Valentine's Day Bunting

I had grand, grand plans to make a Valentine's Day wreath.

Then, in my "pack up ALL the stuff because we're outta here in 3 months" frenzy, I misplaced my glue gun.  All the boxes looked so neat and orderly.   I didn't want to disturb them.

So I took my 8 sheets of felt and made this instead.

I did have to open a box to find some yarn.

You win some, you lose some, I guess.  Those wreaths actually take a really long time.  This decoration took less than an hour from start to finish.

I love doing projects with felt because it's so darn cheap.  Any cute, inexpensive crafts I should try??  Remember, no sewing machine, please :)

Always the hillbilly

Sweater: Target // Skirt: LOFT // Jeggings/Boots: JCP // Scarf: gift 

I wore "denim" tights with a black pencil skirt.  I am a hillbilly.

Black pencil skirts are meant for nylons, real tights, and/or some high heels.

The reason I didn't wear my black leggings is because I don't like them.  I really like my brown ones.  But brown leggings with a black skirt?  I could practically see my mother cringing.

I bought the skirt in August.  This was the first time I've worn it...simply because I didn't know what to wear under it (my problems, they are many).

Oh, I don't like my black boots either.  Real shoes are out of the question, as you can tell by (very closely) examining that picture up there.

The story of the earrings.

I told Scott I wanted some more Tiffany.  He laughed.  Hmmm...I wasn't trying to be funny.

Sharing at The Pleated Poppy's WIWW, Wednesday Walkabout, and Random Wednesday

Downton Thoughts and Zero Dark Thirty

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Sunday, instead of watching the SAG Awards, we went to see Zero Dark Thirty (I totally forgot they were on...).

I had been putting it off for a few weeks, even though I knew Scott really wanted to see it.  We really didn't like The Hurt Locker, so I didn't have a whole lot of faith in Kathryn Bigelow this time around.

Zero Dark Thirty is a long movie at 2 hours and 37 minutes.  It's also a reallyreally good movie.  As Scott said, "There wasn't one moment where you're thinking 'This is boring'".  It jumped from scene to scene, event to event, pretty quickly and so it held my attention.  I have a notoriously short attention span when it comes to movies.

You, I hope, know what's going to happen at the end, but you don't want to turn away because you want to see HOW it happens.

Also, Scott was in Afghan-land when some of that stuff was going on.  The scene at Camp Chapman? He narrated that whole thing to me, telling me that's not what Camp Chapman actually looks like, that wasn't the way the meeting went down, etc, etc.  He was just a few miles away when that incident occurred in December 2009.

He told me they left a lot out, plus the government denies that much of it happened that way (See this article for information on the characters).  I guess we'll never know.  I do wonder how long it took Ms. Bigelow to do her research.  Probably been keeping her busy since The Horrible Experience That Was The Hurt Locker.

I found the movie to be fascinating and, in all honesty, it made me feel completely worthless concerning my career path.  I should've tried for the CIA.  I'm not doing enough to "protect the homeland".

And now I'm conflicted:  I am JLaw faithful, but now I like Jessica Chastain too.  Either could win Best Actress and I'd be happy.  As long as that Southern Wild movie doesn't win anything.

Onto Downton Abbey...

My Twizzler fell out of my mouth when Sybil died.  I couldn't believe Julian Fellowes did that to us (See Slate.com recap here).

I suppose now Tom is really going to go all revolutionary, and I'm curious as to what they name the baby.
Also, I think this will stall Mary's baby-creating efforts.  She just watched her baby sister die from a pregnancy complication that could have been prevented...had they listened to the good doctor, Dr. Clarkson.  Cora has every right to be ticked at Lord Grantham.  He made a bonehead decision based on rank/class, not medical knowledge.  Poor Sybil.  Poor Tom.  They seemed to be the "most unlikely to be doomed" couple.

This might cheer you up.

source

I am thrilled that Downton did some winning at the SAG Awards.

And if you don't watch Downton Abbey, I bet that paragraph up there was mighty confusing.

Seen any good movies lately?? Scott loves to go to the movies, and we live 5 minutes from the theater so we're there almost every week.   I usually wear sweatpants.

Seemingly...

It seems this was a really great outfit.  Unfortunately, I couldn't do it photographic justice when it was 17* outside.  My feet, in that snow, were cold.

