having to leave to everyone and headed back to my car dog-less.  :(

I made it back home and took Phil on a walk and gave him the other half of his breakfast.  I played on the internets and chatted with Teh Bear on Skype until it was time for an afternoon nap before watch.  I made it to watch on time.. And survived watch, then came home, took Phil out, and collapsed in bed exhausted.

Sunday morning when my alarm went off for church, I wasn't ready to get out the bed.  But I couldn't be late!  I formally joined Lexington Park United Methodist Church today.  I've been going there since February, but finally made it official.  Teh Coast Guardian and Teh Humanitarian also came with me to church, which was awesome.  Afterwards, we hit up Linda's Cafe for lunch then the thrift store for me to drop some stuff off, look for another Phil comforter, and for Halloween costumes for Teh Coast Guardian who has decided he wants to be a banana.

After a skype date with Teh Bear, it was nap time again (I love weekends!).  I was, expectedly (yep, just made that word up for you), woken up by Teh Coast Guardian saying that they were going on a hike at St. Mary's River State Park and it was time to go.  After I was ready, we all piled into Yurtle and headed off.  Phil was a little cramp since I had to split Hotel de Phil (aka sit a seat up for a human to sit in), but he survived.

When we arrived at the park, I noticed Yurtle's TWIN in the parking lot!  I was so excited.  It's rare to see Kia Sportages, but it's extremely rare to see them in S. MD since the closest dealership is an hour away.  ANDDDDDDDD, this car was an EXACT twin, it was even twilight blue!  I left a note on their windshield: Awesome car!

There was a snafu during the hike where Phil decided that a fuzzy black dog was for eating after the dog growled at him.  The fuzzy black dog ended up being ok (Thank Allah, I could just see the vacation money pour from my account), and Phil acted like nothing had even happened after it was all over.  The full path around the lake was 7.5 miles, but we prob walked around 2 miles then turned around.  When we got back to the car, there was a note on my windshield:

I'm glad there are still friendly people in the world!

After we arrived back home, I started wings and pizza for dinner and Teh Coast Guardian and Teh Humanitarian came over.  We watched Louis CK: Chewed Up, which Teh Bear showed to me and I think is hilarious.

I also brought my camera with me on our walk!  Proof:

Playing on the fallen tree.

Catch me!  I'm going to jump.  - Teh Coast Guardian.

Phil's thunder thighs.

Can we say gorgeous day?

Pretending to sit on Phil since he's tall enough to be a personal bench.

Look at the camera, Phil!

Phil and I!  Finally a good pic together not taken by me.

Phil walking Gami (her leash was attached to his for about 3 steps, until he stepped on her leash and she abruptly stopped).

Teh Humanitarian and Teh Coast Guardian.

Peeps of fall in S. MD!

It was such a beautiful day!

WINTER IS COMING!

Walking path wide enough for 3 people and 2 dogs.

The lake.  /swoon.

Teh Phil-boy.  He's so handsome.  Even if he tries to eat fluffy black dogs.

Teh Coast Guardian and Teh Humanitarian and Gami-girl.

Teh Megan!

Next time, I won't bring Phil and I'll bring the Nikon.

Hai Mom!!

The lake.

Being artsy

YAY for excellent walks and weather and friends and no crazy vet bills and
vacation coming up and...  so many more things..
YAY to an awesome life!

Up this week:
-Work.  Rah.

Up this weekend:
-packing..  WOoo!
      *to include laundry, making a list of items to not forget anything, rolling everything I pack, digging my boots out of my storage closet, picking out which size suitcase I'm bringing, prepping the car (to include removing back seat headrests, bring the cargo cover in the apt)...  this list just seems to keep growing, I'll stop now.
-Fall Festival at church (crap, I gotta buy some stuff to make a cake!) to potentially include trunk-or-treat
-potential other Halloween activities during the day on Saturday
-relaxation and socialization!
-If my new (brown) chairs arrive (brown because Target no longer offers the black ones to match the ones that I ordered back in December) before Friday, then Mexican Dominoes at Teh Megan's house since we'll have enough seating for everyone at the table.. AND we can actually use the leaf (which means having to unwrap it from the original packaging...)

Thoughts of a well-spent watch...

The one thing no one EVER told me about when I was considering joining the military was that I'd stand "watch."  "WTF is watch?" you ask.  Oh watch... sweet, sweet watch.  The best kept secret of the military. 

Watch is also synonymous for "duty."  Meaning.. someone is always available to take care of issues.  You'll hear, "I got the watch."  That means that you no longer have to call 911 if the building catches on fire, you don't have to record "all conditions normal" every 30 minutes in the legally binding log book (that you are supposed to write in ALL CAPS for).  Watch means different things in different places.

