Technology Coup

Guest Post from NavyGuy...

Well, folks, seeing as our dear NavyGirl is taken with a deathly illness, I'm writing one of my sporadic guest posts. When NavyGirl gets sick, her resolve weakens, and this is when I spring my "New Technology" traps on her. This time, there were two!

First off, I got her using the PS3 as a media client. She can now watch all of our saved DVD's on the TV, including the first 4 seasons of our new favorite comedy, How I Met Your Mother. But I digress. The reason for this post was to primarily talk about a new avenue through which you can read this blog.

For Christmas, I got a Kindle, which is awesome, I love it, but it allows you to subscribe to blogs and then have them automatically delivered wirelessly to the Kindle. The nice thing is, the blog author gets a bit of money for each subscription. The only issue was getting NavyGirl to set up. After weeks of pestering and pleading, I took advantage of her momentary weakness from illness to ninja her blog into Kindle. After shouting for her to bring her checkbook down (she had no idea why) and rummaging around her wallet to get the info I needed to set up the account, marryingthenavy.com is now available to all you lucky Kindle readers out there.

So, the lesson to take away from this is: don't allow your husband to set up new electronic things while you're sick, I guess.

Read more...

Definitely the last Star Wars post for quite some time...

We've had a three-night marathon of the Star Wars flicks. As a reward for me sitting through all six hours of death star-wookiee-stormtrooper-Jabba-droid-geekery, NavyGuy came up with this guest post highlighting WHY these movies are so amazing...

The Top 10 Reasons Guys of our Generation Love the Original Star Wars Trilogy...

10. Ton-Tons: they'll keep you warm in the frigid Hoth night.

9. John Williams is a musical genius.

8. No hokey CGI animation. Instead, we get hokey latex creatures, but at least they're actually made of matter.

7. As if flying down a trench around the equator of the Death Star wasn't good enough, they fly INTO the damn thing in "Return of the Jedi."

6. Yoda (the little green guy to you non-believers) starts an entire manner of speaking by putting parts of speech in odd places in the sentence.

5. Imagine all the things an adolescent boy could do with the "Force."

4. TIE fighters, star destroyers, X-Wings, Calamari cruisers, and the Millennium Falcon. They all make noise in a vacuum somehow, but it's still cool.

3. Vader is his dad, c'mon. You can't tell me the first time you saw "Empire Strikes Back," you saw that coming at all.

2. Carrie Fischer in a steel bikini.

1. Light sabers. 'Nuff said.

Read more...

TWP Guest Post: Part 2

Scroll down to see Part 1 of TWP's trip to Anacortes.

Day 2: Day 2 begun with the fulfillment of my one and only travel request: a trip to the San Juan Islands (okay there were more requests, but this one was the biggest!). NavyWife played along after many assurances that nature would not at any point touch her, that there was chocolate on the islands and that shopping opportunities would be ample. The ferry ride alone was so gorgeous that it made the trip for me and the awkwardly warm weather even allowed us to ride the ferry home with just t-shirts on!

View of Friday Harbor, San Juan Island.

Cute, overpriced souvenirs were bought by all, I tricked NavyWife into eating at a local organic restaurant with promises that it was "cute and trendy" (read overpriced and organic) and Meatball was a model traveler. We also learned a thing or two after finding out that there are a plethora of lavender farms in the Pacific Northwest. I even made up for the abundance of nature by getting NavyWife and I a chocolate-chocolate chip cookie ice-cream sandwich with chocolate lavender ice-cream. Sounds slightly disgusting, but it was amazing! Later NavyWife's mom questioned my unceasingly "wild" influence after finding out that we paid $5.00 for said ice cream sandwich....

Meatball eats organic, much to the horror of her Fairy Godmother.

After our return to Anacortes, Meatball and I had a much needed nap while NavyWife retrieved her groom from a two-week stint on a testosterone-ridden carrier plane. There were videos, technical jargon, and in-depth accounts of the trip, but I unfortunately tuned out shortly after learning that "Danger Zone" does not in fact play on a loop on the boat. Boring.

We rounded out with a stop at the local drive-in burger joint, a long trip to the world's greatest park and way too much ice-cream from the "Happy Donut".

Waving to the ferry

Cheers: To reliving my decade long childhood dream of becoming a marine biologist. If it weren't for the crippling motion sickness and irrational fear of drowning in a large body of water I'd be riding a whale at this very moment.

