Newlyweds Series: Boob Tube

What television shows do you have in common? What TV shows of each others can't you stand?

Oooo, so many answers... I had to break this one down into more categories than the question suggests, just for the sake of accuracy.

Shows NavyGuy and I Both Enjoy:
30 Rock
Bones
Family Guy
House
How I Met Your Mother
Mad Men
Modern Family
NCIS
The Office
Top Chef.

Shows NavyGuy Loves / NavyGirl Hates:
Alton Brown's Good Eats
Law and Order
Star Trek
anything on the military channel
Sons of Anarchy
Eureka

Shows NavyGuy Hates / NavyGirl Loves:
America's Next Top Model
The Real Housewives of Anywhere
Project Runway
Gilmore Girls
Glee
So You Think You Can Dance
Grey's Anatomy

Shows NavyGirl Loves and Got NavyGuy Hooked On:
Friends
Sex and the City
West Wing
The Wire

How 'bout you all? Any surprises on your lists? Anyone found a way to get their significant other to watch Glee or So You Think You Can Dance? (I've tried the "there's hot girls" line and it's not working.)

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Welcome Home!

Our little girl comes home.



Meet Tally!



Stay tuned for more adorable-ness!

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Happy Halloween

Hope everyone has a spook-tacular day!

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The Short List

It's SO CLOSE!!! NavyGuy comes home tomorrow, and then it's PUPPY DAY!!! (Yes, I have been running around the house saying that even though I'm the only one here.) We took all of your name ideas and came up with a list of possibles. Well, actually, the list was a lot longer originally, but NavyGuy vetoed many of my great suggestions, so we're left with the choices below that we would both be happy with.

So, here's the list. We're saving the final choice until we bring her home on Saturday and see which fits her best. Of course there's always the possibility we could be struck with brilliance and come up with a brand new name, but if not, the little pup will be answering to one of these. They are in alphabetical order, and I will give away no hints at what may or may not be leading in our own internal polls.

*Annie - in honor of Anacortes, and "Little Ann" from one of my favorite childhood books Where the Red Fern Grows.

*Bella - just always liked the name, and NavyGuy would never okay it as a name for a kid (and no, it has nothing to do with a certain vampire book character)

*Georgia - the name of the street we live on in our first house

*Ginny - pretty sounding, Harry Potter character that we both like

*Mocha - a dark color for a dark puppy, a connection to my favorite coffee drink and Starbucks job, starts with the same letter as both of our names

*Molly - another name I just like (and it's what I named my Cabbage Patch doll when I was younger... tangent - what was up with those whacked out names that came on the birth certificates for Cabbage Patch dolls?)

*Paige - a pretty name and a play on our love of books

*Penny - in honor of Pensacola, and it's cute sounding

*Tally - this is actually a Navy slang term that NavyGuy throws around all the time. I have no clue what its real meaning is, but NavyGuy uses it to mean, "I see it / I got it / I know." After having heard him exclaim this constantly, the word started to have a pleasant ring to it, so we threw it on the list!

So, that's what we've got. I'd love to hear your thoughts; NavyGuy and I will probably go with our gut on Saturday, but it's always good to hear if there's some major problem we're not seeing, or if there's a clear favorite in the race. 36 HOURS UNTIL PUPPY DAY!

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Cheers and Jeers

Cheers... to a good day at work. A happy boss. No pain-in-the-booty customers. And the ingredients for our new holiday drinks arrived which means I'll get to start tasting festive treats very soon!

Cheers... to an outstanding performance review from my boss. Target requires a 90-day review after you've worked three months, and basically, my boss loves me. I got high marks on everything, which, even though this isn't a job remotely related to my career field, it's still nice to be appreciated and to know that you're good at topping pizzas and mixing frappuccino bases.

Jeers... to the Navy schedulers. NavyGuy won't be home until late on Friday because he got scheduled to fly one of the jets home that day, instead of coming home today or tomorrow. He's been in California for two weeks - ostensibly to complete lots of training flights - and more than half of his scheduled flights have been canceled because the stupid Prowler jets keep breaking. Grrr. The Navy is on my shiznit list at the moment.

Cheers... to being two days away from puppy day!!! Saturday morning, 9:00am. It begins.

Jeers... to having to spend tomorrow puppy proofing the house. Between the random junk we leave lying around and the countless computer wires, craft supplies, and books that puppy could find to chew on, I've got quite the project to tackle.