In bootcamp, watch meant standing at the door of our compartment to challenge anyone that wasn't supposed to be there and circling the compartment every 30 minutes to make sure no one was doing things they shouldn't be.  You got to carry a fakely loaded weapon and practice your best "recruit handwriting" in the logbook (for recording all clears and if any events took place, like if there was a fight club discovered in the showers at 0323 or a boy in the girl's laundry room with the girl that let him in having sex) and even answer the phone if you were lucky enough to be there when it rang.  Extra duty included snow watch, where if the snow was more than 1/4" you got woken up at whatever time it was in the morning and got to go outside and shovel snow.  As much as I wanted this duty, I ended up never getting to shovel snow.

Once I got to training, watch meant sitting in a ladderwell stairwell for 2-3 hours and ensuring that no guys got distracted and ventured too far down the halls of the bottom floor (where the girls lived) and that no girls got lost and went upstairs (where the boys lived).  There were also other types of duty, like colors (which is when the National Anthem is played and the flag is raised or lowered at 0800 and sunset) and duty driver (where you drive people to their "official business" (ex: medical when it's at another base and they don't have their own method of transportation, pick up incoming personnel from the airport, etc)).  There was also a quarterdeck (the entry point of a space/area/building) watch, but since there were 4 ladderwells, that's where most of the watches were stood.  The quarterdeck watch included making records in the logbook, but only one poor soul was submitted to that.  The quarterdeck assistant got to hand out liberty cards (freedom passes which gave us permission to wear civilian clothes and be out in public) and they got to collect them as people came back to the barracks.

When I was in GTMO, duty was sitting on the quarterdeck entry point of our building to check badges for everyone that came in since the space was only available to select people with the proper clearances.  This watch lasted for 12 hours.  The day watch consisted of mostly checking badges and calling "Attention on Deck" when O-6 and above walked onto the quarterdeck.  Night watch was totally different where you got to bring your computer in and watch movies/listen to music and check the badges of any persons motivated enough to come in before 0600 and clean and sweep the sidewalks outside (subsequently giving yourself blisters), and calling the main security watchstander to let them know that there were no terrorists detainees free in the parking lot and nothing suspicious had been seen on the cameras and there were no crazy fires every hour from midnight-0500.  The logbook was completely electronic, I was impressed with the techy-ness of this.  Good times.  Really.

In Bahrain, duty was standing on the quarterdeck, checking badges to ensure that people who had the proper clearance to get in were getting in and people that didn't have the proper clearance weren't.  You also got to call "Attention on Deck!" for any and all stars (O-7 and above).  You got to record when all the important folks came and went in the logbook.  Luckily, the watch was secured at 1800 6pm and started at 0600 the next morning.

Here at VX-1, duty includes sitting at a computer in a office space that is mostly windows that gives you a view of the road and the buildings across the street.  You check badges and make records in the logbook when someone checks in or goes on leave vacation or if a fire alarm goes off or any kind of special non-regular event happens.  You get to answer the phone and do lots of call transfers to other people in the command.  I personally think the best watches are holidays and weekends because you don't have to deal with as many people as you would if it was a week day when everyone was at work.  Except that no people means even more time to fill....

And luckily, all that description above took 30 minutes.  Now onto the thoughts of watch..

-Duty driver walked in with the chevrons on his jacket upside down.  I pointed it out to him, and the other 2 2nd classes that were still here agreed that he was wrong.  He insisted they were facing the right direction.  I insisted they were still wrong.  I even showed him my own jacket so he could see what was wrong.  He still insisted he was right.  Finally, I got him to understand that he had them on upside down, not backwards (there is an eagle in the insignia that is supposed to face a specified direction).  He claimed to have looked it up...  I'm a master of looking up insignia directions for this uniform, dude.  You're wrong.  He fixed it after he finally understood.. Which was good because there was no way I was going to even let him be on watch with his shit so obviously jacked up.  It was the first thing I noticed when he walked in.  Note:  He is a 2nd class.

-It's a hard life being an IS.  All of my exam study material is classified, so no studying for my exam on watch.. and what with only 25 BMR questions, I don't feel like that's the information I need to focus on.....

-I'll be productive and fill out the rest of the log book!
-All columns made on every page!
-All pages stamped!
-Title rows created up to letter Q!

-The duty-driver said I needed to regain my sanity so he took the log book away while I answered the phone.  I really just want to finish the rest of the book and be done with it.  Too bad it wasn't as funny as he intended.....

-I'm pretty sure that rice and black beans with cheese for dinner isn't going to be as delicious as I want it to be.

-I WILL finish the rest of the logbook before dinner.

-Total time working on logbook: 2 hours.  We are about 1/3 of the way through the book and I did the lines for the columns and rows and stamped each page for the remaining 2/3s of the book.  The last time I did that was Memorial Day weekend when I had 2 back-to-back days of watch.  I really need more things to do on watch...  It's really a bummer that reading Thought Catalog depresses me too badly.

**LUNCH BREAK**

-Rice and beans and cheese wasn't as delightful as I wanted it to be.

