Oh yeah, I forgot to mention...

We have less than one year left! 

Holy cow! It seemed like this day would never come! As soon as we realized this day was getting close, time seemed sllooowwww dddooowwwwnnnnnnnn....

But, finally we have hit the mark (well a few days ago actually)! Now we can say that we have less than one year until he gets out of the Navy!

Less than one year until we find a new "normal".
Less than one year until I get my husband for more than 2 days at a time.
Less than one year until we get to start making plans for the rest of our lives!
Less than one year until we get to start the baby makin'! ;)
Less than one year until I get my dance partner back.

We're buying a house this year.
We're saving like crazy this year.
We have so many things to look forward to this year.

This also means there will be a few lasts.
The last holidays apart.
The last birthdays apart.
The last of having two apartments.
The last year of nightly web cam dates.
The last of weekly 3 hour drives.
The last couple of deployments.
Sadly, the last Navy Balls. < I will really miss that part.
The last of seeing him in his adorable uniform. :D

I'm sure there is more for all these lists, but you get the point. 

So. Excited.

I'm sure there will be many more updates this year than last. Last year we just kind of hunkered down and got through it.

This year is going to be crazy, and exciting, and we were smiling so big last night while we were talking about it. 

Latest Shenanigans

So, I'm actually having a bit of trouble keeping up with both blogs, so I'm going to be a little bit lazy here. I'm going to make you click through. I'm sorry. But it will be worth it!

But first. Update on the neck situation:

I'm about 60% better than I was when I wrote that first post (that was a bad day). It's still really uncomfortable and I have about 70% mobility. If I move too fast it catches, and boy oh boy is that "uncomfortable". My chiropractor taped me up with some KT tape and it's doing wonders. At first I didn't think it was helping, so just before my last appt I took it off. It was also kind of starting to itch. I immediately regretted it. So, before I left her office I had her tape me back up. I wish I had someone here to tape me back up when these "racing stripes" eventually come off.

So, because of this bum neck situation, I haven't been able to workout out all week. Which means I'm going crazy. I have 3 more sessions on my parkour groupon and I can't go to that. I'm not even really supposed to go to ballet (though I might try it anyway, maybe beginner ballet or something).

BUT! I have been waiting for a good time to try out something called Wello. It's an online, one-on-one live video personal training session! How slick is that? I contacted Wello to see if they had someone who could work around my gimpy neck and they replied with great enthusiasm that they have trainers who specialize in physical therapy and recovery and specifically recommended a few of them. So in a few hours I have my first Wello session, which I plan to write a blog post about as well. 

So, all of this loops back around to the original point of this blog post. I hurt my neck because I was sore from my first Parkour class. Which I have written a post about on my new fitness blog FunkyFitnessPDX! (Btw, you should come follow me. I would love you for it. Aaand I might be doing a giveaway soon, soo.... )

Alright, that about covers everything. I'm broken, I'm bored, and I've been blogging! Check it! 

Oh, I guess in Navy news... umm... husband has Saturday duty so won't be seeing him for another week. Last month we saw each other for 4 days. And not even 4 straight days. Still have no idea when leave is supposed to be. Semper Gumby, Hooyah and stuff!

Good times in Poulsbo.

Monkey was supposed to be working part of the day on Saturday so I drove up to spend the weekend in WA. He ended up not having to work so, while he could have come down to Portland, and least we were able to take advantage of it and take a little trip over to Poulsbo for some dinner and waterfront ice cream eating. :D

I love Poulsbo! I want to live there so much. It's an adorable little Norwegian waterfront town. We've made a tradition of going there for dinner, then getting ice cream and walking down the waterfront at sunset. Love it. Such a sweet evening with my love.

So that's what we were doing tonight. My tummy and my heart are quite full. Enjoy some pics.

To Blog or to Bore?

*This is a Monkey post*

Its been a while since I have blogged. The cat is sitting on my lap right now being some sort of an adorable nuisance. I'm recovering from an awesome Strength and Sweat class from The Source last night and my trusty computer is recovering from an argument between Windows & Ubuntu after a long night of Skyrim. Excellent game. As usual I am stealing everything from everyone - its an Elder Scrolls tradition for me since Daggerfall.

Anyhoozle, I know few of you will know what all that meant. We are just about to the home stretch right now - One year, eight months to go. Its a little scary. So much to do, so little time now. But its exciting too. I have one thing left to qualify - Quartermaster and I'm almost done. It seems like an easy thing but its SOOO much reading, and the boring sort at that! Either way - almost there. Then its off to college in my free time. Decided I'm shooting for Physician's Assistant - that's going to take a while but I think it will be the best fit.