Sweater: Express // Shirt: Gap // Jeans: JCP // Boots: Steve Madden // Scarf: gift

The color is a little distorted in that picture. Because the sun was setting, I brightened it up a bit so you could tell that my pants are blue jeans, not black jeans, and that my sweater is navy, also not black.

I'm such a cheater.

Oh, and any white spots are snow.

At least it was sunny that day.

It seems that my parents are trying to wear down my self-esteem.

They bought me a puzzle.  Last week, I decided, "I shall put this puzzle together..by tomorrow!"
That was as far as I got and then I gave up.  Then the clutter started to bother me and I stuffed it back in the box a few days later.  All that hard work gone to waste.  It's a shame.

It seems that Taken 2 wasn't nearly as good as the original.  I enjoyed seeing my buddy Liam Neeson mess people up, but the story line was a bit forced.  It was interesting to watch Kim use a fold-up map of Istanbul and a shoelace as a GPS though.  I could never do that.  He kept telling her to "go east".  I can't even "go right".

Do anything fun this past weekend?
I went to a 90 minute pilates class (I need one of those everyday, I do believe), made some stuff I had pinned, bought new sneakers, tried a new church...stayed indoors a lot.  The usual.

Oh, and I made marshmallow fluff.

It was everything I ever imagined it could be.

Sharing at:
YOLO Monday
Sami's Shenanigan's Weekend Update
This Weekend I...
Mingle Monday

High Five for Friday

1.  Did you know there are Alaskan towns that don't have running water?  Do you know what a "honey bucket" is?

source

I couldn't make this place up if I tried.

2. Last weekend, I got all caught up on Justified.  I could/would watch Timothy Olyphant all day long.
Scott loves the story line and Winona (that horribly foolish and terribly attractive woman).  I love Raylan.

3.  I actually got in some good workouts this week: "Body Blast", Pilates, Turbokick.  I'm trying to up my strength training, so I've even been trying the Pinterest workouts at home.  Cardio is where I'm not exactly shining right now.  What kind of workouts are on your schedule right now?

Source: backonpointe.tumblr.com via Kristin on Pinterest

4.  Over the summer, I stopped wearing earrings due to this cyst issue.  After months of fearing they would come back and/or my ears continuing to irritate me, I finally feel comfortable wearing earrings again.  That's positive, right?

(For the record, one did pop up in November.  It disintegrated on its own and hasn't come back.  I practically bathe my ears in peroxide these days as a precaution.)

5.  Also, a question.  Am I the only person who gets up 3 hours before she has to leave for work?  I leave at 8.  I get up between 5-5:30.  I need those 3 hours to putter around.  Scott thinks I'm insane.  Tell me I'm not alone (please).

Happy weekend!

High Five for Friday

Cookie Butter Blondies and #52WeeksofKindness

*First, yesterday's post may have made it seem like I'm some sort of Grammar Nazi.  I'm not.  I let multiple grammar mistakes go everyday...in my classroom.  It's not worth the battle.  The "yea/yeah" thing had just been bugging me for years because, in my experience, everyone thought I was the one with the problem.  I needed to get it off my chest.  

Also, I wrote that post in 20 minutes, proofread it thrice, published, re-read...and still saw mistakes.  Clearly we all have our strengths and writing on a whim is not mine.*

Anyway...

These blondies are an oxymoron.

There's a lot of "treats" out there that use healthy ingredients but usually the blogger baker insists it "doesn't taste healthy at all!"

That's nice, I always think.  They always taste healthy.

These blondies taste like they could be healthy....but they're not.

So I have no tagline to pull you in.  I was looking for something to do with a jar of Cookie Butter.  This  is what happened.

Easy? Yes. Tasty? Sure. Healthy? Eh. There's no added sugar or oil, so I suppose that's a plus.

Actually, yes, they are healthy.  They have eggs in them.  Protein.  We can call them healthy.

Cookie Butter Blondies
inspired by Nutella Brownies (Not a Nutella fan, so I used Cookie Butter.)

1 cup cookie butter
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs
10 T. all-purpose flour

In a bowl, whisk together the cookie butter, vanilla, and eggs.  You can warm the cookie butter first to make it easier, but not too hot or the eggs will "cook".

