Becoming a Colored Person....

If you visited the actual blog site and scrolled past the title of the post, then you saw that there was a countdown to a significant event on the right bar.  Do you even remember?  It's fine.  Kinda.

Anyways, I was counting down to The Color Run!  Totally, totallyyyyyy worth it.  Seriously.  It really is the "happiest run on the planet."  

Ok, lets start from the beginning..

Thursday evening, Teh Stepmom and Teh Dad arrived.  Dinners were consumed, bedtime came.

Friday was a lazy day.  We woke up, I made breakfast (eggs, bacon, and toast, which isn't cereal or oatmeal, so I impressed myself), eventually we decided it was time to do something.  We decided to go drive around base so Teh Stepmom could see the planes.  We may or may not have stopped at the end of a runway to watch the planes come and go for a bit.  They got to see an Osprey take off, which was pretty exciting (even though I was driving and didn't get to see it).  We also got to see several other types of aircraft, which is always awesome for people unlike me who take it for granted.  Teh Parents are on this ridiuclous eating schedule, which mostly includes not eating.  IDK, it seemed pretty ridiuclous to me, but since we had a late, big breakfast, I wasn't hungry at lunch time, and we were occupado until 3:30ish, so dinner that early would have left me starving at bedtime.  

Instead of full dinner, we went to Rita's and had dessert.  I had a Strawberry Shortcake Blendini.  DEEEEEEElichious.  That was able to tide me over for a few more hours, when we decided that I didn't want to have to deal with cooking/dishes, so we should order pizza.  I got a super special on way more than $15 worth of stuff from Dominoes.  I called the neighbor friends that were still in town for the night (others had went out of town because they had the Tough Mudder run on Saturday) and invited them over for pizza/dessert/dominoes (which is usually ran by a couple that went to the Tough Mudder event).  We got through 8 rounds of mexican dominoes because we are awesome!  I came in 2nd this time, barely.  Bread Eater won, I think it was because I wasn't intoxicated.  I would have won if I was intoxicated.

Phil panted, "Teach me too!"

 Around 11:30 we finally called it a night, which was good since Teh Stepmom and I had to be awake at 3am to head to VA to pick up new Greyhounds for GEGR.  After getting a few hours of sleep, we rolled out of the bed and headed to VA to meet the hauler.... which was 2 hours late.  Good times.  We had a Waffle House Parking Lot Picnic... which would have been better had we not been getting continuous whiffs of urine.  Eww.  Finally, the hauler came.  We got our Greyhound fix while driving them to GHC ((GEGR's) Greyhound Central).

Greyhound owners always have an extra blanket in the car!

We came back home, packed our stuff for DC and headed out after Teh Stalked Neighbor's picked up Teh Phil-boy.  He stayed with The Stalked Neighbor Family for Saturday night while Teh Parents and I headed to DC for a sleepover so we didn't have to get up stupid early to drive to DC on Sunday morning.  I let Teh Dad drive so I could take a nap, since I was Le Tired.

We miraculously made it to NGA for the family day tour with Danielle in under an hour and a half.  While I was impressed with Teh Dad's "going with traffic" rate of speed, I was also disappointed that my nap time was minimized since he was "going with traffic" and we arrived in DC at the speed of light.  There might have been some mishaps with the parking situation, to the point that we thought that Security was chasing us through the parking lot, but we later learned it wasn't us that warranted Security.  The NGA tour was awesome.  Pretty sure that NGA is still my dream job and going there didn't affect that any.  The new building is awesome.  We got to see the watchfloor, in it's unimpressive, sanitized state.  We got to see how polygraph tests work.  Super cool.  After our NGA tour we quickly found food since most of us hadn't partaken of lunch.  Waking up at 3am really throws off the schedule, yo.

While we were at the Mexican restaurant, Miss Reflective and I both received simultaneous emergency alerts from our super awesome Droid 4s.  We were actually more confused than anything else at all the extra noise, but apparently we were told that a tornado was coming.  A few minutes later, we received another warning about this impending tornado with the final statement of the warning, "GET INSIDE NOW."  Thank you, Google, thank you.  We were watching the rain come down sideways outside, but luckily, no tornadoes approached Yurtle who was waiting patiently in the parking lot.  Not too long after the 2nd warning, as we were finishing our meal, the power went out.  It flickered on and off for about a minute before finally going out for good.  The staff had to total our meal manually..  Intense.  We finally left to head to the store for packet pickup then to hotel for Teh Parents and I to check in.  What should have been a reliatvely easy trip was wrought with craziness on the roads.  Lots of leaves and branches scattering roads and yards, lots of lights out, and lots of cars on the road.  We made 3 u-turns at one crazy intersection just to make a right turn then a left turn, that would have been easy if the police would have allowed traffic to make left turns.  Le sigh.

