Breaking News! We're Gonna Be...

Homeowners!

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's all pending inspections and appraisals and the other closing stuff, but we've been eyeing up this house for a while, and I'm psyched!!! There will be lots more details and stories to come, but for the moment, let's all just celebrate and drool over our fingers crossed new digs! :)

Casa de NavyFamily!

Upstairs kitchen and livingroom/diningroom - NavyGuy loves the view, I love the cabinets.

My pink KitchenAid mixer is gonna look so fabulous on the counter!!!

Downstairs family room, with a second fireplace... lots of room for scrapbook paraphernalia...

More details about the house, and the whole process we've been going through coming later this week... I'm off to do more celebrating!

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Preppy Chic Wedding

This weekend, NavyGuy and I attended our first wedding as a married couple; otherwise known as, the first wedding after our own! I'll be brutally honest up front - after you've been the bride at a wedding, no other is going to be quite as fun. For me anyway, there's nothing like being the center of attention, in a gorgeous white gown, surrounded by your friends and family. That said, our friends' wedding this past weekend was a fabulous affair... here's a sampling of the day:

The classic color combo - navy and yellow - looked great. The girls wore cute navy blue dresses (I'm thinking Ann Taylor maybe?), and the boys wore khakis, light blue shirts, yellow ties, and blue blazers. Awww... what a cute couple. The bride's dress was very chic - simple taffeta with a v-neck top, A-line skirt, and a small brooch at the waist to add a little bling.

Dinner was a buffet of chicken, beef, manicotti, mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls. The cake was almond, vanilla, or chocolate cake, with raspberry filling and buttercream frosting. The blue ribbon striping gives the cake a cool nautical feel. Blue and yellow butterfly cookies served double duty as favors and place cards - each table was named after locations at Lawrence University, where the couple met.

The reception took place in a permanent tent attached to the Fruitlands Museum. The bride and groom dined at their sweetheart table, with this beautiful backdrop of the woods and sunset. After some dancing, we headed back to the hotel - NavyGuy and I had been up for waaaaay too long and we had a full day of brunching and Boston the next day!

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I {heart} Target

So, we just paid for a really big party for all of our friends and family, and we're hoping to purchase our first home in the next couple months, but...

That doesn't mean I can't "window" shop!

Here's what I'd buy at Target this week...

A cute accent chair for our future livingroom

Any of these oh-so-trendy gladiator sandals...Regina Spektor's new album...

and dryer sheets. Cuz, well, we're almost out.

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To Have and To Hold

Ooops. I missed Stamp Club on Wednesday night because of some house drama - it looked like we were going to have to do a marathon cleaning session in order to have the place presentable for our landlord the following day. Since there's no way I would leave that task in the hands of NavyGuy and the two Marines, I opted to skip Stamp Club and stay for the "fun." Well, then the plans changed again, and the landlord cancelled the showing... but of course we didn't get word until it was too late for me to leave for some crafting. Boo.Luckily, next week I'm going to be scrapbooking with some ladies, I can get my craft fix then. In the meantime, I thought this card was appropriate for today as I'm celebrating a wedding! The stamps are from a Stampin' Up set I got last month. The bride and groom are really simple, but they leave a lot of room for creativity. I wasn't sure that gray would make a suitable wedding color, but I used my blender pens to try and add some shading to the couple... and I have to say I'm kinda excited about how it turned out! The sentiment is just stamped in red and popped up on dimensionals; the swirly background paper was plain white, but I stamped it in the same gray ink, with another stamp in the set. The small hearts are from a separate heart shaped punch.

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More Travel

Well, as we speak, NavyGuy and I are once again on the move. This time it's a red-eye flight to Boston for a wedding. Two friends of ours from college are getting married in Harvard, MA at the Fruitlands Museum. [HistoryGirlie - Fruitlands is Bronson Alcott's failed transcendentalist utopia!!! If I see Louisa May, I'll be sure to say hi, and if I find a comprehendable explanation of what transcendentalism actually is, I'll be sure to send it your way ;)]

Fruitlands Museum, Harvard, MA

The wedding is Friday night, and I'm excited to see what the bride has come up with for this wedding. Given that NavyGuy has been instructed to wear khakis and a blue blazer, I'm hoping for some sort of New-England-clam-bake-Kennedy-compound-preppy-chic affair.

