ninnyhammer

just an odd word. no relevance in this blog at all… i just needed a title. that i hadn’t used before, and unfortunately i’ve used randomnessishly…

anyways. this is just a random post. of all the things i want to say right now, but have no where else to put them.

my husband – he’s amazing.!!!
i have this ipod shuffle that i got from a friend last year before she left for california; and in order for me to have proper headphones for it – -i need an adapter… (cuz i don’t deal with earbuds well. they fall out.) and my adapter has been screwing up for awhile, so i told husband that i need a new mp3 player… oooo pricey… so, i said ya know what i can spend $7 and get a new adapter. case closed.
so i did just that.  got the new adapter in on monday and used it tuesday and it has the same problem that the other one did, it just took a LOT longer for the other one to actually fail. this one failed on the VERY FIRST DAY of use.
BOO!!
i was irritated… i texted husband, he said don’t worry about it… ugh. whatever. i was going to send it back…
husband called me yesterday and asked my opinion on a specific mp3 player… unfortunately i don’t like that one, we got to talking, and it turns out he had purchased that one… but he took it back and bought the one i like, and is sending it to me!! Yay!!! now you may think, what’s the big deal; he’s spending your own money to buy you something. oh contraire my frier  **i don’t know how to spell french words and i’m not going to research it right now** he has his own stash of cash received from working on the house in florida.
woo!!

regarding florida.  he comes home on june 4. 
he leaves again on june 18.  DISLIKE.

 he will be there until july 24. it was july 31 but we have a concert on the 30th so, he will be back for that.

he also — is having me come down for the last week he is there… so i will be in florida july 15-24!!!  {{HOPEFULLY!!!}} i say hopefully b/c i don’t know what’s going on with school and such yet. i hope that IF i am back in school they honor my leave request and let me go… otherwise. i will cry. a. lot.

i have been working out a lot . . . but not as much as i should, but apparently MORE than i technically am supposed to be… according to my physical therapist dr…

all the severe pain i’m getting is normal too according to her, b/c i have been out of commission for so long… yadi yadi yada…

found out tuesday that contrary to what people have been telling me, once i pick up my fit for full paperwork (June2) i WILL have to run and PASS a prt.  i was told i just had to participate in one. no, i have to pass it, or i’m not worldwide assignable and the navy kicks me out. well. crap. i mean i knew i’d have to do one soon, but i didn’t realize it’d be THAT soon, and i’m working on it i REALLY am… and i guess if i can pass low, it’s still a pass. . . but, it just adds more stress to my life… stress makes you fat!!!

i have lost 14 pounds. the day of the 15th pound was a fluke b/c i had thrown up all  night the night before… damn. so for my dream weight i have 10 more pounds. if i lose those 10 pounds husband will pay for me to get dive certified… which i was planning on doing at some point anyways… but he wants to do it while i’m down in florida… ((so i have limited time to lose those ten pounds!!!))

tonight i think i’m going to make my eggplant parmesan again… b/c it was SO freaking good last night… i will probably tinker with the recipe a little bit and add more flavor… but, that sounds like a plan!!! yay!!

there were a couple other things i wanted to rant about, but i don’t remember them. of course. oh well!!!

If you enjoy living, it is not difficult to keep the sense of wonder.
Ray Bradbury

squashies

starting point

the time has come

so, after being in the navy for almost 3 years… and impatiently waiting to leave this base — i got verbals (tentative orders for non-navy) today . . .

i should be ecstatic. fucking excited as hell. . .

but. i’m not.

i had no desire AT ALL to go to Virginia… annnnd that’s where it looks like we will be headed…

i am to report to school on July 16; so we are still here for another 2 months, which is ok, it gives us time to get stuff together and ready… i will find out next week for sure what is going on, and if my c school will be in Norfolk as well, but there is a slight possibility that the school (3 months-ish) will be in san diego… just depends who has openings when. . .

i know i should be thankful i got orders (well sorta got orders) but, i’m just so heartbroken that it isn’t florida. . . specifically key west…

i had my heart set on it, and i know the navy is full of disappointments, but, seriously… i’ve dealt with so much already, i just wanted SOMETHING to go my way…

*shrug*

granted i have tons of people that i know up there, and some of the people i know here are going to be up there, it’s just not where i wanted to be. . .

