Decisions

How many decisions do we make in a day?  A week?  A month?  A year (which by the way is 525,600 minutes - in case you were wondering)?

Sure, we decide what to wear in the morning (at least on the weekdays), which route to take to work, and whether or not we run the yellow light on the way to work.  But it's not every day that we make monumental decisions that change the course of our lives.  That is, unless you count deciding what size coffee to order from your favorite barista a monumental decision.  To each their own.

I think about decisions a lot.  Probably more than I should, even.  Especially when Ryan and I are being silly or talking about when we first met.

It's not just decisions in general.  But mostly decisions that I've made - both monumental and not-so-monumental that led me to where I am right now.  Most importantly, sitting next to the man of my dreams.

I'm sure I've talked about this before, and if I haven't - lucky you.  I think a lot about the decisions that had to be made (on both of our counts, really) and how the cosmic universe aligned (perhaps just in my head) so that we would even meet each other.  One different decision and both of our lives could be very different than it is on this June evening.

I could have chosen to play ball and attend the University of Georgia instead of Southern Illinois  University.  I could have bailed and returned home after a super emotionally/mentally challenging freshman year away from home.  I could have taken a job at a rink-a-dink office supply marketing job right out of college instead of accepting the position from hell at Wells Fargo. 

Obviously, I could go on and on.  And I'm sure there are lots of decisions that you've made in your own life that are very similar - whether related to school, relationships, jobs, relocating yourself/family or whatever!

Sometimes I try to think about what my life would be like if I had gone to Georgia, or if I would have taken another job opportunity.  Then I remind myself that I didn't.  I made the decisions I made and they all brought me here. 

I didn't use to be a big believer in "Everything happens for a reason."  But four years ago - I decided I better start.

That is a decision I wouldn't change for anything.

Take Luck,

LP

Pet Peeves

It is no secret that I have pet peeves... Just like everyone else. Sure, I have some odd ball things that irk me, but don't we all?

I don't get on Facebook too often, and when I did today - I was immediately reminded as to why my logins are getting few and far between.

I cannot stand people who share every single, minute detail of their lives with their "friends."

You know who these people are. 

I kid you not I read two status updates about poop. These statuses were not referencing babies and they were not posted by dudes. What the what?

The details people share aren't even the worst part. I love (can you feel the sarcasm crawling through your computer screen?) people who get all hot and bothered by their "friends" being all up in their business.

Uhm, hello. If you don't want people up in your private business... Don't write it!

I also get quite a chuckle out of those cryptic status updates that leave readers chomping at the bit to hear the rest of the unfolding drama. I know a few girls who are particularly good at this and my guess is that they are literally dying for attention.

It's like a soap opera. "Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of when Susie dumped Billy..."

Finally, you gotta love the lack of sentence structure, punctuation and grammar. I just want to slap these people with an English book. I went to school with a lot of these people - I know they are educated!

I just tried to write a giant run-on sentence with poor punctuation and grammar... And I just couldn't do it.

Maybe I'm being overly critical, but this stuff just bothers the you-know-what out of me. I am certainly not perfect and am likely guilty of sharing stupid status updates too.

The easy thing to do would be to deactivate my account, but then I couldn't check to see the photos my sister-in-law posts of my ever-growing nephew.

Maybe a good, hard reevaluation of "friends" is in order.

Tell me, do you have any Facebook pet peeves?

Take Luck,
LP

Previous Life?

I have never been one to really believe in reincarnation or that we all were maybe someone (or something!) else in a previous life.

Until yesterday.

I got a call from my father-in-law, Danny yesterday afternoon just before going to pick up Ryan from work.  He sounded very excited.

He asked if I was busy, and if I could check Ryan's email for a picture they had just sent to him.

I said that I didn't know Ryan's password, but he would be home soon and I would have him check as soon as we were settled.

I asked what all the fuss was about and Danny explained that he had been watching a little Pure History documentary on submarines in Pearl Harbor and the day of the attack in 1941.

He said that during the documentary they showed a picture that was taken two hours before the bombing started, and something about the picture had given him the chills.  He said that there was someone in this photo that we would recognize.

My father-in-law isn't much of a jokester, so I felt like his excitement and story was legit.  In the back of my mind, I thought - "This is probably a joke and it's probably President Obama's face doctored in somewhere."

So on my way to pick up Ryan and while we were driving home, I was going over countless scenarios in my head on what this picture could possibly be of and if we would really recognize this person who stood out so much to Danny.  As soon as we got home, we opened up the email and saw this picture:

 

I think all of you (unless you are new) know what my Hubby, Ryan looks like by now.