Eventually, we made it to the hotel, where Teh Stepmom was 1) relieved to be able to take a nap and 2) glad to be out of a car with either me or Teh Dad driving.  Miss Reflective was staying with Danielle and they had plans to do something, so I went back out with them.  We walked in the hotel room, set everything down, and I headed towards the door.  "Aren't you going to get ready or anything," Danielle asked.  "Get ready?  What are you talking about, I showered this morning, that's as ready as I ever get," I informed her.  Put on makeup or do something extra to go out in public?  Pffth.  We met Danielle's friend at Chili's where we were actually still full from Mexican a few hours prior.  I guess something about the dark keeps you fuller, longer?  Idk.  I ordered a delicious brownie and finished the entire thing myself, while everyone else talked about how big the desserts were and how they couldn't finish it alone, so how about we share it?  I'm guiltless y'all.  I was running a 5k the next day.  Bring it.  That brownie was amazing, by the way.

After Chili's we stopped by Wal-Mart which is where all the high-quality entertainment is in DC on a Saturday night.  We could barely get in the door because of all the people, which warranted an "I hate Wal-Mart" comment from me and a man standing in the customer service line with his wife overheard and agreed wholeheartedly, which made me giggle.  We acquired a white t-shirt for Danielle to run in (wearing a white shirt was the only "rule" for The Color Run, and it was more of a suggestion to get the most fun out of the race), dambanas (or bandannas if you weren't stationed in GTMO with us), and I found a pair of black workout pants with pockets!  We considered wearing t-shirts over our heads and faces like the TCN's in GTMO used to do, but not being able to breath while running killed the idea.  I survived checking out, after a close encounter with an Arab with a shopping cart who jumped in line in front of me by almost hitting me with his cart (seriously, I hate Wal-Mart).  After Wal-Mart we went to Bungalow.  I think that was the name of the place.  We got a booth and the other girls shared a pitcher of Blue Moon while I enjoyed a child-sized rum and coke.  When I stopped judging the size of the glass and took a sip, I realized it was definitely an adult drink....  Whew.  A little after 11 I finally asked if it was my bedtime.  I tried very hard to not whine about being tired (despite having woken up at 3am after only 2 hours of sleep and a minimal 1 hour nap).  Once the pitcher was done, we headed out.  Teh Stepmom and Teh Dad were all cutesy spooning when I got into the hotel room, which got an aww and almost a photo, but I was too tired to find my camera and didn't want to wake them up.  Instead, I brushed my teeth and went to bed like a quitter.

Sunday morning, I woke up to Teh Dad throwing his pillows on me.  I think he thought I needed more pillows to cover up my head to keep out the sounds/light?  Not sure.  Holiday Inn already had provided me with FOUR pillows on the bed.   I was good.  There was lots of light when I opened my eyes.  Apparently, they didn't get the memo about what it meant that the blinds were closed when I woke up...  The blind that I had purposefully closed before collapsing in bed.  After some whines, Teh Dad explained that it was a nice day outside and closed the blinds.  My nice level went up about 4 notches.  After Teh Dad explained to Teh Stepmom that there were other mirrors in the hotel room, she relocated so I could get up, get changed, and brush my teeth.  Apparently, I really am a minimalist when it comes to facing the public.

The Gaylord Convention Center from the bridge.

We left at 7:45 to get to the National Harbor for the run, which included us sitting on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge for about 45 minutes.  We made it to the start line by 8:45, where I waited anxiously for Miss Reflective and Danielle to show up.  They had to pick up their car pool girl on the way, then they hit bridge traffic so they parked right at 9.  Luckily, the race started in several waves.  We were able to get some photos in, then sneak our way up closer to the start line.  I was ridiculously excited and overly-cheery with my motivation.  I was pretty sure Miss Reflective and Danielle wanted to kick me in the shins about 1/4 of the way through the race when I was jogging up the biggest hill in the National Harbor area.  They wanted to walk and I was trying to motivate.  I'm pretty sure if I could have spontaneously combusted, that would have been their time of choice.  At each kilometer, there was a color zone where they squirted color at you from squeeze bottles.  It was awesome running up to each zone and seeing the literal cloud of color from where they were coloring people.  Also, all the volunteers at each color zone were they color they were throwing.  Example: they had on a blue shirt, for the blue zone, and they looked like smurfs because they were also getting covered in blue powder.  It was awesome!