guess we’ll see what happens. . .

only time will tell

it’s 6 a.m. — where’s my breakfast mom

so yesterday started out as any normal weekend day.

i had plenty of plans and things to keep me busy throughout the day

in no particular order:

make 2 batches of cookies – one for husband and I and one for a classmate (hey he paid me $20 to make them!!)
clean the kitchen
make dinner
get my hair cut
fold the mountain of laundry (( explanation — in the limited time i have in the mornings, i start laundry, sometimes i even get to switch over loads, however, then i have to go to base, husband then puts the loads in baskets and they go in our room, we have 4 or 5 FULL baskets of laundry… i’m unmotivated as hell to fold them. . . just not my cup of tea, but i know it needs to be done. . . and every weekend i plan to do it, but don’t get very far….)) —- anyway…
take 2 comforters to laundromat
relax with my husband

welllllllllllll…. that didn’t all work out the way i anticipated. instead it looked more like this: (again in no order)
make 1 batch of cookies for husband and myself and then run out of flour
*get my hair cut
*stop by shoe store to find shoes for previously purchased dress
*forget debit card and have to go back home
*grocery shop
*go back to shoe store
**((that’s in order))
make HUGE mess in kitchen
*cuddles with my husband
*spontaneous late night trip to home depot
*bar hopping
*in order*
while bar hopping ((and looking for food, cuz i got HUNGRY))
we stopped at a bar near the house, where they had karaoke. and…. children. . . singing karaoke at this bar… they were singing God Bless America, i believe it was around 10:30/11:00… and there were children… in a bar…
oooookkkkkkk
next bar, more karaoke, no children though…
next bar, great band, great prices on drinks, no food…
next bar, no food…
fine… screw you bars unwilling to serve food after a certain time
we stopped at applebees and had the GREASIEST sandwich known to man…
and then went back to the bar that had the great band, great prices on drinks, and no food
had a great time. . . i got asked to dance by a very old biker man… asked husband if he could dance with his “friend” uhhhh ok
got told by the girl bartender that i had GREAT arms… uhhhh ok…
but all in all had a very good time last night, spontaneously  cuz we weren’t planning on doing anything!!

so now…. today things must get done… *sigh*

but, i woke up at 6 with kitten just staring at me breathing on me, cuz it was time to feed her…. so i’m a bit tired…

 

so whatcha whatcha whatcha want

oh i had tons to write i did i did i did. . .

but i forgot it all

haha

i went and got a haircut today, and, instead of dealing with the hassle of going down to chicago to visit my dear friend Nikki, i utilized my ulta gift card and and ventured to the local ulta to get my clip on . . .

i definitely am pleased with the results!!! PLUS, they were SUPER nice and i’m thinking of scheduling a facial, they have 20 minute mini facial things for only $20 . . . hmmmm

i definitely am needing something to perk up my face. . .

i have been browsing craftgawker.com and DUDE i totally am in love with so many things i want to do!!  i CAN’T wait to get out of school and have time to do things i want to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

did i mention I CAN’T WAIT

also —

i can’t wait til florida!!!  yay!!! only a month left!!!!!!  i have a couple new clothes items to wear and i’m definitely excited!

i got shoes today to go with a dress that husband convinced me to buy, i bought shorts a few days ago that are SUPER cute and have a totally adorable shirt

i have a jean skirt that i’m going to re-vamp with some crochet lace, hopefully that works better than the tank top project. . . (*sigh*)

i am thinking of purchasing some of the oil pastel crayons and doing this!! http://thebeautydepartment.com/2012/01/chalk-it-up/

for the weekend anyways…

i am so excited for school to end.  i have one full week and then a monday, and i take my comp test on tuesday and then i’m f’n done man!!! i graduate on that friday (6april) and i seriously am looking forward to it more than anything (besides florida) right now!!!  it has taken me WAY to f’n long to get to this point!!! since i finish on a tuesday, i’m going to try to transfer to a new barracks wednesday and that way i don’t have to deal with not being able to do what i want after i graduate. husband and my mother in law are going to be at my graduation, so — he will have to go into work afterwards, but that way i can hang out with her during the day ((her birthday is 4april)) so, it will be a birthday day. . .

gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh  it needs to get here NOW!!!!

anyways, i suppose that’s all for now!!!

i have to do a tria update, but there is really nothing to update right now. . . *shrug*

as hairless as. . . {{insert something naked here}}

so, after much research and fret, husband and I have purchased a Tria hair removal laser.

this is mainly for me, i might convince him at some point to try it, but — it’s for me. i HATE shaving my legs. EVERY single day in the summer so that I can be comfortable in the summer staple i live by – my jean skirt ((or any other skirt for that matter, shorts and i disagree for the most part)) not to mention every day i go to the gym b/c i ‘m not comfortable exercising in long pants, i go for capri’s and it’s kind of embarrasing when i’m unshaven and in capris.  ((((is there an apostrophe in the plural form of capri?? cuz it doesn’t look right without it, but apostrophes show ownership… oh confusion))))

ANYWAYS — –
Tria Laser. Purchased. Received – today. 

trying tomorrow. . .
 mainly cuz i don’t wanna shave today and try it now. . .

oooh also — enter — : our trip to Florida, maybe i’ll be nice and smooth and not have to shave every day when i’m down there. . . !!!

I’ll keep you posted!!!!!!!!!

Cinnamon Roasted Chicken

so tonight i modified a delicious recipe

it called for squab chickens, i used chicken breasts

2 LARGE chicken breasts

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp oil (i used olive)

1/3 C chicken broth

1/2 red onion

 

preheat oven to 400°

spray non-stick spray on a casserole dish (i used a 9″ glass pie pan)

mix the syrup, cinnamon, and oil in a bowl – -

place chicken into dish, spread mixture onto chicken, (i poked holes in chicken with my fork)

pour broth into dish after using all mixture

slice red onion into large petals and place around chicken

roast in oven for 45 minutes ((or longer — i think our oven is messed up, so it took a little bit longer ((((or kind of a lot)))) just cook it til it temps out at the right temperature))

 

i served with baked russett potatoes that i served with a chili chipotle sour cream (sour cream mixed with chili powder & smoked chipotle sauce) and garlic butter (garlic and butter)

 

DELICIOUS

 

and i forgot to take pics… oh well, drool over the description and make your own!!!

 

sometimes. . .

sometimes, living the life i chose is hard.

like now.

it’s difficult.  i’m very depressed right now, and it has everything to do with the barracks i live in (or am assigned to)

however, i do spend more time there than i do at home, so . . .

the way they treat us, like we are nothing more than scum on the bottom of their shoes? that’s not right.

when we first transferred over there, they told us no pt during working hours, do it on your liberty.
my liberty hours are very limited. in order to get 8 hours of sleep and things done around the house and make dinner so i can eat at night, i don’t have time to do anything else. if i have to run an errand in the morning, i get less than 8 hours, and get nothing done around the house. and usually don’t get my dinner made those days. . . well, they changed it. said we could pt during working hours. which is good b/c we have a muster at 1 pm and then again at 330 pm on m/w/f — so those days — i was dying to work out. . . and then i could. well now . . . now they say — we’re doing away with what’s always been – duty section sweepers and turnover, and now at 1 pm EVERYONE has to clean the barracks. EVERY DAY. for an hour. that honestly only takes away a half hour to work out, EXCEPT that i need the time to get there, change, get a DECENT workout in, shower, and be ready for march out. that half hour is MUCH needed.

plus — i signed up for a personal trainer right before they changed that. he changed someone else’s schedule around to accomodate mine. . .

i know  some might think this is a frivolous expense, but honestly — i need it. i get to the gym and i just kind of bounce around from machine to machine. last time i had a personal trainer — i got SUPER hot, and right now i need to get back into good shape if i want to not be embarrassed when i go to the beach in april. i just need my body to get back to how i want it to be. i know that by other people’s standards i look great, but they don’t see me in the mirror, they don’t see what’s under the clothes. i’m bloated and flabby and disgusting. this has to change. this might also be contributing to my depression. . .

that and the lack of time i have to spend with my husband. . . hopefully i can make it up when i’m on hold, b/c when i go to C school, he’s staying behind (if it’s less than 6 months) and that will suck too

but that’s too far in the future . . . right now i just have to survive the next 2 months in this hell. . . i am not really certain that i can. . . can’t i talk to someone if my mental well being is being threatened?? if i legitimately am going insane from this barracks, can’t they re-assign me??? *shrug* i’m probably not, it just really feels like that, and i feel really hopeless…

ah well. such is life.