The bride and groom...

Saturday morning there's a post-nuptial brunch, and then NavyGuy and I have to decide how we're going to spend the remainder of our Saturday. We could stay in the "countryside" and tour the other transcendentalist sites like Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond and Emerson's home, or we could jump over to Boston and try to take in as many historical sites as humanly possible in six hours... it's a tough call. While I'd love to check out Boston, is it worth it to go for just hours? We could see the other Massachusetts sites, and save Boston proper for a separate trip when we can do it up right... I don't know. Thoughts? I'm sure we're going to have a blast whatever we end up doing!

Bon Voyage!

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Seattle Mini-Mini-Moon: What to Take Away

If I've learned nothing else in my four weeks of marriage - and twenty-seven years of life - it's that if you have a good experience, then just celebrate it and remember it. If you have a bad experience - well, then, you better find something you can learn from it...

So, here's what I took away from our mini-mini-moon weekend:

1. A wedding band doesn't change people.
Just because you go through a wedding ceremony and shove a ring on a boy's finger, doesn't mean he's going to instantaneously morph into a perfect husband. NavyGuy is very mature and is a wonderful husband, but he's not markedly different than he was a month ago - most of the time he's smart and makes good choices, but every so often, he does stupid things. Us getting married didn't change him into a different, better person, anymore than it changed me into a perfect little housewife - we're both going to screw up sometimes and that's why...
2. Getting mad is okay, but...
You have to figure out what you're really mad about. I wasn't mad that NavyGuy went out with his friends, or that he drank, or even that he was out really late. None of those things would have bothered me on any other weekend. It took almost an hour of me lying in bed unable to fall asleep that night to figure out what I was actually mad about - I was mad that he had ruined our special weekend, and I was disappointed that he had made the choices he did. By choosing to go out and get drunk with his friends, I felt like he was saying our celebration weekend wasn't as important to him. Once he sobered up the next day, and we had a chance to talk things out, I knew he didn't value our weekend any less than I - he just screwed up.
3. Take Inventory, Think Big Picture, Move On.
At the end of the day, I still love NavyGuy. Yes, he made me mad and he disappointed me. But he apologized sincerely and felt wretched about the whole event. We both know he can't totally "make up" for what happened, nor would it be right for me to "punish him" for weeks on end (though he will be coming to a pottery class with me next week...). If I take stock of the situation, he didn't break my heart, he didn't hurt me irrevocably - he made a mistake that he won't make again. Big picture? This isn't the end of the world. So, it's time to move on.

We've both learned our lessons - as we head to Boston this weekend for a wedding of two good friends, I will make sure to give NavyGuy clear expectations about how I'd like the weekend to go, and he will channel his inner Puritan and have a dry weekend! :)

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Seattle Mini-Mini-Moon: What to Forget

After a great Saturday afternoon and evening, the mini-mini-moon hit a sour note. Several friends of NavyGuy were in town for a concert and called him after it was over to meet up for drinks. I was ready to crash, so I told NavyGuy to go ahead and go out without me...

At 3:00am - when he returned reeking of whiskey and hot dog cart - I knew the honeymoon was over.

Basically, his friends got him smashed. He is also responsible for the evening, but I'm sure "the boys" encouraged him significantly. I still have no clue how he managed to arrive safely back at the hotel in his sorry state, but he did. Suffice to say, when he awoke the next morning (still drunk), he was in no condition to be touring Seattle, and I was in no mood to be dealing with him.

We checked out and drove home. He spent the rest of the day curled up in a ball on our bed looking as pathetic as possible, and I, being pissed at him for ruining our weekend.

How did the weekend not end in divorce? You'll have to wait for the final installment... Seattle Mini-Mini-Moon: What to Take Away

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We Want You! (to vote!)

Today's new post is below - you can scroll down to read Part 1 of the Seattle Mini-Moon.