Eventually, I jogged on, leaving Miss Reflective and Danielle behind.  Before I left them, I was chatting to them and said something about going slow and the guy that was running past us was like, "Are you calling me slow?"  I clarified, but then it became a running (haha, get it?) joke.  He ran past us then would slow down and walk.  When I had ran on alone, I caught up with him and then I actually called him slow.  He started running again and when he'd start walking I'd catch up to him.  We did this a few times and after we were almost at the start, the path started to get clogged with walkers (who didn't know the stay to the right rule, it also didn't help that most people were in fairly large groups).  I was on the left, so I told him I'd clear the way for us and he ran after me.  I found Teh Stepmom and Teh Dad almost at the end!  I offered to give Teh Dad a hug since I was covered in color.  He didn't take me up on it.  The "slow" guy sped ahead and, of course, I caught up to him at the last bend.  "Wanna make it a tie," I offered.  "Sure," he agreed.  We sprinted out the finish and high fived at the end.  WOOOOO COLOR RUNNERS!!!!!

After the run, I waited on Miss Reflective and Danielle to finish then we headed to the color party at the end of the race, where I lost them again in my excitement.  I got to stand in the pit and get colored a few times, I eventually gave up on my ninja bandanna and just ate the color with everyone else.  I was lonely without my friends so I set out to find them or Teh Parents.  I struggled to find either.  I even walked back to Yurtle to see if Teh Parents had given up and went back there (Teh Dad had my cell phone, which was making me socially crippled).  As I was walking back from Yurtle, I saw Danielle and Miss Reflective standing on the hill to get back to the "after party".  I was sooooo relieved.  I called Teh Parents with Miss Reflective's phone and we finally were all one again!  As we were standing there figuring out our next plans, I was talking about getting blown off so we could be "cleaner" before we finally decided to leave and a group walked past us and one of the guys (who was black (which is relevant)) came up to me and said, "Am I clean enough?!"  I said, "YES!  You're so colorful!"  He laughed and said, "So are you!"  I responded, "We're the same color??!!  Who would have ever thought?!"  Immediately, I recognized the potential awkwardness of the comment, but he didn't take it the wrong way and responded with, "Well said!" before continuing on his way with his group of friends.  That was probably the best moment of the race for me...  the not getting beat up because I made a potentially racist comment.

Concentration was required not to explode powder everywhere.

We decided on doing another color throw and getting more photos of the 3 of us together, fully colored.  I still had my color packet so I opened it up and Teh Stepmom got pictures of me coloring us.  We headed back to the pit and coordinated a meeting place with Teh Parents for when we were finished.  While we were standing in the pit waiting to be colored, Danielle opened her green packet that she had caught.  I turned to say something to them and got a face full o' green.  It was hilarious.  We cackled and took photos. I'm sure it was payback for my "motivating" while we were running.  :)  We survived another throw, which literally shaded us from the sun like a cloud.  It was crazy.  We had such a blast.  We also sang along to Call Me Maybe, which we all know is my favorite song.  We finally decided we were starving and it was time to leave.  We headed to Alexandria and ended up at Applebee's so we could have lots of food options.  This was ironically (since I had mentioned it in the debate of where to eat) 2 building down the street from Krispy Kreme!!!  YAY chocolate covered kreme filled doughnuts (....we'll get back to this).

We got lots of looks in Applebee's.  Some people asked us if we'd been mud wrestling.  What mud do you know that is rainbow colored?  W.T.F?  Moving past the general stupidity, we explained that we'd just finished The Color Run where they throw powdered color on you.  It was pretty funny to see the reactions of people that were dressed up from church to see 3 crazy colored messy girls.  Some people wanted to ask, some people just gave us a wtf look and kept going, some people pretended they didn't see anything at all, some people outright asked.  After gorging on way too much delightful food, we decided it was time to head home.  Miss Reflective had a 4 hour drive and we had a 1.5 hour drive.  Before we got in the car, I walked to Krispy Kreme and picked up what I thought was 3 chocolate covered kreme filled and 3 original glazed.  I paid and we headed home.

I had Teh Parents drop me off at the Stalker Neighbor's house so I could just walk Phil home.  They managed to have a conversation with me, despite my colored state.  Teh Phil-boy had done very well and he didn't even want to leave.  We jogged back, so I totaled about 4 miles on Sunday.  Who's a hard charger?? Me.  I couldn't even stop to settle some because I was still covered in color (I had even put a sheet over the driver's seat so the color wouldn't get into the holes in the seat (for the seat heater/cooler)).  Upon taking off my clothes I realized a leprechaun had pooped in my cleavage.  The green powder that had been exploded in my face had apparently got me in other places as well.  During my shower as I was scrubbing all the color off, I yelled, "I'M WHITE AGAIN!!!  Mostly."  If Teh Parents didn't laugh, they should have.  I do have a green stained arm pit and slightly moldy looking cleavage from sweat+green powder being left on for so long.

