November 16, 2012: Blog Hopping Friday

I have to say, I simply cannot believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away. Where does the time go? Today is my kids' last day of school before they get an entire week off. Again, I have to say that I'm really looking forward to that. Life is so much more uncomplicated when I get to keep my family home with me.

Getting to the point...

1. My best quality is my honesty. If you ask my opinion, you can rest assured that I'll tell you like it is.
2. One of my less flattering qualities is my amazing ability to hold a grudge. I always think that by letting things go, I'm letting someone take advantage of me or get away with being a terrible person to me.
3. I'd rather be drinking coffee than tea this morning. But I'm changing my ways and having morning tea instead of coffee. That doesn't mean that I've stopped drinking coffee, it's just that I'm trying to start my day with green tea which is detoxifying rather than stopping up my system with coffee first thing in the morning. We'll see how it goes.
4. Something I have been challenged with lately is keeping up with NaBloPoMo. I gave up on the one picture a day thing on Instagram. I've had an extremely rough week and have given myself two mulligans with NaBloPoMo. Take that NaBloPoMo.
5. I am looking forward to my kids having school off this next week and Thanksgiving dinner.
6. A super random factoid about me is I am sad that Hostess is going out of business. I don't remember the last time that I had a Twinkie, but it was somehow comforting knowing they were out there if I ever had a craving.
7. I want to have an entire room filled with books and yarn. I want this room to have a secret door that only I know where it is. It would have an entire wall that is floor to ceiling windows that look out over green rolling hills as far as the eye could see. And it would be soundproof.

This week's Five Question Friday is being guest hosted by Kate at Kate's Life.

1. What snacks/drinks do you eat at the movies? I always have a soda and buttered popcorn. Then I have either Sour Patch Kids or Twizzlers. Sometimes I'll have Raisinets but usually it's Sour Patch Kids or Twizzlers.
2. What's one food you refuse to ever try? The reproductive organs of any animal. I'd rather eat bugs first. 
3. What's your favorite nail polish color? This is such an easy question for me. I absolutely love Essie's Scarlet O'Hara. It's the most perfect red and I get compliments almost every time I wear it. 
4. What's your favorite Thanksgiving tradition? Making and eating dinner. Everyone in my little family helps out. And of course, eating it is always good.
5. What are your least favorite words in the English language? Entitled because I dislike people who figure they're entitled to everything without following rules and regulations or having to actually work for it. Smile because it sounds funny when I say it. Same goes for drawer too. Any word that I mispronounce because I hate mispronouncing words.

Three Blogs I Always Read

#30DaysHathNovember

Scrolling through my subscriptions, I think it would be easier to find three blogs that I used to always read. Blogging has pretty much reached it's peak and gone beyond it and a lot of my favorite blogs haven't been updated in ages. :(

Anyway...

The Bloggess

Tudor History Blog

Wine Harlots

Style Inspiration for the Season

#30DaysHathNovember

Something I'm Proud Of

My restraint. This day made it into the top ten worst days of my life and I didn't kill, run over, or beat anyone. No matter how much they could've used a bitch slap to the face. And I don't want to talk about it so don't ask.

The Last Item I Purchased

I am such a very boring person. The last thing I purchased was dinner at Weinerschnitzel. Something slightly more interesting than that is the thing I purchased before that. Say hello to Click & Grow.

If you know me at all or have followed my blog at all, you know that I have a brown thumb. I kill everything I try to grow with the exception of cactus and succulents. If I don't kill it, snails do. Well, I can grow an obscene amount of tomatoes. So many tomatoes that I still have nightmares about them. Overall, I am just a plain old unsuccessful gardener/horticulturalist which is a shame because I love plants, flowers, herbs, and homegrown veggies. 

I heard about Click & Grow around some social networking something. Probably Twitter. It sounded pretty foolproof so I decided to give it a try. I got my kit in the mail on Thursday, rushed it into the house, and broke it out of its box. Setting it up was extremely simple. A mere five days of being turned on and watered and I already have sprouts!! I just noticed today that I had life in my pod. Woot!!

If my cockscomb grow well, I will definitely be ordering more plant cartridges. I love that this combines my obsession with technology with my want to grow things. I also really like the speed with which I received my order on Nov 2nd and it delivered on Nov 8th. They were also really good with order and shipment confirmation. I appreciate speed, accuarcy, and being kept in the know.

Keep your fingers crossed that my batteries don't die and that I don't get a rogue snail that kill my sprouts.

Three Years Ago Today

#30DaysHathNovember

I have to stop and figure out what that year is. November 11, 2009. I looked back through old blog posts to see what I was up to and luckily, I posted pretty regularly and I can tell you exactly what I was doing on this day three years ago:  vacationing at the Outer Banks. It was our last OBX vacation before we moved back to California. It was also when Nor'Ida rolled through which was pretty memorable.

I love California, in particular, San Diego. It's home as no place has been for many years. But, North Carolina's beaches are beautiful, especially at the Outer Banks and I miss vacationing at the OBX. San Diego's beaches are beautiful too, but in a more dramatic way with its cliffs and bluffs and huge waves. North Carolina's beaches are serene and warm and more welcoming in my opinion.

Ugh. This post has made me depressed. I miss having an annual vacation!!!

A Favorite Recipe

First off, Happy 237th Birthday to the US Marine Corps and to all Marines, past and present, who have served their country with dignity and honor.

Now, I have a LOT of favorite recipes. I share them on Pinterest, this blog, and Facebook from time to time. In honor of the fact that fall has finally arrived to San Diego (it's rained off and on the past couple days with temps only in the 60s) I'm going to share a recipe from Cooking Light that always gets play at my house during the colder months. It's from their January 2006 issue which means we've been having this for almost seven years now. In fact, we're going to be having it sometime in the next week. It takes a little prep time since you have to make the sausage yourself, but with using ground pork and ground turkey, it's super lean, very tasty, and worth the extra effort.