If you can't tell from the picture, he (well, him in his previous 1941 life) is standing in the front row of this picture in the bottom right corner.

What.  The.  Heck?!

Crazy, right?!

The sailor's head looks gigantic (because there is another sailor standing behind him), and his nose is bigger, but everything else is a spittin' image of Ryan!

Since yesterday afternoon we have both been bringing up this picture and how crazy the likeness between the two is.

Who the heck is this guy?  I wish there was someway we could find out.

Anyway, you may not be as fascinated by this as we are (and understandably so!) but I knew I had to share this.

I'd love to hear if you think this sailor looks as similar to Ryan as I do!

Take Luck,

LP

Thursday Thoughts

Linking up with my real life friend, Sar for Thursday Thoughts.

[1] I have been feeling funky with a headache, sore throat, and aching ears since last Thursday.  I would have thought by now that it would all go away on its own with Tylenol, rest, and being drowned by orange juice and tea.  But no.  I'm now debating on whether or not to go to the Urgent Care clinic or not.  Stay, or go?  Stay, or go?  I just don't know.

[2] While watching TV last night, Ryan and I happened to see a commercial for a financial company that advertised unsecured lending amount of $5,000.  Of course it declared hassle-free help and other things to lure customers.  I happened to look at the fine print, which read 116.78% APR.  We aren't in any need of an unsecured loan, mind you.  But good grief!  We were both speechless.

[3] I am really hoping that the weather man doesn't let me down this weekend and next week.  They are calling for snow in the lowlands and at sea level.  This lady is keeping her fingers and toes crossed, and making her husband cross his too.

[4] Last night I watched the movie As Good as it Gets.  I couldn't stop staring at Jack Nicholson's eyebrows. 

[5] I'm itching for a craft-tastic project.

[6] This week I've been taking my dearest into work at 5 am.  That's early.  I don't get to my desk and start working until 5:30.  I'm finding that my brain doesn't function so great at that hour and it takes me longer to get things done.  I'm really happy that tomorrow is Friday.

[7] Did I mention that I'm really happy tomorrow is Friday?

Take Luck,

LP

Homeward Bound

You may (or may not) recall that I watched some emotion-charged movies that made me weepy.  The difference between that and this experience I am about to share, is that then - I knew what I was getting myself into.

Yesterday, an oldie but goodie Netflix came in the mail.

Source

Yep, Homeward Bound.

I watched this movie countless times when I was younger.  Who doesn't love talking animals?  I asked Ryan if he was interested in watching it with me - and shockingly enough, he wasn't.  I went in the bedroom to curl up with my puppies and relive some childhood memories.

I soon realized that Chance (voiced by Michael J. Fox) is a boxer.  I guess I had never really paid much attention to the breed of dog he was before, and now that we own a boxer - I was surprised and even more excited to watch the movie!

Source

It didn't take long for me to be laughing out loud at the behavior/personality of Chance, but especially the voice-over and the things that Chance/Michael J. Fox was saying.  I was laughing because I could totally see Brock acting, speaking (if he could speak, ha!) or thinking like Chance.

Well.  The laughing out loud quickly turned into a huge lump in my throat, and every time Chance would do/say something that reminded me of Brock - my chin would quiver, the lump would rise, and tears would well up in my eyes.

At the rate I was going - I knew that I needed to totally fast forward through the (almost) end when Shadow falls into the muddy hole.

I made it to the end.  When all are reunited.

Commence ugly crying, lip and chin quivering, and both Brock and Sonny looking at me like I was a blubbering lunatic.

Wait...?

At that point I was really happy that I was watching this sans Hubby - because I would have never lived this moment down.

After I regained some composure, I came out into the living room all sniffle-y with tear soaked cheeks, said, "I'm never watching this movie again," and made a mental note to add Homeward Bound to my list of tear jerkers.

Take Luck,

LP

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

Even now that it's here - I am still having a hard time grasping the fact that it is now 2012.

Ca-razy.

We didn't get too wild last night.  Shocking, I know.

We had a nice dinner with friends, and then welcomed the new year at our house with games and lots of belly laughter.

Ringing in the New Year - Peters style

So, I've come up with a list of New Year's Resolutions and New Year's Goals.  And I thought if I wrote them out like this (versus just keeping them as a note in my iPhone) I may hold myself a little more accountable.

I made them two separate lists because I feel that while all resolutions are goals, not all goals are resolutions.  Hopefully that makes the same sense to you as it does me.  If not, whatev.