To NavyGuy's awkward football hold of Macy. He doesn't bat an eyelash at flying a multi-million dollar plane and protecting our nation, but nearly peed when asked to pick up a one year old. Little did he know that by week's end she'd be following him around the house asking to go uppy and he'd be putty in her hands.

To the greatest park ever! An Anacortes gem complete with clubhouses, pirate ship, an Orca whale-shaped sandbox, disgustingly cute kids drawings and paintings and a hand-painted trout stream leading the way up to the slides. I wanted to pack it up in my suitcase and bring it home with me.

Jeers: To the $3.00 dollar juice I bought Meatball to placate her on the ride back on the ferry only for her to drink a total of three sips of it. I then tried to get her to drink it each subsequent day of the trip, forgot I left it in my purse and had my bags searched by TSA before our departing flight.

To the random kid at the park. Meatball has yet to figure out how to get her chubby legs to sit down at the top of slide and cute little boy came over and offered to "help". After his sweet little angel face proclaimed "I know how to get babies to go the slide", he ran up behind her and ever so thoughtfully pushed her down the slide and skipped away.

Enjoying the unseasonably warm weather while sprinting across the ferry deck.

Stay tuned for the final installation of our trip West... for sightseeing, shopping and trying not to offend the United States Navy!

Read more...

Mom's Guest Post

The challenge went out to be a guest blogger on the occasion of NavyWife's 500th post. The idea of writing about myself was almost as loathsome as having my picture taken. So I decided to write about what I know best: my girls. (Mushiness alert!) Congrats on reaching 500 (confirming #5 on my list).

Top Ten Reasons I am Proud of my Daughters

#10: They are both dog people! Admittedly, they were not around cats as they grew up, but both NavyWife and Sis adore dogs (anyone know how to keep them as permanent puppies?).

#9: Readers, Readers, Readers! As we drove 9 hours from Fargo to Grandpa and Grandma's (in the pre-personal DVD era), I rarely heard a peep from the siblings in the back because they were poring over the suitcase of books they had brought along. Today, they are my best source of "what to read next." And both of them would rather curl up with a good book to relax (ok, maybe naps are a close second) than almost anything else. I love well-read women!

#8: Around the World in 80 Days. These two lovely ladies are expert travelers, including packing the suitcase. No customs agent or TSA official better get in the way of either of them reaching their destination. Maybe their just-do-it attitude came from the cancelled flight, terminal run, backup flight, layover in Detroit, but oh, so good Dove ice cream bars on the UNAIRCONDITIONED flight to Disneyland when they were only 3 and 5. They've enjoyed flying ever since!

A young NavyWife and Sister at their favorite play table... many moons ago.

#7: Princes, not frogs! I can't believe my luck in getting sons-in-law. My girls definitely picked great men with whom to spend the rest of their lives. I never had to hire a hit man all the while they were dating, although I definitely carried around a good case of Mom worry for a few of their "friends." Which brings us to...

#6: Long distance wedding planners extraordinaire! Sis got the ball rolling with her cross-country, internet planning extravaganza, and NavyWife only added to the fun when she and NavyGuy decided to marry only 10 months later with the same cross-country agenda. Both days were picture perfect, with very few glitches, and just as memorable as they planned. Yes, ideally, the weddings would have been in their hometown, but that would not have fit either of them. The venues they chose were perfect and they have beautiful memories of not only their wedding day, but of all of the work they did to make them perfect.

#5 and 4: I Am Woman! and Scraptastic! The wedding theme from number 6 is a perfect segue into the next two reasons why I am so proud of my girls. All teasing aside, the theme of Sis and A's wedding, "I know what I want" is a perfect description of her independent, determined spirit. She has a unique knack of doing whatever is necessary to get what she wants (Ask the wedding consultant at Monona Terrace!). NavyWife can also go after her goals, but she will often confer with NavyGuy, Sis, friends, or me to confirm that it is the best idea. As for craftiness, NavyWife has the lead on this one. She tackled wedding projects head on, and continues to cut, stamp, glue and organize paper crafts to the wonderment of all of her family. Her sister is equally as creative, (remember, I know what I want!), but will smartly farm out the work to someone who has materials and time that she currently does not have. What each of you creates in your own personal style is a continuous source of pride for your mom.