Ingredients

Sausage:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons dry red wine
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Dash of kosher salt
• 3/4 pound lean ground pork
• 3/4 pound ground turkey breast

Chili:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups diced onion (about 2 medium)
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced
• 4 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained, divided
• 3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
• 3 cups water
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans no salt-added diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 cup very finely chopped cilantro, divided
• Low-fat sour cream (optional)
• Sliced green onions (optional)

Preparation

To prepare sausage, combine first 12 ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
To prepare chili, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausage mixture; cook 7 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion, 1 tablespoon cumin, 1 tablespoon garlic, 2 teaspoons oregano, and chiles; cook 4 minutes or until onion is tender. Place 1 1/2 cups black beans and 1 cup broth in a food processor; process until smooth. Add puréed beans, remaining beans, remaining 2 cups broth, water, and tomatoes to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, 45 minutes or until slightly thick. Stir in juice and cilantro. Ladle about 1 3/4 cups chili into each of 6 bowls. Garnish each serving with sour cream and sliced green onions, if desired.

November 9, 2012: Blog Hopping Friday

1. I like spending time with my husband. He's been on leave this week and it's been really nice hanging out together.
2. A life goal of mine is to travel and see the things I've only read about in books or seen on television.
3. The last thing you would ever expect me to like (even though I secretly do) is I have no idea. I'm pretty open about all my many obsessions. I like video games, sci fi, reading almost every genre of book I can get my hands on, and I'm an openly, unashamed, nerd. What else is there to keep secret? Hmm. I don't think I've ever talked about how I like lizards. There ya go.
4. Some wise words that I love are let people's well-intentioned, yet busybody, judge-y advice go in one ear and out the other.
5. Most mornings you will find me with iPad in hand, reading my e-mail and checking on Facebook while the kids get ready for school.
6. Right now I am super into The Walking Dead, Of Monsters and Men, The Lumineers, and writing.
7. Right now I am super over democrats and republicans and daylight savings. When will this country put an end to daylight savings???

1. If you had c-section do you wish you would have had vaginal? Or vice versa?  I've never had a c-section and don't wish that I had. I wouldn't want the long recovery time.

2. If vaginal did you go drug free? For the Oldest, I had a shot of Demerol which I regretted. For the Youngest, I didn't have anything. My labors were both too short for an epidural.

3. Did you have any complications? Nope.

4. Who was in the delivery room with you? For the Oldest, I remember having the Mister in the room with me. I think I told everyone else to get the hell out. For the Youngest, I had my mom. The Mister was in California and I was in Ohio and he didn't have time to fly out.

5. Did you document your labor and delivery? (Photos, videos, etc.) Photos.

6. Pick the birth story of one of your children and tell us ALLLLLLLL about it! I'd really rather not. Both of my labors were mostly normal and definitely short.

I usually do a third blog hop here from Feeling Beachie, however, Hilaryg and her family were severely affected by Sandy and then the Nor'Easter that just hit the east coast. If you haven't already, please take the time to donate to the Red Cross or another reputable relief effort organization. Please keep this family as well as all the many others who were devastated by these storms in your thoughts.

The Search for a Mythical Pond

I'm skipping today's #30DaysHathNovember. The topic is inspirational quotes. I'm very rarely inspired and quotes that stick out to me are the ironic or funny ones. Not really inspirational. Instead...

Yesterday, the Mister and I dropped the kids off at school and then went for a hike at Mission Trails Regional Park. The last time we went hiking, we saw trail head signs for Shepherd's Pond. The idea of a pond out where we hike is a little unbelievable. It's dry. Really dry. Maybe it's a seasonal pond and is only present during the rainy season. We decided to try hiking to this supposed pond. We went about 1.7 or 1.8 miles before we turned around. It doesn't sound like a lot, but we hadn't been hiking in a couple months and the trails are moderate to challenging. Anyway, at our turnaround spot, we still hadn't seen any evidence of this pond. Our total hike was 3.7 miles with a 555 foot elevation gain. We were going to go again today but Fall has arrived to San Diego, freaking finally, and it's raining today. I'm not big on hiking in the rain and the mud. Hopefully we'll have a chance to go again before the Mister goes back to work on Wednesday.

This is where we turned around. We decided we didn't want to climb back up this hill.

A pretty steep hill. It's probably why my calves are sore today.

We were socked in with fog yesterday. This is the last of it burning off.

Morning view at MTRP

A Song for the Day

#30DaysHathNovember


Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men




Flapper Girl by The Lumineers

A Book I'm Reading

#30DaysHathNovember

I recently discovered author, Rick Riordan. He's responsible for writing the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series which I'm sure a lot of people have heard about since the first book, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief was made into a movie. I started out reading the first book in Riordan's series Heroes of Olympus. I knew about the Percy Jackson series but I thought they were separate series and they are, to a point. A lot of the same characters from the first series make appearances or are mentioned in the second as are some events. So, my OCD couldn't stand it and I had to read the first book of the Olympians series and I've set aside the Heroes series until I'm finished. Blah blah. Anyway, they're great books. The Greek and Roman mythology in them are fabulous. Riordan's fantasy world is well-developed if a little Harry Potter'ish. I'm finding that I like the Olympians series better because they are told in the first person from Percy's point of view. The first book in the Heroes series is told in the third person from three different character's points of view. There was a lot of internal dialogue and thought and not enough actual character interaction in my opinion.

Something I really like about Riordan's heroes is that most, if not all, have ADHD, dyslexia, or both. As it's explained, the kids have ADHD because they aren't challenged enough by the human world and they have dyslexia because they inherit the ability to read ancient Greek which makes it hard for them to read regular English. I think that's just a great message to send to kids that have these issues: Don't let it hold you back and maybe these conditions are just a unique way in which you view the world around you. Heroes can have ADHD and dyslexia too.

