Cheers and Jeers

Cheers... to possibly having our wedding featured in a Madison magazine!!! I don't know all the details yet, but our wedding photographer asked if he could pass our name along to Brava Magazine, and now I'm working on filling out a questionnaire from one of their writers. I've been running around the house for the past two days yelling, "I'M GONNA BE ON THE COVER OF A MAGAZINE!" and NavyGuy's been shaking his head and reminding me that a) the writer said nothing about the cover, and b) it's an article about us, not just the bride. We'll see about that...

Jeers... to having to work on Saturday instead of being able to visit Tally pup. I'm sending NavyGuy down without me, but with our camera (we're still negotiating the video camera, as he's terrified of being that parent), because even if I can't see her, I need reassurance that she's okay. And happy. And at the top of her class. And making friends. And brushing her teeth. (I'll be sending a checklist with him.)

Cheers... to payday today. Thank god.

Jeers... to NavyGuy's squadron. They deploy very soon, and yet they're being completely ridiculous in scheduling the guys, and leaving them absolutely no time to get any pre-deployment stuff done, or even, I don't know - see their families AT ALL. NavyGuy was one watch twice this week (which means 7am - 10pm at the squadron, no leaving), had two days of night flights, and there's no sign it'll be letting up. Way to go squadron - good job building morale before a deployment, and taking care of your own. Total bulls#$%.

Cheers... to getting my craft mojo back. It had flittered away for a bit, but with the arrival of the latest Creating Keepsakes magazine, and an invite to scrap next week with some of the Navy wives, I'm feeling artsy-fartsy-mojo-licious.

And all of you...?

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Cheers and Jeers

Jeers... to having to do bathroom checks at work now. Apparently, in order to "save money," the talking heads at Target came up with the brilliant plan to have the Starbucks girls do the mid-day bathroom cleaning. So now along with "steamed milk" and "poured coffee," I'll be able to add "scrubbed toilets" to my resume! (Sense the sarcasm... let it roll around in your ears for a minute.)

Jeers... to missing Stamp Club because NavyGuy had a night flight. Tally had already spent most of the day by herself, so I had to come home and be with her instead of getting my craft on. Grrr.

(Tiny) Jeers... to Tally. For acting like an actual dog, not the perfect puppy we've been honeymooning with for the last three months. After being cooped up all day, it's not surprising that she's been driving me nutty all night long with the jumping, and the nipping, and the stepping on my laptop, and the frantic tearing around the house like a toddler on a sugar high on Christmas. (Of course now that I've typed this, she's decided to curl up on my lap and look adorable. Damn puppy dog eyes. They'll get'cha every time.)

Cheers... to having Pillsbury cinnamon rolls for breakfast. That's all I got for cheers. It was really more of a jeerful day. Bah.

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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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Cheers and Jeers - Starbucks Edition

Quite the day at Starbucks...

Cheers... to learning how to clean the coffee grinder. Why cheers? Because it's part of my "advanced store training," which will probably bring me only more responsibilities and headaches (as opposed to more money), but will certainly make my time as a barista more rewarding.

Jeers... to getting coffee grounds all over my pants.

Cheers... to getting to make my first promotional sign! You know - those chalkboard signs above the registers and stuff? Well, yeah, I totally got to make one. It was for Signature Hot Chocolate. I even got to draw a cup and whipped cream. And everyone said my letters were super straight. All those years of writing on classroom whiteboards...

Jeers... to the customer who sat in the cafe lobby area for twenty minutes having an OCD meltdown and refolding thirty odd napkins.

Jeers... to the seventy three year old man, wearing a helmet and carrying a skateboard, who was first cranky to myself and the other barista, and then attempted to give us a tip (one quarter) through a slight of hand magic trick... which we're not allowed to accept anyway, so his Houdini-esque performance was for naught.

Cheers... to Starbucks new VIA Ready Brew instant coffee! Trust me - this is not your grandmother's instant coffee. Stop in any Starbucks in the next couple of days and get your free sample packet (it's like those little Crystal Light lemonade drink packs that you can add to a water bottle so you can drink it at your convenience). The brew is available in Columbia (medium) roast, or Italian Roast, which is bolder. All you do is add either 8 oz of hot or cold water, and voila! A great Starbucks quality cup o' joe. Alright fine, infomercial over.

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Cheers and Jeers

Cheers... to these:



Cheers... to NavyGuy for using them tonight to save us from some unfortunate ensembles tomorrow. Our new washer/dryer combo rock, NavyGuy rocks, clean clothing rocks.

Jeers... to Pumpkin Spice Lattes. They debuted today and I'm not gonna lie - they aren't my favorite. Of course you should try them for yourself ;), but I just can't get on board.

Cheers... to getting my craft zone useable! The organizational system still needs to be perfected, but I can at least sit down and get my craft on. Pics of the new space to come.

Jeers... to going back to work after four days off.

