Farewell TwoZeroOneOne

As this year comes to a close, like many bloggers I am reflecting back on what a roller coaster ride it's been!!!!! Instead of ringing in the new year with a glass of champagne and a long kiss from my fiance, I'll be ringing it in with my shipmates. Yes, that's right- I'm working on New Year's Eve. (pause for obligatory UGH!!!)

My sassy NYE 2010 dress!

2011 has been a pretty good year, to be quite honest. I kicked it off in true FSG fashion with a blur of a NYE 2010 bar crawl around Town Center in VA Beach, VA with my CRAZY roomates. The night ended with me tipping the the coat check girl [on the way out of Keagan's] in Euro's while patting her arm and insisting that she could exchange them at the bank the next day. While that was true, it was still pretty ridiculous that in my inebriated state I'd rationalized that action all together. However, the next day I felt great despite the copious amount of cocktails I consumed. My roomate, his wife, and her friend were a whole different story. They didn't move from the couch until about 8pm that night. Mrs. Roomate barely made it down the stairs as we headed out for the night and was passed out, standing up, leaning against her husband in the middle of the bar before midnight rolled around. Bless her heart.

Boo on dates. Yay for wine!

Since 2009 and 2010 were a very work-focused years, I did my best to make 2011 a year to focus on having a better personal life. Still growing out my hair from the massacre of a haircut  I received at OCS in September of 2008, it’s finally touching my shoulders. Yay! Also, I stuck with my running regiment [taken up with fervor on deployment] in preparation for races upon returning from deployment. And I looked forward to having my kitties back living with me, even though Mom tried her damndest to keep them. As for my love life, as I creep closer to 30 I am just not up for the dating game. Yeah, free meals are great. But the whole "does he like me?" "Where is this going?" and "Will he call this weekend?" shit didn't interest me. I had faith my time for finding true love would come. With that, 2011 began with me entering a very strange phase in my life. I was completely ok with being single. Sure, I was up for dates and meeting people but seriously. Spending time alone doing my own damn thing was just fine with me.

Big drink. Big jerk. Period.

Tired of the usual bar scene, I joined EHarmony a month before coming home from deployment. I figured I had nothing to lose. HA! After 500+ matches from EHarmony's match making morons, I gave up. Jobless, living in Mom's basement, baby-mama-drama, self centered, un-educated, can't-spell, delusional, not-as-funny-as-they-think, wanna-see-me-naked-on-skype, stand-me-up-for-dinner LOSERS are NOT MY SCENE!!!! Seriously. I want my money back for all the dumb ass message and shit I had to read just to click [for the 500th time] "Close Match". For more details on my EHarmony experience, click here and prepare for a good laugh.

We <3 Happy Hour!!!

Beer pong on a Monday night...classy!

Bro <3

In the spring, my roommates and I parted ways (sniffle sniffle) and I moved into my very own posh little apartment downtown. FINALLY! My own place again! Now, if I did meet a guy I wouldn't have to preface an invite in with: "Oh, yeah. Sorry about those other two dudes here in the apartment. Don’t mind J- he likes to walk around naked.  And don’t touch Steve’s Leggo’s. Or any of the rest of his stuff. He’ll break your hand off. Yes, we all live here. Yes that's a beer pong table in the hallway.  No, we're not shagging. We just live together. Seriously."

1 Slampiece, 2 Bros

"Let's cut in line! We're Ensigns!"

Along with the new apartment came a new group of friends- some old, some new…including a guy named Ben. We met on March 4^th, the night before I moved in to the downtown apartment. He walked in from a long day at work, still in his flight suit, flight jacket, carrying his flight bag, and hair a little messy from removing his cover. A total set up by our mutual friends and it definitely worked! Originally, he was set up to be my blind date to the 2011 Supply Corps Ball. But I wound up deciding against going because I was sick of my coworkers. Plus I was honestly unsure I was ready for a 'set up' in an environment where I was very likely to drink my face off like I did at the Ball in '10 (see pic on left) and ultimately make a fool of myself. I might as well preface the evening with "Hi, thanks for agreeing to be my date for the night.  After lots of drinks because I'm nervous, food to soak it up, more drinks because I am tired of being around my colleagues, dancing because we're wasted, and then even more drinks to cap the night in a classy way...I hope you're ready to take me home for a good time ...to hold back my hair while I vomit 'round the clock. You are? Ok, great. So can I get you a Scotch on the rocks? Perfect..."

Most beautiful ring & place ever!!!!