I also like that though there is a certain amount of violence, what with the heroes having to go off on quests against monsters and so forth, it's totally on par with kids and young adults. Supernatural blood, in Riordan's world, is gold ichor. Some monster, when slain, turn into clay, others gold dust. It's things like that that make Riordan's world fantastical and exciting, but not so scary that tweens couldn't read and enjoy either series.

I have to say that I've really enjoyed setting aside some of the heavier reading I've been doing lately to enjoy more lighthearted and somewhat simpler books and just plain fun books.

My Home Town

#30DaysHathNovember

This is something that my family (The Mister and the kids) and I talk about a lot. Both of my kids were born in the same hospital as I was in Marion, Ohio. The Oldest only lived in Ohio for 26 months of her life and not all in one stretch. The Youngest child only lived in Ohio for four months of her life. I boogied outta there the very moment her pediatrician said it was okay for her to fly. Since leaving Ohio for the last time, they have lived in six different cities/towns. What should they consider their hometown to be? Do they even have one?

I never know how to answer this question for myself either. I lived in Marion until I was 12 then I moved in with my dad in Pleasant Hill where I finished junior high and graduated high school. It was somewhere between five and six years total. While I lived in Marion for a longer amount of time, I graduated high school while living in Pleasant Hill. I suppose I could consider both places to be my hometown because they both have equal importance in my formative years.

Even though I haven't lived in Ohio since 1999 and I have no intention of moving back, I still consider Ohio "home" for technical reasons. Well, for tax reasons. Once the Mister retires from the Marine Corps in five years, we will no longer be able to claim Ohio as our home of record. What then? We're like freaking nomads. Modern day gypsies for cripes sake.

A Friend I Adore

#30DaysHathNovember

I have several friends I adore and could never pick just one.

Jennifer S. here in California is my oldest friend. We started out as neighbors walking our kids to preschool and now we're raising our teens. And Jennifer started all over by having a baby a couple months ago, lol. She's the closest thing to family that I have here in California.

Dana in Virginia is a fellow recruiting duty survivor, mother of teens, and mother of a special needs child. Without her support, I wouldn't have made it through recruiting duty. Bottom line. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Vanessa in Japan is also a fellow recruiting duty survivor. Her sense of humor is out of this world. The Mister and I still laugh over the story of her taking a hammer to her husband's PlayStation and then throwing it down the stairs. She's also my blog's number one fan.

I have other friends through the years that are as equally special and important, but I'll stop here. I'm getting misty and nostalgic. I miss all of my friends who are scattered across the U.S. and beyond. I pick the very best people as friends.

Writing prompt from 30 Days Hath November.

Something I Never Leave the House Without

Writing prompt from 30 Days Hath November

Before I had a cell phone, the one thing I never left the house without was my purse. It usually has my driver's license, keys, check card, lip gloss, and gum in it. I say usually because when I'm shopping online, I will get my wallet out so I can have my check card and sometimes I forget to put it all back until I'm out shopping in the real world and realize I have no way to pay for stuff. Also, my kids like to snake my gum from time to time so I don't always have gum with me either. Lip gloss, on the other hand, I have no less than two different kinds/colors at all times.

Nowadays, I panic if I leave my cell phone at home. It must go with me everywhere. What if I get lost or have a flat tire or see a guy on a segway with his dog riding across the handlebars while I'm out? I need my phone to make emergency calls and to take pictures of unsuspecting people. My car also has an iPhone/pod cable so that I can listen to my tunes through my stereo. Who listens to CDs or the radio anymore?? Not me.

November 2, 2012: Blog Hopping Friday

I know most blog hoppers come to my blog via the hosting blogs which link directly to this post. So, I just wanted to bring it up once again that NaBloPoMo and NaNoWriMo started yesterday and run for the month of November. I'm participating in NaNoWriMo and maybe, possibly NaBloPoMo. If I do, I'll be using the prompts from 30 Days Hath November for most days which is a totally fantastic way of coming up with 30 blog posts for November. I'm also participating in #FMSphotoaday / #novphotoaday on Instagram. I hope that some of you will join in on at least one of these challenges. They're fun and a great way of building an online community. Links to these challenges which will take you to more info can be found on my post from yesterday. If you decide to participate in one or all, leave me a comment somewhere and let me know!!

 Now on to the show.

1. Something I swore I'd never do, but have ended up doing anyway is buy a Coach purse. I've always said that they were the go to purse for military wives and I would never have one but I like them and now I have three. Well, four. Anyway...
2. Something I've always wanted to do is write a novel, travel to Europe, get my degree. Blah blah.
3. Something I have absolutely no desire to do is be on television or radio.
4. The best thing I've ever done was marry my husband.
5. When it comes to trying new things I am usually hesitant. I'm a creature of habit and trying new things intimidates me. I really hate that about me.
6. One thing I've never done is beat other people's kids. No matter how much they've deserved it or how much I've been tempted.
7. My favorite thing to do is read a book.

1. What terrifies you the most? My kids or my husband getting sick or hurt.
2. Favorite fall/winter drink? Hot apple cider. I'm going to try mulled wine this year though. I already have the spices, I just need a bottle of wine.
3. Do you and your spouse have the same political views? For the most part. I'm a left leaning centrist and he's a right leaning centrist so we do have some difference of opinions occasionally. I support PBS, lol. 
4. What was the last book you read? Was it any good? Yesterday, I finished reading The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. It's the first book in the Heroes of Olympus series. I really enjoyed it. I loved the mythology. I only wish it had more character interaction instead of so much internal dialogue. I also wish I had realized that Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series came first and this next series has a lot of the same characters. Instead of reading book two, I am now reading book one of the Olympians series. :D
5. Do you look forward to the snow each winter? Why or why not? A big gigantic NO! I can't be emphatic enough about how much I hate the snow. I lived in Vermont for 37 months. It snowed for 28 of those months. A lot. The nine months it didn't snow, there was mud everywhere. Unless you've lived in Canada or Alaska or the U.P. of Michigan, or freaking Vermont or someplace similar, you cannot imagine how much snow it snows in Vermont. You just can't.

