Thursday, January 27, 2011

Thursday 5

So there is one bad thing about Monkey being home for an extended period of time...
Now, he's not here. It sure doesn't take long to get used to having him home when I get home, and in bed next to me when I wake up. Having someone to talk to, and someone to laugh with... *le sigh*
I'm just getting used to things being back to "normal" again. The weeks are feeling very long right now, as I count down to the weekends and my two days in happy hubby-land.

Anyway, my point is that today is Thursday. We're almost there. And, it's time for Thursday 5. Here we go:




Patient
Joyful
Marvelous
Grateful
Wonderful

I am very Patiently waiting for the weekend 'till Monkey comes home again.

I am Joyful that I'm already seeing a trimmer tummy from
my new hobby of Kickboxing which is Marvelous! See my last post for my excitement on this. I just can't get enough. It's so freakin' great!!!

I am Grateful that my husband is soooo patient with me. Last weekend I had a bit of a dramatized stomp out** which was admittedly very immature and uncalled for. I was very moody and didn't want to talk about it, but really wanted my way. I'm not sure I even really told him why I did it. And it wasn't that complicated, and kinda stupid to get all upset about. Thank you babe, for loving me despite being, as my mother calls me, a "pepper pot". ;) You truly are Wonderful!
(**just for the record, this is not how I usually act (with him, Mom). We are actually very good at talking about things and both hate drama-filled arguments and emotional immaturity.)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

For the love of kickboxing

Alright, I have to share with you all my new obsession. Muay Tai Kickboxing. This has the potential to replace dance for me if I had the desire to do something with it other than just use it as a workout. I have no desire to hit or be hit by someone. I'm really quite a wimp when it comes to that. I act all tough and like being strong and hitting hard, but one good bop that hurts and I stop having fun. Plus I don't really need any more bruises than i already give myself. But for a workout, it's serious fun and is getting me into shape faster than anything I've ever done. 

I would like to think that in the last few years I've become pretty fit. But I've never been able to fully tone up my left over tummy from being overweight for most of my life. Dancing every day is what keeps me at a good weight but even with that, and going to the gym, and 3 hour salsa classes I've still had to work really hard to stay thin. And I've never ever been willing to wear a bikini or two piece salsa costume. 

Last month I was supposed to perform with my salsa group and I had to wear my first two piece costume.  For 8 weeks I counted calories obsessively and got in any extra exercise that I could on top of what I was already doing. I lost a couple pounds, it was noticeable to me and hubs (a pleasant surprise for him upon returning from an underway), but I still didn't feel ready to put it out there.

Three weeks ago I started kickboxing and have been dancing much much less (salsa's on kind of a break right now). HOLY CRAP! Not only is it totally fun, I've already lost what I gained back (when I found out I would not being performing and treated myself to everything I wasn't able to eat for the two months before) and gone past that and noticed some new ab definition I've never had before. Without a doubt if i keep this up I'll have a bikini worthy tummy by summer. 

The best part is that you can really scale it fit your fitness level and how you're doing that day. Even if you can't hit hard you just keep going, just make yourself sweat. I've been at the end of class doing mountain climbers and all I can do at that point is just move my feet, but I'm sweating and I'm burning a ton of calories. I also have more energy, sleep better, am getting stronger all over my body, and all that good stuff that comes with exercise. Also, it's like a little community there. Everyone is encouraging and motivating and just good friends. It's a good place to be physically and spiritually/emotionally.

Next month they are starting a saturday Capoeira class. I am very excited about this. It "is an Afro-Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, music, and dance." Everybody raves about the core strength and flexibility you get from it. Besides being another great workout option I think it could help with my dancing. 

If you need a motivating workout, or just something different I think you should try this out! You can go to www.ilovekickboxing.com to find a place in your area, or open the phonebook. Just make sure you check out the legitimacy of the instructor. There are some who are just barely qualified, or not at all qualified to be teaching this stuff. You want to be safe and learn it correctly. I do it at a martial arts gym and the instructors are highly qualified in the field. 

