Wednesday, August 31, 2011

So yeah...nevermind.

Yesterday I went to the OBGYN.  I haven't had much experience with the OBGYN since my primary goal in life for the past 27 years has been to avoid that office at all costs, and it wasn't a very pleasant visit. 

First, I'm not pregnant and that was not my reason for going to that awful place.  Second, absolutely any thought I had that I may be even slightly ready to have a child in the next hundred years couple of years has been completely wiped from my brain**.

The office itself was fine, as were the nurses and doctors.  Clean rooms, nice enough people.  It was the exam room I had to wait in for a good 20 minutes that did me in.

On every wall there were horrifying posters about the different trimesters of pregnancy, and let me tell you it doesn't look pleasant in the least!  They read like the script to a horror movie.  I have always known to expect stretch marks (which I've always hoped with enough of that cocoa butter stuff my body would just skip), swelling in places I didn't know could swell, and aches up the wazoo.  I did not, however, expect to see things like possible dark spots on my face, a dark line from my belly button down, all kinds of shifting of my poor little organs, and did you all know that the baby actually flips around in there?  I mean, I'm not a jungle gym!

After waiting for the doctor to come in to see me, I was a complete nervous wreck about having a baby and I'm not even pregnant!  Kudos to all you amazing women who have had/are having a baby, you are far more brave than I am!  For now I'll stick to my dog and cats...it'll be a while until I can push those thoughts out and start to think about having human kids again.

** Don't worry Mom B & H, eventually I'll get there.  This has just set me back a bit.  I'm seeing this as a good thing since we'll be jobless/homeless in a few short months.  One thing at a time.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Pretty dress fail!

So I started my 30/30 list last month and I’m already failing! 

#21: Find a reason to wear a pretty dress at least once a month.

It is the 29th of August, three days until September, and I have yet to wear a pretty dress.  Not only that, but I just realized that I have packed all my dresses and don’t even have a pretty dress to wear if I wanted to!

Since I’m not about to buy one of the ridiculously low quality, age-inappropriate dresses that they stock at our lovely Navy Exchange, it looks like I’m S.O.L.  I have pretty sundresses, but since the point of #21 was to wear more cocktail type, fun, pretty dresses it only partially counts. 


What's fancier than flip flops and cornhole?

I may be playing beer pong, but at least I dressed it up with a necklace!


To make up for this I’ll wear a pretty dress TWICE next month…sound good?  Plus, I’ll be in the States which means I can find a super cute, NEW cocktail dress.  Bonus! 

So…who’s down to go somewhere nice enough for cocktail dresses when we get home because I’ve got some catching up to do?!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Thoughts from the week...


I have not for the life of me been able to keep my thoughts organized.  I’ve started a ton of different blogs about all kinds of things on my mind, but as I get to the middle of one thought I go off on a tangent and soon the entire point of the blog turns to gibberish!  I blame it on us being less than three weeks from go-time with, still, a zillion things to do.  So instead of writing one cohesive blog about a certain topic, here’s what’s been on my mind this week. 

-          Spanish internet is ridiculously awful.  The speed is about a millisecond faster than dial-up, which seeing as that the internet has been around for 20+ years is just sad.  I mean, really, aren’t we a little old for this?  Not to mention I have to keep re-booting the modem because the internet decides to turn off for no apparent reason.  Awesome.


-          I am officially an IPod snob.  I had the pleasure of borrowing a friends car this last week and had to listen to the radio to and from work and it wasn’t pleasant.  Not only do the DJ’s in the morning have horrible banter that would make a deaf person cringe, but since when did sound like Ke$ha qualify as music?  I may not have the best taste in music, and I may not have the same taste as everyone else, but at least I have SOME taste!


-          After reading a blog about same-names I decided to Google Shana Howell.  The first couple Shana’s I found were a research assistant at a military medicine facility in DC and a dental hygienist graduate from Rhodes State College.  Now I’m feeling pretty behind and am thinking I should hurry up and get my degree…or at least lie about it on the internet so Google makes me look good.


-          After spreading the news about our return date to California, I’ve set up a family BBQ, a BBQ night with my girls, a concert with a couple of my favorite people, and a hockey game with the Howell’s.  Everyone is so excited for us to get back and I’m feeling very loved!  The excitement is slowly starting to drone out the panic.