Sister needs to pick a bridesmaid dress. One of her best friends is getting married next summer, and has tasked Sister with picking out a bridesmaid dress for herself. Sister has five choices to chose from, and some specific factors to keep in mind:

1) the dress, regardless of which style the girls choose will be black
2) each bridesmaid can choose their own dress
3) the wedding is going to be a small, elegant affair...
4) in Florida... in July. So it's gonna be HOT and humid

That said, these are the options Sister needs to choose from:

1. Silk Taffeta Halter Sangle Dress

2. Silk Taffeta Lorelei Dress

3. Silk Taffeta Strapless Sangle Dress

4. Silk Taffeta Delores Dress

5. Silk Taffeta Ruffle Wrap Dress

So, which frock should Sister wear? Please leave your votes in the comments section.

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Seattle Mini-Mini-Moon: What to Remember

NavyGuy and I were on the road by nine on Saturday morning, heading south for Seattle. Even though the clerk at "The Happy Donut" gave NavyGuy a 5-shot frappucino instead of a 5-shot cappuccino, our trip was off to a good start.

First stop on our itinerary - the Space Needle!

The ride to the top takes exactly 41 seconds - which our tour guide told us eight times in the 41 seconds - and all of a sudden we were at the top of Seattle! A great view, and lots of tourists with cameras.We headed inside from the observation deck and stopped for a quick snack - what's more cliche than drinking Starbucks in Seattle?

Next we walked several blocks toward the waterfront to check out the Olympic Sculpture Park. It's a fairly new park in a former industrial site, though you could never tell from the beautiful grass and walking paths, as well as some interesting modern sculptures. NavyGuy and I had fun trying to interpret the meaning behind the odd shaped art pieces (we clearly never took any art appreciation classes in college).

We hiked back up to the base of the Space Needle to see the Experience Music Project. (The weather was beautiful when we finished at the top of the Needle, so we wanted to make sure to fit in the outside park in case the stereotypical Seattle rain showed up later on in the day). The EMP was originally conceived as an ode to Seattle native Jimi Hendrix, but evolved into a more encompassing music memorabilia and pop culture site. There's lots of Hendrix guitars, interactive music stations (which are less impressive now that everyone and their mother has played Rock Band), and an exhibit on Northwest rock music.

NavyGuy and I probably liked the special exhibit on Jim Henson the best - we saw Bert and Ernie! Then it was off to the other part of the EMP... the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. A geek's paradise. NavyGuy stood outside first and recounted all of the science fiction books pictured on the wall that he had read... if you know NavyGuy at all, you know that listing took some time.
Stormtrooper costumes, Captain Kirk's command chair from Star Trek, and countless other memorabilia from popular science fiction novels of the twentieth century - NavyGuy was pretty impressed and excited to see so much love given to a much-maligned genre. I survived the experience by announcing that "I hadn't seen this or that movie" until I thought I might give NavyGuy a heart attack. (Tell me - what girl has actually watched Blade Runner?!?!?)

With most of the afternoon gone, we checked into our hotel and got dressed for dinner. NavyGuy had been to a really awesome Asian fusion restaurant called Wild Ginger when he visited Seattle previously, so we spent much of the evening there. Potstickers, princess prawns, duck, mango pork - all served family style - with rice, and fabulous champagne to wash it all down. For dessert - chocolate flourless torte :) Then it was off to The Triple Door, a nightclub around the corner, for one more drink and some jazz music.

All in all, a great mini-moon day... but the story doesn't end here...

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Blog Vacation

No new posts until at least Monday - NavyGuy and I are spending the weekend in Seattle on a mini-mini-moon!!! We got a great deal on a fab hotel downtown, got a good dinner recommendation for Saturday night, and plan to check out as many of the touristy sites in the Emerald City that we can fit in in 36 hours!


See you next week...

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The Post Office Strikes Again...

Well, this was the birthday card that TWP was going to receive on her birthday this Saturday. Sadly, a few problems have arisen...


1) I didn't get it in the mail in time. My fault.
2) It was just returned to me by the post office because it "allegedly" did not have enough postage on it. Bah. USPS's fault.
3) TWP is in California for her birthday!!! Sort of her fault, but we'll blame it on her hubby :)

The card was inspired by Maren Benedict's style. She has a talent for combining lots of patterned paper and seemingly unrelated products to create really colorful and unique cards. The celebrate doodad on the front is a chipboard sticker that I got in a $1 spot pack from JoAnn's.