2012 New Year's Resolutions

- Walk the puppies at least 4 days per week

- Drink more water

- Drink less soda

- Attend newlife church services as regularly as possible

- Plan meals for each week prior to grocery shopping on Sundays

- Take more photographs/pictures

- Take advantage of hiking in the area

- Take vitamins everyday

- Paint fingernails

(I painted my nails red (Ruby Ruby) last night for NYE and loved/love it.  I can't help but feel a little sassy with red fingernails!)

- Make the most of each day

- Be thankful/grateful every day

- Make sure Ryan feels loved and appreciated each day

2012 New Year's Goals

- Start a family

- Complete two semesters (three classes) of graduate program so I will then be 90% finished

- Put a certain (to be determined) amount of moo-la each month into savings

- Accomplish a major-ish renovation on our house (i.e. new roof, new counter-tops and cabinets)

We'll see how these all pan out.

At church this morning, while writing out our prayer requests on our information card, I was a little stumped.  So, I wrote out some brief (and broad) statements:

- Start our family

- Make smart financial decisions

- Love and respect each other

- Health and safety of us and family/friends

Ryan whispered that he had a "good" one to write down.  He doesn't usually write anything down so I was very curious what this request may be.  I half expected him to write down, "I pray that Albert Pujols will be the worst mistake the Anaheim Angels ever made!"  But, when he gave me back the card, it said:

"I need to make eye contact with my Wife when we are having discussions."

How sweet and honest was that?  More honest than sweet, but still!

Before putting our card in the bucket, I wrote (Amen!) after Ryan's addition.

******

Did you make any New Years resolutions or goals this year?

Take Luck,

LP

Too Many Hats

I think I tried to wear too many hats today.

Wife.  Daughter. Sister.  Aunt. Puppy-Mommy. Employee.  Friend. Student.  Exerciser.

I did it all. 

At the end of the day, when I finally got home - my long day came crashing down in the form of an overwhelmed and quite grouchy Lauren. 

Who was crying.  

And needed to excuse herself before having a meltdown.

I think tomorrow I will try to wear less hats.

Do you ever feel like you've worn too many hats in one day?

Take Luck,

LP

Black Friday Commercial

Last year around this time, Target unleashed a hysterical commercial.

I remember the first time I saw it - I immediately thought of my best friend Tiff and her Mom who love Black Friday shopping.

I could totally see Sue preparing and training just like this lady.

I just saw it again on TV and was laughing out loud. 

I knew I needed to share.

So, tell me!  Do you venture out into the masses on Black Friday?

Take Luck,

LP

Should've Stayed in Bed

I should've stayed in bed this morning.

The first sign came at 6:30am like a 75-pound brick.

Or dog.

Ryan had to work today and was up early getting ready.

Normally (on the weekdays) I am up first, so I let the puppies out (Sonny out of our bed and Brock out of his cage) and they go do their business.  

On days when Ryan is up first, he lets Brock out of his cage and Princess Sonny usually stays with me until I get up.  On these days, the first thing Brock does is come barreling into our room and up onto the bed to say "GOOD MORNING!" to me.

This morning was no different.

Except he trampled me, scratched my face with his gigantic dog-talons, licked said scratch, and then sat on my head.

I guess that's his way of showing his undying love and affection for his Mama.

I should have seen the sign for what it was... A sign to stay in bed.

Because the day just kept on getting better and better.

First, I took a 30-minute drive up north to Bainbridge Island with my Mom to watch what we thought would be my niece, Jaiden's 10:30 soccer game.

We found the field, and there were no orange, Tracyton Tigers in sight.

After giving my older sister a little jingle, we learned that the game had been moved to 1:30.

Awesome.

Thank you, so much for letting us know.

I came home and relaxed my bod on the couch for several hours and enjoyed having control of the remote while my Hubby was at work.

I had been invited to an facial/skin care party/demo at a girlfriend's house and so at 3:00 I headed on over there.

At this gathering, was a girl that I went to high school with and haven't seen (or talked to) in a long time. 

I knew that she had gotten married recently, so I did what I thought was polite.

I asked her how married life was.

Mistake, mistake, mistake.

Her response was, "Well, uhh..."

Shit.

Enough said.  I should've stayed in bed.

Moving on.

The facial demonstration commenced and the lady passed around some cleanser.  It was lovely, refreshing, and smelt like kiwi.

Next up was the exfoliant.

I applied it to my face and immediately felt my face get very hot, and a fairly intense burning sensation.

I was sitting next to my friend's aunt who asked me, "Uhm... Are you ok?  You're face is really red."

I kind of laughed and said, "Oh, yes.  I'm fine!" and wiped the exfoliant off my beat red and hot face.

Next up, was some sort of mask that was soft and cool.  I thought it might calm my irritation.

No.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

More burning, more redness.