Overall it was a delightful trip.  After my shower, I was starving and it wasn't quite dinner time yet, so I decided on a doughnut...  I had been given chocolate covered doughnuts.  As in, with a hole in the middle and NO KREME.  Gentle Readers, I was crushed.  I mean, to the point of tears.  I cried over how awesome my day was and that I had been looking forward to these doughnuts an unreasonable amount.  I live so far away from a KK and the last time I'd been in DC for my after surgery check up, I got a chocolate covered LEMON filled doughnut (I had ordered a chocolate covered kreme filled).  This isn't an option on the menu ever so I figured it was a fluke, but I was definitely looking forward to my doughnut this time around.  TEARS y'all.  Lets just say that next time I go to KK, anywhere, I'll probably take a bite into the doughnut to ensure quality control.

Despite that hiccup, the weekend was awesome.  I'm spending today recouping and sending Teh Parents off.    Once they leave its time to talk to Teh Bear and get Teh Phil's nails clipped and something else I can't currently remember.

PS.  For the pictures click here:  Color Run Photos

Fill in the Blank Friday #16

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1. My favorite grade in school was   1st because my teacher was awesome (I spent the night at her house, teacher's pet much?) or 12th because that meant that I was almost out of Podunk, NC, that I wouldn't be living with Teh Parents, that I'd be "on my own"..  because it meant FREEDOM!!!!  

2. My favorite teacher was  Mrs. McRary  because,   she always made us laugh with her stories and talked to us like adults when the teaching was over... and because she listened to my rants when I was really struggling my senior year with stuff at home.. but not because she might be reading this (and probably correcting my grammar/punctuation use).  

3. The highest level of education I have completed is   grade 16?  I have my bachelor's degree.  YAY college!  

4. School lunches for me were usually   packed lunches.  In 2nd grade I ate PB and grape jelly sammiches (with mushy bread since the jelly) for almost the entire year.  I ate school lunches in middle school, which I don't remember most of.  Then in high school after trying to be cool and eating the stupid expensive, unhealthy french fries for a week, I felt like I needed some nutrition, so I just sucked it up and started eating whatever was cheap and on the line.  Paying for your own food definitely puts that shit into perspective.

5. The amount of money you'd have to pay me to go back to high school would be   there is no reasonable amount I'd accept.  I loathed high school.  I was awkward, I didn't really fit into any single clique (which is completely necessary to escape high school unscathed), I was super nerdy (band and honors classes?  I had no chance, y'all).  The only thing I cared about in high school was getting the grades I needed to get into a college that was more than 200 miles away.  

6. A few things that will always remind me of going back to school are:   buying new clothes/shoes at the end of the summer, buying any kind of coloring utensil (colored pencils, crayons, markers), 

7. The first day of school was always   a quiet day for me (at least I'd like to believe, I'm sure there are others who would disagree).  Especially if I didn't really know a lot of people in my classes.  So, I'd be quiet for like the first week then Teh Real Megan (that all my teachers had been warned about my parents and my prior teachers) would come out and they'd understand why I did best in the front of the classroom away from anyone with any type of social abilities.. or people without social abilities.  Apparently, I bring out the best of everyone.......  

Ways my parents scarred me... FOR LIFE.. 1

It's a holiday in America (Labor Day (for all the other days we labor, ya know?)) and so I'm sitting here enjoying a morning bowl of cereal and I'm almost done and I question myself, "Have you been slurping from your spoon?"

Seriously, who questions themselves with such weird shit?  Also, you might be curious why I would even bother to question myself like that since 1) I live alone, kinda 2) I know the dog doesn't care 3) I don't care.

Let me tell you Gentle Readers, let me tell you.

After my parents split up, I lived with Teh Dad for a few years.  Till we had a big fight and I was like, I QUIT! and moved to Teh Mom's where I wanted to quit even more, but college wasn't coming soon enough, so I just stuck it out.  DRAMAAAA!

Anyways, living with Teh Dad.  I'm not even sure what we were doing but either I was on the computer (hrm, not much has changed since 8th grade (when we got the computer), at least I'm consistent) and he was in the living room watching TV or we were both watching TV (which I think is what was going on).  I had a bowl of  Frosted Mini Wheat that I was really enjoying.  Sometimes, cereal is really just a simple pleasure for me.