Hopefully TWP is having a marvelous time in wine country and FlowerGirl hasn't driven her completely crazy yet :) Perhaps I'll have managed to get her card re-sent back to her by the time she gets back from her trip!

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Pictures!

Introducing...

Lillian Mary

Precious!

What a nice profile.

Check out those long fingers! Definitely a future piano player...

Such big feet you have!

Love at first sight... Mommy and Lily

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Babies are cute. In case you didn't know.

Well, I have a few more baby details, but sadly no photo yet. MOH texted me one yesterday, but for some reason, it keeps disappearing when I try to add it to the blog. I'll do what I can to remedy the situation, but I don't have the heart to badger a brand new mommy for more pictures of her baby... just so they can be posted for all the blogosphere to see! ;)

In the meantime, I'll tease you all with these fabulous details...

~ MOH and Mr. MOH have chosen the fabulous name... Lillian Mary for their cutie-pie!

~ Miss Lillian Mary got her middle name in memory of MOH's grandmother.

~ She clocks in at a healthy but peanut-sized 6 lbs, 2 oz. Adorable!

~ Her birthday comes just two days after MOH's and one day after another family member... So much excitement and celebration in one week!

~ Lily is freaking beautiful. I may be slightly prejudiced, but seriously - from the pic I saw, she doesn't have any scary marks on her face, or squinched head like some babies have right when they're born. She has gorgeous dark hair, and I can tell already she's gonna be a looker who'll have Daddy wrapped right around her little finger.

I'm going to call MOH again today and pass on all the well wishes you guys have been leaving - I'm sure she'll appreciate all of the love. Since I can't leave you with pictures of Lily, I'll leave you with pics of these other adorable little ones...


Again... not photos of Lily, but for the time being, these'll have to do for your baby fix.

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Baby Update!

MOH had a happy, healthy, and beautiful baby girl this morning :)

Details and (hopefully) a picture later...

Best wishes to Mom and Dad and new Baby B!

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Baby Excitement!

My MOH (cousin/best friend) just texted from the hospital - she's going into labor and could have the baby by tomorrow!!!!!

Super exciting around here, and I'm sitting on my phone waiting for the good news :) I'm really bummed to not be in Wisconsin to see the baby right away; it's times like this that make me sad to be living so far from my family.

Here's MOH and her husband at my wedding... the flowers helped camouflage her belly a bit, but you can't ever totally hide an 8th month baby bump! Can't wait to meet you Baby B (or B-squared as my Sister dubbed it).

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Located: Mom

Have no fear - the GPS locator my sister and I planted on our mother when we moved out has pinged, and she's not in Mexico.

Turns out the Queen Mum had the audacity to go out and have a life this past weekend! Scandalous, I know. Apparently, there was lawn mowing, birthday parties, and Walleye Weekend keeping her busy - and when she was at home, she was collapsed on the couch in a haze of school-year-ending-exhaustion. I guess she's forgiven.

Mystery solved.

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Weekend Update

Busy, busy, busy...

~ Spent Saturday shopping in Lynnwood. NavyGuy needed a blue blazer for a wedding he's in in a couple weeks. He just found out that he could take leave and go to the wedding, so he's pretty excited; the couple are friends of ours from college, and we'll be celebrating with them in Boston in two weeks! More on this adventure soon...

~ Saturday night was Ladies Night! Brooklet invited to me join her squadron's wives club at a Ladies Night event at a pottery store in Oak Harbor. The store is one where you pick plain pottery items and paint them. Then the store fires and glazes them and you have a beautiful bowl/pitcher/piggy bank/small garden frog. The store has these nights every couple of months, and the offer snacks and margaritas (woo!) while you paint. Everyone had a good time, and on Thursday, I can pick up my new bowl!