Slowly incorporate the flour until well-combined.

Spoon into a greased mini-muffin pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until browned on top.

Makes about 18 mini-blondies.

I'm early this week.  Kindness is kindness, no matter the day you publish it, right??

Speaking of baked goods, this week I took something to school for my co-workers.  Someone asked me last week if I was ever going to bring anything in to share again.  I took the hint.

Apple Butter Banana Bread went to school with me to be shared.  Because I buy bananas with the intention of consumption.  And then that doesn't happen. So I freeze them or bake with them.

Along with that, I made what I'll call Cookie Butter Fudge.  It was an experiment and turned out quite well (how can sweetened-condensed milk go wrong?).

Also, I gave away a Target gift card on Mrs. K's blog last week.  Abbey won and I was more than happy to send it her way.  Congrats Abbey!

Also, I need to start sharing some inspiring blog posts.  Kelly and Greg's paleo story was an awesome read.  Totally inspiring.  Check it out!

Did you do anything randomly kind this week?  This 52 Weeks project is changing my way of thinking, but it's not making me happier on a daily basis.  You'd think I'd be more willing NOT to curse the cold/snow/darkness or NOT to yell at the person driving 15 mph in an attempt to show my inner happiness and gratitude.  But that's not happening.

I think this is more than a mindset change.  Maybe I'll figure things out when I'm 51 weeks in.

A horrific grammar mistake

A long time ago, when I mentioned my biggest pet peeve, I lied.  I said that having my name misspelled drives me bonkers.  And it does.  But I found something else that bugs me more...something that has been bugging me since high school.

Something that makes me positively stabby.

Source: theloyalarmydaily.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Are you ready...?

When people type "Yea", instead of "Yeah".

They are two different words with two VERY different pronunciations.  

When you say "Yea." in response to "So, are you going to the post office today?", 

you are saying "YAY".  I'm betting that's not what you actually wish to convey.  Be it the mall, school, work, the grocery store, or a funeral, "YAY" is not the word you respond with concerning that question.

If you don't believe me, go to dictionary.com and listen to the pronunciation guides.  They put them there for a reason.  

Perfect example:

In high school, my school's football team gave shirts to their players.

On the back, it said:

FOOTBALL.

YEA.

So, really, FOOTBALL. YAY.

I pointed this out to everyone but NO ONE listened.  

They thought I was insane.  I thought they were idiots (and this is why I have no friends).

To this day, when I see my brother wearing that ratty old shirt, my blood boils.  Just a little bit.

Once the advent of Facebook came along, I noticed the uneducated making this mistake more and more often.  

Status update:  

"Going to the vet. My poor dog has a bladder infection :("

Comment:

"I'm so sorry. She's really old though, right?"

Response:

"Yea...."

NONONONO.  You do not respond to that with "Yay".  Now, I not only think you are an over-sharer (the worst kind of Facebook friend), I think you're an idiot.  Good for you.

I guess what sends me over the edge is that people seem to think this is okay.  

The your/you're and their/there/they're debates are widely recognized.

The yeah/yay/yea issue is ignored and passed over.  

It's insulting to those of us who know the difference between spelling and pronunciation.

Don't you agree?

Yea.  I know you do.

Random Wednesday @Because Shanna Said So

It's still January?

Awesome.  I love January.  I love winter.  The cold weather makes me so happy.  It's where I find my true bliss.  Just like how I enjoy watching Twilight movies and curling up with a 50 Shades book.

Uh, no.  Not at all.

Source: memegenerator.net via Kristin on Pinterest

I know a lot of you get excited at the prospect of snow, and rightly so.  Nothing wrong with that.  When I see peaceful winter scenes in Christmas movies, I think it looks appealing too.  Then I remember that snow comes with cold.  In order for snow to be maintained enough to stay looking pretty, it needs to be cold.  No one really wants to be cold.  They may want to live in that Christmas card scene for the month of December, but no one really wants to be cold, packed into snow and ice, for 5 months out of the year.

Actually...let's not count my husband when we're making that statement.

That's my hat.

He packs up his snowmobile and his survival gear and heads out into the woods for a day or two almost every week.  Because I allow this (and because I certainly am not going along), he tells me to go shopping.  We have a strange (but fair) relationship.