Cheers... to Daylight Savings Time ending this week... switch your clocks BACK one hour when you go to bed on Saturday night and revel in the extra hour of sleep.

Jeers... to the World Series, which is causing no new Bones episodes for the next couple weeks. Tell me - what would you rather watch? Baseball? Or David Boreanaz? (If you said baseball, I'm not sure what to do with you.)

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Time Magazine Top 25 Blogs

Time magazine has their second annual list of the Top Blogs of the Year - I'm shocked to see MarryingtheNavy has been omitted once again, but I'll forgive them the oversight.

Check out the list here. I'm considering adding a few of their suggestions to my Google Reader in an attempt to read something other than entertainment news and craft blogs. Any of their suggestions look good to you? Is there a blog you read that should have made the list?

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Newlyweds Series: First Love?

Shakin' things up a bit - I had NavyGuy answer this one as well!

Was your spouse your first love? Do you benefit from being in love before (or having never have been in love with anyone before)?

NavyGuy said...

I had serious girlfriends before NavyGirl, but I don't think I ever loved them the same way I do her. NavyGirl and I were friends for so long before we were romantic, that our relationship has depth that none of my previous relationships had. I certainly benefited from those relationships, though, just from the standpoint of learning the give and take of being with someone for the long term. So, I guess the short answer is yes, NavyGirl was my first real love, but I benefited from previous experience.

NavyGirl said...

A resounding yep. I had one long-term serious relationship, and several short-lived debacles before NavyGuy and I began dating, and I'm 100% certain that NavyGuy is my first real love. The other boys all impacted my life in one way or another, but like NavyGuy said, our friendship was just so strong that no other romantic relationship prior held a candle to it. (Oy! Did not intend for this one to get so mushy and poetic... I'll be sure to pick a more humorous question for the next installment.)

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Just a few until BOO!

I had a collection of random Halloween stickers left over from previous projects, so I opted to put them to good use making a couple cards:


I've never seen a less menacing-looking Frankenstein in my whole life.

A hunchback witch and some simple circles.

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Newlyweds Series: Unexpected Trait

Is there a trait your husband has you never pictured him having?

His tech-savy, computer-prowess. No question. And no, it's not because I didn't think I would marry a geek - trust me, I knew that was coming down the pipe. But computers (and the myriad technology available today) just weren't such an all-encompassing part of my life ten years ago when I was dreaming about my prince charming. Think about it - when I went to college in 2000 was when I got my first computer. There was no Facebook or Twitter. Most people didn't store photos online or even have digital cameras. I checked my bank balance by calling a 1-800 phone number, and paid my bills by mailing (with a stamp!) checks. Web cam? Huh? Watch a tv show on the computer? Why would I do that?

But now, despite my mom's protests and pleas to the contrary, technology is everywhere, and I'm thanking my lucky stars that I snabbed a geek who builds his own computers, salivates over the newest technology, and loves all things electronic. Plus, his unexpected trait has influenced me greatly - you're reading Exhibit A as we speak.

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Turkey Day Decor

I've been trolling the web in search of Thanksgiving decoration ideas, and I'm clearly veering away from orange and pilgrims this year:

I love this simple napkin ring idea; you could put people's names on the paper and have them double as placecards, or come up with a nice Thanksgiving themed quote.
More Halloween-y than Thanksgiving-ish, but I love the concept...
Gray-blue? For Thanksgiving? I'm kind of lovin' it...
Again, muted tones and white pumpkins. Starting to sense a theme here.
Robin's egg blue? Again, if you added some browns and taupes and caramels, plus the white pumpkins, I think it could be a really modern Turkey day.

Cool tablecloth. The pop of red is also unexpected.

If I've learned anything about decorating, it's if you're going to stick with one color, you need lots of it. Hence, the large grouping of ivory candles and pumpkins.
Seriously - where am I going to find this many good looking mini white pumpkins?!?!

Oh Martha - you never fail to impress. Overturned pie plates, a few paper leaves, and some DIY pumpkin candle holders. I know I said I was avoiding orange, but the hanging lanterns are such a fun idea. Great color splash, and an easy way to add a chandelier for a special occasion dinner.

I've got just about a month to whittle down my ideas and amass supplies... you'll have to wait 'til then for the final results!