That’s all for now as I feel another rant coming on and don’t want this to turn into yet another erased could-have-been-post.  Happy weekending! 

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Rory has landed...

I repeat, Rory has landed!!!  36 hours after dropping her off at the Malaga airport, my awesome dog Rory has completed her journey to California safe and sound.

First, let me tell you it was a MUCH more emotional event than I had imagined.  Although I knew it was going to be difficult to drop her off, I never expected to feel so incredibly sad!  Rory is our kid, and it is very difficult to have a kid that you cannot communicate with in ANY way.  I couldn’t tell her what to expect, that everything would be fine, that her grandparents would be there to pick her up and take care of her, and worse that we weren’t just abandoning her.  Putting her in the crate and walking away was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.  Needless to say I got into the car and completely broke down and cried.  All I could think was how scared she must be, and that she was having to do this alone without understanding why she was being put through this.

My parents, after filling out a bunch of forms and showing their ID’s to hundreds of people (okay, not hundreds…but probably close to it.  It’s nice to know that they won’t let just ANYONE pick up your kids though!) were able to pick her up and immediately called and sent a picture so I could see for myself that she was okay.  Yes, I called them twice that morning before to make sure they were up and ready and that they had everything they needed for her arrival, and then again to see if her flight had landed and where was she (this was during their paperwork-filling-out time which I’m sure my Dad SUPER appreciated), but I think overall I did okay with the not over-panicking!  I was a total wreck, but I did my best not to let it overwhelm me and poor Mr. got to deal with the parts that did!

Rory did great on the flights and the people at Lufthansa Air LOVED her, so yay for having a great kid!  I think she’s pretty fabulous, but it’s nice to know that others do too!  Now to wait patiently until we get to see her again next month…patiently…ha!  We’ll be Skype-ing with Rory this weekend when she finishes her final leg of the journey to Arizona with Mom & Dad H.!

On the road...Rory is VERY artsy if you can't tell...

Rory and Mr.

Rory and Mama (aka Me)

Family Shot...way to blink Rory...


Sunday, August 21, 2011

Hard times call for Hard Rock!


Tomorrow morning Mr. and I leave for Malaga. Normally this would be VERY exciting because we won't be in Rota for the day, but this time I am incredibly sad about it. We are taking Rory (our amazing dog, at least when she's not peeing on something) to be shipped off to California.


Due to the military only allowing us to ship two pets home with us, we have paid (A LOT) for Rory to be shipped a few weeks before our move. (This irritates me enough to be another blog post all together...they'll ship a family of eight to Rota WITH pets, but they definitely can't ship three pets for a couple that has decided to *gasp* not have children during their time in Rota…TOTALLY makes monetary sense…)


Anyway, Rory will be flying on her own from Malaga to Frankfurt, Germany, then off to Los Angeles where my awesome Dad has volunteered to pick her up and get her back to Escondido.  She’ll stay with Mom & Dad B. for the week until Mom & Dad H. pick her up for her last leg of the journey to Arizona where she will be staying until we figure out what we’re doing when we’re jobless/homeless.  Yes, we have amazing family and the best support system EVER!  I’m forever grateful.    


I’m very nervous for her flight…she’ll be all alone and I’m afraid she’ll think we’ve ditched her.  It will be over a month until we see her again, A MONTH!  We’ve got her crate all set up and she doesn’t appear to dislike it too much, so that’s a plus.  I’ve shipped a care package out to Mom & Dad B. which should have arrived already with some toys, bones, and treats that she loves so that she’ll feel right at home.  I’ve done everything I can to make this the smoothest move possible for her.  Still, so sad.  I feel like a mom dropping her kid off at kindergarten for the first day of school, except I won’t come to pick up my kid for a month!  (Dramatic, I know, but Rory IS my kid!)


 I guess it’s more like camp…yeah, like a mom dropping her kid of at camp for the first time.


On the bright side, after dropping Rory off we’ll be hitting up the Hard Rock in Marbella for lunch.  And Tuesday morning (our Tuesday night) we’ll get the call telling us Dad B. has Rory and she’s safe and sound in California…one less thing to stress about during our move!

