Typhoon Kompasu.

No worries, you guys, we are all "hunkered down" for the typhoon.  No work for either of us on Tuesday, whether or not it hits, so that's nice.  But it probably will.

P.S.  Pandora radio is playing Lucky by B.Spears for me right now.  No Comment.

Pandora Radio.

Five seconds ago, I registered for Pandora Radio.  Approximately two seconds ago, David Cook's Time of My Life started playing.

I am impressed, although maybe a little creeped out.

If I Still Had Facebook...

My status update would be this:

"is sick of people asking when she's going to have babies."

Really, Really Guilty Pleasure.

I've never listened to KISS.  I know that they have the song about Rock & Roll-ing all night and Party-ing every day, but beyond that, I really couldn't tell you. 

But, for some strange reason, I love to watch Gene Simmons Family Jewels on A&E.  I really don't know why.

I always feel guilty when I am watching it because I know about 80% of it is scripted.  At least 80%.

If Matt comes home while I am watching it, I will immediately change the channel.  I'm embarrassed at how much I love this show.  Any time I flip through channels and I see it, I will watch it, regardless of how many times I've seen the episode.  The dynamic of the family is so strange, so different from my own, but seems to work as smoothly as my own.  From all that we can tell as the reality sitcom audience, there is a genuine love between Gene and Shannon.  Nick and Sophie are pretty well-adjusted, although a bit more beautiful than your average family (or perhaps that is my love of Hebrew dudes showing...).

Anyway, I fell like I just needed to get this out into cyberspace, to admit my guiltiest of guilty pleasures so that maybe I can work through it.  And get over it just in time for Growing Up Twisted.

Dress-Up.

This is the dress I am going to be rockin' this November for what will likely be our last Marine Corps Ball.  I am also going to be wearing sky high heels and getting my hair done.  You can bet I'll be posting pictures.

Newsweek.

So, I've been reading Newsweek lately.  And, truth be told, I kinda like it.  A little tiny bit.

Take that last issue with Mark Twain on the cover.  So many good articles in that one.  It covered linguistics (my secret passion), the last days of Mark Twain, and some great literature that is coming out in the next few months.

I am beginning to think that my punk'd subscription giver knew me better than I knew myself.  I'm actually itching to go downstairs and dive into the newest cover story on why creativity is dropping in Americans.

And I used to get so angry at my mystery subscription...

What a Dreamboat.

Again.

Hi The Facebook Team,
Yeah, I know.  Remember how you made me take, like, 18 unnecessary steps to do so?  And yes, I would like to be able to use the site like I used to... six or so years ago when I signed up and it was a wall and open only to people in my generation.  And there was no Farmville or MobLand or suggesting friends to other people.  Remember when I could write whatever I wanted as my interests and they didn't have to link to a "Page."  I'd like to use the site like that.
Fare thee well and thanks for 6 years of addiction,
Andrea

W is for WolframAlpha.

I will admit to you, just about a year ago when I found WolframAlpha, I didn't get it.  It's a search engine, but Google it is not (no offense to Google - I love Google, I live my life on Google).

WolframAlpha is a "computational knowledge engine."  You can use it to compare two things, convert data, solve complex math equations and all kinds of craziness.  The computational possibilities are endless.  Find your ideal weight.  How much of that weight is fat.  How much is water and how much is blood.  It's amazing.

So go check it out.  Compare your hometown to your current town.  Find box office stats for your favorite film.  Compare your favorite film to its terrible sequel.  If you get stuck, click on the "Show Hints" link.  You won't be sorry.

You will be obsessed, and like me, start spending your day thinking of how to use WolframAlpha.  You are so welcome.

V is for Vacations.

Since we've been married before we got married, Matt and I have taken quite a few awesome vacations. Shall we happily remember them?

December of 2004, I left the U.S. for the first time to visit Matt at his University in Beijing. It was a pretty amazing trip, and oh yeah, that was when this happened --->

On our honeymoon to New York City, when after wondering aimlessly down Broadway we stumbled upon The Ed Sullivan Theatre, home to the King of Late Night (always and forever in my heart, at least) and got tickets to see his show LIVE.  Our amazingness was expounded (and my heart nearly stopped beating) when Dave allowed Matt o ask him a question before the show ("Where's the best pizza in Manhattan?" and dear, dear friend Dave bought us the best pizza of our lives.  David Letterman bought us a pizza.  Best. Honeymoon. Story. Everrrrrrrrr.

<--- Us before the show.  Soooo EXCITED!!!

Then, quite sadly, the vacation life stagnated because we were dirt poor.  Oh, well, we had each other and all that jazz.  Two years into our marriage, we got our fancy little three year vacation in the form of orders to Okinawa.