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Fright Night

Friday night I got home from work at 10. The wind was fierce and I realized as I pulled into the driveway that both garbage cans were missing, and the recycling bin had blown into the front yard.

Drat. It was late at night, pitch black outside (there are no streetlights on our road), and scary windy with leaves blowing and monsters hiding in the trees. I had two options:


1) Go inside, ignore the missing garbage cans, and hope they were still somewhere in the neighborhood (and not the bay) the next morning.

2) Find a flashlight and venture into the abyss to retrieve two garbage cans.

The problem with Option 1 was the risk that I wouldn't be able to find the garbage cans, and NavyGuy would pitch a fit when he got home, because I had been a baby about searching in the dark. And we'd have to shell out moola for new cans. The problem with Option 2 should be obvious - hello?!?!? Pitch black, windy, spooky sounds, swaying trees, monsters and boogeymen hiding in the shadows. It's like I was asking to be stabbed by a guy with a hook for a hand!

But, guess what I chose? Yeah, that's right - I'm the WOAH-man (sound it out). Flashlight in hand (I chose the heaviest one we have in case it needed to be a makeshift weapon), I trudged around the neighborhood until two garbage cans and two garbage can lids were retrieved (because of course the lids had to have flown off in completely different locations as the cans). It was treacherous, and terrifying; one of the cans had managed to roll all the way down the driveway, across the street, and into this open field, ringed with menacing trees. Ugh. I nearly had a heart attack that something was going to pop out of the overturned can.

Luckily, I survived the expedition, and the garbage cans are safely tucked away in the garage...

NavyGuy - you can come home any time now!

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Newlyweds Series: Cat and Mouse

Who pursued whom? Or was it mutual attraction?

Oh, NavyGuy was the pursuer - all the way. My roommate (Roomie A) introduced us freshmen year, and we became best buds fairly quickly. But he was the first one to initiate any kind of romantic interest.

Little known fact - NavyGuy actually proposed dating a year before we actually got together. Junior year of college, I attended his fraternity formal with him. After the formal, we were hanging out on my dorm floor; I was the resident advisor for the floor and needed to put up a new bulletin board, so he and I sat there in the hallway at 1 in the morning talking. NavyGuy tried to convince me that we should date, but I was having none of it. I was way too scared to lose my best friend, so he didn't press the issue...

So, NavyGuy was the initial instigator. It took another year before we started dating. But that's a story for another post :)

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SSB

Sex in the City fans out there might remember this acronym. It comes up in a discussion about living with a boy, and it stands for "secret single behavior." It's the stuff girls do (or, guys I guess, but it seems like girls have more of this kind of weirdness) when they live alone, or when their significant other is gone. In honor of my two week singledom, I thought I'd let you guys in on a few of the SSBs that have been going on around here in NavyGuy's absence...

*There may or may not be dinners consisting of microwave popcorn, Diet Mt. Dew, and ice cream sandwich(es).

*I definitely have taken over his side of the bed... with my stuff. Whenever he's gone (and really, for years before him) I'd use the empty space on the other side of the bed as my additional nightstand space. Since my actual nightstand is overflowing with water glasses, cell phone, books, hair tie, extra hair tie, current book, lamp, etc., it's helpful to have his side of the bed to keep additional reading materials (magazines that I'm too lazy to go put back in a decorative box intended for their storage), sundry remote controls, the house phone (wise to have a backup phone nearby in case an intruder manages to startle me and I knock my cell phone off my nightstand and it falls too far underneath my bed for me to retrieve it and dial 911...), extra pen and paper... and the list goes on and on. It's always a bit of an adjustment when NavyGuy returns and I have to figure out how to re-cram everything onto my nightstand again. (But don't worry dear, I'd much rather have you on that side of the bed than my remotes... I think...)

*There's a chance that I've spent a bit of time rewatching Glee episodes on Hulu, and/or singing along with the songs... at the top of my lungs... working my Mariah hands... and learning the dance moves.

*I snooze. I mean, I literally set my alarm for thirty to 45 minutes before I need to even think about getting up, just so I can hit the alarm clock and go back to sleep. NavyGuy hates my alarm clock and wakes up at the drop of a hat, so I try not to do it when he's around. But I just love it. I know, it's really weird. But I fall right back asleep and it's so nice to wake up, oh wait, nope! Don't have to get up yet!