Well, I didn't really think this post would be this long. I guess I am really excited about this!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Linux Monkey

**This is a Monkey Post** 

Thus far, the week has been crazy! Its only Tuesday! Granted, about 20 minutes from Wednesday. Had an appointment at Navy College yesterday to try and figure out what I'm gonna do for school. The appointment went alright I suppose. She was not quite as informative as i had hoped. But I did get information on the next step. Have to go apply for tuition assistance so I don't have to tap into my GI bill yet. Some of you may be asking why I would do this since college is "free" while I'm in the Navy. What is free is CLEP courses and PACE courses. I want to take some of these as well. The reason I need tuition assistance is so that I can take CD courses from certain colleges in the area. I can do them underway and it is one way to get certain classes out of the way for which there is no CLEP or PACE course.

Well, I got back to the barracks all bushy-tailed ready to conquer this next step! I just had to plug my computer back in because I had brought it to PDX with me over the weekend. Sounds easy enough right? Apparently not. My motherboard died. I don't quite know how or why.... but it died. I was not pleased. As of yesterday I had 2 laptops, and one desktop. The desktop is where the motherboard died. I removed the operating system from one of the laptops and have been unable to reinstall it due to a corrupted windows disk, so that laptop is out of commission. So finally all I really had working was my auxiliary laptop.

Is it crazy that I had three computers? No! You are crazy for asking such a silly question. So, how does one recover from such a tragic day?

Well, I will tell you. Its quite simple really. I think any geek would agree that it is the most logical course of action. You go from three computers..... to wait for it...... FOUR computers. Genius. I know. Nobel N3RD prize plz.

Yes. FOUR! I say, finally I have added the 4th system to my collective. Yes, I need 4... possibly 5 computers but I'm taking it slow. This new addition is in fact not a new computer. The system has been sitting by my window for the past 6 months giving me a hit on every room inspection. "Electronics left out!" Needless to say, its not the best of computers. Basically I just wanted a Linux box. So I bought a case for this rather naked computer and installed Ubuntu on it.

Let me say.... Ubuntu.... amazing. I hate Mac, its overpriced and useless to me. I don't care for windows. I tolerate windows only because its the only real PC gaming platform. If Linux were able to game well, I would use no other operating system.

Ubuntu, has all the spiffy little programs that Mac offers but for free. Also, the hardware is that of a PC so its 1/3 the price (Mac has a crazy, even stupid mark-up on their hardware - you are wasting SOOO much money if you buy one). Ubuntu is just as plug and play as Windows 7, thanks to the community of people keeping the drivers up to date. And... its free.

Recommend Ubuntu!

Presently I'm waiting for an ISO image of a certain over priced operating system to download since my disk is bad.

Oh, back to college! I don't really know what to do. You might think that I'm lucky being 22 when I really start. I don't think I have any more an idea than I did when I was 18. Anything is better than the Navy really, but then... I'm jaded. I'm in one of those phases where I hate my job with a sort hotter than the sun burning passion. Mostly though because of my particular rate. What I wouldn't give to be an FT or STS, or ET Coms. These people have it way easier than Nav ETs by far.

Anyways. Obviously I have an affinity for computers. My hesitation is that I often cannot stand the people I would end up working with. You see, there are two different archetypes here. This is important so I will make a new paragraph.

There are nerds, and there are geeks. Nerds are bad, geeks have social skills.

Clearly I can get along with the "geeks". I proudly count myself among them. I am not the MOST knowledgeable , nor the biggest geek. I'm more of a cimputer enthusiast I suppose. I use them - a lot. I work them hard. I enjoy building them and fixing them. But there is a certain core level of knowledge that I would have to go to school for before I could compete with certain geeks. Nerds I'm not worried about. Even if they do know more about it than I do. I get laid. They don't. So I can give them the higher knowledge point and still laugh at them.

Medical/Biology is the other field that primarily interests me. I don't have near as much a problem with the people in this field. Yes... nurse banter and rumor spreading capabilities are unmatched... but as long as you are RN+ I think that I could tolerate the incessant bickering and blabbing.