So for our third anniversary/pre-deployment leave, we decided to go big and spent a week at the Amari Coral Resort in Phuket, Thailand.  We spent most of the week walking around window shopping or drinking fruity drinks at the lobby bar.  Pretty amazing, right?

It was really hot and sweaty in Thailand.  And we didn't trust any of the locals to take a picture of us and give our camera back.  That's my excuse for this terrible picture. --->

I didn't really think the Thailand vacation could be topped until  (dun, dun, DUN!) we met up in Buenos Aires.  I fell in love with South America immediately. 

Matt spent a year in Mar del Plata, Argentina his Senior year of high school and so I've been hearing about this country for the last 8 years.  While debating where to meet for Matt's mid-deployment leave, Argentina was a natural choice (even though I wanted to go to France).  We spent two weeks enjoying and exploring the huge city.  We ate more beef than I can really even comprehend.  And more good food than I've had in two years in Okinawa.  We went shopping and saw art.  Rode the subway and pet a pretty disgusting stray dog that just looked sad.  Mini-theme park!  Empanadas!  Eva Perone!!  It was such an amazing vacation and will probably go down in the books as "Best Ever."

Thoughts on Mail.

Once a week I wonder to myself, sometimes out loud, sometimes screaming in the depths of my brain, who on earth got me a subscription to Newsweek?

For the past month or so, I have been receiving this weekly mag with no explanation. Did someone think it would be funny to supplement my InTouch with Newsweek? Was it something I said? Maybe someone thought, "Wow, what an idiot... she should be reading real news."?

I just can't figure it out. But I have been reading it.

The small articles, anyway.

U is for UFOs and whatnot.

I love UFOs and conspiracy theories.  One of my favorite books is UFOs, JFK and Elvis by Richard Belzer.  It's so silly, but I'm sure the government is out there controlling exactly what we see and what we don't see and all that.  I'm fascinated by it all.  I loved The Lone Gunmen and taped every episode.  I am also fully aware that this brings me dangerously close to the world of the Super-Nerd.  Dangerously close.

But, of course, that has never stopped me.  Which brings me to a website I found probably ten years ago, way back when I was in high school (sick - I can't believe it's been that long).  Please enjoy - I really think Metric Time could catch on.

I support the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus.

T is for Track Star.

If you know me (and I'm assuming you all do, because who else would read this?), you know two things:  I am diabetic and I hate the military healthcare system.  Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful to have healthcare and to get my insulin needs fulfilled, but when it comes to the Navy docs I've dealt with, well, they leave a great something to be desired (like maybe getting my prescriptions right or being knowledgeable about my condition).

That brings us to a few days before our vacation when I went to the Air Force clinic to get syringes, because the Navy WAS OUT AGAIN.  Fed up to here *points way above head*, I asked how I could transfer to the Air Force clinic, followed my instructions and when we returned from vacation, I had a letter telling me to see a new doctor....  I was relieved, but anxious it'd be more of the same.

When I finally got in to see my new doctor, I was blown away.  Matt came with me to help bust heads if needed.  He was not needed (but I was glad he was there).

My new doctor was amazing.  He knew stuff about diabetes.  He suggested a different insulin schedule to bring down my HbA1C.  I was on board!  I was so super-pumped.

Then.  Then he suggested the unthinkable (for me).  Thirty minutes of cardio five days a week.  Thirty miutes of RUNNING five days a week.  And Matt heard it all, so I couldn't just pretend it didn't happen.

Disgusting.  Awful.  Miserable.

I am not a runner.  I have no desire to be a runner.  People who run marathons baffle me.

But now, I am slowly pacing myself to become a runner.  I started off walking five minutes and running one minute for a half hour.  Now I am up to 4 minutes of walking with 3 minutes of running.

And I hate it.  I hate running.  It sucks.  I do not feel better when I an done running.  I do not feel bad when I miss a day.  It sucks.  And I'm not even actually RUNNING.  I'm walking most of the time and jogging because Matt insists I'll wear myself out if I actually run.

Maybe it will be better when its not so stinkin' hot here, but I just don't know.  I'm sticking with it for now for my health.  But I am letting everyone know that I hate it.

Vacation, Part 5: 16 Hours in Hawaii.

We spent the night at Travis AFB (stinkin' nice lodge there) and hopped another AMC flight the next morning to Hawaii.  It was in the general direction of where we needed to be...  We thought why not?  Maybe we'd get to enjoy the beach or something.

Well.  This is where we hit the downfall of the AMC Flights.  When we got to Hawaii, there were no flights leaving for 16 hours.  There were also no rental cars available.  And no hotel rooms on base.

Awesome.

So we spent 16 hours in the AMC Terminal at Hickam AFB, trying to sleep, trying to charge our iPods, and trying to avoid the weirdo who seemed to think we three were BFFLs.  Yikes.