We were doing whatever it was, then Teh Dad scared the bejesus out of me with, "WOULD YOU STOP SLURPING??"

Not only did I spill some milk because he scared me and I jumped out of my skin, but I had no idea what he was talking about.  So I gave him the deer-in-headlights look and continued eating my cereal.

Again, "Stop slurping!"  Again, deer-in-headlights.

So now, I'm trying to listen to myself eat my cereal, but I was really distracted by something (which is what makes me think that we were watching TV, since I can't focus on literally anything else when I'm watching TV).  I can't hear what he's talking about.  Cereal doesn't make a loud noise (unless its Rice Krispies) like potato chips, and I'm always conscious of how loud potato chips are.  Nothing.  I couldn't figure out what he was talking about.

Another bite.  I'm pretty sure Teh Dad growled at me.  I looked at him and finally said, "I have no idea what you're talking about.  I'm listening and I'm not hearing anything."

Teh Dad responded, "Every time you take a bite, you slurp the milk out of the spoon!  It's driving me crazy!  Take smaller bites or something."

I tried.  I tried 1 mini wheat at a time on my spoon.  He still was glaring at me with flames in his eyes.

It took me two or three more bites to finally hear what he was talking about.  I'm a spoon slurper.  It's the truth.  Since I was 15, I've been extremely conscious of my spoon slurping.  I'm scarred for life, y'all.

Worst part is, I'm still a spoon slurper.  Apparently, spoons are very hard for me to eat from without making noise... FOREVER.


Let it not ever be said that I'm above blackmail.

This is Teh Dad.  I was visiting NC and he found my phone and figured out how to use the camera (I thought old people were supposed to be bad at technology??), effectively draining the battery so my phone died within a few hours of his glamour shots session.

Yeah, now he knows that no photos are safe.  This is payback for killing my battery that day.  Payback for scarring me for life has yet to begin.  I haven't been able to eat from a spoon since I was 15 without listening if I'm slurping...  payback for something like that has to be substantial.

PS.  This is the same man who claims to be half deaf in one ear and can't hear me when I'm right beside him..  but he heard me slurping from a spoon across the room.  Riiiiiiiight.

Australia Adventures #13 - Grand Finale - Panoramics!

One of the things I learned about in Scotland was panoramic shots.  This type of photography has become my new favorite thing.  Seriously.  I wish I could panoramic ALL THINGS!  Now I just need to figure out correct dimensions and have these printed.  Talk about awesome gifts!

The new photography thing I did in Australia was a .gif.  After taking over 100 pictures of the rainbow building.. I had to come up with a good way to show everyone the awesomeness that was the rainbow building!

The cranes at Fremantle Port.

On the wrong side of the tracks.

Getting back to the right side of the tracks.

The view from the bridge that crossed the tracks.

The pier at the Western Australia Maritime Museum/HMAS Ovens.

Perth from Kings Park

Perth from Kings Park

Perth from Kings Park

Perth from Kings Park

Perth from Kings Park

Perth from Kings Park

Perth from Kings Park

The view walking up the stairs to go into HMAS Ovens.

The kitchen in HMAS Ovens.
Proof than all things are better in panoramics!

Sydney Harbor Bridge at night.

Sydney city line at night.

Sydney at night.

Sydney Harbor Bridge in the morning.

Sydney from Circular Quay in the morning.

In black and white.

Sydney Harbor Bridge at sunrise.

Sydney Harbor Bridge at sunrise.

Sydney Opera House in the morning.

Sydney Opera House in the morning with a ferry coming into the quay.

Sydney at sunrise.

Sydney Opera House at sunrise.

Circular Quay at sunrise.

The edge of The Rocks area in Sydney.

Did you make it this far?  Through almost TWENTY Australia posts?  Over the span of 2 months??
If you did, you should get a cookie.. and maybe some therapy.. or get out some.  I probably need all 3 after taking all these photos, editing all these photos, and posting all these blogs.

Thank you for enduring, what I'm sure was quite painful (sometimes), updates about my trip to Australia and Scotland.  The blog became so photo heavy that I had to actually buy some extra storage space from Google so Teh Blog could hold all the photos from my trips.  Now I've got so much extra space, I feel obligated to take even more photos!!!  Which of course, makes me feel obligated to take more trips!  Teheh.  That's a very convenient catch right there.

Overall, I'm very glad to have been able to experience Australia.  It was one of those things that I would have liked to do in my life, but wasn't a 100% I have to do this before I die type thing.