Though still, I do not know. My goals are to make as much money as possible without detracting from my family life. You do not have a family so that you can support a job (military). You have a job so you can support your family. I just want to make a decent paycheck and not be at work all the time. This is a reason I will not stay in the military. Do I make a decent paycheck? Well, yeah its not bad at all for being 22 with no real college. They pay:hour ration though is INSANE. we determined underway that through the course of the average year as a Nav ET, if you divide E-5 base pay + BAH + Sub Pay + Sea Pay and divide that sum by the total number of hours worked in that year... I make less than $2.00/hr. Thats not me, thats someone who is one rank above me and gets paid a bit more.

Anyways. I need to find a career that is interesting to me that will fit that criteria. I do not judge my success in life only on my career. I think that destroys the purpose.

So thats the spot I'm in.

A note in closing; I purchased a solar powered wireless keyboard. Never needs a battery replacement, inside light is enough to power it. Seems to hold a decent charge for a while too. I think its awesome! GREEN GEEK!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Featured!

Hey, I've been featured on Mrs. Mama Hen's Military Monday

Check it out. <--- My feature


About Military Mondays --->

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

Our new couch. Even a professional web photo doesn't do it justice. It looks pretty blah here, but I'm planning on getting different pillows to give it a pop of color and pattern. The shape even looks better in person. But, it's sooooooo soft. It's covered in super soft corduroy! Love it.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

This weekend we:

Got a costco card: Yea, but.... seriously? You can't use a credit card unless it's American Express. BS i say! BS! I had to put everything on my debit card instead of the house card, because while it's a bank card, I don't have pin number for it so I have to run it as credit. So, we couldn't go hog wild picking up a bunch of stuff because just didn't have enough in my checking account to cover it. Next time. We'll go Costco crazy next time.

Almost got Looked at a kitty: We stopped by Petsmart to look at their shelter cats. We have been toying with the idea of getting a friend for our kitty. We saw a really sweet small calico named Waltz, which for us is perfect since we are ballroom dancers. She was a little shy but loved scritches. In the end we weren't ready to make the decision and are also looking more for a boy since the advice has been that female cats get along better with male cats because female cats fight for dominance.

Bought a couch: Yippy! We didn't really mean to. We have been needing one since we moved in. Just the convenience of being able to plop down and chill in the living room has been been lost on us for the last few weeks. So it's either sit on the one chair at the counter or go into the bedroom. We have a TV and pay for cable but haven't used it for more than 30 minutes cause well, we can't sit down. So, Saturday on the way to Costco, I suggested we stop by the furniture store that was having a "liquidation" sale. (Ok, I really suggested this to delay going to Costco. I hate shopping in crowded places. Costco shoppers are crazy and pushy) We ended up falling in love with this awesome soft sectional but decided to go home and measure just to make sure it would fit. It did not fit. At all. Sad face. So we went back later and picked out another one in the same fabric but as just a sofa. It will be delivered in about three weeks. Long time to wait to sit down, but we got it at a really good price.

Had dinner with Pop: We hung out with Pop and S. He made his famous Swedish meatballs, which are awesome. Afterward we had plans to go out but Monkey ended up in a "gluten coma" just as we got home and the caffeine from his Dr. Pepper wore off. He completely crashed. Out like a light. He turned down cookies but we didn't even think about what was in the sauce on the meatballs. I guess we were just both so excited to eat them, because like I said, they are awesome. Oops.

Saw the Green Hornet: It was pretty good, I thought. I've heard other people say they didn't like it but it made us laugh and the action was decent. I didn't think it was worth it to see it in 3D, though. There wasn't really anything that called for it. The previews were made for 3D but it didn't do anything for the movie. I actually particularly liked the villain and his mid-life crisis he was going through.