I excused myself to the bathroom and washed my face off with warm water, and my friend was kind enough to give me some calming Eucerin lotion - which helped a little bit.

The demonstration lady felt horrible and kept saying, "I'm so sorry - This has never happened before!"

Of course not.

I should've stayed in bed.

I am home now.  Safe.

My optimistic nature keeps me thinking that the day can't get much worse.

But it's only 5:00.

Take Luck,

LP

Tuesday Thinking...

Some thoughts have been swirling today.

[Sick]

Being sick is one thing.  Being sick while on travel is an entirely different story.  It sucks and quite frankly, is embarrassing.  I woke up yesterday morning feeling funky and ended up getting sick once we got to our conference destination.  My supervisor was kind enough to drag my patooty back to the hotel so I could hug the toilet in peace.

[San Diego Zoo]

Is amazingly amazing.  I spent the morning there on Sunday and even though I felt like a complete weird-o being there alone, amongst all the cute families... I enjoyed myself.  A lot of the animals seemed to still be snoozing.  I think the elephant in the picture was annoyed with his playmates.

[Smartphones]

We have yet to enter the smartphone world.  If you don't have a smartphone... Does that mean you have a stupidphone?  

[Contagion]

Hubby and I saw Contagion on Saturday before I flew to San Diego.  I enjoyed it, even though I was totally creeped out.  Do not see this movie if you are a germ-a-phob or have tendencies of feeling paranoid.  Is it ironic that during the movie, some old man was hacking up a lung in the row in front of us?  I think so.

[Day of Birth]

My birthday is coming up.  Is 26 still considered mid-20's?

[Nephew]

My approaching birthday = approaching nephew!  Only 5 1/2 more weeks (ish) til my sweet sister-in-law Cara will welcome a baby boy.  I. Can't. Wait.

[Morning Glory]

Recently watched Morning Glory on Netflix after my Tiffer recommended it.  I loved it.  I love Rachel McAdams, and definitely wasn't disappointed.  I even laughed out loud a little bit.

[Rudy Tudy]

I love sitting next to rude people in a meeting.  What's more - I love sitting next to rude people in a meeting who are people with power/authority, and think its OK to be rudy tudy because of the powerfulness. I'm not positive but I think it is common courtesy to silence your cell phone/Blackberry while others are making presentations... Even if you are a Navy Commander.  Sheesh!

[Canadians]
I love how they say aboot.

That is all.

Take Luck,

LP

Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?

I was 15.  A sophomore in high school.

Washington is on Pacific Standard Time, three hours behind NYC (Eastern Standard Time), so when the planes hit the North and South towers at 8:46am and 9:03am, respectively - we were getting ready for school and watching it live.

I didn't understand.

I didn't even know what the World Trade Centers were, or that they even existed.

I remember feeling confused, and like I said - I didn't understand what was happening, why it was happening, or what it all meant.

I felt like - I should be asking my parents some questions.

But I didn't know what to ask.

I do know that I have two vivid memories from that day.

[1] Sitting in Mr. Tebo's Biology class.  He was the only teacher that day that let us watch the news coverage.  I remember him saying:

"You deserve to see this.  This is going to change everything."

He was right.

[2] The athletic department cancelled all games/matches for that evening.  I remember immediately feeling a little WTF-ish.  

Again, I did not understand the gravity of the events that took place.  I did not understand that the world was standing still.  I guess that included a girl's soccer game.

I am 25 now.

I grasp 9/11 and the impact it has had on our country and on our people. 

It's funny - I never knew the towers existed before.  I never noticed them in TV shows or movies.  Now, whenever I see them on TV shows or films that were made pre-2001... I notice.  I notice and a little piece of heart string tugs a little bit as if to remind me - they aren't there anymore.

I read everything I can on 9/11 and the stories surrounding it.

I feel there is still more for me to understand.

Take Luck,

LP

Stylin' Saturday

Linking up with Wendy at Tales from the Motherhood for some Stylin' Saturday tips.

Meet my 3-year old niece, Kennedy.

She is my inspiration for today's Stylin' Saturday.

We had a birthday dinner for my Mom and Miss Kenny showed up wearing this:

A lovely hand-me-down flower girl dress, silver headband, and black patent leather boots.

Hot.

She's the cutest thing ever, so at least she's got that going for her.  Kenny recently embraced being a girly-girl.

Obviously, a fabulous hair day.

Posing with Grampa.

Before giving Uncle Ryan the stink eye.

But she got over it - and LOVED him again.

Patent leather boots complete any formal-wear ensemble.

Take Luck,

LP

Football Bust

My Dad is a die hard Husky fan.  Die hard.