-Phil appreciated his trip to the dog park (where he actually fetched the ball THREE times!) and his free dinner.

-Apparently a little kid called right after I left for dinner asking where "Mike Cock" was.  I'm slightly disappointed I missed this.

-I was potentially going to dog sit this week, then I was definitely going to dog sit this week, then I was no longer dog sitting this week.  I'm trying not to be disappointed, but it's not working out too well.  I was looking forward to an extra puppy-luppy.

-TWO WEEKS TILL VACATION!!!!!!!  Teh Bear says I need to acquire/find some boots.  Apparently, he is very hardcore about this hiking thing.  Now.. where did I put my DCU boots???  Why do I have a feeling they are in the bottom-most container in the storage closet????  Uggggh (not like the boots).

-I take great joy in finding random lint balls in clothing I've not worn in over 6 months.  YAY for lint balls in the pockets of my NWU jacket. 

-I really wish that Google Reader worked on NMCI.  NMCI is the devil.

-I just went to JPAS to see if there was any work-type stuff I could do.  JPAS is down for maintenance..  Why can't JPAS go down for maintenance during the work week?  WTF?  Their efficiency is disappointing.

-Talking on the phone really passes the time quicker than just sitting here.

-Thank you STFU Parents for the entertainment you have provided.  Too bad NMCI will only load the first page of most of the articles I've opened up.  Mommy-jacking is probably one of my biggest FB pet peeves now that most of the copy/paste statuses have disappeared.  Oh wait..  Biggest FB peeve is liking everything that you see on your FB feed and I get spammed until I have to hide your likes/comments.  /wristS

-Screw NMCI, I will play BUBBLES!

-I WON!  I WON!!!!!!  I've never won bubbles before.  I always end up losing, which is disappointing   But this time, I WON!  And there was someone there to witness it.  I once spent 7 hours on watch playing that game and couldn't win the entire time.  I won after playing for 1.5 hours tonight.

-Tried playing Pacman.  I had to be told that you have to eat all the dots.  Megan 80's Fail.

-Tried playing the flying helicopter game.  Good thing I'm not a pilot.

-Played the shooting the disks game.  Felt like a redneck.  Moved back to Bubbles until watch was over.

-Watched my relief pull in the parking lot at 2315.  Saw no one come from the car until 2328.  So much hate.

Overall thoughts:
This duty day wasn't as bad as one in the past have been.  It passed fairly quickly and there was no depressing articles and no earth shattering realizations.  Whew!  Maybe next month?

Fill in the Blank Friday #22

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 1.  One thing I plan on doing to relax this weekend is     taking a nap after the Greyhound haul on Saturday.   Maybe writing some blogs, but definitely being lazy.  Maybe finally finishing the rest of Weeds on Netflix… who knows.

2.  A big pet peeve of mine is    people that drive significantly under the speed limit.. Example: Speed Limit is 50, driver goes 35.  FML. 

3.  I am really loving   not breaking into a sweat every time I walk outside AND seeing red leaves on the trees...  because WINTER IS COMING!!!

4. The rain is    still absolutely one of my favorite things.  Actually, when it started raining in the middle of the night last night, I woke up, said a little prayer of thanks and immediately fell back asleep.  The only thing better is snow, duh. 

5. My favorite girly indulgence is    earrings.  I’m too lazy to paint my nails or wear makeup, but I LUB ME SOME EARRINGS.

6. A song I always get stuck in my head is    whatever was playing last when I get out of car, usually.  Or sometimes my alarm song.  It just depends on the day. 

7.  The best cure for stress is    music and/or working out (in whatever form you choose, naked activity is considered working out in my book.. so what if I’m excited about vacation?). 

Preview for Mrs. Boomkin!

Mrs. Boomkin and her mom were very adamant this past weekend that I when I came up for Mrs. Boomkin and Mr. Voices's baby-shower was to bring my "good" camera.  They both reminded me several times so I wouldn't forget.

This week has been very busy so I haven't really done any work with these photos, but I told her that I'd upload a few for her to see.  I'll let you make up your own captions.

I wound up with over 200 photos.  Mostly of gift opening where Mrs. Boomkin was looking away from me, but its ok.

Little Notes #5

Dear YNAB (You Need a Budget),
You haven't really helped me control my spending, but I can see where every penny is going.  Sometimes your program is a little too complex for me, but I'm sure if I was ever patient enough to watch the instructional videos I wouldn't be so overwhelmed with all the budget options.  Nonetheless, I like tracking my monies.  It's kinda fun, even if it kinda sucks.

Dear soon-to-be-here-DeStefano Baby,

Your parents and family are really excited about you.  I saw that you got lots of presents.  If you're not an Eagles fan your Daddy might disown you, but that's no big deal.  I told your parents a secret about how you're the baby I'm most excited about this season.  That's kind of a big deal for me, FYI.  I hear you have big feet.  I at least need you to fit in one set of the outfits I bought, but preferably the monster one because I'm kinda partial to that one over the elephants.