~ Sunday morning we brunched at Island Cafe, then grocery shopping, wedding thank-you writing, cleaning, and other mundane Sunday tasks. Then I babysat for a new family with two young boys; the kids were super easy and conked out soon after I got there, so I caught the newest episode of Bridezillas! One of the brides was upset that her maid of honor had gotten sick close to her wedding day, so the bride slipped cough medicine in the girl's drinks for several days before the wedding to make sure she got better!!! Pyscho! (And yet, so entertaining :)

All in all, a good weekend. Oh, except for the fact that my mother is AWOL. No clue where she is or what she's been up to. Friday was her last day of school, so I'm a bit worried about what she may have decided to do... I'm suspecting she's either ran away to Mexico or has been abducted into white slavery...

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Oh, Thursday.

~ Spent today subbing for the fifth grade. The afternoon included a field trip where we walked to a nearby park and monitored the children playing for two hours. One child called some younger children at the park names that I cannot say here or my mom would wash my mouth out with soap. Another child managed to get her foot stuck in a piece of playground equipment. Thank goodness I wore my tennis shoes (and carry Excedrin in my teacher bag).

~ Had my eye appointment to deal with the stye. No progress. Doc thinks I need to keep putting warm compresses on it until I lose my patience, and then I can call him back and he'll "remove it." He explained the procedure of "removing it," and I think I'll be trying the warm compresses for a bit longer.

~ Arrived home to find our dining room full of packages from my MIL - the wedding gifts we opened in Wisconsin after the wedding are now back in our possession! Well, they're in the boxes, in our house (and if I don't get up any more energy tonight, that's where they'll be staying).

~ NavyGuy is at a simulator event until at least eight. So now the question becomes, do I get up off the comfy bed and make myself some dinner, or just wait until he comes home and see if he'll drive into town for pizza...? I'm getting kinda hungry, but I'm also really comfy. NavyGuy will be tired when he gets home, and unlikely to want to go back into town for food... but his only meal options if he eats here are a sandwich or leftovers. It's a toss-up.

Subbing again tomorrow. The annual "Fun Run" is on the docket for the morning, so here's hoping everyone arrives at the finish line... without leaving any limbs behind in playground equipment...

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A Recipe and Cricut Update

I'm trying to work my way through all of the new cookbooks I received at various bridal showers in the past months. Tonight's test-run comes from my MOH who got me the California Pizza Kitchen Family Cookbook, as part of a "pizza time" themed gift. The cookbook has way more than just pizza though - it's got many of the awesome appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and other menu items they have at the restaurant.

Tonight I tried their "Grilled Chicken Pesto Panini." It was phenomenal. Seriously. Many of the ingredients I wouldn't eat separately, but when you combine them with bread and heat, it's magic. The recipe is below, along with my notes afterwards:

Grilled Chicken Pesto Panini
-Crusty Italian Bread
-2 T mayo
-1 medium leaf fresh basil (finely chopped)
-1 small clove garlic (finely minced)
-sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
-Grilled Garlic Chicken (see additional recipe below)
-Monterey Jack Cheese (4 slices)

Heat your panini grill (or regular frying pan). Coat one side of each piece of bread with either butter or non-stick cooking spray. Combine the mayo, garlic, and basil, and spread over the "inside" of the bread. Place the tomato strips on the bread. Slice the cooked chicken and heat in the microwave for 20 seconds (so that everything is nice and warm when you eat it). Add the chicken to the sandwich, and top with the cheese slices. Cook on the panini maker or frying pan, and enjoy.

There are two prep things you need to do before assembling the sandwiches: make the grilled garlic chicken and the pesto mayo. The mayo is simple, and I assembled it early. I had run out of fresh garlic, so I used half as much garlic powder instead, and two basil leaves (I know - I'm wild!). This is my new favorite condiment - yum.

For the grilled chicken, CPK suggests a marinade ahead of time. Take your chicken breasts (or you can just use the pre-cut chicken you buy in bags at the store), and mix with 6 T of olive oil, 2 T chopped garlic, 1 T soy sauce, and 1.5 teaspoons of kosher salt. Put that mixture (I just threw it all in a plastic bowl) in the fridge for at least thirty minutes, so the chicken can soak up all the tasty garlicky-ness. If you're using raw chicken breasts, you need to cook them fully before adding them to your sandwich; if you're using pre-cooked chicken, you can either heat it in the microwave like the recipe suggests, or do as I did, and heat it in a frying pan with all the oil and garlic to really sear in the flavor.