Alright ladies - spill! What crazy secret single behavior are you ready to let out of the closet?

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Puppy Visit Postponed

Bad news - no visit with the puppies today. Our breeder called to reschedule the "pick-one-of-the-two-adorable-faces" meeting until next week. :( I was really looking forward to seeing them again today, and instead I got called in to work to fill in for some dingbat who called out. So the big decision will have to wait until next week, and until then, I'm getting my puppy fix online.

(Yeah, this one doesn't fit the sad theme, but it cracked me up!)

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Newlyweds Series: Opposites Attract

In what ways are you and your husband total opposites?

Well...

*NavyGuy loves flying, sailing, boating, and all things involving height, speed, danger, and excitement; I'd rather stay safe on my couch, and have been known to get motion sick if I stand up too fast.

*I would be comfortable spending days all by myself; NavyGuy is physically incapable of being by himself for more than, oh, three hours. I'm not sure he's ever eaten a meal in a restaurant by himself, he calls me when he's driving home from work because he's bored/lonely, and I once left him home alone while I went to a craft night - he texted me 14 times and called three. Bless his little co-dependent heart :)

*NavyGuy likes modern, glass, steel, contemporary design; I am learning to appreciate it, but still think that lace curtains and a traditional white picket fence are dreamy.

*NavyGuy dreams of living in Alaska, crop dusting, moving to Ireland, working on a crab fishing boat, or storm chasing. I dream of Wisconsin, teaching, and him working 9-5 in a safe office.

*I spent most of high school and college studying, doing homework, and generally being a good student, whereas until flight school, NavyGuy thought studying was a complete waste of time and that textbooks were merely to be stacked by one's desk as an ancillary space for setting a water glass or Star Wars figure. (Seriously, there were some trimesters where the textbooks would stay in the bookstore shopping bag the entire term...sorry to rat you out NavyGuy, but do you really think your parents weren't aware of this already?)

For those of you who know us in real life, are there any major things I'm forgetting?

Check out earlier posts from this series:
Age of Marriage
Future Spouse's Looks

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What's in a Name?

Time to throw your two cents in! NavyGuy and I are narrowing down our choices of names for the puppy... but before we reveal the short list, I wanted to give you all a chance. So leave your suggestion in the comments - what would you name a female black labrador retriever? Do you have a favorite dog name? A dog name you hate with a passion? Share the best you can come up with... and maybe your suggestion will be ringing through our neighborhood for years to come!

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Obsession of the Week...

Thank you thank you thank you Thomas' Bagels! Finally someone has acknowledged that just because a person enjoys cinnamon flavor does NOT mean that same someone enjoys raisins! I can't tell you the number of delectable pastries that I've mauled trying to eat around the raisins.
Found these tasties at Safeway this week, and I've eaten six three already (they're mini-sized!). They have a good deal of brown sugar and cinnamon sweetness; I've been toasting them and adding a thin layer of butter - magic.

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Hahahahaha

You all are just too cute. Too cute! I love that the majority of you advocated getting TWO dogs. Perhaps I failed to mention one salient detail... while these puppies are cute and adorable and capable of melting your heart with a single look - THEY DON'T COME FREE PEOPLE!!

Would any of you like to hand over $950 so we can bring home both? I think not. A choice will have to be made.

Um, but, should any of you like to just randomly hand over money... don't think we'd turn that down.

So, come Thursday, I'll bite the bullet and pick one. In the meantime, here are some gratuitous puppy pictures to keep you amused until I'm able to take more of our little one.




Photo Source

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Newlyweds Series: Age of Marriage

Check out the first post in this series here.

When I was young, I thought I'd get married at age ___. I actually got married at age ___. This worked out better/worse for me because ___.

Let's see... my grand plan as a young girl was to get married at age 25, one year after winning the Miss America pageant. (You all can refrain from snickering thankyouverymuch.) Ha! Well, I actually got married at age 27, so I wasn't too far off, though clearly, it was not arranged based on my pageant schedule.

I think the age worked out fine. I enjoyed my years living in my own apartment after college, being independent and deciding things for myself; those early and mid-20s' years were great experiences that I would never have had if I'd gotten married earlier. But now I can't imagine anything besides being married and sharing my life with NavyGuy. We're old enough to not feel like we missed out on any opportunities, but still young enough to relish our newlywed years before we start a family.