1. Growing up in Ohio was boring. Although, we did have Cedar Point, Kings Island, The Columbus Zoo, and Seaworld (which is closed now) so that was good. But other than that, it was boring.
2. Wouldn't having a housekeeper be wonderful? 
3. If I hadn't graduated early and moved back to my birth town, then I never would have met and married my husband. If he hadn't been six weeks premature, we also would never have met and gotten married because he would have been a year behind me in high school if he had been born on time. Fate, huh???
4. When I clean house I like to listen to music.

NaNoWriMo and Photo a Day

Yep. You read that right. It's not a typo. For several years, I've tried and mostly failed at NaBloPoMo or National Blog Posting Month. I think I successfully completed that challenge once. I'm terrible at that kind of thing. Despite that, this year, I'm going to attempt NaNoWriMo which is National Novel Writing Month. Whereas NaBloPoMo's goal is to write at least one blog post per day for the month of November, NaNoWriMo's goal is to write 50,000 by 11:59:59 on November 30. That's approximately 1,667 words per day or a total of 175 pages. I've had some ideas bouncing around in my head for quite some time and I figured this is as good as reason as any to put them on paper. Or Scrivener as is the case for me. Also, the Mister wanted to attempt NaNoWriMo but wanted company so I'm it. Poor bastard.

I'm not going the official route by registering at the website or uploading my progress. This is solely for me.

I'm also participating in #FMSphotoaday / #novphotoaday on Instagram. There are prompts from Fat Mum Slim for each day of November. Today, for instance, was "something beginning with 'c'". I dumped one of the kid's Halloween candy out and took a picture of it for today. Tomorrow is color.

All of these various challenges are a fun way of spending November. We'll see how I do over the Thanksgiving holiday, lol.

Feel like doing something fun and challenging this month? Dare ya!!

Save the Drama for Your Momma

I have three things I want to say...

1. To the asshat who threw candy at the cars parked in front of De Portola Middle school today:  I hope your fun parts rot and fall off your body. Also, if I hadn't been waiting for my kid to get out of school, I would have tracked your sorry ass down and beat you out of your car until you had no teeth left to eat candy ever again.

2. Stop putting your personal drama on Facebook. Sure, there's a delete button (if anyone actually chooses to use it) but the chances of you hitting delete before every last person on your friends list had a chance to read whatever sorry thing you said are slim to none. I'm really tired of reading people's whining. First it's, "I hate him/her. They did me wrong in whatever way." Then a couple days later the same person says about the same person they publicly slammed, "Oh!! I love them. They are the best thing since sliced bread." Or, "I hate this person who used to be my friend." Two days later, "I love this person. They're my bestie." Or, "Why doesn't he/she love me?" Are you kidding me? Are you really going to be that pathetic on the Internet??? And stop putting up lame pictures you took of yourself in the bathroom mirror. You have 1000+ friends on freaking Facebook but not one single person in real life you know can snap a quick pic of you to put up online? Wow. I think I'm getting sick of Facebook.

3. I hope everyone in the path of Superstorm Sandy are safe and dry tonight. If you're not dry, I hope you dry out fast. If you don't have electricity, I hope it gets turned back on as fast as possible. I'm thinking good thoughts for all you East Coasters. Even the annoying ones on Facebook. ;)

October 26, 2012: Blog Hopping Friday

It's been a dull week. I have no dumb stories to tell about myself. So, getting right to it... 

 

1. My favorite feeling in all the world is heartfelt hugs from my husband and my kids.
2. My favorite smell is the ocean, rain, freshly cut grass, humid piney air, clean baby smell, and sage when it comes in off the canyon.
3. My favorite taste is salty/savory. I'm not a sweet snacker most of the time. I like savory foods and chips.
4. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen was the ocean for the first time.
5. The best sound ever is a baby's laughter. You know, when they laugh so hard their entire body shakes? That makes me laugh no matter what mood I'm in.
6. A smell that reminds me of my childhood is chlorine from a pool. Also, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners cooking. 
7. My favorite of all the senses is probably hearing. I don't know what I'd do without music. Sight and smell would tie for #2.

1. Who wakes up with the kids in the morning? I do seeing as how the Mister leaves for work before any of the rest of us have to get up. 
2. Do you watch the World Series even if your team isn't in it? Sure. I like baseball. I like hearing it on the TV. It makes me think of summer time and fun. 
3. What is the best compliment you have received? When people tell me I've raised good kids. 
4. Do/did you dress up to take your kids trick or treating? Nope. Least favorite holiday people.
5. Do you have a favorite Bible verse? What is it and why? What an ironic question for me to have to answer. Actually, I do. I like the one about judge not lest ye be judged yourself (and I can't say that without hearing Metallica blare it in my head). I like it because it's the ultimate in ironies. It's impossible not to judge, for good or for bad, and people hardly ever take into account judging something for good. People who say they never judge something for bad are the ultimate liars/hypocrites. Bottom line, I like it because it makes for a good argument.

1.  My eyes are my favorite feature.
2. Thinking about cuddles with my dog and cat makes me happy.
3. It's been a long time since we've gone away anywhere. We haven't taken a road trip as a family since we moved out here. The Mister and I are thinking of planning something.
4. I just don't understand cheating. If you're so unhappy, have the balls to say something and get out of the relationship. Cheaters are weak and pathetic.

Gratitude

I'm grateful for...