Dear Philadelphia,
Your roads suck.  That stacked bridge thing on 95??  HATE IT.  It freaks me out.  But, thank you for no traffic issues this weekend, that was much appreciated.

Dear Vice Presidential debate,
You were worthless to me.. AND your presence on a Thursday night meant no Grey's Anatomy... AND it meant it was a school night, so there was no drinking game for this girl.  On the other hand, thanks for the 2 hour reminder that my vote.. and the all day reminder the next day via FB from all my friends was great too.

Dear MD/DE,
Your I-95 tolls are ridiculous.  I learned a secret on the way back to S.MD though.. going the Hwy 301 way only costs $2 instead of $14.

Dear Sunday night traffic,
Or lack there of...
You were awesome.  You made my trip back to MD significantly less painful and I appreciate that.  You were also going pretty fast.  Thanks for that.

Dear Yurtle,
Everyone loves you.  Seriously.  Especially that lady at the pizza place driving the Mercedes.  I'm not sure if she actually checked you out through the windows or opened the door, but she loooooooved your leather seats and how cute you were.  I loooooooooved your 28.9 miles per gallon and cooled seat on the way home.  While Phil enjoyed the back seats that fold down to create Mobile Hotel de Phil.  This trip was pre-game for our trip to NC in 2 weeks.  I'll miss you while we're in Denver and the Grand Canyon, but I promise to love you long time when we get back and drive around NC together.  I'll even pay for your insurance and renew your tags and get you inspected.  It will be good times.  Promise.

Dear Teh Bear,
17 days till our vacation.  Tickets are bought, hotels are reserved.  We're on a vacation mission.  I'm pretty excited for snuggles..  and for our first plane ride together (in completely cheesy mode).  I'll even hold your hand in the airport and try not to power walk every where like I do when I'm alone.  PS.  Phil is excited to see you in NC.

Fill in the Blank Friday #21

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1.   My go to outfit for a dress-up occasion like a wedding is   lets not pretend like I get invited to weddings.  It's either that I don't have enough friends, I don't have enough close friends, or I have "smart" friends..  If I got invited to weddings.. and/or special dress-up events, I'd probably wear this dress I bought from Target that is black and "dressy" and someone described it as "classy" in the reviews.. and it looks really good, but I've never worn it because I've never had a reason to.  Welcome to my life.  

2.  This week has been   dismal, but not really so bad.  I got to work on the holiday, but I'm making the day up some other time.  I got to stay at work late several evenings, but I also got to go in late, so it balanced out.  It was chilly and rainy at the beginning of the week, and now its crisp and sun-shiny outside.  Lets say the week is ending on an up.  

3.  When it's dinnertime and I'm feeling lazy I'll usually eat   leftovers because I almost constantly have those since I live alone.  I guess if I had to cook something, I'd say frozen pizza.  If I was motivated enough to go out, prob KFC or Wendy's (depending on what kind of fatty I'd been earlier that day)...  

4.  My favorite pair of shoes is   *whispers*  my tye-dye looking blue Airwalk "crocs"...  I love having opportunities to wear them and I know how much the world shuns Crocs.. but these are soooooo cushy and comfy.. and warm despite the holes.. and they have diamonds instead of circles so they are obviously much cooler than Crocs.  

5.  A random item that I own that is completely unnecessary, but that I could never part with is    *looks around apartment*  uuhhhh..  I don't even know.  I'd say Bets, but I love her and I use her often, so not Bets.  I don't feel like there is anything that I couldn't ever part with.  Does this mean that I've mastered being NOT materialistic?  

6.  My favorite person is   I don't have a favorite person.  I guess that is strange.  I've never really idolized anyone.  I guess I could say I'm my favorite person, but that's probably cheating.

7.  If I were going to write my own blank it would say   What was the most awkward part of your week?  And then I'd answer..  Tripping on Phil on our run early in the week.  Everything is infinitely more awkward when you're pretty sure no one saw, but you can't be 100% certain.  

Giving kid advice.. when you don't have kids...

***DISCLAIMER***
I am in no way attacking the person that posted this on their Facebook.  I'm trying to open up a respectful, honest dialogue about a subject which is of interest to me.  Hateful, rude, or otherwise nasty comments will be deleted.

The other day, I went into work (it may or have may not been a holiday in America for a European "discovering" the "continent") and saw this:

Immediately, I got defensive.  My first thoughts were:
1.  Well, I don't have kids, does that make my opinion invalid?
2.  Was the lady making a point that offended my FB friend?
3.  Is my FB friend an over-poster of her new son/her BF's daughter?
4.  WTF is up with the alternating caps?  I thought that was out as of 1997.