Rory, all ready for her big journey!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Who's with me?


So I realized that in a couple of weeks Mr. and I have a four day weekend.  (Labor Day…still not 100% sure what this holiday is about but I’m pretty much down for anything that gets me out of a day at work!)  Usually this would be a very exciting time; four day weekends don’t come very often, especially in the military, which means that when they DO come around we’re usually going somewhere to take advantage of it!  But with our move 11 days after that, our monetary funds are a bit tied up in more practical things such as food, moving expenses, purchasing a car so we can actually go places when we get Stateside, savings so when we’re jobless/homeless we can still get by, etc…  BORING!  A year ago we would have been scanning Vueling and Ryan Air for the cheapest flights around Europe and going wherever the 40 euro fare would take us…not this year.  And that made me very, very sad.

I know what you’re thinking…poor little traveler doesn’t get to go on yet ANOTHER vacation.  I know, my complaints seem petty and horribly self-centered, because they are!  I can be petty and self-centered, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that sometimes, especially when I realize it and admit it. 

The whole thing got me thinking, we’ll be back in the “real world”*** soon.  It’s hard to take vacations, especially long ones to fun places, in the “real world”.  I know this because prior to moving to Spain, I went to Europe ONCE, and it was only because I was lucky enough to have a great friend do a study abroad program in Scotland.  Other than that my big, fancy vacations were San Francisco for the weekend.  (Don’t get me wrong, I love SF and will probably go back another 100+ times in my life, but it’s not exactly Italy.)  Despite the “real world” about to move in on my lovely three year hiatus, I want to travel!  Scratch that, I NEED to travel.  I have never felt as at home as I do when I’m in a foreign country.  I know that sounds ridiculous, but it’s true.  I am at my absolute happiest when I’m in good company (Mr. usually, but I’d love if friends and family would join us too) seeing things for the first time and experiencing another culture, eating amazing new dishes I would never have had tasted if I stayed in one place, and doing things I never thought I would do.

And ALL this got me thinking that if I want to continue to travel I need to plan it!  I know we won’t be making our monthly trips like we do now, but if we plan it and start setting money aside now (or as soon as we get jobs of course!) then we will still travel!  I think I got my 30/30 list all wrong by putting specific places I want to go on it because I’m feeling a bit limited in my choices now (especially since Mr. threw out Rio de Janeiro for our next big trip and that was NOT on my list) but I’m thinking with a lot of planning (and some eating of popcorn and Top Ramen for dinner) we’ll be able to make this all happen!  So although I’m bummed about our upcoming four day weekend I’m going to make the most of it (lazy beach days and maybe an “Italy” night so we can finally drink that last bottle of wine we brought back from Tuscany!).  And I’m going to start brainstorming and dreaming up our next trip…who’s with me?      


***I call it the “real world” because, let’s face it, I’ve been living a very unreal life the past three years.  My rent and utilities are paid for (I don’t ever even see a bill!), I don’t have a car payment, I work part-time at a job I enjoy, I spend three and four day weekends travelling wherever my heart desires.  In the “real world” I’ll have to start working full time, car payments will be making a come-back, and rent and utilities…well let’s just hope we can find a job let alone an affordable place to live with electricity!  The quotes around “real world” are because I refuse to believe that is what MY “real world” will be…I want my world NOW to be my real world and I’m going to do my best to find a happy medium. 

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Wasting water...and time...