Last thing, promise.
If you have made it this far in all these posts (and are still reading now), I'm interested in your opinion of the photo recaps posts I've been doing (because I'm sure there will be more).


Do you feel like the posts were too photo heavy?
**you may select multiple options!  :)  Isn't this a fun test!

Please answer in the comments.



A) Yes, you put way too many photos in one post.  I just scrolled through them to say I looked at them.  The first 5 or so were really good though!  Less photos, more posts!

B)  No, if you had posted less photos, you'd still be recapping and we'd never hear about anything other than Australia.  Move on already, your trip was soooo 3 months ago!!

C)  It's your blog, do what you wawnt...  Even though I use a government computer and had to take 10 minutes to load all the photos, I'm a very devoted Gentle Reader.

D)  I only scroll to the end to see if you posted something interesting after you finished blabbin'.

E)  I just want to leave you a comment and let you know that you are awesome no matter what.







Want to catch up on the Australia Adventures???
1st day off in Australia (summary)
2nd day off in Australia (summary)
San Francisco (photos)
Perth Zoo a, b, c (photos)
The Indian Ocean and downtown Perth at night (photos)
Caversham Wildlife Park a, b, c (photos)
Fremantle Prison (photos)
walking around Fremantle (the city) (photos)
Perth from King's Park (photos)
HMAS Ovens (submarine) (photos)
Sydney at night (photos and a story)
Sydney in the morning (photos and a story)
Australia Panoramics (photos)

Fill in the Blank Friday #15

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Often I try to schedule my Friday post because I can, but this week, I really liked the blanks, so I'ma do both!  << Hello comma sentence.



1. My favorite thing to do on Friday is   come home, throw my uniform in the dirty laundry, chill for a few minutes, take the dogs out, then potentially veg or hang out for the evening.  

2. This Friday I am   being as lazy as possible.  The week was long!  5 whole working days! 

3. The best thing about a weekend is   having the opportunity to take the time to do whatever I want.  Whether that be cooking, cleaning, going on a run with the dogs, doing an extra workout, working on my blog, playing the sims.  I do what I wawnt.  

4. Now that summer is almost over, I'm feeling   relieved.  Summer is always the worst for me.  But at least this year I didn't have to endure Ramadan.  

5. The best thing I did this summer was   be in America?  well, kinda.  I also went to Australia to enjoy a month of "winter", saw Teh Bear in August, spent most of July at home recovering from the loss of my gallbladder....  I'm going with loosing my gallbladder as the best thing I did this summer.  Sometimes eating can be a tricky game now, but it was definitely worse with a gallbladder.  

6. The thing I'm looking forward to about fall is   cooler temps, the possibility of snow, holidays in America, the smell of leaves, stepping on the crunchy leaves, hopes of snuggling with Teh Bear..   

7. If I had to be stuck in one season for the rest of my life, I would choose   fall.  Less allergies than in the spring, not as hot as summer, the possibility of snow, the ability to wear so many layers of clothes, stepping on all the crunchy leaves, less sweating, less worries about Phil's heat sensitivity, colors of fall, holidays..  so many awesome fall things!!!  




1. Over this labor day weekend I will be   doing laundry, playing dominoes with the neighbors, making final arrangements for Teh Dad/StepMom/Stepsister's visit next weekend, dropping Joey off with his Perma-Mom, going to the Scottish Festival in VA with Phil, Amber, and Scarlet, and being lazy.. maybe with a healthy dosage of naps.  

2. With the political debates going on right now, my thoughts are   I hope its too late to register for an absentee ballot...  because having to figure out who I'm going to vote for would be stupid.  Why isn't Hillary running again???  

3. Today   was pretty laid back.  I was able to leave work early AND get a nap in AND take the dogs on a jog despite how hot it was.  Also, dominoes and dinner tonight!!  

4. The best thing I've cooked recently was   "taco soup"..  It was actually Pinterest inspired, but I failed majorly at taking photos for a blog.  I might still make a blog, but you definitely won't be photographically impressed.  Sadly, I halved all the ingredients but the chicken, so my "soup" was definitely not soupy and I ended up having to add the other can of beans and corn to offset the chicken.  Oops.  Nonetheless, it was a hit lasts night for communal dinner..  

5. The last thing I bought was   groceries with Teh Singing Cat Lady on Tuesday.  

6. The best movie I saw this summer was  Captain America?  A Lot Like Love?  I've pretty much given up on seeing current movies since I fell so behind while I was in GTMO and Bahrain.  Meh.  Movies, that place where you go where it smells like popcorn and who knows what else to watch a big screen with loud sounds?  Oh you pay for that?  Nvm.