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It's Sophie's Choice!

The photos aren't great quality (it's awfully tricky to take pics of fast-moving pups), but our future puppy is amongst this group! There are three black females in the litter, so with help from the breeder, we're going to make the final choice on Thursday. I played with all three for almost an hour today, and basically fell in love with each of them - they had a blast romping around with each other and stretching their legs. For reference sake, each pup is about the size of a football right now... but significantly softer and sweeter :)



Any suggestions or tips on how I can possibly choose between them?

(And no, I can't tell the difference between them in the pictures... for all I know, they're all the same pup... you try keeping track of three little balls of unstoppable energy!)

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Saturday

So my first day of "singledom" didn't get off to a roaring start as planned. NavyGuy left at 4:30am, and I had stupidly asked him to wake me up when he left so we could say goodbye... thus, my day started pretty early.

By 9am, I had progressed through several TiVo'ed shows from the week (So You Think You Can Dance, Glee, Grey's Anatomy, Top Chef, and The Office... yes, I have amazing television viewing stamina). However, my shopping plan was diverted because it was nasty outside - rainy, misty, foggy, windy - just generally icky. A much better day to spend curled up on the couch, reading, etc.

I did manage to finish one project - cutting out five sets of calendar letters. TWP is making photo calendars for several of her relatives' Christmas gifts this year, and bribed me into making the month letters using my Cricut. (I was actually happy to do it, cuz I love me some alone time with my Cricut.)

NavyGuy arrived in California unscathed. Apparently, he got put on duty watch immediately upon arrival, so he spent the rest of the day shuttling people around from one airport to another (duty watch on these types of mission is less securing the base and more "general group bitch," typically revolving around chauffeuring). NavyGuy was not thrilled. But he's excited to get flying and complete some of his requirements.

Tomorrow's big excitement? I'm going to visit our puppy!!! She'll be six weeks old tomorrow, and the breeder said we were welcome to come out and play with the little ones before we officially bring her home in two weeks. If all goes well, I'll hopefully have some pics to show off... I really hope our pup likes the camera!

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DIY Jewelry Display

NavyGuy got me a great jewelry box for Christmas a few years back, but as with everything, my current collection of baubles has outgrown its former home. I can't bear to part with the jewelry box, so I decided to simply supplement the storage.



Pictured above are (almost all) of the materials used in this project. You need: scissors; double-sided Tacky Tape (Walmart); a 12" by 12" piece of scrapbook paper with a cool design; a 12" by 12" cork board (I got mine from Target, with four in a pack for about 5 dollars... they're in the school supplies section); and decorative brads (you can get these at any craft store - they're pictured in better detail below).




First up is to line the entire perimeter of your corkboard with Tacky Tape. Tacky Tape is double-sided, so you'll pull it off the roll, cut the length you need, and then stick it to the corkboard. The second sticky side is hidden by a red vellum layer, which you'll peel off once you're ready to attach your scrapbook paper.



See? There I am pulling off the red layer. What you can't see well in the photo, is the sticky strip of tape left behind on the corkboard - trust me, it's there. (Also, gotta love the gratuitous wedding ring shot :)



Once you have the red layer removed from all around the cork, you can center your piece of paper above it, and stick the two together. I actually found it easier to turn the paper upside down, then lower the corkboard on to the paper.



My paper was slightly bigger than 12x12, so I had a little edge left over once I attached the two. Very simple to fix - just cut the excess paper off the edge.



Now, these are the brads I picked out. Brads have two little metal flaps sticking out the back of them; you attach a brad by sticking the flaps through a piece of paper (or whatever material you're working with), and then flattening those two metal flaps outward to hold the brad in place. I chose to use them for the hangers on my jewelry display.



Before poking any holes in my cork, I laid out all of the brads to make sure I liked the spacing and general arrangement. I wanted to make sure that the brads were high enough up on the board, leaving room for longer necklaces to hang down.



Once I had everything spaced out, I marked each brad with a light pencil mark, and then started pushing them all through, and bending the metal flaps outward. The one catch is not to push the brads right up to the corkboard, because you want to leave a slight gap between the brad and the board where the necklace or bracelet can hang from.



And here's the finished project! I'm thrilled with how it turned out - my extra necklaces and bracelets have a place to rest (instead of in a jumble on my dresser), and it'll look cute on the wall.