Anyway, he said “Hi, I’m Ben” and my heart went squish. The following Monday, he came to help hang curtains in the windows and we ordered Chinese takeout for dinner. And yes, I could have done it myself; but as I found out, he looks much better (and more confident) with power tools in his hands than I do.  That Friday, I had duty so he waited around after work for a few hours and came for a tour of the ship I’m stationed aboard. The next night, he accompanied me [as a “wingman”] to a work party. We had our first kiss later that night as I whipped up a late night snack of Kraft Mac&Cheese (secret ploy to extend our evening since the party food kinda sucked). Whoever said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach is a genius because one Easter celebration, one marathon, countless dates, a few golf games, a winging ceremony, two weddings, a DC trip, and one move across the country, and a trip to Wyoming later he proposed on my birthday on his family’s gorgeous ranch in Pinedale, Wyoming. Swoon.

This video was taken right after he proposed...

A wedding book + coffee = perfect!

Now we’re up to October of 2011…we’re engaged, and Ben is now living in Ventura, California where I’ll be joining him in June of 2012. Hmpff! The distance sucks, especially with a 3 hr time difference but I’m learning to channel my energy in a positive way- through exercise. Gearing up for another ½ Marathon in the Spring of 2012. It’s a great way to have fun and trim down for the wedding, right?! Also, my ship has now been in a maintenance period for approximately 7 months. There’s no water under the keel, no rudders, no shafts, and it’s infested by thousands of dirt-bag union laborers who can’t meet a single deadline to save their life. Consequently, the morale of the crew is really declining because of the poor working conditions but at least it’s finally cooling down from the steamy temperatures we experienced this summer. Some spaces inside the ship honestly reached temperatures in excess of 120 degrees. BLECH!!!!!

The second week of November was a sad one at work- the Commanding Officer of my ship died unexpectedly. The crew was devastated- he was a great man and had a lasting impact on the ship despite his short time aboard.  Slowly, we recovered and moved forward carrying his memory with us. The same day of his passing, Ben was able to surprise me with a quick overnight visit. His squadron was turning over a plane to another squadron and Ben volunteered to man the flight. What a wonderful surprise on such a sad day!!! A few weeks later came Thanksgiving of 2012. Ben flew in and my parents drove up to visit me for the first time in two years and also met Ben for the first time. Dinner was perfect and everyone got along great! Success!!!!






   Christmas of 2011 was spent with Ben’s family in Somerset, Pennsylvania. Although it wasn’t the white Christmas we’d hoped for, it was cold, and God blessed us with a wonderful day of love and family. Lucky for us, there was just enough snow on the mountain the day after Christmas so I had my very first skiing lesson. Naturally, I managed to injure myself as I do almost every time I try something new. This time it was a nice little thumb and shoulder sprain.

Love this!

Cinnamon Ornaments!!!

...and survived the day!

Look at me...I'm vertical!! 

...barely.

Now it’s 31 December and here I sit at work reflecting on what a great year it’s been. Not my ideal place to do such pondering, but I work with what God gives me. I have been truly blessed this year with a wonderful family, friends, career, and now a fabulous man to spend the rest of my years with…to make our own family and lasting memories. Cheers to another blessed and happy year.

NYE 2008 @ Seville Quarter in Pensacola, FL.

Happy New Year!

Ok ok...I wasn't always an FG!

Ok, I'll admit it. I wasn't always an FG... pause for reaction.

As a youngster, I definitely had my share of "what the heck was I thinking?" moments.

Let's recap, shall we?

Yay! Little me!

Oh, Mom! We weren't living out west. Why? Why would you do this to me?!

Moreover, why these bangs? Seriously...it's almost child abuse!!!

So the bangs grew but the skirt got shorter...hehe!

Apparently, my freshman brain thought THIS was good looking. (gag). He was far too cool to acknowledge me, of course. Three years after he graduated, I bumped into him at Pensacola Beach. Working as a delivery guy for an ice company...and living in a trailer. Awesome. 

Four years later, I brushed off my awkwardness...

Or so I thought... 6years later, thanks to the US Navy, I got another stellar haircut.

Complete with bangs. 

Four years later...I've kicked aside the awkwardness. Almost! :)

Lucky for me, I have a guy who loves me just the way I am. 

And he's stuck with me forever. And ever. Amen.

So in conclusion, it's ok not to be a "Regina"...cause those byotches will NEVER be FG's!!!!!!!!

Mean Girls...Bless Their Hearts!

With my 10 year High School Reunion around the corner, the Mean Girls 2 [horrible] sequel moved me to think about who I was back then. Honestly, I was somewhere between the "Desperate Wanna Be's" and the "Girls Who Eat Nothing". It would explain why I was skinny...and moderately popular [because I was skinny and cute and everything I wore was tight.] But all-in-all, high school was absolutely positively stupid. The redhead in the beginning of "Can't Hardly Wait" has it right. Learn your lessons, and just move forward!