7. The best book I read this summer was  A Song of Fire and Ice series.  I'm on book 3 and it's been slow progress, but they are huge books and lots of descriptions and people and storylines to keep up with makes me not in a rush to finish.  Along with the fact that the series isn't complete yet, but he is on book 6 and I'm still reading book 3.  I figure by the time he finishes the series, I might actually be caught up....  If he doesn't die first.  

A Wee Lass visits Bear country.

That title came from the event title on the google calendar.  I'm not sure who came up with that, me or Teh Bear, but either way, I still kinda giggle every time I see it.

What it translates to in English is: I went to visit Teh Bear in FL.

I got to endure not only 1 flight delay, but 2.  Grand.  Love airports.  I got snuggles, I got socializing, I got so much desserts!  All in all, it was a good time, even though we were in Florida.

No checked luggage, aye.

"NASCAR is basically the state's official sport."
If it wasn't illegal to light things on fire on an aircraft, this magazine would have been in flames.

We ate at a place called First Watch for breakfast.  It was delicious!  I really like their silverware wrappers:

I really like this guy too.  He wasn't on the menu.

Playing with the new camera.

This is the disgruntled face from a dutch angled shot.  :(

After breakfast, we met Teh Bear's mom, dad, brother, and nephew at Universal.

Mandatory globe shot.

  

Waiting in line to get tickets.

Waiting in line for Despicable Me.

Despicable Me propaganda.

I could be friends with this guy!

Teh Bear said I was the right size for sure.

Teh Bear, Teh Bear's Brother, Teh Bear's Nephew waiting to be the next Minions!

Teh Bear said this door was just my size.

MINION HEADS!

I lub all things Despicable Me.

The Mystery Machine in GTMO was so much better than the one at Universal.

Teh Bear suggested the 2nd to last note might disqualify me for the ride...
after we'd been standing in line for at least 30 minutes.
Haha, boyfriend, funny jokes.

I was here in REAL LIFE 2 months ago!!!  

Teh Bear's Nephew was selected to be a "star" for the Disaster ride.
Teh Bear's Brother was the "Dad-ager" instead of manager.

Channeling my inner Harry Potter.

Tacky kids sunglasses.  They start 'em off early for sure.

WOAH!  I feel like I need to be screaming YOLO while wearing these.
Ugh.

After Universal, we were tired and sweaty and decided to go back to the hotel for a dip in the pool and a shower before heading to dinner.  We had smelled a delightful Italian place on the way out of the park, so we thought Italian would be a good idea and then I went from "I want pizza" to "OMG CARRABBA'S!!!"

In the most superb news you'll hear this year, the Dessert Rosa had been mutated into a devilish "mini-dessert."  By devilish, I mean the most unsatisfying miniature morsel they could stuff into shot glass, and it was only unsatisfying because it was so small.  Excuse me, but I need an ENTIRE DESSERT ROSA to be satisfied.  I'm a fattie like that.  They are bringing the original size Dessert Rosa back.  Thank ALLAH!!!!!

My mouth was watering just looking at the menu listing.

Teh Bear looking extremely sunburned, even though it wasn't really that bad.

OMG DESSERT ROSA IN MY FACE!!!!  I waited until we got all the way to the hotel before I even took ONE bite.
That's self-control, ya'll.

The first bite foodgasm photo.

After I had devoured all but 5 bites of the cake (including the piece I made Teh Bear try), there was snuggling and photos!  I'll save you the lovey photos and just give you one.

The next morning we headed to a place (that I can't remember the name of even though I asked Teh Bear at least 5 times while I was in FL what the name was, but I'm a failure and can't remember) where we got pancakes the size of our plates.  Yum.

After breakfast, we did some shopping for new work shoes and flippy floppies for Teh Bear.  Yay clearance!  I also got a new pair of flippy-floppies and Teh Bear finally replaced his GTMO flip flops which have had holes in them since before he left the island.  We hit up Hobby Lobby for my & symbol I've been looking for, BJ's (where we learned you can buy a handle of Sailor Jerry for under $20!), and Old Navy.  By then I needed a nap so we went back to the hotel for a little bit before dinner with Teh Bear's family.

Teh Bear/Moose.

We had pizza (finally) and I ate one of the most delicious cannolis I've ever eaten in my life.. times 2... it was that delicious.  There is no photographic evidence of this cannoli because there was no time for a photo considering how quickly I devoured the dessert.  After some socializing at Teh Bear's parents house, we went back to the hotel for swimmin' and I got to play with the new camera some more!