Sidebar: I have trained this cat too well. I like it when she nudges me so I taught her to do it upon the command "Give papa kitty nudges". Now she seems to want to do it on her own, a lot.

The house I'm renting a room from now is great. Ducky will get to see it next week for the first time even though I have been there for almost a month now. We are headed up there next week to me from the guest room to my permanent room. Its a great area which I'm glad for because I don't think I will have to worry about her being there alone. The owners are a couple of the nicest people I have met.

In other news, She got me a snowboard for Christmas! Which is awesome! Now I need to get all the remaining gear and next winter hopefully we can hit up Mt. Hood. My server was an awesome success this last underway. Filled 10TB of hard drive space - the crew was pretty happy with it.

Anyways signing off - thanks for reading. Rather dull I know :-)

I love March!

March!  It's March!  I love March!!!

Why?

• Birthdays: Both of our Birthdays are in March. And, I think his Mom's is as well.

• Spring! It's not until the end part of the month, but spring happens! Regardless of if it looks like it. It's no longer "winter" and I'll take it!

• St. Patrick's day. Now, I don't drink really at all. But, for some reason I have always liked St. Patrick's day. Most likely because I like any reason to dress up in a fashion. And glitter goes perfectly with this occasion. I don't even know what it's supposed to be about. Snakes? I don't care... glitter! Gosh, am I a girl or what? 

• It's also (when it's over) a third of the way through the year. A good milestone of you're counting down time as we are. 

• Dresses! All the cute spring dresses come out. I can't wear them for a while until it warms up, but I have no problem stocking up my closet for those 5 really sunny days we'll get in our PNW summer!


This is pretty similar to the post I made last March (or maybe the one before that). But, i get excited every year. What can I say!?

How 'bout you? Do you like March? Or, do you have a different favorite month?

Random Randomocity

A Random event:

So, we were taking a walk yesterday in an attempt to get some sort of exercise after a long night of eating deliciously bad for us food. We decided to walk through some other neighborhood just for the sake of walking longer. We passed this older man getting into his green 1960's ford pickumup truck. We nod and smile like good pretend neighbors would. Then he yells out his rolled down window to Monkey, "Hey, are you a guitar player?!" to which he puzzedly replies, "Well, a little bit. Why?"
Then the old guy just smiles and drives away.  We were perplexed, amused, and creeped out, all at once. 

A Random story: 

While wasting some time at Fred Meyer last night between our West Coast Swing lesson and the social party, I was trying to decide on a shirt and Monkey had wandered off somewhere. From across the isle I hear, "Hey hon, I think I need these!" He's sporting some plastic white rimmed sunglasses. Possibly meant for women. I responded with, "Yeah.. I think you'd have to be bigger douche to wear sunglasses like that." He pauses, thinks about it, and replies... "I think I need to be a bigger douche." 

No babe, you don't. I like my douche-free hubby just the way he his, thank you. :)

The end.

Marriage Survey

I found this on Tales from a Sailor's Soul Mate. It looked interesting and I have nothing else to really talk about. Unless you want to hear me whine about how the Navy ruined our Valentines day, twice in one year. Blah.

1.  When is your "engagement" anniversary?

Umm... I don't remember. I guess sometime in the late spring/early summer of 2009. He actually still owes me a proper proposal. Ours went something like this... [Via Webcam] "So, you know... if we get married the Navy will...." to which I said no. But shortly after I flew out to see him at which ever Navy school he was in at the time and by the time I left I was making plans for us to get married the next time he had leave.

2.  When is your marriage anniversary?

July 29, 2009

3.  How long have you known your spouse?

5 years or 6.... or something. Shortly after I started ballroom. Which was right before I started working here which was about 5 and a half years ago.

4.  How long did you date before you were engaged?

Define "date". I honestly do not know how to answer this question.

5.  Where did you meet your spouse for the first time?

At my first dance studio. He was my ballroom dance teacher.

6.  What is your spouses full name?

Yeah... nope.

7.  Do you have any children?

We don't. But I'm seriously baby crazy. Have been for quite some time. But, we are trying to wait until he's out of the Navy. Less than two years now.

8.  How many boys/girls?

N/A

9.  Do you have any house pets?

We have a fat furry kitty named Katty Poo. I know, stupid name, but there is a story behind it.

10.  Do you own a house or rent?

We rent.