But before we review my progress, let's recap the Mean Girls series. The first movie was absolutely hilarious and awesome! Lindsay Lohan was adorable, Rachel McAdams was really mean and manipulative, and Tina Fey rocked cause she was "a Cady". In case you haven't seen it, click here for a recap. The second one was all wrong, and bad! For starters, they made a blonde girl the "Cady". BLONDES are NEVER the "Cady". Especially not when the first "Regina" was a blonde. I get that the writers were trying to make it different from the first MG...but they just shouldn't have made it. Period.

What the real tragedy is in this kind of story is that it's all LIES!!!!!! The "Cady's" will never reign over the "Regina's". Those pretty little bitches will always win in high school...and maybe even college. But then the real world steps in right around graduation time.

Hooraaaayyyyy Reality!!!!!!

 ...It bitch-slaps-everyone who made it there with a nice dose of reality. The "Cady's" have luckily been studying and sharpening their real-world skills while the "Regina's" have been busy. Being the same. So the real winners are usually the "Cady's" because they grow up to be FG's.

Don't believe me? See My Next Post...Recapping Me.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

For my birthday this year, my sweet boyfriend took me to Wyoming (i.e. The Most Beautiful Place on Earth!). We are visiting his grandparents at their ranch. So far things are off to a good start. We've never spent more than 2 days apart in almost 7 months. Soooo after 5 days of missing him, the aiport was bound to be an embarrassing scene..haha! See how this went:

Unsuspecting boyfriend...

Then he sees me...barreling toward him 

Needless to say, I was excited to see him!

...and embarrass him with lots of PDA!

Of course, the kitties were missed...but they'll make the next trip. Whether boyfriend likes it or not!  heh!

Tootaloo Cariboo

B leaves for California this weekend. He will be there sans moi until May of 2012. Darn military!!! LUCKILY his little cross-country voyage includes a little stop in Wyoming...where I'll be joining him to celebrate my 27th Birthday. Then it's farewell until Thanksgiving. Hmpff! To keep things light, since our distance is only temporary, I have made a few cartoons... enjoy :)

As you can see, I'm not a fan of his departure.

So maybe I'll just sneak me and the kitties in the UHAUL :)

New Cartoon!!!!!!!!!

So I finally installed my Bamboo drawing pad...and did my first cartoon. More to come later. Enjoy this little one first! hehe

Isn't LMF cute??

30 Day Photo Challenge

365 Days. 365 Photos. Yeah. Right. That's gonna take some serious dedication on my part to complete such a tasker. But 30 days? Bring it!!! I did snag this idea from a blog I admire: Story of My Life. The author is a lot like me in her fancy for being a successful domestic diva; gorgeous, sassy, likes to whip up delicious treats [sometimes for others], loves her family, friends, and most of all her man!

So, 30 Days. 30 Photos. This can't be too difficult since the next 30 days are going to quite an adventure. B is transferring very soon to our future home of sunny California. Yep. I said "our". Such a big step and I can't wait! So from October - March we'll be doing the distance thing. These photos should keep things fun since he's a regular reader of this oh-so-fabulous-blog. What will these pics be of? Let's see....

Day 1. Self Portrait
Day 2. What I wore
Day 3. Clouds
Day 4. Favorite Color
Day 5. Someone I love
Day 6. Childhood Memory
Day 7. Something New
Day 8. Technology
Day 9. Faceless self portrait
Day 10. Something I made
Day 11. Something Fun
Day 12. Close-up
Day 13. From a distance
Day 14. Flowers
Day 15. My shoes
Day 16. What I ate
Day 17. On the shelf
Day 18. In my bag
Day 19. Where I slept
Day 20. What I read
Day 21. Pretty pattern
Day 22. Trees
Day 23. Sunset
Day 24. A smile
Day 25. A sunflare
Day 26. Something old
Day 27. Afterdark
Day 28. Daily routine
Day 29. Purchased
Day 30. In motion

And for the record, B...you will likely end up as #26 since you made fun of this whole project. So there! =P

MANswers

The day after Irene, B and I spent the day at his place with his roommates. An AMC. As the afternoon passed, we were bumming around the living room completely engrossed in MM. They are now just as hooked as B and I are. Yay! First it's fun because anytime we finish an episode via Netflix, we finger-to-nose to see who'll click "Play Next Episode". Really mature, right? And second, now I have another gal to gossip about the drama of the show with. B likes the show, but for different reasons than me. I mean, when I gush about loving a character's wardrobe; there's really nothing for him to contribute to that. Then it's just a one-sided conversation and that sucks. I can do that all by myself! And it's completely fine that he doesn't smack his hands together and say "oh yes! her shoes are just fabulous!". Well, sometimes he does but he's certainly not serious.
 Also during our lazy afternoon MMM (Mad Men Marathon), the boys suddenly ganged up on the girls and vice versa and I learned a new word. "Manswer." What is a manswer? Let's explore, shall we?!