NavyWife, Mom, and Sister

#3: Embracing change. New homes. New "permanent" roommates. New cities. New jobs. A new puppy. New transportation. Even new jewelry. Therapists say the biggest reason for stress is change. In the last three years, I have lost count of the number of major life changes that my girls have made, (often dragging me along for the literal ride) and they have come out with flying colors. Sure, a few headaches, sleepless nights, and broken dishes, but each of you has taken on the next day with a renewed spirit and determination to make it work.

#2: Fabulous to their friends. My girls have always had many, many friends (check out the millions of group photos from high school and college). They have found new acquaintances as they have lived in various places, and both NavyWife and Sis have developed strong bonds with those friends. I truly enjoy hearing about the lives of those friends, and am very happy that my girls continue to be involved and devoted to them despite the miles that separate them all. It's especially fun to watch each girl interact with their sibling's friends.

#1: The number one reason I am so proud of my daughters is that each of them has grown into the woman I want to be when I grow up!

Love, Mom

NavyWife, Sister, and Mom at Inner Harbor, Baltimore.

Read more...

HistoryGirlie's Guest Post

1. What should readers know about you that they don't already know?
That I'm really a CIA spy, keeping tabs on the paper and dairy industries of NE WI for the government. Just kidding. I don't really know. I guess if they read my blog, they have a pretty good grasp on who I am. If anyone has any questions, click on over to The Adventures of a Farmer's Wife! :)

2. What is your favorite recipe to make in the summer? Your favorite recipe of all time?
I love making a berry cake recipe in the summer that Farmer's mom gave me. It's a shortbread with raspberries sprinkled on top, with a struesel sugar topping. It's super quick, and it's super duper delicious. I don't know if I have a favorite recipe of ALL TIME. That's a lot of recipes for me to go through. But some of my favorite things came from my mom, like Chicken India, Sugar Cookies, and Sour Cream Chicken Breasts. I have lots of favorite foods I make.

3. What is a typical day like for you?
Hmmmm....it depends, during the school year or summer? Is Kitty home or not? If it's a typical day this summer, I get up to Kitty either screaming from her crib or if she's already in bed with me, she's got her face about 2 inches from mine saying in a very chipper voice, "HI!" We then turn on the TV to catch the headlines (did the world blow up? Was I named the new Queen of England??) and then head downstairs to feed Kitty some breakfast. Farmer comes home for breakfast shortly after that, and we chat about our upcoming day, while Kitty eats breakfast #2 with Daddy. When Daddy goes back to work, I hit the showers while Kitty watches some Sesame Street. After shower, we start on the day's chores. Daddy comes home for lunch about 12:30, we watch the soap opera, and then after Daddy goes back to work, Kitty hits the crib for a nappy and I keep working or I hop online and catch up on my online friends, my e-mail, and EW.com. Kitty sleeps for about 2 hours and after she gets up, we start in on supper. (I cook alot, and since my dishwasher is broken, I do ALOT of dishes) After supper and clean up, Daddy goes back to work, and we go outside and play, and water the flowers and pick the garden. We come in, Kitty gets a bath, and we start reading books and playing inside. Daddy gets home about 8:00 from milking cows. He plays with Kitty, showers, and then we calm her down for bed. If she goes to sleep early enough, then Farmer and I watch some TV and hit the tick about 10:00 pm. Fall asleep immediately and start over again the next day. :) Exciting enough for you? :)

4. What are your favorite blogs or websites? [Aside from MarryingtheNavy ;]
EW.com, CNN.com, MSNBC.com, and the blogs in my blogroll. I especially enjoy Green Girl in Wisconsin, and Seeking Sanity.

5. What is your favorite MarryingtheNavy blog post, or topic?
Because I know NavyGirl so well, I like all the posts....it helps me feel connected even though she's out in timbucktu. I also appreciate the tone of MarryingtheNavy, because it sounds like NavyGirl is sitting on my big ugly green couch telling me the stories. ;)

6. What are you looking forward to the most in the coming months?
Starting back at school, the holiday season with Kitty, and all the fun things coming up that Kitty will be doing!!!!


Thanks so much HistoryGirlie! Hopefully my readers enjoyed a peek into your bloggie life :)

Read more...