Anyway, I'm not sure what the point of this post is.  I think I'm depressed.  Like, truly.  I'm not sure how to pull myself out of this "funk".  You'd think, "Now, Kristin, rock bottom had to have been LAST year.  You know, when you had to spend the entire winter in Alaska by yourself while your husband was off (potentially) getting shot at."
Sure, I'll give you that.  Last year sucked.  Thank God for blogging.  It pulled me through.
But, it gave me some great expectations for this year.  However, it's still winter.  Not much has changed.  My 4th gosh-darn winter in tundra-land, and the 3rd gosh-darn winter I refuse to go outside.  The first year, I tried.  No more of that nonsense.

Anyway, I went to Target while he was fishing.  I knew it wouldn't make me truly happy.  I knew it wouldn't solve any problems.  But I went.  Because it's probably a good idea to leave the house at least once during the day, right?  Sure.

1. A brown sweater.  I wear stuff like this every day.  I can't wear non-sweater material in the winter.  Too cold here.  (I actually keep "second coat" in my classroom.  You know, like how Pam has "second drink" on The Office? It's the lighter coat I put on when I take my heavy coat off each day.)  Plus, this sweater was $8.  I'd be foolish not to buy it.

2.  Weeds. We are currently on Season 3 from Netflix.  Netflix doesn't work fast enough for this household.  Seasons 5 and 6 were $13 and $15, respectively.  Again, it'd be foolish not to.  If it contributes to my greater happiness (and it really does), I'm gonna do it.

3.  I was going to make a dip.  Haven't gotten around to it yet.

4.  I actually did need this tea.  We go through a lot of green tea.

5.  And, really, after listening to children of every age (birth through 18) act like miscreants*, running and shrieking and swearing through the aisles of Target, I needed this shot of caffeine.

*I understand that children are supposed to act like children.  However, I suppose that high school girls should not be running through the store, shouting and swearing at each other, though.

Did I need any of that stuff?  Not really.  Did it force me to leave the house and make eye contact with other human beings?  Sure did.

I suppose that's a win.  

Also a win?  I walked right by the Valentine's Day candy without even picking anything up.

What do you do when wintertime depression sets in?  I know I harp on this a lot, but they say to "write what you know".  I look around, and this is what I write.

Let's Talk

..about this.

Actually, let's not.  Because I like you and I don't want you to hate on me when I start stringing swear words together.  

Boots:  Steve Madden // Sweater:  Target // Scarf: Land's End //
Skirt:  Base exchange // Jeggings: JCP // Purse:  Longchamp (large, in Billberry)

I don't like snow.

Let's talk:
...about how I can't deal with Taylor Swift anymore.  I just can't. Scott told me (he told ME) last week, "She broke up with her boyfriend again.  I heard it on the radio."
What is WRONG with her?  And all of her songs sound alike and I just can't deal with it.  She's gone the way of Carrie Underwood in my book (I turn the radio off when she comes on. Silence is better than "trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble....trouble, trouble, trouble...TROUBLE").

...about how I highlighted my hair last week, and NO ONE around here even noticed.  Also, no one complimented my heart sweater, nor my new watch.  Wait, a child complimented the watch.  He's also the only child who asked me how my vacation was and insinuated he was glad I was back.  (I say "insinuated" because he didn't actually say it.  However, the others didn't even insinuate.)

...about how Scott made plans for us to go out to dinner the other night.  With people I've never met.  My reaction was, of course:

But man, I really like pizza.  So I went.  It was awful and yummy at the same time.

Sharing at Mingle Monday

New T.V. in my world

When I find a new t.v. show, I have to talk about it.  And then I have to make sure everyone else is watching it too.  I've waxed poetic about so many in the last year; my favorites probably being True Blood and Dexter.

Last weekend, we spent 4-5 hours watching most of Season 2 of Weeds.  Then I popped into Wal-Mart where I bought Season 3 of Justified.  Season 4 is on FX right now.  As soon as I catch up, I can bust into the DVR.  (Scott saw bootlegged Justified in Afghanistan an entire year ago.  Same as he saw The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. Oh, America, why must you make us wait?)