11.  Do you live in the country/town/city?

Suburbia.

12.  What are your favorite activities to do together?

Well DANCE, of course! But, anything active. Running, biking, kickboxing sometimes, etc.

13.  Do you have a favorite vacation spot?

We haven't been too many places yet. But we go back to the beach every year for our anniversary.

14.  When did you first kiss?

Oof, this is actually up for debate.

15.  What church do you attend?

Currently we do not attend church.

16.  Is this the church you were married in?

We were married in the garden behind an adorable inn at the beach.

17.  What town is your current address at?

Well... he's in Bangor. I'm in Portland.

18.  Do you work or stay-at-home?

I work at a Marketing Agency.

19.  Where did you go on your honeymoon?

We didn't really have one. We will when he gets out. Last we talked it was looking like New Zealand or Australia or something like that.

20.  What was the funniest gift you gave while dating?

I'm not sure I've given him a "funny" gift. Maybe I have. But I don't recall.

21.  How long have you been together?

Again, define "together". (Ours is a complicated story)

22.  How long did you know each other before you started dating?

Dunno.  Year or so maybe two.  Hard to say since we really didn't "date".

23.  Who asked who out?

It was more like this... we're just friends...we're just friends... oh.. um... i guess we're more than friends now.

24.  How old are each of you?

Uh oh... here goes. He's 23 and I'm 28. *gasp* yes, that is a 5 year age difference. But, he doesn't really act like he's 23. And I don't really act like I'm 28.  :) 

25.  Where do each of you go to school?

Neither of us are currently going to school.

26.  Which situation is hardest on you as a couple?

The fact that we live 3 hours apart. It doesn't actually stress our relationship but it really really stinks.

27.  Did you go to the same school?

Nope.

28.  Are you from the same town?

If you are referring to where we were born. Then nope.

29.  Who is smarter?

"Everyone is a genius. But, if you judge a fish on it's ability to climb a tree it will go through it's whole life thinking it's stupid." But, really I think we're equally smart but in different areas.

30.  Who is more sensitive?

We're both pretty sensitive, but I probably act out on it more. I am a girl after all.

31.  Where do you eat out most as a couple?

Currently, Red Robin.

32.  Where is the furthest you traveled as a couple?

We DitY PCSed from GA to WA. Didn't fight once.

33.  Who has the craziest exes?

Neither of us.

34.  Who has the worse temper?

... ohh.... that'd be me. I work on it though. It helps if I'm not hungry.

35.  Who does the cooking?

Mostly me. (When we actually cook) But Monkey makes breakfast sometimes. And it's tasty.

36.  Who is more social?

Neither one of us are especially social.

37.  Who is the neat-freak?

Well it certainly isn't me. Though I would if I could ever get everything fully organized.

38.  Who is more stubborn?

We're about the same.

39.  Who hogs the bed?

The cat!

40.  Who wakes up earlier?

Well for work it's Monkey by default. But on the weekends I usually wake up and then spend two hours getting him out of bed.

41.  Where was your first date?

Yeah. Again... "date"?

42.  Who had more boyfriends/girlfriends?

He has. 

43.  Do you get flowers often?

I used to tell him not to buy me flowers because they die. But, I changed my mind so I get them for special occasions when he can't be there.

44.  How do you spend the holidays?

Together. However we can achieve it.

45.  Who is more jealous?

We aren't really the jealous types.

46.  How long did it take to get serious?

Mmm... after we admitted that we liked each other... steady build over a period of months. 

47.  Who eats more?

Him!

48.  Who does the laundry?

We pretty much do our own laundry.

49.  Who is better with the computer?

He's kind of the computer geek. But I usually know what I'm doing just fine.

50.  Leave a piece of advice for other couples.

Communication, respect, honesty. You can't really have one without the other and you need them all.

Sailors go salsa dancing!

So, I discovered this draft post in my blogger just now. I think I was waiting to add photos to it and just never got around to finishing it. Entirely out of context, here is a random adventure from this summer.

Adventure 2 of 3:

A couple of Monkey's buds came down to go to a high ropes and zip line challenge course. They didn't call ahead so they couldn't go when they had planned. Instead, they went to the outdoor go-cart racetrack and had a blast with unlimited bracelets. I was at work so I have no pictures for you.