He has been a season ticket holder and Tyee member now for 78 years.

Just kidding.

Not that long, but a long time.

On Saturday, Daddio was unable to go to the season opener against Eastern Washington - so he offered up his tickets to Ryan and I, and we accepted.

We headed over to Seattle and planned on having lunch with Mom, Debbie and Dave, and showing them around Pike Place Market before heading to UW.  We ate lunch, and decided we better just head to the stadium since we were unsure where we'd find parking (and not pay out the wazzu for it).  After searching for awhile, we finally found a parking garage that was a good mile and a half from the football stadium.

By this time, we were already late and clearly were missing kickoff.  We walked through UW's beautiful campus and I had an extra bounce in my step because I really had to pee.  Ryan kept telling me, "We're almost there!  We're almost there!" and finally - we were.

I feel it is appropriate here to mention that I feel like I am always sharing stories that are dramatic or seem dramatic by the way I tell them.  I am not a dramatic person.  So I apologize if you find yourself thinking I'm a drama queen.

Since we were so late (ahem, 45 minutes late), there was no one waiting in line to enter the stadium.  We strolled on up with our tickets and I put my bag/purse on the table to be checked out without a second thought.  Because we were so late, there were oodles of ticket-scanners and bag-checkers just standing around.

Two girls (both were around 20 years old) looked in my bag (where I of course had my camera) and one immediately said:

"Uh, honey... This camera has a detachable lens.  You can't bring it into the stadium."

My response was, "First of all, I am not a honey.  And second of all, why not?"

She replied, "Because it has a detachable lens.  I'm sorry, honey"

I had to pee.  Really bad.  And we had just booked it a mile and half.

"Do not call me honey.  Are you telling me I need to walk this back to the car in order to come in?"

Her last words, "Yeah, honey.  I'm sorry."

"STOP CALLING ME HONEY!  Let's go, Ryan."

I also gave her the look.

I don't know about you, but someone who is younger than me, is technically in a position of "power" calling me honey, and in a totally condescending tone - really pissed me off.  

I am not an angry person.  I don't usually get mad.  Even Ryan made a comment that that was the first time he had seen me raging mad.  Or mad period.

We turned around and trudged back to the car... Moping.  And mad.

And I still had to pee.

I made the mistake of calling my little sister while I was still fuming, and while she tried to offer suggestions that I didn't want to hear - I got even more angry and hung up on her.

I don't do things like that.

Then I started worrying about what Daddio would say.  I figured he would be mad at us for being late, for everything that had happened, and for us deciding it wasn't worth walking three miles to drop the camera off at the car and going back to the stadium.

We talked about this whole thing the whole way home, and are still talking about it today.  We've come to the conclusion that if I didn't get so mad, and we were thinking more clearly, we could have possibly come up with a few alternative options.

[1] Find another entry gate.

[2] Show the stupid honey girl that I was not carrying any other lens - let alone a super-sonic telephoto lens that could produce any super-awesome pictures.

Like I said earlier, I apologize if this (or anything else I write) seems overly dramatic.  I just tell it like I feel it.

And now that I've written it down... I can move on.

Probably.

Take Luck,

LP

Open Letter

Dear Washington State University,

I was raised to loathe you.  And loathe you, I did.

Cougs are the enemy.

However, when a graduate school opportunity presented itself to me at your institution, I put my loathing aside, convinced my Dad that the world would not end if one of his children was associated with WSU, enrolled, and overall have been pretty happy with my experience.

Until today.

On August 11th, just 11 days before the start of the fall semester, the Engineering and Technology Management Department announced that they are hiking tuition from $509 per credit to $680 per credit.  As a result, I had to make a decision to fork over a large amount of money to continue my semester and program as planned or decide to withdraw from one of the two classes I was registered for.

After much deliberation, I decided that withdrawing from one class was my best option, and one that made the most sense for me.  Because of this decision, I have to tack on one more year in your program.

Can't wait for Fall 2012 when you jack up your tuition fees to $825 per credit.

Thanks a lot, a-holes.

Take Luck,

LP

Rotten Groton

I spent the last week in Groton, Connecticut.  They don't call it Rotten Groton for nothing.

This was my third work trip in six weeks.  Needless to say I am beyond happy to be home and have all this traveling behind me.  I was only gone for six days, but it felt like six months.  Unlike my first two trips, this trip was an actual working trip and critical to the Navy.  Also unlike the first two trips, I was traveling with a group of people that I actually work with.  Even though traveling alone is lonely, it is so much easier than traveling in a big group.  Trying to coordinate rental cars, transportation to meals, and who is driving where and who is in which vehicle is just a cluster-you-know-what. 