This is what I've been watching lately:

Breaking Bad

Source: Uploaded by user via Michael on Pinterest

AMC is the network that can do no wrong.  Mad Men, The Walking Dead, and Breaking Bad are some of the best t.v. shows out there.
After hearing many, many bloggers talk about Breaking Bad, I gave it a whirl in October via Netflix.  I thought, "This will be a way to pass the time until deployment ends."  I had promised Scott we'd watch it together but I was getting desperate.  I watched Seasons 1, 2, 3, and the beginning of 4 while I blogged, cooked dinner, cleaned, etc.  I didn't pay that much attention to it so I was, understandably, lost much of the time.
When Scott came home, we gave it another try.  We started watching a couple episodes a night (as fast as those dvds would arrive), and then I found Seasons 2, 3 and 4 in Target for $15 each one day.  The decision wasn't a hard one.
We ended up taking Seasons 2 and 3 with us on our cruise last month.

This was a God-sent-lifesaver if I've ever seen one.  During our "time of illness", we watched Breaking Bad.  It was the only thing I had to live for on that particularly horrible day.  I had to find out what would happen to poor Jesse and Walt.  I couldn't let the Carnival infirmary kill me off before I knew the ending!  (Dramatic? A bit.)

Anyway, we love this show.  We're caught up through Season 4 and will get Season 5 as soon as it's available.
If you like a smart, complicated drama, you'll love Breaking Bad.

Downton Abbey

Source: mylusciouslife.com via Sarah on Pinterest

This isn't really a "new" show to me.  I started, last March, on Season 1.  I, per the usual, wasn't really paying attention.  I got really bored and didn't finish more than two episodes.

Fast forward to June, I kept hearing about it.  So I went to the library and rented Season 1 again.  I stayed up until 3am finishing it.  Now, this may seem like some great obsessive accomplishment, but it was June, so the sun never actually set.  Therefore my neighbors were mowing their grass at 1am and the sunlight streaming in kept me awake anyway.

That was a lonely, boring time.

Anyway, Downton Abbey is everything a drama should be.  I picked up Seasons 1 and 2 for $12 each on Black Friday and now I'm obsessively DVR-ing Season 3.
This show transports you to another time and era.  I can hardly wrap my head around the idea that people lived like that.  I honestly think that if you think you won't like it, just give it a fair shot.  Even Scott is getting into it.

Weeds

Source: bing.com via Lynda on Pinterest

I'd always known Mary Louise Parker was off winning awards for this show, but I never gave it much of a second thought.  In the summer, I bought my brother Season 7 for his birthday because he said it was amazing and, though I'd tried to force him onto Dexter and it didn't quite work (he doesn't have that same obsessive personality I do), we more or less have common taste.

Scott and I started Weeds right after Christmas and to say we love it is an understatement.  If you are offended by language, I don't know how you'll feel about it, but we just find it amusing.  I recommend it for someone who loves a great story to follow and I've discovered that Showtime rarely lets me down (Season 1 of Homeland is pending...).  There's 7 seasons on DVD, so it'll keep us busy for awhile.  I love it when that happens.

1600 Penn

Source: m.imdb.com via Amanda on Pinterest

I'm snobby about my t.v. and my movies the way some are picky about wine or eating organic.  While I never wash my apples and I enjoy a good $5 bottle of vino, I only want to see the good stuff on my t.v. screen.  None of this Guys with Kids, basic cable, laugh track garbage.  And, good God, no reality t.v. shall ever grace my LG screen.  Don't insult my intelligence, CBS/NBC/ABC is what I often feel like saying. (I realize this could be a major character flaw.)

However, last week, we got sucked into the first two episodes of 1600 Penn.  It was amusing.  It was clever.  Jenna Elfman was fun to watch, as was that little boy, Xander.  The college-age daughter is a favorite of ours.  Not only does she play a Becca in this show, she played Becca in Superbad, one of the greatest films of all time (maybe my snobbiness does have a cut off...).

While it's too early to tell if this will be a hit every week, I definitely recommend giving it a try. Oh, and there's no laugh track.  (Scott just told me it's not getting the best ratings as of now, but I think that's a mid-season release factor.)

Anything good on your t.v. lately?  I think I've exhausted just about every show anyone has ever told me to watch.  I need more ideas.

It's okay.