However, Monkey had talked them into going salsa dancing with us that night! Neither of them had been before so I was really excited to take them on their virgin salsa voyage. They both did really great! There was supposed to be a lesson before the dancing started but the instructor just happened to be out of town that night. So, Monkey and I gave them a brief lesson to get them started. They learned the basic and how to turn the lady. They were very brave and each danced a whole song with me out on the floor at least once. One of them even grabbed a girl he didn't know and danced with her.  It was such a great night!

Funny how, on their time off, they still manage to all dress alike!

Monkey giving Sailor E a salsa lesson.

Because, as we here informed, you can't just go to one place when you go out for an evening, we set off to find another bar before we called it a night. Mind you, this was a Thursday night, so we had a hard time finding a place that was open after midnight. We found a place close to home, and got our drinks only to find out that they closed in 25 minutes. Which meant that Monkey couldn't finish his drink since he was the DD.

Of course, on the way home we had to stop for some post funk drive-though food. By this point, both of our salsero sailors had decided that they were going to speak with British accents. So, they commenced ordering their chicken nuggets with said accents. Quite amusing, actually.

I had a ton of fun. I love getting new people out learning salsa! I know at least one of them said they wanted to go out and try it again.

The next morning they left to try the zipline place again and Monkey and I packed for adventure #3 – Lake Billy Chinook.

Look for the third Adventure installment soon/maybe eventually.

Home decore and a boring weekend.

Well, I have to say this weekend isn't as bad as it was going to be, but I'm still bummed.

Originally, Monkey thought he was going to be on the boat all night Friday and wouldn't be coming home. Turns out because of some technicalities, he didn't have to stay all night. He got home about midnight on Friday. But, he's on his way back right now. He is working later today and on Labor day. I mean, I understand, they've got work to do. The boat has to be ready. But, now I have two days unplanned, and for the life of me I can't think of anything to do by myself. I don't have to work, and all of my gyms/studios are closed for the holiday. It's also a beautiful day which make it even more difficult.

We made use of the one day he was home, though. For our anniversary my parents got us a giftcard to Bed Bath and Beyond. So, after perusing the bedding section for the 5th time and not coming to a consensus on an amicable style, we opted to solve our dilemma of the poorly designed bedroom/bathroom. In theory this set up is quite convenient. The sink is outside of the toilet/shower room. And across from the sink is a second mirrored closet. (Perfectly sized for a certain sailors civilian wardrobe) It's great because one person can be using the bathroom/shower and the other can still get to the sink to brush teeth/put on make up/etc. The problem with this is that if you are laying on the bed and someone is at the sink with the lights on, you are blinded  by the vanity lights above the mirror. To solve this problem, we picked up a tension curtain rod and a single panel of a curtain. We hung the curtain as a door between the bedroom and the sink area. It doesn't block out all the light but it at least block the direct line of sight to the glaring lightbulbs. Plus, it's pretty. It's the only pop of color we have in the bedroom. Until this, we had only decorated the bathroom. And only out of necessity, because you kind of need a shower curtain and bathmat. 

Oh, I forgot. I also took him to Men's Warehouse and bought him some investment shirts. (read: expensive shirts) They were having a buy on get one free sale. I went in with a pretty good budget and ended up doubling it. Oops. But it's worth it. He owns maybe two nice shirts. He has a problem finding shirts that fit him well because he has such a big chest. By the time they fit his chest they are like a tent on the rest of him. So, I took him to get four new shirts and had them tailored so they would fit him correctly. I also had him sized for a jacket so they have all his measurements in their system and I can get him clothes while he's gone and stock his closet a little bit at a time. We also took pictures of some ties that I will get for him in the future. I just couldn't spend any more money on that trip. 

Ok, so that wasn't very exciting. But, I'm trying to relieve some boredom by blogging. Anyways, hope you all have a great long weekend. Do something fun for me. :)

My very short and slightly odd encounter with a homeless man just now.

Wow, so let me tell you what just happened to me:

I was sitting in the park on my lunch break, because it's awesome and sunny outside, and this very dirty very toothless homeless man comes up and asks if he can sit by me. I said ok. He starts talking to me and tells me that he was just trying to help these two other homeless people. He went into some building to try and get them food stamps, and when he came out, half the stuff in his backpack was gone. So now he needed to "settle down so he doesn't end up back in jail." At this point I notice that he's smoking what's left of a joint. He then shakes my hand and tells me his name which didn't register. He was really frazzled. A minute later he says "Well, i need to go drink a beer and settle down." As he walks away he turns around and says "Oh by the way. In case anyone asks, woo woo.. um I can't whistle."  

Gotta love Vantucky! And now I smell a little bit like refer.