• A fantastic, supportive, best friend who also happens to be my husband. 
• Having two of three vehicles paid off. Go us!
• Finally cutting the very last tie with Vermont after having moved away five years ago. Almost six.
• Netflix, OnDemand, and DVR. I have a TV addiction.
• Teavana. I have a tea addiction.
• Living in San Diego, traffic notwithstanding.
• Having toilet paper in the house. We ran out the other day. First time in the sixteen years we've been married.
• Having good kids. They may try me from time to time, but they have a solid foundation. At the bottom of all their junk and drama, they're really good kids.
• My dog and my cat. I have fantastic pets.

October 19, 2012: Blog Hopping Friday

I have to share this before we get started. It half makes me look bad, but it makes me laugh hysterically nonetheless.

The other day, I was taking the Oldest to the hair salon. On the way, this total jack rabbit was tail gaiting me. Now, I tolerate a certain amount of tail gaiting here in San Diego. It's just a way of life and I've been known to do it myself from time to time. However, I sped up to 45 in a 35 to see if he'd back off and he didn't. Not one jot. So, I slowed down to 35 and kept pace with a city bus in the lane to the right of me. Being a two lane road (two lanes in each direction), this meant that when he swerved around trying to pass me, recklessly I might add, he couldn't. We get up to a point in the road where a turn lane opens in the lane to my left. The turn light is green and the straight lane lights were red. So I slow down even further and wait for the turn light to turn red, then I pull up to the stop light. He toots his horn at me as he gets into the turn lane to which I respond with a stiff middle finger. I roll down my window, my light turns green, and I stick my hand out the window giving him a little finger wave (not a euphemism. I didn't flip him off again) cackling the whole way while he waits for his turn light. This prompts him to totally blare his horn at me which only serves to make me laugh harder. I know this is totally childish and how people get shot at red lights, but I felt very righteous. I'm pretty sure the driver was a teenager and I was merely doing my civic duty by giving him a driving lesson. ;)

Now that I've shared how totally shallow, idiotic, and easily entertained that I am, back to the show...

1. Where do you hide junk when people come over? People don't visit me. When they do, it's either with lots of notice so that I have time to clean, or it's totally unexpected so I talk to them at the door. If I actually have to let them in for whatever reason, they get to see whatever is out and about. What really pisses me off if when someone says they're coming and I go on a cleaning frenzy only to have them cancel for whatever reason.
2. Do political ads help you to decide who you are going to vote for? Not really. I don't believe anything that I hear in a political ad. It's all biased propaganda. You'd have to be a fool to base your vote on ads. No offense.
3. What's your favorite holiday party to host? I don't host parties. I don't go to them either unless I'm backed into a corner. Social anxiety people.
4. You go to an island with your husband. You can only take one personal item. What is it? Soap.
5. If you found out that your spouse was a Dexter-style serial killer, would you rat him out? Being a huge Dexter fan, I often ask myself this question. Does killing killers make killing right? Our justice system definitely has holes in it which Dexter fills. I really don't know. I think this is the type of thing that you would only really know what you'd do when faced with the actual situation. Any other serial killer, I'd worry that I'd be next. However, Dexter lives and kills by a code so unless I started committing heinous crimes myself, I wouldn't have to worry about being next. Still, I just don't know.

1.  One thing I plan on doing this weekend to relax is reading and gaming. My semester starts on Monday and after looking at the class schedules for my classes, I'm going to be swamped with reading, papers, and projects. I plan on shoving in as much "reading for fun" as I can this weekend and gaming with the husband.
2. A big pet peeve of mine is bullying. There's just no excuse to belittle and harass other people.
3. I am really loving my new PC and my new iPad. Yes. I sound spoiled. My husband spoils me! I'm really loving him too. ;)
4. The rain is tropical. We got some rain the other day that was from the remnants of a Pacific tropical storm. Today and the last couple days have been humid. It's really weird weather for us but I like it!
5. My favorite girly indulgence is purses/bags and makeup. I spend too much money on both. Oh. And fingernail polish. LOVE fingernail polish.
6. A song I always get stuck in my head is varied. It just depends. Right now, I have Grouplove's song Spun stuck in my head but that's just because it was what was playing on my iPhone when I got out of the car this morning. 
7. The best cure for stress is dinner out with the husband ALONE with a fun cocktail. I was majorly PMS'ing yesterday and to contain my wrath, the Mister took me out to dinner so that I wouldn't be harassed by the kids. Isn't he lovely??? I had a Peach Bellini if you were wondering.

1. If only I had a car and driver then I wouldn't have to road rage on assholes.
   
2. When I was little I used to ride my bike, go swimming, and play with my friends all summer until it was dark and I had to come inside. Nowadays, kids expect to be entertained. What's up with that??
3. I think debating politics is for the birds.
4. I feel happiest when I'm either immersed in a hobby, working, or going to school. I like to have something to do with myself other than just being a house frau.
   

2012 MCAS Miramar Airshow

I mentioned in my Friday Blog Hopping post that we might go to the airshow this weekend. We haven't been to an airshow in about ten years. Honestly folks, if you've never been to one, you should definitely go. They're neat and good PR for the military, but, they're pretty much all the same. I've been to five that I can think of off the top of my head. I'm a little ho hum about them at this point. The Mister could really care less. Aside from the Blue Angels, he sees aircraft take off, land, and fly around five days a week. Still, the kids hadn't been to an airshow that they actually remembered (the Oldest child slept through the first one she went to while the Youngest was blissfully unaware being in utero) so we sucked it up and took them to the show on Sunday.