We headed east on Sunday, and it only took us 16 hours to get from here to Groton.  We had some weather delays at Dulles, but were finally able to fly into Providence and then made the hour drive south.  The transition from Pacific to Eastern time is never easy - especially when you don't get in until midnight.  The alarm going off on Monday morning was not a welcomed sound. 

The purpose of our trip was to go on-board one of our boats (submarines) for a validation of their equipment.  This year we validated the USS New Mexico.  Since we manage the configuration for one particular class of submarines, they are all the built same.  Last year we validated the North Carolina and the New Hampshire.  When we stepped on-board, in some ways I felt like last year was last week.

My teammate/partner, Jerry and I got to validate in the engine room, and that was more than fine by me.  It is quiet and the air temperature was cool and comfortable.  Some other areas of the boat are really crowded, really hot and really stuffy.  This whole validation is one big scavenger hunt, and as a group we were looking for 2,500+ different parts or pieces of equipment.  Normally scavenger hunts have some sort of prize, and this was no different.  The only difference was that the prize was finding the part, and hoping that the information on the part matched what was listed on your information sheet.

Since I am quite a bit younger than Jerry, with better/stronger eyes and a slimmer, more limber body, I did a majority of the crawling around the first few days.  I think it is safe to say that I could earn a Masters in identifying valves and a PhD in using a flashlight and mirror to read the label plate information off these valves backwards and upside down.  That is no easy task, folks.  Not to mention contorting my body into the strangest positions to get to the valves in order to read them.

After breathing in all the recycled air on the airplane, in the hotel, and on the boat... I was not too surprised when I started feeling funky.  The funk quickly progressed into a nasty sore throat and after Wednesday, it was Jerry who was doing most of the crawling and calling out of part numbers.  I lost count of how many times I was told, "You look terrible."

I didn't care.  Terrible was how I felt. 

I'm one of those people that doesn't really like to take any medicine for stuff unless I really have to.  But since I wasn't just sitting at my desk all day, and sure as hell wasn't going to use sick leave and sit at the hotel all day - I went to Target to get some supplies to try and help.  While at Target, I had two interesting experiences.

First, I saw a woman using her bra as a cell phone holder.  She literally pulled her shirt away from her body and stuck her iPhone in her bra.  

Weird.  And kinda gross.

The second happened while I was waiting in line to pay for my goods.  An older man in front of me was buying a frozen pizza.  He asked the cashier, "If the pizza is thawed by the time I get home - can I return it?" 

What?  What kind of question is that?

Our days on the boat were long, long, long.  I'm not used to being in my steel-toed boots all day.  I can't even begin to count or guess the number of times I got turned around on the boat and was trying to figure out which side was port, and which was starboard.  And I absolutely can't tell you how many times I whacked my head, knees or elbows, or scraped my back on something after being squatted down in my search.  My sore throat somehow gravitated north and before I knew it, I was (oh, still am!) all congested and felt like I needed to prick my noodle with a pin to relieve the pressure.

On Friday afternoon, our team lead started talking about the next validation.  I told him I didn't want to hear the words "the next one" for awhile.   

My co-worker, Peggy and I got to fly home on Friday evening.  We flew from Providence to Detroit.  When we got to Detroit we had to walk to a different terminal than we arrived in.  To get to this other terminal we walked through a tunnel.  The tunnel walls were changing colors, and music was playing in the background.  As we were walking through, Peggy said, "This is what I would imagine it is like being on LSD."  It was pretty psychedelic. 

We landed at SeaTac at midnight and it was nearly 2:00 AM by the time I got home.  The last thing I was thinking about before falling asleep was how happy I was to be home with my hubby and pups, and that I had been awake for 24 hours.

What a way to end the trip.

Take Luck,

LP

Some Thoughts

This was an interesting week in many ways.  Some good, some bad, some weird.

Here are my thoughts. 

[Teddy]

As I mentioned, Miss Teddy Ruxbin has been staying with us this week.  It's a good thing she is so stinking adorable and sweet, because she is as crazy as she is adorable.  She has been following me everywhere I go and I have tripped over her little body about 29 times.  I know one little lady (Sonny, not me) who is probably ready to resume her throne as queen of the Peters castle.

[Ryan]

Poor hubby.  He started the week working 10s. The 10s turned into 12s.  The 12s turned into 14s.  I don't even know what to say when I pick him up from work.  "Hey honey.  So uhh, how was your day??"