I collected my thoughts, because I didn't want to sound like a bitch, because I was legitimately trying to understand her reasoning.. and I also wasn't trying to start an argument.

I also know that I am easily misunderstood when it comes to my comments and FB.  I didn't comment on Teh Stepsister's FB page for over a year because she thought that everything I said was me being mean to her, which she and I discussed via a potentially very embarrassing argument on Facebook like adults do that she deleted after we finished with our comments nastiness at each other.  This misinterpretation also happens to me in person, frequently.  It's really an awful thing.

So anyways, back to the full thread:

When I got home, I went on Today's website and found the clip my FB friend was referencing.

http://moms.today.com/_news/2012/10/08/14293848-stfu-parents-blogger-reveals-self-still-doesnt-want-to-hear-about-poop

Essentially, this lady has created a blog for all the outrageous stuff she finds parents posting on FB.  She argues that pictures of your kid pooping or vomiting, etc is over-sharing and that parents should censor themselves by asking themselves if ALL their friends would really want to see whatever they were about to share before they posted it.  She also finds comments that parents leave on their friend's posts that make everything about being pregnant/a parent.  Today did a poll and 88% of people found it funny..  I'm part of that 88%.  Some of the stuff on the site is outrageous!  Why do people parents think that it's ok to post some of these things?  Social media is the devil!

But back to MY FB friend's post.

Why did my friend mute the TV because the woman didn't have kids?  Was her opinion invalid because she is childless?  What if she was actually pregnant once and had a miscarriage or stillbirth that she doesn't like to talk about?  She still doesn't "have kids" in a definitive sense, but she's got the "experience" of growing a human, you just don't know about it.  Is she now entitled to her opinion?

How does this apply to parents that adopt (which I asked)?  My FB friend's explanation is that adoption takes a long time so the parents have "wanted" their adopted child for a long time.  But, what if they didn't have any other children and their adoptee hadn't arrived yet?  Are their opinions valid or do they get muted as well?

What about people who abuse their children or hurt their children in some way.  Are their opinions valid still, since they meet the criteria of having children?  What about parents who are deadbeats?  What about parents who had a child that died at a young age?

Yes, I'm being extremely picky/pointed in my questions because I feel like they are valid.  Especially when I'm being told that my opinion doesn't matter because I've not had a bun in the oven been pregnant or have a child.  There are too many variables that correlate with having a child that aren't always known upfront.

Also, I disagree with the fact that most people adopt because they are physically unable to have children.  I have a friend who gave birth to her child, but her and her husband agreed that their next child will come from Uganda, that God is calling them to adopt.  I think that adoption is awesome, no matter your reasons.. sometimes, no matter what you're adopting.... even if it's a pet.  Giving someone/thing else a home is a big deal in my book...  Maybe I'm biased?

We then moved on to people posting too many photos of their pets.  I admitted to being guilty to this and the FB friend who posted the original status liked it right away.  I'm not sure if that means that she appreciated my honesty or she believes that she is subjected to too many Phil photos.  Either way, I can see how this is a parallel situation, as many people treat their animals like their children.  I knew right away that I thought Phil was the greatest thing since sliced bread and I wasn't going to subject all of my FB friends to photo upon photo of him all the time, so I created a blog for him.  I don't always share the links when I post new blogs because I'm that adamant about not spamming my friends with Phil, Phil, Phil.  I will spam Teh Bear, but not all my FB friends (you guys and gals are welcome, btw!).

After I found the segment from the Today show, I became irritated with my FB friend's status because the woman never said, "Stop posting photos of your grimy children on social media!"  She actually admitted to wanting children of her own soon and that she agreed that milestone photos and sharing photos so your family would recognize you were acceptable.  She continued with stating that she wasn't opposed to people posting photos of their children on social media, she was opposed to people posting inappropriate photos of their children on social media, like their poopy diapers or licking the parmesan shaker at the pizza place.  She was also opposed to people not censoring themselves when it came to what they said on social media sites, like they lose all filters and just let go with diatribes about parenting when it isn't called for (the example I remember was the status was something about going to the theater and the new-mom posted that she hadn't seen the inside of a theater since she was 6 months pregnant and something else that I tried to quickly forget).

I was disappointed in my FB friend's reaction to the lady not having kids instead of listening to the message that I think she might have actually agreed with as she is very conservative about the photos she posts of her son/her BF's daughter (which I did mention in the comments).  I was also disappointed by her use of random capital letters in the last sentence, as if it was adding emphasis to the things she was saying.  Pretty sure 1998 called, they want their aLtErNaTiNg CaPiTaL lEtTeRs back.  It physically pained me to do that, FYI.

Random fact:  Did you know that Microsoft Word now has a menu for casing?  You can select sentence casing, lowercase, uppercase, and 2 others.  I actually just checked it for the alternating capitals and it's not there, thankfully.  I didn't want to have to start boycotting a perfectly good Microsoft product!