NavyGuy Guest Post

Well, 500 posts, that's quite a bit of material for our friendly neighborhood Mugs. She's left her job, packed, moved to Florida, packed up, drove across the country for almost 2 months while living in hotels and with family and friends, unpacked in a new house with two roommates, got married, got a new job, bought a house, packed again, and is moving again. I think if there's an overall theme to her life for the past two years, it's been change. In case it's not abundantly clear, Mugs doesn't like change. If there is anything that I'm sure Mugs didn't expect to be doing when we first met freshman year of college, it would have to be driving from Pensacola, FL to Anacortes, WA in the middle of summer to start a whole new life.

Through it all, though, she's been helpful and patient, a caring and thoughtful partner in all the changes we've gone through. I can think of no one else I'd want with me while doing everything over this past year and a half. I'm glad all of you find her writing interesting and entertaining, and I hope you all keep coming back to read about all the changes that I'm sure will come.


Awww... what a sweetie. It's true I detest change, but somehow NavyGuy keeps getting me to accept it and find the good. Plus he often plies me with ice cream whenever a big change is coming, which tends to help :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts NavyGuy!

Read more...

Sister's Guest Post

Our first guest post comes from my younger sister. She's currently living in Oakland, CA with her hubby and their adorable puggle Lucy. Sister works for a non-profit called Playworks, and Brother-in-Law is going to UC Berkeley for law school.

1. What should readers know about you that they don't already know?
I have a pretty healthy NPR obsession, I want to visit every farmer's market in the Bay Area (we're talking well over a hundred people - it's admittedly an extremely lofty goal) and will literally stop whatever I'm doing to try and pet any dog I see.

2. What is your favorite recipe to make in the summer?
Mmm, Capresse salad - an heirloom tomato straight from the farmer's market, fresh mozzarella, rosemary ciabatta, fresh basil from the plant I've kept alive for over two months(!), and a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette. Yum! A close second would be fresh fruit salad, with peaches, plums, pluots, strawberries, and blueberries.

3. What is a typical day like for you?
7:12am - Drag myself out of bed to attempt to look like a real person for the day.
7:32am - Jump in the car or start walking to BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to make my way over to San Francisco for work.
8:47am - Start Gchatting with my friend A (whose birthday is 7/31, best day ever!!!), about an event that happened that should have been experienced together, and how our boys are soulmates.
9:50am - Head out to schools to catch the first recess, and jump into multiple games of 4-square, wall ball, multi-ball, band-aid tag, crazy kickball, cookie jar, and sharks and minnows throughout the day...
5:15pm - Collapse in my car or on BART, and make my way home.
6:12pm - Walk in the door and get smothered with Lucy kisses and squeals, as the spouse nonchalantly plays Halo with the soulmate and manages to say 'hey' around his headset and microphone (so as to not interrupt the game, of course).
6:13pm - Lose myself in the Food Network channel.
6:58pm - Head downstairs or outside for a 5 mile run.
8:03pm - Return, drenched, and quickly jump in the shower before Lucy can attack me with more kisses.
8:41pm - Eat my weekday standby salad of spinach, romaine, arugula, and balsamic vinaigrette.
9:02pm - Clean up the kitchen, watch random tv, read my nutrition chapters, play with Lucy, catch up on blogs and emails, talk with the spouse, do the laundry, make my lunch for the next day, do some strength training, get distracted by more blogs and emails, until...
11:47pm - HOW IS IT 11:47 ALREADY?!
11:48pm - Sigh.
11:58pm - Another sigh, as I check the time again on the computer.
12:03am - Collapse into bed, with Lucy pushing her way under the covers.

4. What are your favorite blogs or websites? (Aside from MarryingtheNavy ;)
Well, I love me some Adventures of a Farmer's Wife ;), but I also really like EatLiveRun.com and HealthyTippingPoint.com. Both of these ladies, along with several others that they collaborate with, document everything they eat in pictures, and share their tips and ideas on healthy eating and an active lifestyle. Also, I like the Atlantic's food blog, food.theatlantic.com, because you never know what random, interesting article you might find.

5. What is your favorite MarryingtheNavy blog post, or topic?
Well I'd be lying if I didn't at least mention the Lucy (the puggle) or my birthday posts...or both of the big ol' wedding recaps...but I'm a big fan of the Cheers and Jeers posts as well. Often I hold the exact same opinions! (Okay, okay, thanks Mom.)