Jeers... to having to go back to a minimum wage retail job when everyone else I know went back to school today. I know they'll all kill me for saying this, but I'm jealous.

Cheers... to NavyGuy having his first front seat flight tomorrow! (This means he'll be the flight officer who gets to sit in the front of the plane and actually do useful things). He's quite excited/nervous, so wish him good luck!

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Cheers and Jeers

Cheers... to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince! Under threat of bodily harm from HistoryGirlie, I cannot discuss any specifics of the movie until I receive word that she's seen it, but I can say that, the film rocks. NavyGuy and I saw it Friday afternoon - at the EXACT SAME TIME as my mom was seeing it in Wisconsin - crazy coincidence. Since seeing it, I've been frantically rereading book 7.

Jeers... to Marine #2. First, he's taken to wandering around the house shirtless. Man is not good looking, and tends to wear low-rise board shorts (ew, butt-crack). I'm very bummed we never instituted a "no shirt, no shoes, no service" rule in this house. Also, Marine #2 had a "lady friend" visiting this weekend, and she was less than impressive. Think ditzy college girl, with a bit of moron thrown in for good measure. I never officially met her, but my opinion of her was sealed when she called one of Marine #2's deafening burps "cool." The two of them spent the weekend making huge messes in the kitchen, working out, and watching terrible shows on TV. Hope she thought the trip was worth the airfare from Southern California. I cannot wait to move.

Cheers... to starting to pack for the big move! We're picked up some more supplies this weekend, and I tackled our coat closet in the hall. I wouldn't normally be jazzed to pack, but since it means moving away from the fraternity house we're currently in... packing is great!

Cheers... to Brother-in-Law! He made Law Review for UC Berkeley, and we're all quite impressed with his brilliance. His acceptance makes up for the fact that he spent the majority of my wedding reception reading and preparing his application... congrats!

Jeers... to the family of spiders living somewhere under my bathtub. Each morning I go into the bathroom and find one lone spider just chillin' in my tub. I squish him (or her) with a Kleenex and go on with life. But, the next morning, shock of shocks, another one turns up! This has literally happened for over a week. You would think these little boogars would start to get the hint... hang in the drain, stay alive; venture onto the tile, risk Kleenex squishing. The battle rages on.

Other cheerfulness or jeerfulness anyone would like to add?

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Cheers and Jeers

Cheers... to surviving another Starbucks shift! Tonight I learned how to close the store, make an Americano, pour the perfect espresso shot, steam milk, pour foam, wash a million dishes, whip up the frappuccino base, mix mocha sauce, and wash more dishes!

Jeers... to having to work tonight and tomorrow morning, thereby not getting to watch So You Think You Can Dance until tomorrow afternoon!!! Agh!!!

Jeers... to Sister allowing her company to change their name. I liked "Sports4Kids." "Playworks" makes me think they build swingsets or something. Did they consult you on this?

Cheers... to getting my butt to the gym this morning and doing some serious sweating.

Jeers... to being so sore from said sweating that now all I can do is lie in bed and whine at NavyGuy to bring me stuff.

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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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Cheers and Jeers

Cheers... to the so-cute-they-induce-squealing black lab puppies that I visited tonight.  My mom knows a fellow teacher who raises them, and she was looking for people to come by and play with the puppies before they're sold, in order to help socialize the pups.  Hmmm... snuggle with adorable puppies and not have to clean up their poop or deal with any of the downsides of having a dog?  Gee, let me think for a minute... gosh, I don't know... I might be busy with a pap smear that day and I'd hate to miss it...  

Mom definitely had to stop me from smuggling one of them out tonight (they have eleven - I could be halfway across the country before they figured out they were missing one!).  Here they are at feeding time - it was hilarious to watch them all climb over one another and literally fall into the food bowl.

Jeers... to having to leave without a puppy... NavyGuy... please?

Cheers... to finding some nifty scrapbook papers for a First Communion project in the works for my little cousin.

Cheers... to being able to watch my mom's tap dance class last night!  She and my two aunts partake in weekly torture classes and I crashed their party to see if they really had justification for complaining about being sore.  Verdict?  Um, yeah... they tap their little patooties off!  If I thought I could get them drunk enough, I'd stash three pairs of tap shoes in my wedding day emergency bag, and make them do a mini recital at the reception!  Alas, I fear you will all have to take my word for it when I say they'd give Shirley Temple or Gene Kelly a run for their money.

We'll end on that happy note.  Tomorrow I have to buckle down and make some decisions about the ceremony programs... so expect a few random posts while I procrastinate!

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Cheers and well, more cheers!

Cheers... to getting my latest Stampin' Up order!!!! Check out these schnazzy stamps I've been playing with (constantly) for the last twelve hours:

Polka Dot Punches (I got these through the Sale-A-Bration 2009 catalog, which sadly, is no longer available)

Congrats (another Sale-A-Bration set)Warm WordsYou can expect to see lots of cards featuring these stamps in the future!