The winner of the $10 Starbucks card I'm giving away for my birthday is...Kristen from The Very Unofficial Adult!  

She won by following via GFC. 

Congratulations!  I'll send you an email so I can get your real, live address, Kristen :)

It's okay that the only real food I've made lately involves tortillas and tex-mex flavors.  This is too easy, crockpot-friendly, and quite delicious: Tex-Mex Chicken.

It's okay that I created a DID IT! board on Pinterest to keep myself organized.  Everyone should do this.

It's okay that, this past week, I didn't do a Sunday post.  I'm not really sure why.  I suppose I didn't have anything meritorious* to talk about.  Pinterest "funnies" have been annoying me lately too...so I don't have a whole lot to share concerning humor.

It's okay that I'm confused by those who spend more time advertising their blogs than they do writing their blogs.

While we're on the topic, if you tweet that you need "x number" of followers to reach a certain milestone number, I'm not going to follow you.  I understand the excitement.  I'm THRILLED to have as many readers as I do.  But I don't want to guilt-tweet anyone.  That's just mean.  (Yeah, I said it. Guilt-tweeting.  It's mean.)

It's okay that after 2 months of "You HAVE to make this for me", my husband sewed a piece of felt onto a sweater to make me something stylish.

It's okay that I'm going to post my 52 Weeks of Kindness deed today.

Someone I know had surgery a few weeks ago.  I got her a mug and some fancy tea.  Nothing elaborate, not a grand gesture, but that's not what the 52 Weeks of Kindness is about.  It's about finding little things you can do to make others smile.

Along with that, I'm trying to support other bloggers by tweeting or recommending their posts that I really like.
If you are a fan of pop culture or celebrities, I totally recommend Day Old News.  DON gets me through my lunch breaks.  I find her site absolutely fascinating.

It's okay that I'm supporting the lovely Mrs. K by giving away some Target on her site.  Go check it out.  (And please, tell her how amazing she looks a month after having a baby. Like a real life Claire Danes.)

*Because everything I talk about is quite meritorious

Daylight

In a rare miracle of sorts, school was canceled the other day.  Alaska is strange in that they cancel school when it's too warm (something about melting and re-freezing....I don't really pay attention.)

-9*?  Get outside, kids.   44*?  Cancel school.

Whatever.  I've stopped trying to understand this place.

However, it meant I got a day off.

I got up early, vacuumed, prepared some stuff for dinner, went to the gym, blogged/tweeted a bit, took a shower, went sneaker-shopping, did some online shopping, watched some re-runs, read a book.

Wasn't an awful day.  I mean, I can see how it would get pretty boring, pretty quickly.  Scott's right.  A job suits me.

Katie's DIY Heart Sweater tutorial here

What doesn't suit me is leaving the house in the dark and returning home in the dark.

Since the rare opportunity for daylight presented itself on Monday, I got dressed.

You're welcome.

Sweater: Target clearance // Jeans*: JCP // Boots:  Steve Madden // Watch: Fossil

Wednesday Walkabout

WIWW @The Pleated Poppy

*Why yes, I do own only 2 pairs of jeans.  It's either ^these or these.

Coldest night ever

See this picture?

It's been my husband's desktop picture on his laptop for 3 years now.

It was taken in December 2009 at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony.  The only reason I haven't erased this experience from my memory entirely is because I see this picture every time I walk by Scott's computer.

Scott was deployed in December 2009.  I sent him the picture, along with a few others, to prove that I was out and about and surviving in this great state.  I'd been living here for about 2 months at that time.

I went to the ceremony with some friends.  It was about 15* out that night so, really, not even that cold.  I wore snow boots, jeans, turtleneck, sweater, scarf, hat, gloves...the usual.

Well, friends, that was the coldest night of my life.  My feet were FROZEN.  I mean, numb.  The tree lighting took place on a make-shift ice rink, so I was walking around on a lot of snow and ice.  I spent the majority of the time running in and out of the warming tent because I couldn't stand to actually be outside.

When I got home, many torturous hours later, I could barely get my boots off.  My feet hurt..from the cold numbness they'd been living in for the last 3 hours.  It took a good hour of rubbing to get non-painful feeling back into them.

This is the clincher:  No one else was cold.  Everyone thought I was insane (or weak...probably weak). Everyone else was having a fantabulous time.  Absolutely delightful it was to them.