A few weeks ago our dishwasher decided to take a vacation.  This wouldn’t be a problem except that Mr. and I have NOT taken a vacation from using dishes.  We find that throwing our food on the table and eating it with our hands is not pleasant, and really not as efficient as using plates, bowls, and utensils.  (Our dog Rory, however, LOVES this scenario!)
Since we will be vacating our *cough* lovely abode shortly (one month EXACTLY from today, not that I’m counting) we decided against waiting around our house all day in hopes that the Spanish workers show up and actually fix our dishwasher.  This means that we are stuck hand washing dishes for the remainder of our time in Rota.  HAND WASHING!  I know, boo-hoo right?  There are starving kids in India who would give their left hand for food, let alone a reason to use a dishwasher, and I’m complaining about my month of Amish-ness.  It’s just that I really, REALLY hate hand washing dishes. 
Reason #1:   I feel that my hand washing dishes probably accounts for 70% of the water that is wasted on our planet.  I even took the time to look it up here.  Only 1% of the Earth’s water is usable by humans…if I’m using 70% of that I’m REALLY throwing the human race off-kilter! 
Reason #2: The dishes never seem to get clean.  No matter how much soap/water I use and no matter how hand-reddening-hot I make the water, the dishes still seem dirty to me.  Perfectionist?...maybe…
Reason #3:  It takes WAY too much time.  Generally I wouldn’t fret about this because I’m SO patient (ha…ha…ha…) but with just 31 days left until we make our big move from Spain to California I’m thinking time is of great importance in order to get the still loooooooong list of things I need to get done, done.
So, in the midst of my water-wasting, cleaning and re-cleaning, hour-glass-running-out-of-sand dilemma I take the time to tell the blogging world all about it.  Because I’m THAT dedicated to blogging…and because I haven’t posted anything for 9 days and am feeling a little guilty!  I’ll get better at this, I swear!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

When life gives you a lemon shaped cake...

So I was checking out msn.com tonight, something I do frequently when bored on the internet because of their “LOL” and “must-see” news sections (which are, of course, the most important articles you’ll find if you’re looking to see what’s going on in the world), and I noticed a headline about a T-bone shaped cake.  After going through 21 pictures of completely random cakes, I started to think about what crazy shape I would want. 

After giving it a lot of thought (5 whole minutes worth) I decided.  Of course, I can’t just go buying a wacky-shaped cake for no reason…so I’m putting this out there so that maybe, possibly, some random nice person will see this post and get me and/or make me the cake!  (Seeing as that I have 3 whole followers, I’m not expecting much.  But it’s worth a try right?)

Here it is…

Picture from Aniroc's review of Fat Jacks Bakery in Odessa, TX.


Isn’t it FABULOUS!?  Of course, I don't want it to say "2010" and I would prefer a nicer serving dish, but I absolutely LOVE lemon cake, so why not have it shaped like a lemon?  I could have a whole citrus-themed party.  Citrus-y candles, yellow and green plates, lemonade.  In fact, I think I’ve just found my 30th birthday party theme!!!

Wow, I’ve accomplished a lot tonight.  Thanks MSN for your inspirational article!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Shana vs The Shower

Sometimes I really dislike showering.  Before you say, “ewww”, let it be known that regardless of my occasional hatred I always DO shower.  I don’t like being dirty, hence another of my strong dislikes…camping.  But regardless, sometimes I don’t want to go through the process of bathing. 

There are two main reasons for my sporadic disgust. 

First, there is the fact that I am usually exhausted by the time I get home and need to shower.  I know, showering doesn’t take THAT long, but it takes long enough to make me not want to do it every night. 

Second, it takes me FOREVER to get ready after I shower.  After allowing my hair some air-dry time (because there’s no way I’m going to stand around using a hair-dryer for an additional 30 minutes on my sopping wet hair) I then have to blow-dry it the rest of the way, then straighten it.

 Given, on a night like tonight where Mr. and I will be doing nothing but enjoying a nice, relaxing movie night at home I will forgo the straightening for a quick side-braid, but if I was to be going somewhere tonight the straightening is essential.  Hour minimum, hour and a half max if I’m really paying attention to detail. 

For those who see my pictures and think, “but your hair is already straight”, ha!  I’m glad my flat-ironing skills could fool you!  I have curly hair and not only that but I have A LOT of it and it’s thick!  Lucky me!  I know I’ll love it as I get older and my hair starts falling out because then I will have a normal amount of hair, and I’ll love it when I eventually educate myself enough on hairstyling to do something other than straighten it daily and want it to be curly, but for now it’s just a hassle.

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes showering rocks!  On a super cold winter day it’s the best way to warm up, and after a long day getting sandy at the beach nothing beats it.  But sometimes, today being one of them, I just hate it.