It's more time and effort than a basic PB&J, but dang, it is sooooo worth it.

So that was the good news of the day. Also, the fact that I go my Social Security business dealt with, and in 5-7 business days, I'll have a new card with my new name. It was a little jarring to hand over my old card and watch the clerk casual throw it in the office shredder - bye bye Miss NavyGirl... no going back now!!! But, it's also exciting, cuz I got to sign my new name on a couple forms!

And the bad news... stupid stupid JoAnn Fabrics in Mt. Vernon didn't have any - ANY - Cricut cartridges. So no new toys for me to play with tonight. Oh, I found some other scrapbook supplies, but it just wasn't the same. :(

Ed. I have no clue why the fonts and sizes are all wonky on this post; something rotten in the state of blogger apparently.

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Take 2

Today's Mission: Apply for a new social security card as Mrs. NavyGuy. Remember to bring all important documents and WALLET to the social security office forty-five minutes away from home. Secure new Cricut cartridge :)

Here's hoping Round 2 goes more smoothly than yesterday's debacle...

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Drama of the Week

Many of you loyal readers and friends know of my fabulous compadre HistoryGirlie (Adventures of a Farmer's Wife). We taught together in Wisconsin, and discovered we're basically sisters separated at birth (except that she loves Gone with the Wind, and I've never seen it).

HistoryGirlie and NavyGuy have a wonderful relationship of harassing each other. She calls him Maverick, as her knowledge of Navy life (before I got involved) pretty much just extended to Top Gun. HG is a fellow paper crafter, and we're always sharing good deals we've found at JoAnn's, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby ("the hob").

Okay, so the debate/drama of the week began when HistoryGirlie won a cheesecake baking competition. She's just like Martha Stewart except with better hair, so this came as no surprise to me. NavyGuy kindly congratulated her on her win and added that she should teach me how to bake an amazing cheesecake, as NavyGuy hearts cheesecake and I've never made one for him.

Hrmph. Well, then HistoryGirlie called me to tell me that Cricut cartridges were on sale at JoAnn's! Woo hoo!!! I haven't bought a new one in quite some time, and there's an amazing one that is totally necessary for all my upcoming wedding scrapbooking. Well, I made the mistake of mentioning all of this to NavyGuy... and he felt the need to share this message with HistoryGirlie:

"After your discussion earlier with Mugs, I've decided that she can go get an on-sale cricut cartridge if you teach her how to make your prize winning cheesecake, and she successfully executes such task. ...evil laugh..."

WHAT?!?!?! Oh no he did not. So, I of course responded with:

"Isn't he soooo funny? He thinks he actually has some modicum of control over my craft spending!?!? Silly rabbit..."

And as the instigator of the debate, HistoryGirlie has written a post just for NavyGuy.

Since she's posted, the plot has thickened. I attempted to go to JoAnn's today and buy said sale Cricut cartridge (while also using a gift card for the store), but in my infinite intelligence and common sense... I got all the way to the store (a good thirty minutes away) and realized my wallet was sitting on my desk at home!!!!! AGH!!!!!!!!!! Really? Really!?!? This is my life. Sigh.

So, now I have no new Cricut cartridge, another embarassing story to add to my day, and my pride to regain. So HistoryGirlie, fear not - I will obtain the coveted Cricut cartridge. Let no man and his sassy mouth (or my forgetfulness) stand in my way!

Yes, as always, I realize most of the rest of the planet has much bigger and more significant problems than I. But, seriously - this stinks!

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Muchas Gracias

I stated long before the wedding, that we, not I, would be writing the thank you notes for the wedding gifts. I'm quite traditional when it comes to some things, but there was no way I was going to be doing all of the thank you writing myself, just because I was the wife (with the better handwriting). We agreed to split up the thank yous, and each write some of the notes. NavyGuy denies remembering ever agreeing to this plan, but he most definitely did.

Today, as we sat on our bed, with the handwritten list of wedding gifts received and ample blank thank you cards ready to be penned, I began to question the wisdom of this plan...