This just made me mad.  They were dressed, really, no more warmly than I was.  This was when I realized I was different.  I didn't fit.  This was the beginning of the downward spiral that culminated with this post back in September.

Of course, I thought it was just me..that it was a fluke.  I kept trying again...and again...and again.  It got no better.  The majority of the experiences I've had here usually end up with me being cold and wet.  And angry or pouty.  (See: Clam digging). This camping trip last year didn't result in that, but I really wanted a shower after 18 hours at the campground in the wilderness.

Have you ever had that moment where you realize you don't fit?  Sometimes you can pinpoint it, sometimes you can't.  I DEFINITELY can, in this case.

Oh, look.  It's the wintertime view at our first house in Alaska.  *shudder*

*Oh, and you should probably enter this giveaway.  Starbucks, anyone??*

Oh again.  Do you like Target?  Head over to Mrs. K's blog to check out another giveaway.  It's a busy week 'round here.

I confess..

...that it's unfortunate I have to spend most of my Saturday laying around in order to recuperate from a 5-day work week.

Source: buzzfeed.com via Kristin on Pinterest

If only, Lady Grantham. 

...when people start talking about Les Mis, I tune it out.  I'm not a fan.  The idea of sitting through a musical for 2 hours and 38 minutes...well, that won't be happening.

...I seem to be going through a "watch phase".  Scott got me this rose-gold one for my birthday.  I'm in love with it. Also, I could kill a small animal by throwing this watch at it.  #multifunctional

...that this birthday card from Angi made my Friday afternoon.  I'd had a rough week at school.  I'm so grateful that many blog friends have become real friends.

...that I've had to completely switch around how I put in and take out the contact in my left eye.  Ever since I cut the tip of my left index finger back in November, the nerve endings have been deadened.  It's not sensitive enough to know its way around my eye anymore.  I now use my middle finger to put my left contact in and help take it out (with the aid of my thumb).  How weird is that?

...that I made Scott watch the Miss America pageant with me and we played a lovely little game of "Who's hot and why?".  (We play this game often.  We're so dysfunctional.)  For the record, Miss Maryland was his favorite.  Yaaaaaaay.

Finally, I confess that I teared up a bit during Jennifer Lawrence's Best Actress acceptance speech last night.

Happy Monday.

Source: dumpaday.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Linking up to YOLO Monday and Mingle Monday

High Five for Friday

1. I ordered the medium Longchamp instead of the large.  Do I exchange it?  Go.

2.  My parents sent me a giftcard to Athleta.  This is what they wrote on the card.

3.  Also, since I shared my biggest flaw (perhaps) yesterday, so many of you commented that you have the same problem.  Thank the Lord, is all I have to say to that.  It's quite nice to know that I'm not the only one who can't tell left from right.

4.  I can't even tell you how much I thoroughly love this coat. It excites me when I get to put it on. I look forward to going outside these days. Strange, huh?

5.  One of my random acts of kindness this week is giving away a Starbucks gift card.  You should get on that.

My other one?  I wrote out thank-you notes to students who gave me Christmas gifts.  I've always made it a point to send thank-you notes.  The first time I did it was after my high school graduation, thanking family for the gifts they gave me.  Since then, I always try to send thank-yous.  A week after our wedding, we drove to Alaska.  I wrote our thank-yous on the way, in the hotel rooms each night.  As soon as we had a permanent address, I mailed them all.  Took me less than 3 weeks.  I'm oddly proud of this.

Anyway, I like to set a good example for the children by drinking diet coke for lunch (which happens more often than I'd like to admit).  I also give them thank-you notes.  I'd say it all evens out.

High Five for Friday

27 Things About Me

It's my birthday!

And I'm old!

So let's celebrate!

I mean, fate would have to really have it in for me to make my birthday unfun this year.  Scott missed birthday #24 (Afghanistan), #25 (Air Assault school in Georgia), and #26 (Afghanistan).

So, if you do the math, I've spent 3 birthdays by myself in Alaska.

I ordered myself a birthday present online (a purse, of course) and made Scott wrap it.  He got me something else too (that thing he bought back when he thought my birthday was January 5th), but I'll open that later.