[Alice in Wonderland] 

We watched Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton version) one night this week.  I love this movie.  Ryan and I were talking about all the "fun words" in the flick like Jabberwocky, Bandersnatch, Vorpal Sword, Futterwacken, and Frabjous Day

[Work]

Was good this week.  I was busy, productive, and felt as if I really contributed.  Let's just say I don't always feel that way.

[Travel]

I have one more trip.  For the last four weeks I have been home one and traveling the next (you can read about my experiences at Fort Huachuca here and here and also about Washington, D.C.).  It is really starting to wear on me.  On Sunday, the saga continues as I head to Groton, Connecticut for the week to validate one of our boats.  I can't wait to be on the boat for 10+ hours a day, in the East Coast heat and humidity, crawling through the tiny and awkward spaces in my coveralls.  Can you feel the sarcasm? 

[School]

The fall semester starts in 17 days.  I got my Engineering Statistics textbook in the mail on Tuesday and wanted to cry after looking at the first chapter.  Enough said.

[Tiffer & Ryan]

Tiffanie and her hubby, Ryan will be here in 11 days.  Yup, 11 days!!  I have an itinerary all planned out to maximize their stay and experience in Washington.  I cannot wait!  

[Books]

Since the Spring semester ended in May, I have been reading like a mad woman.  So far, I have read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Stieg Larsson series); House Rules (Jodi Picoult); The Other Daughter (Lisa Gardner); The Help (Kathryn Stockett); The Hunger Games Trilogy: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins); and just finished Ape House (Sara Gruen).

[Sneezing]
Yesterday while eating my lunch I felt some sneezles coming on.  I think I must be allergic to work.  Anyway, when I got to my bag-o-carrots, the sneezles came.  There is no way to avoid pain while sneezing and eating or swallowing carrots.  No way.

I think its good to reflect every now and again.

And lucky you.

You get to read about it.

Take Luck,

LP

#1 or #2

Today was the first day of training on Performance Based Logistics (blah bla blah bla blah...).  It took going through four (yes, four!) security checkpoints just to get to my classroom.

On our first break I decided to visit the little lady's room and laughed out loud at something I saw.  On the inside of the stall door was this sign:

 

I had to read it twice to make sure I understood correctly. 

Up for #1.

Down for #2.

It actually said #1 and #2, people!!

I was happy that I was in there alone, because other bathroom patrons would have probably been wondering why laughter was coming from my stall.  

After I got over the immature-five-year-old-giggles of the diagram and its verbiage, I thought the idea of this toilet flusher was completely genius and was really quite surprised that I had never seen this before (especially since Washington is so green and Earth-conscience).  I am always paying attention to signs and enjoy find those ones that make you think twice, or make you look twice.  This was definitely one of them, and just might top the list.

Have you ever seen anything like this?... Or ever seen any weird/bizarre signs that made you think or look twice?  

Take Luck,

LP

Table for One

It has been a day.

Since I will be in training for the next five days down at an Army base in Arizona, today was a travel day.  I have been dreading, and I mean da-read-ing this trip since I first signed up for it many months ago.  Needless to say that when last night rolled around and I had to accept the fact the time had come, I was not in the happiest or highest of spirits.  But, in the words of my sister-in-law Haley, it is what it is so I had to put on my big-girl-britches and buck up.

My trip to the airport and flight into Tucson went smoothly.  I am always very apprehensive and nervous about traveling to places that I have never been before.  I'm sure a lot of people feel like that too.  Whenever I travel for work it seems like I have a really hard time adjusting to being away from home, being away from Ryan and the pups and sleeping in another bed.  There were two particular reasons why I was dreading this trip a little more than others.

[1] Fort Huachuca is about an hour and a half south east of Tucson in Sierra Vista...

...Yup.  About 20 miles from the border of Mexico.

Awesome. 

 [2] About a week ago I received an e-mail at work from someone important that had the subject title: Monsoon Season Warning.

Doubly awesome.

The e-mail warned that I am coming to Ft. Huachuca in the midst of monsoon season in Arizona, and it gave some info on what we should expect weather-wise.  The list was nothing short of flash flooding, violent winds, violent thunder storms and dust storms (which I recently learned are called a "haboob").

I thought to myself, "Gosh, can this trip get any better before it even starts??"

The drive down was pretty uneventful.  The Nissan Versa that is my rental car has the get-up of a pumpkin, so trying to drive 75 mph down I-10 was interesting.  I drove through bouts of rain and lightening, but made it to the base unscathed.

As soon as I drove onto the base, I got another sign that this is going to be a good trip.

  Joy of joys.

I was quite hungry by this time, and feeling pretty down.  I hopped in the Versa and headed down the main drag to find some dinner.  Olive Garden was calling my name.