 

when YOU’RE 32

so last night in class, we had a new instructor for the mod(ule) we are on.

no big deal.

the guy said something and told someone to finish his quote, and i finished it, and he turned to me and said, i know you’re old enough to know about that, but i told HIM to finish it. i joked and said are you saying i look old ET2?? and he said well not necessarily but i can tell by the . . . *pause* distinguished lines under your eyes, that you’re not as young as these guys. . .

ouch.

so apparently i need to do something about my under eye skin. . any suggestions?? any one??

BUT

later on, when everyone else was giving me shit about my age ((b/c – that’s just what they do. . . it annoys the fuck out of me — which is WHY they do it. . . )) he said, ok — how old are you?? and i said i’m 32. he said ladies — let me just tell you — when *you’re* 32 you won’t be that thin. . .

*win*

Bail me out of jail?

De-facto debtors’ prisons in Illinois, the Deadbeat State

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-de-facto-debtors-prisons-in-illinois-the-deadbeat-state/article_88f1e45b-5b22-5c7e-b809-8cfd8a3b76c6.html#ixzz1jADXHN3P

So here’s the state of Illinois, which slow-pays its vendors, which has $85 billion in pension obligations it cannot meet and which last week bounced $159,000 worth of lottery checks. And yet the “Deadbeat State” allows its judges to throw people in jail who cannot pay private debts.

And you thought debtors’ prisons went out in the 19th century.

On Monday in Alton, the state Department of Financial and Professional Regulation held a hearing on the practice, which appears to be more prevalent in southern Illinois than in central and northern counties. The department regulates banks and other financial institutions, including payday loan and consumer finance companies. A second hearing will be held Wednesday in Marion.

The department is considering asking the Legislature to change state law to prohibit the incarceration of individuals who legitimately don’t have the resources to pay their debts. What a concept.

A debtor typically winds up in jail in Illinois when his creditor files a complaint in court and the debtor fails to answer the summons. Many of those who wind up in jail may have moved or have no fixed address or can’t understand the legal papers.

If the debtor finds himself pulled over by police for an unrelated matter, often a traffic stop, the computer shows that a “body attachment” has been issued by the court, and he is arrested and jailed.

Is he there because he owes money? Technically, no. He is in jail for violating a court order. But the reason for the court order is the debt, so it’s a distinction without a difference.

In some cases, when friends or relatives arrive to bail the debtor out jail, the bail money goes directly to the creditor.

Last fall, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan told The Wall Street Journal that she wanted to crack down on the fast-growing debt-collection industry. Such firms typically buy consumer debt for pennies on the dollar, then go hammer-and-tong to collect them.

“We can no longer allow debt collectors to pervert the courts,” Ms. Madigan told The Journal. She said she would urge judges to reject warrant requests from debt-collection firms.

In 2010, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation revoked the business license of a Carbondale-based payday loan company. The department said that the firm had threatened at least four customers with jail time if they failed to repay their loans.

The company reached a settlement with the state agency last summer, admitting no wrongdoing but agreeing to stop the practice of requesting writs of body attachment.

State law already allows creditors to seek court orders garnisheeing up to 15 percent of a debtor’s wages. This is not always useful; some debtors may, in fact, be deadbeats, but others are in debt because they’ve lost their jobs. Social Security and other retirement benefits, insurance and public assistance can’t be garnisheed.

Debtors have an obligation to work out a payment schedule if at all possible. At the same time, creditors have an obligation to understand that sometimes it’s impossible. The state’s job is to legislate what’s reasonable; for courts to act as agents for collection agencies fails that test.