Cooked with Curry: While at Costco we found some curry powder. I've only had curry a couple of times and really liked it so I thought we'd give a try at cooking with it. We decided we'd make a curry sauce to go with some chicken and rice. Weellll.... it's kind of ended up being curry slurry so we mixed it with the rice. It tasted fine, it just wasn't what we intended. We'll try again when we have something we can thicken it with. On the way to the movie we became self conscious that we were going to be "those people" who go eat Indian food and then unknowingly smell like it the rest of the night. I think we were ok, but then I don't think the people who smell like food ever know that they smell like food. I hope we didn't.

Wow, that's a lot for two and a quarter days. We were really busy. We would have added kickboxing in there but we overslept on Saturday morning, waking up 30 minutes before the class started. Oh well, more cuddle time.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Thursday 5 by Monkey

Hey hey!

It's Monkey. Ducky thought it would be cool if I did the Thursday 5 this week. A little late, but still Thursday. So here it is... I learned a couple things.

There is this cool little thing that happens! It rhymes with "DRINK THAT BEER!" So, if you are feeling adventurous you should Link-up Here!


Happy
Jubilant
Grateful
Loved
Thankful

I'm happy to be back on land, in off-crew where I can talk to my Ducky every night! My work with Voyage Management System today earned Jubilant praise. I'm grateful that I just discovered I have been spelling "grateful" wrong ("greatful") the entirety of my life. I feel Loved by my wonderful, beautiful wife. I am Thankful for my wife, my family, my job (kinda) and my bad ass computer!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The great kitty debacle.

I feel like I should post because it's been far and few between posts. There just isn't much to talk about. Monkey had three weeks of leave which just ended, so he's back on base now. I'm getting used to hanging out in the apartment with just me and the cat during the week.

Speaking of the cat. I really want to get her a friend. She is soooo lonely now that I'm not living with my parents where she always has company. You should see her big sad kitty eyes gleaming up at me as I go into the bedroom at night. She is not allowed in our room since Monkey is allergic. She only gets attention for about 2 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night. It wouldn't be so bad if we had a couch, because then I could hang out with her on the couch while I watch TV and/or webcam with Monkey. But, we don't yet so I go straight to the bedroom when I'm done eating and doing dishes and such. Last night when I came home from work, I could hear her crying from the carport! It made me so sad. :( I just feel like it's such a sad life for a kitty to be left alone all day and then ignored most of the night. I would be depressed if I were her.

Monkey isn't 100% on board with getting her a friend. His point is valid, we don't have a lot of extra cash at the moment as we are trying to rebuild our savings from 'the winter that killed the cars', and if any unexpected medical things come up it would suck up more money. Also, he wants to be there to "cuddle-fy" the new cat. He is under the impression that my cat will make a new cat evil 'like her'. She is not evil. She just doesn't like his brand of affection... he expects a cat to glomb all over him and purr and nead and nudge. She's not like that. She just wants to sit near you, and occasionally have you pet her. If you harass her, she will let you know in her cat ways that she is done with you. He doesn't understand this. But, I would agree that he should be there when we pick out the new kitty.

Honestly, I'm not sure that I want to take care of two cats by myself right now anyway, but in reality I've had two cat's before, and it's not really that much harder. Just a little more vacuuming and rangling.

Granted, this cat hasn't been too fond of her past companions. But, they probably weren't the most compatible for her. There was Vinny who was supposed to be a foster cat for a friend and they just kind of disappeared. He was totally sweet to his people but no other animals like him. He was kind of a punk. She wasn't a big fan of Buddi either. My very old and decrepit gray cat that lives with my parents. I think she just didn't know what do make of him, and she didn't really understand the whole new house, new cat, thing. Her breed is supposed to be very maternal, and I've seen her on occasion cuddle and clean Vinny. I think she would do well with a kitten. She wouldn't feel threatened like she did with the older male cats she's lived with before.

I'm sure I could bat my eyes and make a good case and convince Monkey to get her a friend, but if he's not really on board I don't want to push it. I'll wait it out and see how she does. In the mean time I'll try to give her more attention. Poor lonely kitty.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Will a friend be good for her?


Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

The defiant face takes the cake! We both laughed over this one for a long time.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Adventures in cooking.

As I said before I am posting a little out of order. This is all kind of pre-Christmas stuff that I haven't had time to share but I wanted to post about. I baked! And cooked! See, this is huge, because if you know me, you know that, save my traditional valentines day brownies (from a box), I don't cook... or bake... or enter the kitchen to do anything but eat something that is already prepared. It's not that I have an aversion to it, or even that I can't, I just don't really like to. See the problem is that I don't really care that much about food. Just doesn't excite me. There are foods that I really like, but for the most part I eat food because I get hungry. So, I just can't bring myself to spend more time preparing something than eating it. Plus, by the time I'm done making it, I've smelled it for so long that I just don't want to eat it any more.

That being said, I am excited that I cooked and baked, and I liked it! And it was good! I made breakfast a couple days, and made Italian Turkey Meatballs, and my masterpiece, awesome pumpkin cheese cake!

Here are some pics from my cooking adventures. Hopefully, I continue to like this and I can manage to cook myself some meals while Monkey is gone that involve more than bread, turkey, mayo, and swiss cheese.

Grilling Turkey Meatballs. I made them by hand.
Voi la! Tastey Turkey meatballs. Even made the sauce from scratch. Tomato sauce and seasonings.

Making crusts for the cheesecakes. So, we only have had one pot and one pan, and i was using both of them to cook dinner, and we needed to melt butter. Monkey halfway jokingly suggested using the hairdryer... well guess what...

...a hairdryer is actually a quite effective way to melt butter!

Pumpkin Cheesecake topped with whipped cream and Mediterranean heather honey. It was A-MAZ-ING!

The best new years eve ever...

Well, much much has happened since I last posted. Monkey has been home so I have been otherwise occupied. I will be posting a little bit out of order but there are things I want to share so I will come back to them in a later post. But first, a little about our New Years Eve.

To start, I was supposed to be performing with my salsa group on New Years Eve meaning that of course I would have been spending the evening at the salsa club... well, two days before the director calls me and says basically that we're (just my partner and I) not ready and will not be performing. I can't even tell how how many kinds of peeved off this made me. My whole office was even peeved off for me! I'm not going to rant about it here though, because that is not the point of this post.

You see, in retrospect, it ended up being a blessing. The first thing I did was a eat a big ol' piece of the pumpkin cheese cake that I made (more about that later). And a whole bunch of other stuff I'd been starving myself from to look good in my salsa costume, which I now didn't have to wear. Also, I didn't have to stress about finishing the rhinestoning on my costume.

And, instead of going to this salsa performance and not being able to eat, and not being able to drink until after midnight, stressing, having to go get a fake tan, etc etc etc.... I spent a day and a half scouring the internet and newspapers with the help of my very awesome work peeps and found a really fun masquerade at Hotel DeLuxe. A 20's style boutique hotel in Portland. It was SO MUCH FUN. I will briefly mention that there was a burlesque show, which was actually quite cute. They never get fully naked and they really only show anything for about 10 seconds. It's all about the little story they're telling and the tease. They performed to music from the evenings band the Stolen Sweets, a local 20's jazz band. Very good. Very fun group.







The best thing about the music is that is was danceable! We were able to foxtrot or single time swing to most of it. We even threw in a salsa at the end. We are very out of practice dancing together but the dance floor was small so we just stayed close and moseyed around in foxtrot patterns. Swing is always fun, even when it's been a while. We got several compliments from people in the crowd, including one of the singers in the band. So, all in all it was great fun. We got to dress up all fancy, we wore awesome masks that we found in a vintage store downtown (the masks weren't vintage, though), we got to dance, and drink, and relax, and laugh (a lot!). This is the first New Years Eve that I have gotten to spend with just Monkey and it was the BEST New Years Eve EVER!!!

Here is a little video. Sorry it's so dark. I fixed it a little but it didn't help much. I'll work on that later and re-upload.