I haven't decided what I want to eat for dinner yet.  Or, in my case, what Scott will eat for dinner.  I'll probably celebrate by eating ice cream and drinking tequila.

I decided I'd treat you to some facts about me.  For my 27th 23rd birthday and all.

1.  I am a lush for meltiness.  I would rather eat this than anything else in the entire world. (chocolate+peanut butter+marshmallow)

2.  I love toast.  I'm convinced I should be English so I can eat toast, jam, and tea everyday.

3.  I hate air travel.  Or bus travel.  Or train travel.  Road trips are my preferred method of transportation.

4.  I hate jeans.

5.  When I am sick, I do not like to be touched.  In fact, when I get a cold, you're better off just locking me in a room by myself for a few days.  With a cocktail of (legal) drugs.

6.  I have a 5-head.

7.  I am such an introvert.  I get moreso with age.

8. I don't like animal smells.  I grew up with no pets, so I automatically notice if there's a pet around (I know y'all love your pets. Maybe someday I'll be like you.)

9.  I don't like puns. When I see puns on Pinterest, I cringe.  How can anyone think a pun is funny?

10.  My favorite author is Laura Ingalls Wilder.

11.  I have legitimate issues when it comes to telling "left" from "right".  I'm not sure why this part of my brain doesn't work.  When I give directions as a passenger in a car, I just point and say, "That way".

12.  I love purses the way some girls love shoes. My D&B and Lucky Brand are my favorites.

13.  The only seafood I'll eat is: crab cakes, shrimp, and halibut (if it's prepared the right way).  Fried haddock is also okay.

14.  I've never smoked a cigarette.


15.  My back-up plan in life is to become a tour guide at the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum.

16.  Meatloaf is my least favorite food.  Tuna and salmon are close seconds.

17. Strawberry margaritas are my drink of choice, but I also love me some Yellowtail Moscato.

18.  It took me 3 tries to pass my drivers' test.

19.  I need 8-10 hours of sleep a night in order to be a happy camper.  If I go to bed later than 10:30 and know I have to get up early, I'll be very (very) cranky.

20.  I need to be early for the movies.  I can't ever be on time or, heaven forbid, late.  I must have optimal seating and I need to see ALL previews.

21.  Actually, I have issues with punctuality.  I'm the person who is always 28 minutes early.

22.  I often lose my car in parking lots.  I have to intentionally tell myself "Okay, you're in row 8, about 10 cars back" in order to be able to find the car when I come out of the store. For this reason, I often park in the same spots at places I frequent.

23.  After #11, #18, and #22, you might be questioning my intelligence.  I'd like to have an IQ test done.

24.  I'm really good at Jeopardy.  Scott and I used to watch it together, and I usually got about 75% of the questions right.  He looked at me once and said, "How are you only an elementary teacher?".  Then he realized I didn't know my left from my right.  That's why I'm an elementary teacher.

25.  If you read this blog at all, you know I'm addicted to t.v.:  Dexter, True Blood, Mad Men, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead.  
I am convinced I wouldn't have survived this last deployment without my favorite t.v. shows to keep me company and occupy my mind.

26.  I'm more of a t.v. person than a movie person, but my favorite movies are probably Inglorious Basterds and Taken.

27.  I can't stand clutter.  I put things away like it's my job.  For this reason, we lose a lot of stuff in this house.

And if you made it to the end of this post, you deserve a prize.  One lucky person will get themselves some Starbucks. Let's call it my random act of kindness for the week. My birthday = free coffee* for you.  Good luck!

*or tea..I don't judge


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WTF Wednesday

First, let's all say Happy Birthday to Duchess Kate.

  Oh, why, oh why, wasn't I born a day sooner???

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As seen in central Pennsylvania...

Those are real peacocks. Who keeps real peacocks on their front porch?  My dad says they've been there for 40 years. Weirdos.

As seen in the Hilton Hotel...

Stupid mini-bar

That's the same Hilton hotel that charged for wi-fi.

Also, I feel nothing short of blessed to know that I've helped 5 people discover more about the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.  I'm such a proponent for Alaska, after all.  I'm sure they learned a lot.

And then.. 

I fell in love with Marc Jacobs while in Nordstrom's the other day.

'Tis unfortunate, right?

Linking up to Walkabout Wednesday