Me: C'mon, we'll just get a few more done before you have to go to your meeting.

NavyGuy: Ugh, I'm tired. When did I agree to help with this?

I shoot him "the look," as words aren't even necessary.

NavyGuy writes a line or two, then falls back dramatically on his pillow as if he's just bench pressed five hundred pounds.

Me: Acting like you can't do this, will not spare you. I know that trick.

NavyGuy glares.

Me: Just get it done! See, I just wrote one. Here - use this as a template.

NavyGuy: How do you get them done so easily?

Me: I don't stop every four words and whine.

NavyGuy: I just think you'd be so much better at doing this.

Me: Uh huh. Yep, I probably would, but then you wouldn't learn.

NavyGuy sighs. And begins tapping on his notebook.

Me: I thought you said you were tired.

NavyGuy: Yeah, I am.

Me: Well, if you have the energy to tap your fingers and annoy me, then you have the energy to finish that note!


Thank you notes completed: 7
Thank you notes to-be completed: 58
Chance that NavyGuy will get out of finishing his: 0%
Chance that he will be locked in a sterile room to finish his alone: 100%

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Double Feature

Two flicks this weekend! Finally caught up on the most "recent" Netflix (which had been sitting at the house since before I went home for the wedding... in April), and NavyGuy and I hit the Anacortes theater for the latest Pixar movie.

Milk - This is the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to serve in politics in California. He was elected to the Board of Supervisors for the city of San Francisco in 1977, but was assassinated eleven months later by fellow City Supervisor Dan White. Don't worry - I'm not giving away the movie's ending. These facts are laid out early on in the film, but do not diminish the story arc or keep you from being quickly sucked into the story of Harvey's life. Sean Penn portrays Milk, and deservedly, won an Oscar for his performance. The movie is a really interesting look at the culture of San Francisco in the 1970s; everyone remembers the hippies and Haight-Ashbury, but that was just one neighborhood and one facet of life there, and Milk highlights the burgeoning gay rights movement starting in the Castro district of San Fran. Maybe I liked it because I'm a history nerd and it was great modern history, but there's more to it - Harvey Milk was a fascinating figure, and his story, though cut short, makes for great theater.

Up - Completely different end of the spectrum. Oh Pixar, will you ever disappoint? Not likely. I'd recommend reading this review, because it gives you a better idea of what the movie is actually about (which is my one criticism of Pixar - their trailers for new films never give you any sense of the plot). Basically, this was the saddest movie I've seen in a long time! I never expected to leave the theater bummed out after watching an old man fly away in a house lifted by balloons, but the story is excruciating. This is not the happy-go-lucky Toy Story, or action adventure Incredibles; Up is an adult movie that kids can also enjoy - as opposed to the previous "kids movies that mom and dad can stomach." Despite making me sob, I'd see it again tomorrow, because the lesson is fabulous, and there are a lot of really hilarious parts.

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Induction into the Club

This past week, I had my first adventure as a true military wife - I attempted to navigate Tricare, the notorious health care system for military members, their families (heretofore known as "dependents") and veterans. NavyGuy got the paperwork done quickly to officially inform the Navy that I was joining the club and expected all of the benefits. Until you are a spouse, you are nothing to the Navy; girlfriends and fiances are trivial hangers-on who may or may not be around for the next tour, so until you can produce a valid marriage license, the Navy has no interest in you.But now that I'm Mrs. NavyGuy, life gets a lot better. For instance, I am now the proud owner of a military ID - it doesn't get me out of parking tickets, but I can now get on base with significantly less hassle (and because my hubby is an officer, the guard at the gate who checks my ID as I drive in now salutes me!). As a legal dependent, I can now be included in NavyGuy's important paperwork, and most financially important, the Navy (via the wonderful taxpayers) are now paying for my health care. All of it. Despite all of the sacrifices and struggles of military life, ask anyone who's part of it to name one thing they're grateful for, and I'll bet 90% cite the amazing medical benefits.