Traffic getting on base was crazy stupid. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get to the flight line. This is normally a 10-15 minute trip. However, while we were stopped in traffic on the freeway, I took these pictures (click to make bigger):

Once we actually got on base, we had to park. The base pretty basically shuts down for the airshow. It's an essential personnel only type of weekend. The Mister got off of work early on Thursday and didn't work at all on Friday. This is because they use every available parking lot on base for people to park. This means that we parked clear on the other side of the base from the flight line and then had to freaking walk over a mile to get to it. I made a very wrong choice of shoes for this day. In my defense, the last time we went to this airshow, I didn't remember having to walk at all. The Mister pointed out that I had forgotten an essential detail:  He used to work at the Visiting Aircraft Line the first time and we had VIP parking passes. Oh. Yep. Forgot that totally. So, while being herded towards the flight line with dozens of other spectators and Marines constantly yelling, "STAY ON THE SIDEWALK!!", I fell on my ass because of my shoes. Talk about humiliation. I don't remember the last time I fell in public. I really just wanted to turn around and go home but as a parent, you suck it up and move on. ::sigh::

The show itself was good. We saw planes and jets doing their thing. The Harrier was neat as always.

Harrier hovering

And the Blue Angels were awesome. The kids had a fantastic time and that's the really important part and why we went at all. I was dirtied, bloodied, bruised, and scraped but whataya gonna do.

The highlight of the day was that the Mister took us to his unit's headquarters building so that we could use their restrooms instead of having to use the porta potties like all the other animals. The low point was falling on my ass like a moron in front of dozens of strangers. Walk much lately??

October 12, 2012: Blog Hopping Friday

1. My favorite flowers are tulips and gerber daisies.
2. You should never talk about religion and politics. Two subjects wherein NOBODY wants to hear the opposite opinion and people DO NOT have an open mind despite what they may say. When a person acts like they actually want to discuss either subject, their actual agenda is only to try and persuade you to their way of thinking. I truly believe this.
3. My favorite discovery as of late is a certain new series of paranormal books that I'm currently reading. The writing is sub par, the storytelling is only half believable and the characters are typical but they're FUN.
4. This fall you will probably find me wearing jeans, sweaters, hoodies, and my favorite winter shoes. However, you'll still find me wearing my flip flops cuz you can do that in the winter when you live in SoCal.
5. I wish I were better able to let things go.
6. My favorite TV show currently is Dexter, The Big Bang Theory, Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, and Flipping Out. All my other favorite shows are on hiatus right now. Well, The Walking Dead will be back on in a matter of days. Very excited.
7. This weekend I want to try this Mexican place that I read about from one of my local social media friends. We may go to the Miramar Air Show but that's not definite. The kids want to go but the Mister has no desire to go. His work is a daily air show. I could care less. I've been to so many over the years that they're not all that fun anymore. Still, the kids haven't been to one that they remember soooo...

1. Given the choice of eating breakfast or eating lunch for the day, I'd pick lunch because it's my favorite meal of the day.
2. If you told me that I'd be living in California when I was a little kid, I'd never have believed you.
3. The last time I cooked pork for pulled pork was yesterday and it came out perfectly delicious and totally made me miss North Carolina because they do pulled pork better than anyone else.
4. My favorite color is green.

1. Do you have any homecoming traditions? Ha! Yeah right. Not even. I didn't go to homecoming any of the years I was in high school. I wasn't even allowed to attend my senior year. The Mister and I decided that our daughters aren't allowed to go to the dance until they are juniors but the Oldest child will be going to the football game next Friday.
2. Do you ask your spouse before spending money? Not really. I'd discuss it with him before buying something like a car, but every day stuff, no. Same goes for him. Although, he did recently buy us both iPads as a surprise without telling me first. He likes to surprise me with new electronics though so I can't say anything bad about it, heheh.
3. If you could be famous for something, what would it be? Writing a novel. I'm not altruistic enough to say something trite like ending world hunger or curing cancer.
4. Have you ever seriously thought you were going crazy? No. I've seen crazy enough times to know what it looks like. I have anxiety, mild depression, insomnia, and anxiety (yes, I meant to say it twice) but I've never been close to crazy. However, if you were the one going crazy, would you actually be able to tell? Hmm...
5. How do you eat your steak? Burger? I like my steak medium well. To me, that means hot all the way through with just a hint of pink in the middle. I like my burgers well done. I hate the taste of undercooked hamburger meat. It tastes like it smells and I don't like the smell of raw burger.

October 5, 2012: Blog Hopping Friday

Before we get started, I just want to say that the gas situation here in San Diego and California as a whole is outrageous. We went to the Navy Exchange yesterday to fill up and the lines made it look like a hurricane was coming. We paid $4.19 a gallon and overnight, it went up to $4.29 a gallon and that's before it went up nine cents the night before that. On Camp Pendleton, it's $5.14 a gallon. This is for regular too people. Gas on military bases tends to be the cheapest in the area too. AAA says that the average price of gas in the state is $4.49 a gallon which is the highest in the country. Some gas stations have already shut down their pumps. The way I understand it, suppliers didn't buy enough "summer" gas. That, combined with a power outage at one refinery and a fire at another, means that reserves are low. It's pretty crazy.

Anywho...

 

1. I am very judgmental. I have high standards. What can I say?
2. I am most comfy in sweatpants and an over-sized t-shirt. Glass of wine in one hand, book in the other.
3. You will never believe what I saw on my way I got nothing here. Well, a couple weeks ago, I saw a guy on a segway with a dog laying across the handle bars. I had never seen anything like that before. 
4. My mornings don't start until my alarm goes off. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, a run follows the alarm. The other days, nagging the kids to get ready for school is what happens.

 

1. The last thing I ate was an after dinner snack of Cheez-Its.
2. The last time I went to the beach was I'm thinking late August or early September. I'm not sure.
3. My last vacation was our 15th anniversary trip to Paso Robles last year. We don't vacation often.
4. The last place I drove was down the street to the high school to drop the oldest off this morning. With the gas situation the way that it is here in San Diego, she'll be walking next week.
5. The last song I listened to was Lily Allen's F**k You on my iPod. Heheh. It's a way funny song if you've never heard it before.
6. The last thing on TV I watched was I'm currently watching the Fresh Prince of Bel Air with the youngest before I take her to school.
7. The last time I said I love you was this morning to the Mister as he drove by the Oldest and I on our run.