MANswer: an expected, sarcastic, and often not-quite-true response from a man that does not answer his lady's question.  (noun; adj; verb.)

I will get you!

Example #1
FB: "Oh since you're up can you get me another beer?"
FG: "Why? Am I your maid now?"

WARNING! WARNING! MANSWER ON THE WAY!
FB: "No, but you just look so sexy when you pop the top off the bottle."

TRUTH: He did not want to get up off the couch and tricked you with a complement! Beware of "MANswers" ladies... BEWARE!!!!!!

IRENE: The Little Hurricane That Could

"I think I can! I think I can!"

Hurricane Irene. She ought to be ashamed of herself. Why? You see, I'm a Florida girl and have survived a Category 4 hurricane so anything less than that is just a little ole' rainstorm with some wind-a-blowin. So her weak performance over the weekend proved that she was indeed the worst excuse for a hurricane I've ever seen.

Irene became a blip on our radars about a week ago. She whipped up into a nasty little Category 3 storm that set her sights on the east coast. Quite a pucker factor for The Carolinas through New England since none of these folks have seen a hurricane since Isabel a few years back. In traditional Navy fashion, no real concern was shown until about 48 hours before she was scheduled to arrive. Then it turned into an all out "holy-shit-get-the-F***-out-of-here" mass exodus. Therefore, 2nd Fleet fled the area on Thursday. By Friday night Irene had been downgraded to hit VA as a Category 1. Drats! I was counting on her to wreak enough havoc so that I could be flooded into my apartment for a few days and not have to go to work on Monday.  B stocked us up with enough water and snacks to last a week so we were certainly ready... and then the disappointment came slowly ashore.

"As you can see, conditions have begun to deteriorate"

First, we got our fill of screaming news reporters during breakfast. One of which included a streaker. Full frontal and all! The storm really wasn't that bad, but of course it's just awful when you've buried your feet in the beach sand, are shouting into the microphone, and we can't even see you- just a dark silhouette amidst a lot of wind and water. Seriously? You look really dumb standing in that kind of weather telling everyone on TV how dangerous it is and that they should really stay inside. Well, we're watching you act crazy. So why don't you come on in!!!

Irene caused her less-than-extreme havoc from Saturday on through the wee hours of Sunday morning. Torrential rain, somewhat gusty winds, gloomy gray skies, and panicky news reporters. B and I had ourselves a little Mad Men marathon all day.  The last time I spent all day in front of the TV was in 09 and I was super drugged up thanks to my wisdom teeth extraction. But this past Saturday [sadly] was not spent in a narcotic-laced-ice-cream haze. I was instead hiding from the storm with B, doing laundry, sipping cocktails, and glued to the drama of the 1960's Ad exec's and their endless string of cocktails, cigarettes, and illicit affairs...until about 2300. I fell asleep not caring anymore about the storm, wishing I had Joan's wardrobe, and just hoping I wouldn't see my dinner again. Darn you vodka!

In the morning, the sunshine was peeking through the curtains (oof! hangover), the kitties were purring and snuggly, and alas it appeared that Norfolk and the Hampton Roads area was still in 1 piece. All in all, it wasn't a bad experience. We never lost power, ate delicious home cooked meals all day (including peanutbutter-chocolate chip cookies), I finished all of our laundry, and spent some QT with my sweet kitties and B.

Sunday was a beautiful day and led 99% of the HR residents to the conclusion that we'd COMPLETELY OVER PREPARED FOR THIS STORM. Irene was barely a hurricane as she came ashore for pete's sake! As B and I stopped for lunch supplies, I joked that it would be funny if we saw people in line to return water or other items like chain saws and extra batteries. So as we headed into Wal Mart, we walked past their customer service just to see if anyone would do something so ironic. The laughter that commenced was epic. I could barely keep my hands still as I snapped a pic and giggled. There it was. A few cases of returned water and a woman in line with a shopping cart containing a case of Juicy Juice. I'm not judging- but math wise, these people spent more in gas to return the item than they initially spent to purchase them. I think the 'cherry' on this Sunday would have been to see someone standing in line with a bag of half melted ice...drip. drip. drip.

"Yes ma'am. This certainly is the original ice that came in the bag."