So I’ll shower anyway, because who wants to sleep next to a stinky, post-workout-sweat person all night?  (Not my Mr.)  And I’ll reward myself for all my HARD work with some homemade tortilla soup and a margarita!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

7.2011 Pretty Dress, check!

#21 on my 30/30 List is to find a reason to wear a pretty dress at least once a month.  Since it's a monthly goal, it's not really something I can officially check off the list until I turn 30 (and quite frankly I don't think this should EVER be off my list...why stop at 30?).  That being said, I still need to hold myself accountable and check it off monthly.

TADA!

July 27, 2011
Not the greatest picture of me but you get the point. I felt much prettier in person and that counts for something right?

While in Ireland Mr. and I went to a medieval banquet dinner in Bunratty Castle (should this count for #3 on my list???...I think I'm going to count it half way complete). It was a fabulous night where we got all fancy, drank lots of mead and wine, ate super yummy food using only our hands and "daggers" (aka steak knives) and watched the entertainers sing, play traditional Irish music on a harp and violin, and act all medieval in amazing costumes! It sounded ridiculously cheesy when we booked it online, and it was. It was also so fun and such a cool experience. The actors were totally into their parts which made it that much more hilarious and we're both so happy we did it! Here, check out the awesome-ness that ensued.

Our musicians for the night...

Our host with the silly hat...


A MUCH nicer picture of me at dinner (although not really showing the whole dress).
 I'd like to thank the wine and the candlelight for playing a significant role in the improvement of this picture.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Things I learned in Ireland...

I figured that, before I completely forget the intriguing, fun and useless facts* I learned while in Ireland I should write them all down and share them with my fellow bloggers.  Not that these realizations will in any way help anyone, but more so that I can remember them (AKA this is how I’m procrastinating doing loads of laundry, unpacking, and going through the 1,500+ pictures we took during the week.) 

(*Okay, so I’m using the word “fact” rather loosely here since these are really more my opinions than facts, but it’s my blog so I’ll do what I want to!)

Fact 1: Ireland truly has more shades of green than there are words for.  Seriously, I started trying to come up with better ways to describe the different hues and ended my train of thinking with “really, really, awesomely green”.  (See my very first blog…I don’t claim to be creative.)
Really, really awesomely green...

Fact 2:   The TempleBar in Dublin, although being completely cliché and tourist-y, is hands down THE best pub I’ve ever been to.  Nothing will beat the amazing live music that causes the entire bar (tourists and Irish alike) to clap, stomp their feet, and break out into random jigs.

Fact 3:  When in doubt, follow the giant cock.  ROOSTERS you pervs!  Ever since The Bloggess shared her incredible story about picking your battles and giant metal chickens named Beyonce (click here if you missed it) I have been somewhat obsessed with finding giant chickens wherever I go.  Upon waking up my first morning in Dublin, Mr. and I walked aimlessly to find a place for breakfast when BAM!  Right next to our hotel was a little pastry shop (Queen of Tarts…A-MAZ-ING) and what should I find in the window but a giant rooster holding cupcakes!  Of course I HAD to go in, and thank your religious figure that I did because it was AWESOME!
You know you can't resist my tarts...

Fact 4:  Bulmers, the preferred Irish girly-cider-beer drink, is disgusting.  Drink a real beer or order a vodka-diet and get it over with.

Fact 5:  Irish B&B’s ROCK!  We met some of the friendliest, accommodating, genuinely nice people staying at random B&B’s.  They’ll let you sleep in their homes, cook you great breakfast, and help you figure out where to go…and you don’t even need to book ahead!  (And, bonus, it’s WAY cheaper than hotels!)

Fact 6:  Irish people are VERY serious about traffic cones.  Where, in America, 10 cones would be sufficient, the Irish use 50 just to make extra sure you know where to go.
The cones went on like this for the next 3+ kilometers...


Fact 7:  The Dingle Peninsula beats the Ring of Kerry drive, no contest!  You get the same awesome views and a great fun city in between without having to drive 5 hours on winding roads around the Kerry Peninsula with a bunch of other tourists.  (And Fact 7-a:  You DEFINITELY don’t need to do BOTH drives…lesson learned.)
Seriously small, incredibly skinny roads in the beautiful peninsula of Dingle

Fact 8:  No matter how many times you distill it, I will not like your whiskey.  Good try Jameson.