So what are your opinions?  Are the opinions of the childless valid on subjects pertaining to children?  Would you ignore someone's opinion if they were childless and trying to give you advice about posting pics of your kids on social media sites?  What if they were a childless-Nanny and trying to give you advice in general about children?  What if they are trying  to have a child and give you advice before they have conceived?  What if they were trying to adopt, but didn't have children of their own and tried to give you advice?

We've came all this way and I'm not sure if my opinion has seeped out of all this text or not.  But to be clear, I feel like just because someone is childless doesn't make their opinion less valid about children.  Maybe their views don't align with those who are parents.  Maybe their views will change if they do ever have children.  There are people with children who don't have valid opinions, from my perspective.

There is never a way to know the story of a person with or without children, so to ignore their opinions based on the fact that they don't have children is judging them.  Rightly or wrongly, it is judging someone else based on their circumstances.  Based on the circumstances that you probably don't know all the details about.

I mean, would I take the advice of someone that is childless about holding my baby upside down for 3 hours a day as being sound?  Probably not.  Just like I don't always hold the opinions of other Greyhound owners (who may or may not treat their dogs like their children) as sound.  You have to be rational.  You have to take other's opinions with a grain of salt.  But I don't feel like shutting someone else out/down based on a particular criteria is fair in any way.

I am extremely interested to hear the opinions of my Gentle Readers.  Please RESPECTFULLY share your thoughts in the comments below!

Still not sure on this one though.  (image)

They Write!

Teh Bear and I talk about our relationship with our parents...

Nacho Blog  <-- click here to see!








The Nacho Blog They Write Series:
Where we announce that we are going to answer the 30 questions and show what the 30 questions are..
Where we answer question #1.
Where we answer question #2
Where we answer question #3

Fill in the Blank Friday #20

So, I did actually do my blanks on Friday, but I was at work when I filled them out, so I couldn't post the blog because NMCI sucks hairy monkey balls... and then I was occupado yesterday evening having a social life.

(image)

1. The last thing I ate was   a pumpkin bagel with cheesecake cream chesese.. but my Chipolte is on the way!    

2. The last time I went to the beach was   this morning if you count not actually walking on the beach. I appreciated the view of the red sun rising over the calm waters and how pink the clouds were. I hope this is an indication of a break in the humidity and snow to come, but I know its not cold enough for that yet! Actually on the beach? A few weekends ago when we had our campfire!  

3. My last vacation was   in February when I took a week off work to spend with Teh Bear while he was in MD. I will be remedying this situation in 27 days!!!  

4. The last place I drove was   to work.  

5. The last song I listened to was   something by ThePianoMen on YouTube because I’m having a no words music day at work while I write EAWS flashcards.  

6. The last thing I watched on TV was   Weeds, because I only watch Netflix on my TV and currently I’m only watching Weeds.  

7. The last time I said "I love you" was   earlier when Teh Bear and I were talking on FB so he could know that we weren’t going to get our Skype lunch date in today due to no lunch time relief today at work.  

PS.  Are we FB friends?  Like can I decide another day on FB and we can be!  At 75 likes there will be a giveaway surprise!!!!

A Pinterest Fail

my goal (image)

Let's be honest for a minute.  I'm not really a "girly" girl.  That isn't really a secret.  But, in the Navy, I'm not allowed to wear fingernail polish that isn't skin tone, so the night that I started my leave in December, I really, really wanted to paint my fingernails for some bizarre reason.  I had seen this cool design on Pinterest, so I figured it was worth doing to celebrate being on vacation.

So obviously, this fail was from almost a year ago, but I forgot that I had taken pictures to prove what a fail it was!

The red coat was easy-ish.  I mean, I'm not very practiced at painting my fingernails, so there might have been some outside the lines issues.  Whatevs.

The glitter layer though?  KICKED MY ASS.  

Let me just show you what ended up happening...  

This is my left hand (aka my dominant hand) so cut me some slack on how bad I did with the red!

After all the layers, the polish was LUMPY!
AND the glitter was poking out of the top coat... it kept catching on fabric.

LUMPY AND STABBY Y'ALL!

My right hand looked marginally better.

Lessons I learned:  Leave the nail art to the pros.  Also, painting my fingernails while sitting on the bathroom sink after midnight is really not when I do my best work...  This also helped prove that "Pinterest Fails" are real.

I tried to fix it and did the edging.. but I really couldn't stand the lumpiness of the paint so I just removed it the next morning before I left.

FAIL.

PS.  Are we FB friends?  Like can I decide another day on FB and we can be!  At 75 likes there will be a giveaway surprise!!!!

A November Adventure

Teh Bear didn't schedule to take vacation for the end of the year.. originally.  Then someone at his work retired or quit or something and 2 weeks of vacation opened up at the beginning of November.  His work has this stupid rule about everything waiting 5 days to see if someone else wants the vacation time and the person with the most seniority gets it, but everyone else had already put in for vacation, so the 15 days was his!