Teh Bear says that any photos of him shirtless burns people's retinas   

So I will burn your retinas with my own scary photo.
I don't even have words for the look on my face.

Saturday, we headed out for breakfast and then went to downtown Winter Park.  We were looking for a doggie shop, but I started getting hangry, which was a pretty nasty combination for already hot and sweaty (due to wearing long sleeves because of how cold it was everywhere we ate breakfast and I wasn't anticipating being outside when I picked my clothes), so we found food instead.  After I was fed and my meters (a Sims reference for some of you) were all green again, we had to leave to go to our massage appointment.  We got there pretty early, but they were actually waiting on us, so we were able to start early.

I'd found a LivingSocial steal deal for a 70 minute massage for $38.  I ordered 2.  YAY for planned Orlando activities well before the trip!  The massages were pretty good.  Mine was amazing.  We were both sore for 2 days afterwards.

Since we were still on the same side of town, we went back to Winter Park to find the doggy store again.  We found it this time.  I was only mildly annoyed that we'd actually been right across the street from the store before my hangry episode.  Nonetheless, Phil ended up with a new hedgehog that he's not yet seen because I don't really want Joey tearing it up.  He's got plenty of other toys to destroy in the meantime.  I bought the new hedgehog because the squeaker is really funky and awesome.  If I keep buying big toys, I'm going to have to get another bin for all the dog toys!

We stopped at Kilwin's before heading back to the hotel for a shower (since I was super greasy from the massage) before Teh Bear's Brother's birthday dinner.  I relearned that I should just order a kid size cone... for the 6th-ma-billionith time.  Oops.

Chocolate shoes.  When I asked why we didn't go into this chocolate store, Teh Bear told me, "Because you like Lindt chocolate."  Touche.

Teh Bear threw away our Kilwin's trash.
I was being stalker-like takin' his picture.

He noticed.

He said he was leaving me at the park because I was taking pics of him.

We had to wait on the train to get to the shopping area, but it was a coal train.

Being a rebel standing in the middle of the street!

On Sunday, we ate at First Watch again, since it was muy deliciouso!  Then we got to rush to the airport, because I get ready too slow.  I think Teh Bear made it to work on time, but he did call and make sure that he was covered in case he arrived late.

While I was chillin' at the airport, I uploaded the last of the Sydney photos, which only took 1.5 hours.  After the uploads were finished, I looked at the flight board to find out that my flight was delayed.  I looked online (because I'm that lazy) to see that my flight that was supposed to take off at 5pm was now set to depart at almost 9pm.  RAGE.

I stomped stormed up to the gate counter and tried to inquire about getting on a different flight when I was informed that BWI had suspended ALL air traffic due to the storm that were taking place in the area.  SERIOUSLY!?!  Florida had their panties in a knot over a hurricane that probably wasn't even going to hit most of the state and no one had mentioned these crazy storms over Baltimore the entire time that the TV had been on the weather channel?  Florida gets like 10 mazillion hurricanes a year, no one cares.  Storms that shut down air traffic?  I CARE!

RAGE.  I could feel part of that rage becoming hangry-ness, so I headed to McDonalds, because the thought of Sbarro pizza wasn't very appealing after the delightful pizza we'd had Friday night.  I ordered a cheeseburger kids meal because I wasn't that hungry and took it to my gate to find an electrical outlet.  When I opened up the box, the smallest thing of fries ever greeted me.

Unsatisfactory.

100 Cal packs of fries?  NOT ALLOWED!

I was super crushed.  The best thing about McDonald's is the fries and I had gotten gipped.  Fail.  Additionally, this was a $6 happy meal.  The only thing that made me more angry than the $6 happy meal with a less than meager amount of fries was the screaming child.

Thankfully, my flight was only actually delayed for about 1.5-2ish hours.  I ended up getting into Baltimore a little after 9 and made it home by 11.  When we arrived to the airport, there were people everywhere.  Probably people that were way more angry than me... Probably.  Some of them were on cell phones saying words like "cancelled flight" which would have been punctuated by me with some nasty words and exclamation marks if I had been them.

I was glad to be home once I finally got home, but not glad that I was no longer able to be snuggled.  Seriously, waking up next to Teh Bear is one of my favoritest things.  Even if he farts on me in his sleep and has morning breath (which wasn't any worse than my own). 

Monday afternoon held going to pick up the dogs from Monica in Annapolis, which was awesome because I missed the puppy-luppies terribly.

Yay for having an almost normal household again!!!  (for a week!)