1. What album/cd/download are you embarrassed to admit you have?  I really don't get too embarrassed about my music choices but if I had to pick, I suppose it would be Adam Lambert's Whataya Want From Me. I really liked it at the time but it's not even in my play rotation anymore.
2. What's the one thing your spouse does better than you? He's way better at keeping up with current events and understanding politics than I am. He's also better at math. 
3. When do you start buying Halloween candy? A week or two beforehand. I'm afraid if I buy it much sooner than that, people will eat it.
4. Family closets - Yay or nay? I had to look at another person's answer to even see what this meant and then I'm not even sure if I get it. Is this one closet for clothes that the entire family shares? What's the point of that? I don't even have a space that I could do that in my house. Each bedroom has it's own closet. We have a coat closet downstairs that gathers shoes, but other than that, we each have our own closet. This is weird.
5. Which home/cleaning chore do you hate the most and why? Laundry. Because unless you and your entire family is naked while doing laundry (and that's just a disturbing and messed up thought) it never ends. There is always dirty laundry. I also hate cleaning bathrooms.

September 28, 2012: Blog Hopping Friday

I had to tell you this before we get started. I mentioned in a previous post that we swapped the Youngest child's room and the office last weekend. Aside from closets and bathrooms, the office is now the smallest room in our house. It's tiny. Anyway, last night our entire family was camped out in the office. The Mister and I were on our PCs, the Oldest child was on a laptop, the Youngest child was on an iPad, the cat was asleep on the Mister's desk, and the dog was asleep on the floor. I just thought that was so funny and I had to share. 

Anywhoooo....

1. My first memory is something I'd rather not remember and something I'd certainly rather not share. :)
2. My first love was my husband. He's also my bestest best friend and my partner.
3. My very first favorite color was probably pink or purple. It's kind of hard to remember back that far but I think that's a very safe guess.
4. The first time I really felt like a "grown up" was driving around Pensacola on my own trying to find furniture for our very empty apartment. Considering the fact that I was 20, married, and a mother by this time, I'm probably not remembering accurately. 
5. The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is turn off my alarm and walk down the hall to wake up the Oldest child. I don't hit snooze.
6. The first CD (cassette tape, record, etc.) that I ever bought was...Ok. The first tape I ever bought was True Blue by Madonna. The first CD I ever bought was Metallica's Black Album. I never bought a record. That was just a bit before my time.
7. My first car was...This is kinda hard. When the Mister and got together, he was driving a 1993 Ford Tempo that was his parent's car but that they let us drive when we moved out on our own. The first car we ever bought was a 1997 Chevy Cavalier. The first car that we bought that was in my name was our 2006 Toyota Rav4.

1. Do you prefer to drive to your vacation spot or fly? It depends. When we went to San Francisco and to Paso Robles, I very much enjoyed the drive both times because I got to see parts of California I had never seen before. I also loved driving to the Outer Banks too. If it was more than a six hour drive though, I'd probably prefer to fly. Again, it would really depend on the location and what we would or wouldn't see on the way.
2. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? Easy. The countryside in England. I want to see and experience the history that I've only read about, first hand. I also want a quieter, more laid-back lifestyle. San Diego's the best city and I love it and I'll probably always want to come back if I ever move away, but it's fast-paced and I'm tired of California drivers.
3. Should grown up women wear leggings? Why not? If that's the worst fashion faux pas a woman is committing, we're better off. I'm really tired of seeing butt cracks and boobs hanging out where they shouldn't be.
4. If you could change your name to any other name, would you? And what would it be? I really dislike my middle name but at this point in the game, I wouldn't bother changing it. I used to want to change the spelling of my first name from Trisha to Patrica because everyone misspells it but I've gotten over that too. Who cares? Nobody calls me by my name anyway. All I ever hear is Mom. And actually, I have two different aliases that I use online to avoid spam mail, junk mail, and sales calls.
5. What magazines do you have subscriptions to? I subscribe to San Diego Magazine, Readers Digest, and National Geographic. I've let my subscriptions to Allure and Cooking Light lapse but would like to get them back.

1. When I was little, I was called Trisha. I didn't have nicknames.
2. Chewy Sweettarts, Runts, Chewy Sprees, Gummy worms, and Starburst are my favorite candies. I'm a sour candy kinda gal.
3. If I could have one magical power it would be the ability to fly so I could travel more.
4. If I could go back to school, it would be to become a dunno. I'm in school now getting my BA in English. I plan on following that up with a Master's in Library Sciences. We'll see what happens if and when.

Going for Normal Today

The Escape Artist

Because yesterday was just weird. 

Last weekend, we swapped the Youngest child's room with the office. The original office was bigger and had a bigger closet. Now that I'm not working from home, it barely gets used. It only seemed right and fair that the Youngest get a bigger room because, frankly, this room, the new office, is a glorified closet. 