For him, this meant vacation.  For me, it meant to decide on a real vacation or a Teh Bear visits vacation.  These things are not the same.  One includes me working during his visit.  The other includes me NOT working during his visit.  We've never actually went on a legit vacation, vacation (saying a word double completely validates the literal-ness of a word) together, so I figured.... why not?  It is before the holiday leave period so I wouldn't really be competing with anyone over vacation time and it's after everyone in my shop comes back from TAD/leave/whatever they do to not be at work.  I hadn't taken more than a week off of work since Teh Bear came to visit in Feb and that was a long time ago!  The timing was perfect so I decided that we were going to have a real vacation.

First World Problems is definitely my fave meme.

So, with both of us having approved vacation time, we I started considering ideas for vacation.  Teh Bear had mentioned in passing a few times about going to see our friends in Denver, so I suggested that idea and he approved.  We contacted them and they agreed to host us for a visit.  We planned on a weekend adventure with them and potentially other friends in the area, then just spending a few days hanging out during the week until it was time for us to head back to NC.  Since we had only planned on spending a week in Denver anyways, so we I had to figure out something to do for the 2nd week of vacation.

I say "we I" had to plan these things because Teh Bear had decided, "This is your vacation.  I'm going to be on vacation no matter what since I won't be in FL."  I think that means that because I want to do something vacation-y, not in MD, I must plan these things.  We've had some contention over this statement because he keeps calling it "your" vacation and I keep calling it "our" vacation.  I argue that he will be participating in OUR vacation with me, which makes it ours, but he keeps saying this isn't the case.  I'm still certain I'm right.  You may weigh in on this issue in the comments!  :)

Where in the world do I/we want to go? (image)

Anywayssss.  For the 2nd week I was overwhelmed with options.  Did I want to just leave the US altogether?  What about London/Rome?  What about something else not in North America?  After looking at some prices, I had to be more realistic.  What about NJ to see his brother?  What about Niagra Falls (where I never got to see the Falls at night because Teh Sister was a pain in the ass when we visited as children)? What about the Outer Banks?  What about going leaf lookin' (which was easily eliminated since it will be almost mid-November and most of the leaf stuff happens in Sept/Oct)?  What about visiting Teh Ginger and his wife in WV?  Several things ended up coming together to solve this problem.

Ok, now let's be realistic..  (image)

1.  Teh BFF is on vacation starting Oct 31st.  Which I forgot.  She told me, but I forgot.  She was considering making a visit up to see me, which I would have loved... buttttttt I had strongly considered an NC leg on our vacation and...
2.  I was kinda hoping that Teh Parents would watch Teh Philio while we were in Denver, so going to NC would be convenient in the exchange of Teh Philio.
3.  Also, I looked up flight prices out of RDU...  $100-150 cheaper than flying from DCA/IAD/BWI.
So, I decided that I'd start my vacation a day early and head to NC to hang out with Teh BFF for her first few days of vacation while dropping Phil off with Teh Parents, and save some monies on my plane ticket to/from Denver.

Since this helped concrete NC into our plans, I was able to do even more scheduling!
The Biltmore Estate starts their candlelight Christmas decorations tour on November 9th!
The Carolina Renaissance Festival will still be going on that weekend as well!
We could visit the mountains and lodging is free (yay crashing at Teh Parent's, which would also mean Teh Bear gets to spend time with Teh Philio)!

So, I had a rough idea of somethings that could happen during these 2 weeks of no working.  Teh Bear didn't not approve any of my suggestions, so I moved forward with the planning.  I asked Teh Dad if they would watch Phil while we were gone and ensured that we could crash there while we were in NC.  These requests were approved.

Then, we got word from our Denver friends that our "scheduled" weekend getaway with them and potentially others was a no-go on their end.  They suggested we come to town for the weekend to do stuffs, then have our own getaway.  I'm not gonna lie, I was a little bitter.  Maybe it was the PMS, maybe it was that I had started getting excited, either way, Bitter Betty was all up in arms.  I wasn't even sure I still wanted to go to Denver.  I ranted a bit to Shoulda Been a Cowgirl and explained to her that I couldn't tell if I was legitimately upset or if Bitter Betty with a hefty dose of PMS was making me a Dramatic Dora.  I think I just needed to be upset for a little bit because I had been counting on this activity.  24 hours later, I was back on track and thinking of fun Midwestern things to do.  (This paragraph is proof that being a girl is hard!)

-We weren't really interested in Vegas as we're trying to not spend an obscene amount of money.
-I really wanted to go somewhere with snow.  (Which is, apparently, unreasonable during the early part of November... I should have just said we're going to Canada to visit Teh WoW Family (the whole family really does/did play WoW).)
-We had already committed to going to Denver and I didn't want to be the asshole who got butt hurt cause I didn't get my way.
-Europe was just way too expensive, despite the deals I was seeing on Groupon/Livingsocial/tripmasters.com.