*Side Note: Yes, I'm aware there was irreparable damage done by this storm in some parts of the country, but overall- the area I reside in and work in was not nearly as affected as it could have been. My mother was upset that I referred to Irene as a "joke".  But honestly- if a power outage is the absolute worst thing that went down with this storm, I think we can consider ourselves more than blessed that we dodged a bullet.**

New Design

New feeling, new design, new motivation...more to follow when I STOP feeling like I'm going to vomit all over this desk. 

Thank You, Fate!

Better you than me, pumpkin!

Today started out like most days off. Woke up, got some coffee, and signed onto Facebook. (I've accepted my addiction to social networking.) Scrolling through the updates to see what everyone is up to, I began to think about what I'll do with my day... I kept scrolling, and then I stopped. There it was. One of my ex's. Standing next to girl. With multiple chins.  

(cue the giggles)

Not much else says "you won" like seeing such a jerk with such a healthy, happy gal. It made my day. No, seriously. It did. And yes, I know it's not very Christian to laugh at someone else's misfortune. Then again he broke up with me via text message.

Shark Week

Dramatic Music. Antagonizing scientists. Obsolete places on earth. And there's a whole week dedicated to this... awesome. At least B is entertained. And Rachel too :)

Say "Sea Lion!"....yeah. That'll get a smile on his face.

Repel This!

Let me put this out there: I absolutely L-O-V-E The Man Repeller. While 90% of her style choices would look like absolute garbage on me, her funky fashion-forward looks are fantastic on her lean frame. She's so lucky to have such long legs and gorgeous hair- hell, she'd look good in a freaking potato sack!

Anyway, what I do want to address is the models in her recent post... (no disrespect to them or TMR for choosing the pics.) I just couldn't stifle my giggles as I read through her latest post. The expressions call for some C&S expressions added.

Are you shitting me? These pants belong on MC Hammer's wife's bridesmaids.  ("Can't marry this!" Duuh-na-na-na. Dadum! Dadum!)
No really. Why? Why the hell are parachute pants even being made? It's bad enough that certain branches of the military still think that pleated pants are a solid choice for ladies uniforms. Now they're actually being VOLUNTARILY PURCHASED?? Holy smokes!

No joke, I think my mother has this scarf...and this jacket. And so does Melanie Griffith. She got it off the set of "Working Girl". Hello, ladies. It's 2011 and life is too short for poor fashion choices.

 No, ma'am. Leopard print should be worn SPARINGLY!!!!!! Unless you're married to Ice-T, don't do it. It's just not fair to my eyes. But you work it, model girl. Strike that pose!

American Pickers is a show about people who rummage yard sales and flea markets for valuable treasures. Clearly, this girl found the best treasures of all! WINNING! A 'picked' over sweater paired up with Britney Spears' tossed aside jean shorts. The best part of this outfit [seriously] is her shoes. They are fun and sexy. However the model doesn't seem to think so, based on her "I look stupid and I know it" expression. Yes, dear. Yes you do.

NO ONE LOOKS GOOD IN A MULLET. Be it haircut or dress, it's bound to be a disaster. Look how pissed off the model is? I bet she was late to the shoot and they decided to stick her with the dress that all the on-time-models were like "Paha! i ain't wearing that garbage!"

Lulu- The Man Stealer

At Grandmas, missing  Chuck...

My cat, Lulu is a special one. She likes boys. A lot. Her first boyfriend was my good friend Chuck. She loved him and would physically throw herself at him. It was pretty funny. Sadly though, school ended and we all moved on so she had to leave Chuck although she missed him.

Then she moved in with her Grandparents and adopted the dog as her next boyfriend. But he was scared of cats so it didn't work out. Then Mom (i.e. moi) came back and moved Lulu and Leo to VA with her so Lulu was on her own again. Poor kitty.

Yeahhh, that was until I met B and we began dating. Then she whipped out a new bag of tricks trying to get his attention away from me. Seriously. She's such a flirt and it's so ridiculous! She will seriously wait until I've left the room and then begin rolling and sauntering her way towards him. First she'll ruuuub on all the furniture. Then innocently hop up on the end table and make her way along the back of the couch- ultimately ending her journey behind B's head. Then she'll commence rubbing her face and body all over the back of his head, on his shoulders, and on his hands. All the while, looking RIGHT AT ME as she does this little song and dance.

Ridiculous!

See?? Apartment tart!

When he's not at the apartment, she'll look around for him. Leo? Well, he just wants attention.

Leo likes him too, but most cause he likes having another man in the house.

Kitties DO decide when it's petting time...Lulu has appropriate timing. Leo does not. (bless his little heart!)