6. What are you looking forward to the most in the coming months?
Hmm...

1) A fresh new school year with new Playworks people in SF.
2) The half marathon experiences that Yoyo and I will both have this fall ;)
3) A trip to Chicago with the spouse for law firm job interviews and to meet up with my A and Brother-in-Law's soulmate...oh, and please people, cross your fingers that Brother-in-Law actually lands a job for next summer at this point...
4) And the BEST of all...the whole family's big trek north (~14 hours) for Thanksgiving 2009 in Anacortes!! After all, Lucy is already pretty anxious to meet her future puppy-cousin. ;)

Read more...

Guest Post

Miracles do happen ladies... I got NavyGuy to watch Bride Wars with me! It did require a shrill argument about how I watched "his movie" (Taken) earlier in the week, and that he should give this movie a chance, and on and on... but I prevailed in the end and held him down convinced him to watch the movie tonight, AND to write a review of it from a groom's perspective! (Click here for my review.)

Snide Wars
by NavyGuy

Let me start out by saying one thing – THIS IS A CHICK MOVIE!* This is in fact the archetype of the chick-flick. Fittingly, the movie is narrated in a calm adult voice by Candace Bergen, the only person who is an adult in the whole movie, and in fact acts like a chaperone for the two female leads. And lets talk about the two female leads. They spend the whole movie trying to outdo each other in making the audience hate them more than the other. Not only that, but this movie hits every point of female insecurity: weight, clothes, hair, nails, style, and even money. And of course, the moment of inevitable hubris and realization for both brides simultaneously as only celluloid can deliver.

In the recent trend of “bromance” movies, this could almost be called a “sismance.” The entire narrative structure is so tired and worn, that it feels like a marathon runner being dragged across the finish line. In fact, the final twist is so transparent, even someone of only marginal foresight can see it coming from well beyond the horizon. Like the first 5 minutes of the movie.

Ok, now that I’ve finished ripping the movie on a cinematic level, I’ll at least say some nice things, or at least not as mean. The movie was cute, seeing as we just got married, it was funny to see some things from our wedding in this movie. One in particular was when one of the grooms jokes that his particular bride never lets him lead. This is something Mugs and I often joke about, as we have different senses of rhythm and we both always want to lead, which often leads to any time we dance together, we look just a little out of sync. Anyway, in the end, the movie tries to be about friendship, and if you squint real hard, and don’t really think about it too much, it sort of achieves that end.

*Note from NavyGirl: Apparently, he wants to make sure you understand he watched this under duress and should not therefore, forfeit his man card for agreeing to watch a chick flick with his wife.

Read more...

Pink Curve

Guest post from NavyGuy... enjoy!

Mugs is getting a new phone! Ok, well, I’m the only one who’s excited about this, but she asked me to write another guest blog post on the new electronic device I’m “forcing” on her. So, lets set out from the start the difference between Mugs and I when it comes to electronics. My whole life I’ve hungered for and been excited about the newest coolest electronics, always going to the “next” thing. Mugs, on the other hand, has no interest in that fabled “next” thing. If a particular piece of electronics works for her, she’s perfectly happy to continue using it well after the next three generations of the same device have come out, something I would be horrified to accept.

This brings us to cell phones. I recently got a new Blackberry to replace my previous smartphone, and Mugs has a slightly older, well used simple phone that she’s used for almost two years. Because I bought the phone, and our provider is doing a promotion this month allowing us to “Buy One Get One Free” on another Blackberry, and Mugs phone is getting on in years, she’s able to get any Verizon Blackberry free. Now, if this opportunity were presented to me, I’d of course go for another of the same model as mine, the newest, most advanced Blackberry Verizon offers. When I presented the suggestion to Mugs, her response was slightly different. She didn’t want a new phone at all to my astonishment!

“But my phone works fine,” she said.

“Yeah, but these are newer,” I responded, thinking that would of course convince her of the superiority of my plan. All I got back was a blank stare as if I’d just spoken Mandarin.

Never one to be deterred in the face of new technology, after about a week of continually discussing and incessantly pestering her with pictures and talking about all the superior features of any Blackberry over her current phone, Mugs capitulated and gave in on one condition: she had to get the pink one, and not the newest one, either, the one generation old Pink Curve. This is the price I pay, . At least now she and I can Blackberry message together, and I can have the fun of getting to set up a new phone and make it do all the neat computer-y things that I think are endlessly cool and Mugs probably won’t even realize happen.

In any case, come March 11^th, Mugs will be getting a new phone, and will hopefully be joining the ranks of Crackberry addicts just like the rest of us!

Read more...