I had mentioned the Grand Canyon as a group weekend getaway option before I knew it was 14 hours away from Denver.  So I started doing a little more research.  Was a flight from Denver to somewhere closer a realistic idea?  Yes, actually.  What about lodging?  What about what to do while we were there?  Is the Grand Canyon even open in November?  Would Teh Bear be ok with a trip to the Grand Canyon?

I can take this picture?
The Grand Canyon © MedioImages/Getty Images (image)

These were all valid questions, but I knew the answers to most of them, including the last one.  Teh Bear has never been to the Grand Canyon before.  I have never been to the Grand Canyon before.  So this would be a first time for both of us, which is pretty rare due to how much I've traveled.

Just in case, I did ask Teh Bear, "What about the Grand Canyon?"
Teh Bear:  The Grand Canyon would be fine.
Me:  Fine?  Just fine?  Not even ok?  (Fine and ok have strong definitions for Teh Bear and I.  Fine really means "not fine at all, but I'm upset and don't want to talk about it."  Ok means "no, really, everything is ok, nothing is wrong, even though it might sound like I'm just 'fine.'")
tB:  Yeah.
tM:  Just fine?  Not like, "YEAH THE GRAND CANYON!  NEVER DONE THAT BEFORE!  GREAT IDEA!"?
tB:  Uh, sure?
tM:  I'ma need a little excitement from you.
tB:  You didn't really sound excited when you asked me.
tM:  I was trying to be neutral about it to gage your interest.
tB:  You sounded depressed.
tM:  Fine then. *insert perky voice* How about the Grand Canyon, babe?
tB:  Yeah, that's ok.

eofjweoiifjes;oigjero;jgre;ojgaeso;jaociweoignrbmaedclasdmclksajdoiebjeodmaoifj!!!  BOYS!  UGH!

So with his "ok" I've started planning for 2 days at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Terri has suggested NO camping in November.  Which is perfectly acceptable to this girl, because I'm a huge fan of indoor plumbing.  She also told me she would get me her trip notes from her trip last November to the Grand Canyon.  She's great!  I'm still looking for more suggestions though.  What else is there to do in/near the Grand Canyon besides take pictures and take a stupidly expensive flight around the canyon?  Apparently, there are also other parks besides just the Grand Canyon itself, but I'm mostly midwestern inept, so I really require some guidance!

That area of the world (somewhere in Arizona) is called the midwest, right?  The bread basket is the middle of the country, so I feel like the midwest would be halfway between the west coast and the middle of the country?  Maybe that's just me putting too much thought into this?

So, there you have our vacation summary.  Honestly, I'm pretty excited to see how it will all work out.  I'm sure that I will start freaking out as soon as plane tickets are purchased.  Luckily, we aren't really on a tight time schedule for the entire vacation except for whatever we schedule, which then means its on us to get it right.

So it looks like this:
-Teh Megan in NC for 2 nights then meet Teh Bear in Denver
-Denver for the weekend with our Denver Friends
-2 nights at the Grand Canyon (which we are open for suggestions about!)
-fly back to Raleigh.
-Show Teh Bear NC State (GO WOLFPACK!) potentially, depending on what time we arrive back in Rah-lay.  Potentially show him other Raleigh things (suggestions on this are also welcome because it's been a hot-minute since I've been in Raleigh to remember the cool stuff).
-We can stay in Raleigh for the night, but the lodging is free at Teh Parent's house, so this isn't settled unless we don't find something awesome to do.
-The 2nd weekend we will spend in the NC mountains (LOOOOOVE that place, I might be biased).
-We're gonna hit up the Biltmore Estate for my first Christmas decorations tour... PLUS it will be candlelight and that will also be a first for me!!   (and Teh Bear).
-We're gonna go to the Renn Faire in NC (north of Charlotte) on Saturday potentially with Teh Parents (they've never been!)
-We're hopefully gonna see Worldwide Jesus Lover and her husband (although she doesn't know it yet) and possibly Teh Ginger and his wife.
-Then, we're gonna drive back to MD with Teh Phil-io.  Teh Bear and I might take turns snuggling with Teh Phil on the way home, who knows?
-Once we get to MD, we'll be proving to my MD friends that Teh Bear is real and does exist in real life!
-A few days later, sadly and with heavy-hearts, Teh Bear will head back to FL (booo!) and I will return to work.

Luckily, the next week is Thanksgiving week, so it will be a short week!

I feel like writing all this out has made our vacation real.  Like.. its more than a possibility.  Almost like.. I've purchased tickets.  Oh wait.  I did!

The last time we were on vacation, vacation together it snowed!
I could go for a repeat of this...

PS.  You can go ahead and start getting excited for vacation recaps/photos.  It's ok.  Do it.  I am excited!