Cheers... to a great babysitting job last night. The little one couldn't be cuter (and he's super well behaved), and he even made me a birthday card!

Cheers... to spending all day today with NavyGuy, celebrating my birthday! :) Of course it'd be better if all my family and friends were here, but I'll take what I can get. I'm officially in my late 20s now (I consider 27 the brink of late 20s); I probably still have a few more years before I need to start acting like a real adult, right?

Hope everyone else has a marvelous day!!!

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Cheers and Jeers

Haven't done one of these in a while, and conveniently, the info I have for you today falls into either a cheer or jeer category!

Cheers... to Sister's BFF in Boston who got engaged!!!! BFF and I got to know one another at Sister's wedding last summer, and let's just say - she rocks. Big time. :) Are they not going to make the cutest bride and groom?!?! He pulled of a great surprise proposal too - with her family and friends running out onto a football field after she said yes!

Congratulations sweetie! (Seriously - I will make your invitations ;)

Jeers... to my new cell phone. While it's pink and adorable, it's completely jacked up at the moment. This be a public service annoucement to anyone who tries to contact me in the next few days - my phone is ridiculous and may eat your text or voicemail. If you have serious information to get to me (or excellent gossip), please email.

Awww... it's the Mugs and NavyGuy of phones... they look so in love... except the evil pink demon is trying to kill me! Argh....

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Cheers and Jeers: Thanksgiving Edition

Cheers... to my and NavyGuy's families venturing on the "Washington Trail" and making it out to our neck of the woods for a Thanksgiving extravaganza.

Cheers... to the two semi-nice weather days we had while our guests were here.

Jeers... to the two spitty, wet, icky days we had while our guests were here.

Cheers... to a great menu of Thanksgiving food. Triple cheers to the deep-fried turkey (no fires or explosions!), stuffing, green jello rings, and hashbrown casserole.

Jeers... to the Rockette's nude colored outfits. Nude is not a holiday color ladies; find yourself a nice red or green leotard for next year please.

Jeers... to the pitiful reinvention of White Christmas on Broadway showcased during the Macy's parade. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye would have rolled over (and danced a smashing tap routine) in their graves if they had seen the crap-tacular impostors mangling the holiday classics.

Cheers... to the six bottles of wine we managed to drain during dinner and dessert.

Jeers... to the butthead of a roommate who a) did not offer to help prepare anything before dinner, b) did not offer to clean up anything after dinner, and c) ripped the head off of my handmade Pilgrim man placecard and stuck it on one of the wine bottles. (A kids' table would have been wise.) He, and our other equally useless roommate, are on my list.

Cheers... to the Michael's craft store in Burlington for having a wide selection of Cricut cartridges on sale for $29.99 Friday morning!!!! At that price, how could I not buy three of them?

Cheers... to my wedding planner/life coach for her fabulous bridal shower invitations that arrived on Friday. Despite handicaps like an ADHD dog, a pukey baby, and a husband, she put together a gorgeous invite featuring a pink wedding cake! Yea!

Cheers... to my Trivial Pursuit team for our Friday night victory. May youth (and second guesses) always prevail.

Jeers... to the whales of Puget Sound. Six hours on a rainy, cold, dismal boat trip around the islands of northwest Washington, and all you damn whales do is hide underwater the entire time!?!?! I did not pay good money to sit in my own shivering dampness and listen to Captain Carl tell me about the mating habits of harbor seals; I wanted to see Shamu in the wild! (Luckily, we each have a lifetime voucher to retake the whale watching tour again, until we actually see whales.)

Jeers... to the bug that crawled up my nose and gave me this vicious head cold.

Cheers... to Eclipse, Book Three of the Stephenie Meyer vampire saga, which kept me entertained when I awoke at 4:30 am dripping snot and unable to fall back asleep.

Cheers... to a delightful, if imperfect, Thanksgiving Extravaganza. For the family we did see, thank you; for the family we didn't get to see, Christmas is just a few short weeks away!

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Cheers and Jeers

Cheers... for the slogan for a local chimney sweep company: "Don't Make an ASH of Yourself... Call XYZ Chimney Sweepers!"

Cheers... to Bravo TV Network for airing a day long marathon of The West Wing. Bartlett for President!

Jeers... to NBC for ever canceling that gem of a show.

Cheers... to my new hair stylist at Red Salon in downtown Anacortes who managed to cut and restyle my misshapen rats nest into something resembling a coif.

Cheers... to the Cricut company for better than expected customer service. My new Cricut dream machine arrived today, complete with free shipping to return the broken one - yea!

Jeers... Madonna and Guy Ritchie for dragging their household staff into increasingly absurd divorce proceedings.

Cheers... to the oven-fixer team that eliminated my excuse for ordering pizza.

Jeers... to the general bad economy that is causing the shortfall in the Anacortes School District budget, leading the School Board to freeze all hiring.

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