I walked inside, and the hostesses greeted me warmly.  They asked the usual, "How many?" and I plainly responded, "Just one.  A table for one, please."  Then she gave me a very pitiful look and put the other menu she had in her hand back down on the desk. She stopped back by my table for one twice while I was eating to ask, "Are you doing ok, honey?" in a very "I'm so sorry you are sitting by yourself and reading a book at dinner" kind of way.  I felt like one of those elderly men or women who come to restaurants by themselves because their partner has passed away.  And then I felt like one of those creepy guys who goes to their staple-restaurants to people watch and schmooze (aka: make everyone really uncomfortable).

After a disappointing dinner, I headed over to Walmart for a few things and it quickly became one of the most interesting trips to Wally World that I have ever experienced.  

I am notoriously (at least with Ryan) to be a really bad line-picker.  I swear, I could pick the shortest line, and it is the slowest line.  Anyway, tonight was no exception.  I got behind a lady who had a good amount of items in her cart, but its not like I was in a big hurry to get back to my hotel room, so I figured - whatev.  I soon realize (after I put my 3 items on the conveyor belt) that this woman has separated her items into "normal" and those items that need to be "price adjusted based on her large-o stack of competitor coupons."

Still, no biggy.  I am in no hurry.

The woman behind me, however.  Was in a hurry.  

Her ice cream was going to melt.

This woman started throwing b-words, s-cans and f-bombs like it was nothing.  And I was caught in the cross-fire.  The woman who was asking for the price adjustments heard it all and got quite "frazzled" and at one point gave the cashier the wrong coupon.

Oh, boy.

I'll spare the details of the cat-fight, because I surely don't usually use the words that these ladies were using... But sheesh.  Incredible.  I don't think I've seen anything quite like it.

I need a Tylenol.

Take Luck,

LP   

Love Letter

Dear Mr. Peters,

We just had a riveting discussion on the terminology used to describe a baseball bat, and the difference in the terminology used to describe a golf club.

Just so we're clear, neither of the words heel or toe are involved when describing a bat.

Your toe is a bat head and your heel is a knob.  

If we were to use terminology like you crazy golfers, baseball and softball coaches alike would be using phrases such as "Keep your toe up," and "Throw your heel at the ball."  

That could get really confusing.  

Can you imagine kids' reactions when hearing these coaching tips?  They would probably take the advice literally and either be prancing around like ballerinas in the batter's box with their toe up, or walking on their heels to "keep their toes up."  And then, they might try karate kicking the ball as it is being pitched toward them to "throw their heel at the ball."

Silly, Ryan.

I know you were just kidding, but I wanted to document and remember this conversation.  I love our discussions and debates about the most random stuff.  I love being silly with you. 

And I like when I'm right. 

Muahaha.

Take Luck,

LP

Squirrel Crossing

I don't know about you, but when I was 15 and taking driver's ed, I was taught to not brake or swerve for small animals that may pop out into the road.  Also, he told us that if you were ever faced with a deer in the middle of the road, to "aim for the butt" so you increased your chances of missing it (as it hopefully walks away).  Luckily, I have never been faced with a deer in the road, but it actually is pretty good advice, even when it came from a coo-coo driver's ed instructor.

So, this morning at oh-dark-5:00, when I was driving into work - not once, but twice did two small and squirrely squirrels dart out into the road.

I had just turned onto Brownsville Highway when the first mister (or missus perhaps) darted out.  I really wish I was being secretively videotaped so I could see the look on my face and my subsequent reaction to the squirrel.

It went something like...

"Oh no! Oh no! Go! Go! Go mister squirrel!  Ruuuun!"

I was banging my open hand on the steering wheel, bouncing up and down in my seat.

  Phew.  He (or she) made it.

I continue on the road to work and I get up the hill - and oh, dear.  Another one.  I saw this one coming from awhile away, and he (or she) was totally content with sitting in the middle of my lane, noshing on whatever treasure he (or she) had found... Totally not concerned with the approaching vehicle.

Getting closer...

"No, not again!  Get out of the way, ya squirrel!  Go!  Go!  Ruuuuuun!"

More open hand banging.  More bouncing up and down.

Double phew.  I couldn't see where this apparently ninja squirrel ran off to.

But there was no mass in the road behind me, and I didn't go over any bumps.

There was no one on the roads with me at this hour.  So I must admit that I did brake, and I did swerve a teeny, tiny bit.  

I hit a cat once on my way to softball practice, and the experience was pretty traumatic...

I certainly didn't want two squirrely squirrels on my conscience. 

So, be careful out there.

Be alert!

Look alive!

And watch out for those squirrels...

Especially the ninjas.

Take Luck,

LP