And let’s face it: If the state allows deadbeats to be jailed, Springfield is going to need a bigger jail.

so,. . . i read this article last night. . . and i got a bit miffed

here’s my story —

when i was younger, i had some really bad luck. . . i lost a couple jobs, and was left unable to pay my bills. . . i tried to negotiate with them, but they would have rather had no money than any. . . i even got my best friend (RIP ACW) to help me out, and they even told HER that they’d rather write it off than receive a trickle of money.  so i didn’t pay them. they wanted all or nothing. they got nothing. fast forward to 2009 when the Navy says, we’re going to deny your security clearance unless you pay off your debt (which let me just interject and say — that was one of the reasons i joined in the first place was to clear my debt up) i said ok, well i intend to do so with my sign on bonus, and they informed me, you won’t GET your sign on bonus if you don’t fix things, b/c we will kick you out. so i started paying stuff down. after i got married, i had my bah to help me since husband had a good paying job and paid little money in rent, so all the bah went to my bills, i got them down to mostly non-existent except for student loans, and some i was paying on for a while. . . one of those was capital one – i paid them $200 a month (or something) and they told me they would do this for a year, and then call me and renegotiate the amount i owed, and deetermine a new payment. so that point in time came and i had not heard from them, i called them multiple times and left multiple messages and heard nothing back. i didn’t know what to do, i can’t continue to pay someone if i don’t know where to send the payments (they were pulling the money out of my account themselves, so i had no address) i even waited a month or 2 and called them again. . . to no avail.

so i was stuck. had nothing i could do. . . *shrug* ok?

fast forward to last week when i get a notice in the mail saying that there was a judgement on this capital one thing back in 2007 in st louis, ok  — and the new owner of the debt had tacked on another 2 grand to the amount that i owed, i called them and said ok — what is going on – why do youhave this, explained what had happeend to the guy and he informs me that they now own it b/c i moved, and b/c i moved the other company was no longer able to collect on it. . .

would NOT let me get a word in edgewise to this fact b/c it was complete bullshit . . . when i set up the payments i was in Illinois, when i moved to the apartment, i called them and gave them my new address. . . i had already been paying the court costs in with the last payments, and they added them on again!?!?!?! 

so, now i’m stuck paying on this, paying court costs that i already paid, and getting fucked over.

but here’s my point on this story – if i refuse to pay, and happen to get pulled over — i can go to jail!??!

i know some of it needs to be paid, it is my debt after all, i just need advice on how to not have to pay the court costs all over again. . .

plus i wanted to vent about the ‘debtor’s prison

so if you get a call that i’m in jail — this will be why. . .

from the state that can’t even pay their own bills. . .

yeomaning. . . filling time.