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"Single" for Two Weeks

NavyGuy leaves this morning for another two week detachment. This time, he's headed for El Centro, California (inland from San Diego). The weather starts to get pretty yucky up here in northwest Washington this time of year, so instead of wasting time not being able to fly, the training command always plans a few trips to sunny C.A. in order to help the students actually fly. For instance, NavyGuy has been scheduled for seven flights in the past eight days... he's only actually flown once. Ideally, when he and several other students are in El Centro though, they'll be able to get a bunch more flying done, and move along in their syllabus.

Obviously, NavyGuy being gone for two weeks sucks for a great many reasons (including, but not limited to, #7 - I can't watch any more How I Met Your Mother 'til he gets back, and #38 - There's no one else to blame for leaving water glasses around the house). However, instead of focusing on the negative, I'm going to try to find the positive. Namely, some time for fun girl activities and progress on several projects. Today I have a nice little trip to Bellingham planned, for some craft shopping and Barnes and Noble lounging. I've also been brainstorming a to-do list... which I'll list here in hopes that sharing it with the blogosphere will guilt me into accomplishing more of the tasks:

1. Make our moving announcements
2. Finish hanging pictures around the house
3. Start Thanksgiving menu and decor preparations
4. Create a Wonder Pets cape for my goddaughter's birthday party (I have until December on this one thank goodness)
5. Get guest room ready for guests at Thanksgiving!
6. Finish preparing for the puppy's arrival.
7. Start Christmas shopping list

I'm sure there's more that should be on the list, but I'm tapped out for the time being. Anyway, happy weekend to all!

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Newlyweds Series: Future Spouse's Looks

For something different, I'm going to do a series of posts answering questions about relationships, love, and life in general. This idea may or may not have come from another site (cough, cough, WeddingBee), but I like it. Don't by shy - feel free to throw in your answers too!

First up...

What did you think your future spouse would look like, and what does he/she actually look like?

All-American blonde, blue eyes, average height, build, etc. I sort of expected him to look like a not-quite-attractive-enough-to-make-the-J.Crew-catalog-but-Fleet-Farm-would-totally-put-him-on-the-front-of-the-ad kinda guy. Lo and behold, I have a tall, ginger, freckled, manly man (he does have blue eyes). Not what I expected, but definitely what I prefer :)

Who could resist that face? ;)

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Fashionably Late

Cuz sometimes you just get behind...

I stamped the dress image on the white paper, as well as on a sheet of orange. Then I cut out just the dress of the orange paper, and taped it on top of the white. So, you get a pretty orange dress, with the hanger lined up perfectly on the white paper behind it. Stamps, "Humor in High Heels" from Stampin' Up.

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Letters to Target Guests

Dear Mother-Who-Should-Have-Been-Denied-a-Breeding-License,

Hola! While it was wonderful for you and your hyperactive three year old to visit us today, and we're happy you bought a latte and a kids' hot chocolate... we're less than thrilled that you let your child proceed to stand in the cart while holding said hot chocolate. And then when the little sweetie spilled the whole thing on the floor, you had the guts to walk back over to our counter and tell us you needed another one. Yup, just told us you did. No apology for the spill, no asking if it would be possible to maybe get another - not even a please to smooth out your declarative sentence! I say well done. Not every mother can teach her child that his actions have no consequences AND score a free hot chocolate in sixty seconds!

Can't wait to see your child in my classroom at some point, refusing to accept responsibility for any of his misdeeds (and demanding free pencils).

Sincerely,

BaristaGirl

Dear Random Old Dude,

Yo. Parking your bicycle in the Food Avenue cafe is not cool. Not cool. There's a bike rack outside the store.

Use it.

Best,
Team Member Who is Not Paid to Babysit Your Bike

P.S. Retrieving your bicycle and leaving your cart in the Food Ave instead - also not cool.

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Feeding the Obsession

Anyone who knows me in real life knows I have a few ticks. Idiosyncrasies. Charming quirks.

Some call them neuroses.

Clearly, though, based on this new website - I Am Neurotic - I fall in the middle of the spectrum when it comes to crazy. The website collects submissions from readers, who spill their personal neuroses (such as, "If I get an individually wrapped candy like Starburst, I have to unwrap them all before I eat them" or "I always wear a bike helmet when cycling. Not because I am afraid of injuring my head, but for fear that if I end up in a hospital the doctor will not try and save me if I wasn’t wearing a helmet").