I availed myself of them this week, and I will now be touting the good name of Tricare.* I called on Wednesday morning for a general appointment to meet my new doc, get some prescriptions refilled, and have my annual lady-business-scraping. My doc had several openings that day, so I was in her office by 11. The nurse actually met me at the door once I had checked in, so she saved me the hassle of filling out the paperwork the receptionist sent with me. (My appointments will usually take place at the Oak Harbor Naval Hospital on base, unless I'm referred to a civilian doctor.) The nurse was hilarious, and the doc checked me out lickety split, refilled all my drugs for several months, and I was waiting at the pharmacy counter in less than half an hour. Doctor Wonderful even got me a referral to an eye doctor in Anacortes to deal with my eye bump (yes, it's still there... don't worry - it will be dealt with next week Thursday).

The pharmacy was pretty busy, so the only negative part of the experience was the fact that I waited in line for a good thirty minutes... only to get to the counter and find out I was in the wrong line. Not totally the pharmacy's fault (but would more clearly marked signage break the bank?), but it did add an extra forty-five minutes to my day, while I waited in a second line. Considering that was the only hiccup in the experience, I'll take it. I'm sure this first adventure with Tricare was maybe just beginner's luck or something - they're trying to win my votes and lure me in slowly, before they expose their true colors in the future when I'm actually sick and desperately in need of codeine. But, so far, I have to say... I'm likin' life as a Navy wife :)

*Until, of course, they inevitably let me down as a large, unwieldy bureaucracy is bound to do at some point.

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Cheers and Jeers

Cheers... to a new family that I'll babysitting for. Their two little boys are A-dorable, and I'm excited to hang out with them.

Jeers... to getting stepped on by a big dog. The new babysitting family has a large outside dog, and when we were touring the house we stepped outside to see the kids' playset... and I thought it would be nice to throw the tennis ball for the horse dog. In his excitement, Sam the dog pounded over my feet and probably broke a few toes. I think he was sorry though.

Cheers... to getting eight wedding thank you's done.

Jeers... to having a way higher number still left to write.

Cheers... to chatting with TWP for an hour today and finding out that Flower Girl Macy did not actually severe her ear from her head yesterday when she ran into a metal shelf. (TWP saw the accident and then lots of blood, so worst case scenario kicked in right away.)

Cheers... to Mom sending more packages of wedding gifts that stayed behind in Wisconsin after the wedding. When they arrive, it's going to be like getting to open them all over again!

Jeers... to forgetting to tape the second half of the NBC White House special that was on last night. I've watched the first part of hour 1 (with one of my secret boyfriends Brian Williams), and now I'm going to have to either scour the internet to find Part 2. Anyone know if they're re-airing it?

Cheers and Jeers... to Sister. While I'm thrilled she's turned me on to the glory that is "So You Think You Can Dance?", I also hate her for sucking me into this show!!! Oh, and I guess she gets a "cheers" for moving into her new apartment this weekend (and for not coming up with a way to convince me to come down and help her move her junk).

And that's Thursday.

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Quick and Dirty Wedding Recap...

Woo hoo!!! Our photographer has all of our wedding photos online... so, you know what that means... time to start the wedding weekend recaps! (Cuz it's not like I should be using my time to find a job, work on grad school homework, or clean something...)

To begin, we're going to do a nuts and bolts recap; if you have no desire to suffer through excruciating detail and a million photos over the next few weeks as I relive my our wedding weekend, then this post is for you. It'll hit just the very bare minimum highlights you need to see to get the essence of the day...

I will preface that all of these photos are from Dave Watkins, of Narella Studio in Lake Mills, WI. I will rave about him more in a later post, but seriously - if you are getting married anywhere in the state of Wisconsin, seek this man out. Demand that he clear his schedule and photograph your wedding, because you will NOT be disappointed. If you want more info about him, please check out his website here. He was super accommodating and put together a special site for me to get photos from so I could post them on this blog, and I promised him I'd give him some shout-outs in return :)

And, without further adieu... our wedding day.

The boys arrive (looking like the cast of Ocean's 11).

Grandpa and I start our big entrance.

And the deal, is sealed.

There was cake.

There was dancing. (Rock on ladies!)

There was love.

Can we be done now?

Stay tuned for the in-depth recaps (starting with the debacle at the nail salon) coming soon!

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