rather past due update. or blog in general.
for some reason it is hard to get the time in to write a blog that’s worth reading.
or worth writing. . .
cuz i’m not sure who actually thinks my blog is worth reading. lol.
i started night school on october 28. i hate this schedule. i really do, but in all honesty
i don’t think that i could actually make it to the day shift muster on time. . . although i’d
do my damndest. . . i really would. . . i would get to spend the evenings with my husband and that would be great.
i miss him. granted we make the most of our weekends, but, i miss falling asleep next to him ((at the same time))
i’ve been having more difficulty than normal sleeping at night . . . i’m about to invest in some melatonin and try that therapy out
(again)
i tried it for awhile . . . not very long b/c it didn’t do much, but then it turns out that the pills were expired. . .
soooo yeah.
i just am getting really annoyed, i lay there every night, exhausted, but i can’t fall asleep, i close my eyes, . . .  and i can’t stay asleep . . . and WHEN i close my eyes see purple with black shadows. . . sometimes it makes me dizzy the shadows are moving so much, but  i always thought you were supposed to see black when you closed your eyes. . .
so i am going to get some 3mg pills and start off with that. . . but i am going to wait for the next weekend b/c i don’t wanna
screw things up during the week since i don’t know how they will actually work for me. . .
my vacation (leave) was good. . . it was 2 weeks that i didn’t have to worry about anything navy related. . . i tried to stay off base, but i did go on base one day to pick up one of my friends so we could hang out a little bit. . .
it was just so nice to not have to wear the uniform every day. . . (or at all) . . . and it was so difficult to put it back on after so long. . .
i really wish we had gotten to go to florida, but – we did get to have a very nice christmas and anniversary due to the money created by us not being able to go . . . husband is doing quite well in his job. . . he got hired on full time at the company he was temping at, and is making extremely good money, AND makes a lot of overtime . . . so, we’ve been able to do a LOT of stuff we’ve needed to get done and do some things we have just been wanting to do as well. . . it has ben nice. . .
we are going to start saving up for a 60″ tv for valentine’s day, it might be a little bit after V-day, but. . . it’s husband’s dream as of late. . .
we are probably going to get Bella de-clawed, as she’s gotten older, she’s gotten worse with the clawing things, I thought that was supposed to go the opposite way, but if we ever want to get a new couch (which we definitely do) we have to not have her clawing it up. . .
i am supposed to be done with a school on April 3, which means i will graduate on friday, april 13 ((dunh dunh dunh)
but then we will see what happens. . . when i started school, they were getting orders QUICK, but it has slowed down quite a bit, so we will see how much longer i will be stuck here. . . i will definitely be finding somewhere to work instead of just being stuck at a barracks and on working parties all week. . . then – when i get my orders to c school, we will see how long it is,. . husband will stay here if it is less than 6 months, he’d probably have to anyways, and then he will move to wherever it is i get stationed. . . which we are both hoping that it is key west, b/c that — well it would be fucking fantastic. . . a dream come true!!! it wouldn’t be bad if it were elsewhere in florida, but, dude — key west?!?!??!! hell yeah. there were 2 et’s that got shore duty in key west in december. . . so, yeah, hoping and dreaming!!!!
we might be planning a visit back to florida in june for my friend courtney’s wedding (assuming i am invited of course. . . ) but, hopefully that works out for me, but seeing as i don’t know how orders will work — i’m not so certain. . . time will tell!
in other news -
i finally FINALLY finally got down to my pre-injury weight!!!
but, my weight still fluctuates 1-3 pounds all the time, so i’m trying to get down to past that. . . so that when it fluctuates, it only fluctuates  that high.
i honestly haven’t worked out very much. i thought that being a night student,, i’d have tons of time to do so, but – here’s my problem.
i don’t like the gym that’s near my barracks. . . i REALLY really don’t like it. . . i want to go to the Loft – which is across base. . . we have to muster at 1300 every day, then 1430 on tuesdays and thursdays, and 1530 on m/w/f but every monday – i have a yeoman meeting at 1430. . . i have been being scheduled for yeoman shifts on tuesdays and thursday mornings. . . so — i don’t have time. i have to be able to get there, change, workout, shower, change and be back here in time for musters. . . i’m so upset. . . but!! husband got me a workout game for Christmas and is hopefully setting it up tonight, b/c our living room is so small, that i didn’t get as far as i was actually able to b/c i couldn’t complete some of the exercises that were supposed to be done on the floor. . . so i’m excited to actually get started on this regimen. cuz i might not weigh more than i did, but i’m definitely a lot flabbier and fatter. . . i need to tone back down. . . and get back to where i expect myself to be. . . i also need to be able to pass a PRT which i’m not so sure i can right now. . . i want to run, i really do, but i just don’t have the motivation or time. . . we are supposed to be moving barracks on 20January.
which will put us closer to the Loft, so then i won’t have an excuse b/c it will be really easy to get there. . . and running, outside, in the winter, it just doesn’t work well for me. . . it hurts my lungs, and i can’t breathe right and then i can’t run right and blah blah blah. . . yeah.
so
i took my first lab test in school the other night. i thought i had it figured out. . . annnnnd, i didn’t. i got an 82. i was SO mad. . . i had a 95.5% in class until then. i haven’t refigured my grade, and i’m kind of scared to. . . *sigh* i was 5th in class, and now i won’t be. . . that just angers me, i thought i had it!! and . . . well. no. i didn’t. . . ugh. it was so upsetting. . . and husband is so great . . . i called him on my way home (because it was a friday and it was at 9 pm instead of 11/12) and he was so supportive, and told me, “well i still think you’re smart”, and did everything he could to try to make me feel better friday night. . . he made me popcorn, poured me a glass of wine, we watched a cheesy movie and cuddled on the couch. it was actually a good night, and by the end of it, i definitely wasn’t worried about my grade anymore. i will be monday when i go back to class. . . but, there is nothing i can do about it, just make sure i get it down next time. . .
so let’s see. . . what else can i update ?? i’m not sure. . .
back to my yeoman shift til midnight. . . it’s only 8:05 pm. . . i’ve only been on duty since 6 pm. . . but it feels like FOREVER. . .