Yesterday,  I was in the new office gaming it up (Yep. This is how I'm spending my time until my semester starts next month. Go ahead and judge, fat head.). I hear this crash behind me and look over only to see the cat on the freaking roof (I had the window open because our heating/AC is stupid. My bedroom is a stifling furnace every night while the new office and downstairs bathroom feel like a walk in freezer. So I opened the window to let some heat in because I was freezing my butt off.). I panic and try coaxing him back in the window but he was having none of it and disappeared over the top and onto the neighbor's half. I run downstairs, out the door, and over to the neighbor's, and he's up on their roof meowing his head off. He was scared and trying to figure out how to get down. If I was just a few inches taller, I could've grabbed him, but alas, I'm short. I finally remember that we have a ladder in the garage and run in the house to open the garage door. By this time, Kit-ten had wandered back to our half of the roof and was still meowing very loudly. I set up the ladder and kick off my shoes (I was wearing wedge sandals. Not the shoes for climbing ladders) and climbed up. At this point, he was beginning to enjoy the view and was chasing birds and flies up on the roof, completely ignoring me. I was edging away from panic and towards angry. I went back in the house and grabbed his cat treats and a can of food and a pair of flip flops because the treads on the ladder hurt my bare feet. Back on the roof, the cat had disappeared over the top again. I rattled his cat treat bag to get his attention and he came back to see if I was faking. I threw a treat at him and he chased it across the roof but still wouldn't come near enough to me to reach. I cracked open his can of food and he ran right over and started sniffing the can. I grabbed him and descended the ladder, food and treats left on the roof, lol. I tossed the escape artist into the laundry room, ran upstairs to finish ripping out the screen and shut the window, and then I had to clean up my rescue tools outside. Grrr! He so did not get the can of food. He had dry food instead. He and I were not friends yesterday but we made up last night. 

Also yesterday, I had to take the Oldest for an interview after she got a message on a Facebook page that I made up more or less as an example ages ago. I made a dog walking and grooming page for her as a way of showing her how easy it would be to start making her own money. We never really did anything with it and it sat stagnant for about a year. Then on Monday, a woman sent her a message asking if she was available to walk her dogs four times a week. So, we met up with her at the local dog park (I had no idea that park even existed. It's about a ten minute walk from our house), met her dogs, went over the details, and now her dog walking business is a real thing. The Oldest is very excited and is probably already mentally spending her money, lol. The lady told us that the Oldest's page is the only FB page in our immediate area offering dog walking services. She could really clean up if she actually started looking for more customers. 

THEN, the Mister came home from work yesterday saying that his right eye felt like someone had punched him. It didn't look like anything but he said it was very sore to the touch. By the time we went to bed last night, it was noticeably swollen. This morning when he got up for work, it was almost swollen shut. He insisted he was alright to drive to work (men!!) and he has an appointment in about five minutes at the clinic on base. We'll see how that goes. 

And all day yesterday, I felt like it was a Friday. Sincerely disappointing to realize I was getting up to Wednesday this morning, lol. Aside from the Mister's eye, I'm hoping nothing else out of the ordinary happens today. 

September 21, 2012: Blog Hopping Friday

Before we get started, I have to acknowledge the importance of this day to my family. 15 years ago today, my husband began his enlistment in the Marine Corps. It's been quite a journey...and that's the most massive understatement I've ever made. We've lived in four different states and three different coasts:  Florida on the gulf coast, California (twice) on the Pacific coast, Vermont, and North Carolina on the Atlantic coast. We've moved nine different times. The oldest child has attended nine different schools, four of those were elementary schools. The youngest child has attended six different schools, four of those were elementary schools. The Mister has deployed to Japan and Afghanistan (we've been extremely lucky that he's only deployed twice in 15 years). Our experience with the Marine Corps has been, and probably will continue to be, the biggest love/hate relationship of our lives. I don't regret the bad times though, because they have only served to make us a stronger both as individuals and as a family. The Marine Corps is my little brother and it's best if everyone remembered that. I may dog on it, pick on it, and call it names, but unless it's your little brother too, you'd best keep your mouth shut about it or I might have to pound on you a bit. ;)

And now to our regularly scheduled Friday program.

 1. What is one grammar issue you cannot let go without correction? I always correct my kids on grammatical errors. When it comes to texts, I ignore most of them because texting seems to equal ignorance of the English language. Basically, I don't correct people because it's been my experience that nobody likes to be corrected.

2. What's your favorite thing about fall? Thanksgiving without a doubt.

3. What's your favorite dish to take to a potluck? I've never been to a potluck that I haven't been told what to bring ahead of time.

4. When do you start Christmas (Holiday) shopping? Whenever I get to it. I'm already storing up ideas in my head though.

5. Did you move homes a lot growing up?  If I remember correctly, I lived in six different houses/apartments growing up. I don't count the houses that either my mom or dad lived in when I wasn't living with them though. 

 

1. The last time I was on vacation I went to Paso Robles, CA with the Mister to celebrate our 15th anniversary. It was fantastic.
2. For Thanksgiving I like to eat turkey and for Christmas I like to eat ham. Anything else is just being a communist. :)
3. My heart hurts when I see the Youngest struggling with school work or being picked on by other kids because she has the kindest heart and the most generous soul I've ever known and doesn't deserve the hard hand she's been dealt in life.
4. Why must people degrade, bully, insult, and intimidate just to make themselves feel or look better?

 

1. Something I am very proud of is persevering to get my undergrad. It's taking me an epic amount of time, but I'm still plodding along. It would have been easy to give up on it over the years and I've come close a couple times. 
2. My favorite thing about myself is my honesty. I answer honestly and I want honest answers.
3. My favorite color for fall is cranberry. I just bought a cranberry colored case for my iPad. ;)
4. Something I've learned lately is red lights are just suggestions. Kidding. I learned what the steam punk genre of novels is.
5. A book I am reading now is The Strange Case of Finley Jayne. It's a steam punk prequel to a series. I downloaded it for free on Kindle ages ago and just pulled it out this week. It's not too bad so far. Being a steam punk novel, it definitely takes some getting used to.
6. My favorite Pandora Station is I don't have one. I listen to Pandora but I create my own stations. I really like my Of Monsters & Men Radio if that counts.
7. This weekend I will attempt to relax and get a decent night's sleep. I'd also like to get a hike and geocaching in but it's supposed to be hot again this weekend. 

That's it for this week. If you'd like to play along, and you SHOULD!!, click on any of the accompanying pictures to go to the hosting blog. Have a fab weekend.