Anyway, somehow, we made it back to Okinawa and have been enjoying it ever since.  See?

S is for Singing. Or Singing Along.

I'll be the first to admit that my vocal skills are lacking. In the 8th grade, someone told me my singing sounded like a dead cow. Ouch.

This has never stopped my love of music.  My dream house has speakers in every room so no matter where I go, I'm listening to something.  I love all kinds of music: Barry Manilow to System of a Down, The Killers to The Blues Brothers.  Gypsy punk, 60's folk, 80's pop rock - I'll listen to almost anything.

Before college, when my parents bought me a beautiful new computer with a CD burner, I learned the glory of Mix CDs and I've been making them ever since.  I have a few fans out there (Mom, Ryan, Miranda) and a nay-sayer or two (MATT, who hates every CD I make).  I consider my Mix CDs an art (Mom says its my spiritual gift) and you know I like you if you've got one.

My favorite thing about the CDs is throwing them in the sweet 1994 12-disc cartridge in my Toyota Windom and driving around the island singing my brains out to something I (sort of) created.  With no one in the car to tell me I sound like a dead cow.

------------------

As a side note:  I have quit quitting Facebook.  But I deleted between 40 - 50 friends, so I'm hoping it willbe less annoying.  So if you made the cut and I'm still FB friends with you, consider yourself lucky.

Vacation, Part 4: D.C. and West Point.

Okay, okay...  I know.  I never finish things.  I promise to be better about that.  And I'll finish the alphabet I left off on over a year ago.  But really this time.

So, after a lovely sunny stay in Florida, Matt and I flew to D.C. to see his very pregnant sister, brother-in-law and nephew.  We got to see their beautiful new house for the first time and taste tested several flavors of Wegman's Ice Cream.  Carrie is the ultimate hostess and I always love staying with them. 

After our brief stay in D.C., Matt and I took Carrie's car and drove through five states to be at Andrew's graduation from West Point Military Academy.  How flippin' cool is that?  The commencement speaker was ...  President Barack Obama!  Pretty neat.  Super-pretty neat.

If you squint really hard you can see itty-bitty President Obama with his hand on his heart.  --->

Now, let me just state for the record, that, despite my disgust towards Glenn Beck and the fact I can barely wait Fox News without screaming, I am a conservative Republican, through and through.  But hearing Marine One fly by, watching the caravan drive into the stadium and seeing the leader of the free world walk out was pretty doggone exciting.  I got chills.  Gosh, I love America.

Also, let me tell you first:  I paid attention to the President's speech.  I really, really did.  But, for me, it was not as interesting as the fact that I had just told my mother-in-law about photo-bombing, and she thought it was a hysterical concept.  We took turns photo-bombing each other and other people.  It was pretty awesome.  But we were paying attention.  Most unfortunately, all of those fun photos are on her camera.  I got this one, though:

<---Sorry ladies, he's all mine.

After the ceremonies and sufficient family time, we hopped back in the car to drive back to D.C. to catch our last domestic flight - back to Travis AFB.

Dreams.

Last night, I dreamt that I was going to Hogwarts (which ended up just being crappy cabins in the Kentucky woods).  When I got there, my friend from high school and her brother that she was always trying to set me up with were both there and I got put in the Hufflepuff house.  I was so angry because, really, Hufflepuff is lame.  There are no cool people in Hufflepuff.  Put me in Ravenclaw, at least.  Not cool.

And those were the thoughts that put into motion my attitude for the day.

On Watching The Blues Brothers:

"I really felt like I was getting to know Andrea better.  And the music was great!"

-my favorite co-worker and quite possibly my favorite person.

Vacation Part 3: Florida

I am working my way through vacation, but we still have at least two more chapters.  Please bear with me.

Let me start off by saying the weather in Tampa was so much more pleasant than I was expecting.  We got to spend lots of time at the pool without feeling all sweaty by the time we got back home. 

One of the first things I did when I got home was to go to the ladies meeting at church with my mom.  I go with my mom to the ladies meetings every time I'm home and it's like going to visit with 10 awesome grandmas.  I got so many hugs.  You have no idea.  It was awesome.

On Friday, Matt and I took Mom on a road trip to Gainesville to check out the University of Florida.  It was nice to just walk around campus with Mom while Matt did his research.

We went to our second baseball game in a week at Tropicana Park.  We picked blueberries and we go to see my grandparents.  We spent lots of time at the pool.  It was wonderful and relaxing to just be with my family.  I can't wait to get back :)

I've Been Dying for a Little Creativity.

So, I just bought these dress patterns from Vogue Designer Patterns for $5.75 each.  And four bucks shipping.  So I am feeling pretty awesome about that.  I can't wait to get them and get my stitch on.