In that spirit, I figure it's only fair for me to share one of mine:

"I cannot step on a wet bathmat. When I exit the shower, I dry each foot off individually, and then step on the mat. I hate the feeling when the nice soft bathmat has random wet patches from feet. If NavyGuy showers first and smashes his large wet feet all over the bathmat, I have to walk around it when getting out of the shower, because putting my foot on that wet fabric makes me want to upchuck."

Step up to the plate friends... what's one of your neuroses?

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No, I Didn't Get Stuck...

T-minus 17 days until puppy arrives! We are now the proud owners of the "Midwest Select Triple Door Dog Crate - 1300 Series." It cost more than rent for my first apartment, but damnit if our puppy isn't going to be comfy.
And if you don't think I climbed inside to check out the situation...

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Weekend Update

Dare I say it people? This weekend was... wait for it...

"Legend...

I hope you aren't lactose-intolerant cuz the second half of that word is...

Dary!"

If you get the reference, you already know that NavyGuy and I finally met Ted, Marshall, Lily, Robin, and Barney, the gang from How I Met Your Mother. I caved and bought Season One when I found it for 20 bucks at Target last week. And that's where our weekend went. Calls were ignored. Chores went undone. Showering... no, we showered, don't worry.

Anyway, the show rocks. We blazed through all 22 episodes of the first season, and debated making a WalMart run at 11pm on Sunday night for the next season, but our last shred of sanity prevailed (I work Monday night anyway, so I can see if Target has it). Like all the other HIMYM fans, we love Barney, and I've most definitely taken to yelling "suit up!" at NavyGuy about fifteen times a day.

Anyone else ever lose 48 hours to a television marathon? What did people do before DVD box sets of television shows?!?!?

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Creepy Crawly

More Halloween-ness.


I'm really happy with the non-traditional pink thrown into this Halloween card. And the little brad shaped like a spider was a bit of kismet at the end of the process... I knew buying that pack of embellishments from the Target dollar spot would pay off eventually!

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DIY Candle

Such a simple way to dress up a basic candle you may already have at home, or can pick up at any dollar store, Walmart, Michaels, or garage sale for cheap. Here's what I used and how I did it:
Supplies: plain pillar candle; wire ribbon; scissors; tacky tape (available at craft stores, or Walmart).

Step 1: Measure the length of ribbon you'll need. I simply wound the ribbon around the candle, and cut so that the ribbon overlapped slightly.Step 2: Make a clean edge for the ribbon, by folding over the cut end. Then place a strip of tacky tape on the inside of the ribbon. Tacky tape is double-sided, permanent adhesive; it's an awesome adhesive because it hold so many different materials, but it will stick permanently, so use carefully.Step 3: Roll the ribbon around the candle, and overlap the tacky tape piece on top of the other end of the ribbon. Pull the ribbon tight enough to have it fit snuggly around the candle, but with a little bit of give - that way, you can slide the ribbon off and change out the candle decor for a different holiday.
Step 4: Embellish the ribbon and/or candle with any other holiday elements you want (again, just attach things with tacky tape). Here, I added a rubber spider to the outside. Like I said, very simple, but so much nicer than a plain candle. And since the ribbon isn't attached directly to the candle, it can be slid off when I want to dress up the candle for a different season. Gotta love cheap decorating!

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Photo Diary: Thursday

NavyGuy, breakfasting in the early morning, after taking our truck to the car shop. Yes, the donut is pink :)
Puppy preparations are in full swing. NavyGuy's parents sent us a little care package with this fabulous Ikea leash holder.
NavyGuy checking his computer game status the news of the world before heading off for a full day on base.

A balanced lunch is the key to a productive afternoon.

A DIY project in the works.Mom's brilliant suggestion of where - and how - to store a couple of my aprons. Close to the kitchen, but not right out in the main room. And a great use for the key holder that Sister brought me back from her college study abroad in Venezuela.

The remainder of the day mostly revolved around television, and I just didn't have the heart to photograph myself, sprawled across the couch, mindlessly absorbing Glee, How I Met Your Mother, and Top Chef... all as a warm-up for tonight's main event - Jim and Pam's wedding on The Office!!!! So you'll have to just imagine that image... Happy Thursday :)

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