Cheap Wine and Cookies

Not a Hippie Thing

2012-01-28T16:52:00.000-05:00

"Timothy will know - " I heard my name as I walked down the hall at work. (Being a Marine, I go by my last name at work.) I took a couple steps back to peek into the office from which I had heard my name. Three or four of the judge advocates I work with were gathered for an end-of-the-day gab session. "I'll know what?" READ MORE>>

Personnas

2012-01-28T08:39:00.000-05:00

Colleen Timothy. If you follow me here on Cheap Wine and Cookies, and/or on my Facebook, and/or my Twitter (plug, plug), you probably know me, Colleen, pretty well. If you met me "in real life," though, I think you'd be surprised. My online persona really doesn't line up with my real life personna. Even my Facebook account that isn't linked to my blog, while a closer

Why Compassion?: Because of This

2012-01-27T08:38:00.000-05:00

This morning, I was blindsided. As a Marine and as an attorney, I am no stranger to tragedy and heartbreaking scenarios. Violence, death, abuse - the list of awful things that I might encounter in any given day is immeasurable. I am not talking about atrocities in combat. I am not a combat Marine, or, I haven't been so far. But I have seen awful things relating not only to the horror

Why Compassion?: It Fits

2012-01-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

I have written on Empathy before. I feel very strongly that the ability to put one's self in another's shoes, so to speak, is crucial to compassionate human relationships. Compassionate Life emphasizes and refines that point. Compassion is key - for personal enlightenment, for global justice, for right relationships. It is something we have evolved for. Compassionate Life

Why Compassion?: The Journey Begins

2012-01-26T09:57:00.001-05:00

Several months ago, I found myself palgued by negative thoughts and pointless drama. A couple people from MacGyver and my pasts had popped into our lives for no apparent reason other than to spread discontent and drama. I started hearing gossip that involved me from military personnel I barely knew. It wasn't anything too particularly vitriolic or slanderous, but that made it all the

A Compassionate Life: My Endeavor

2012-01-25T15:22:00.000-05:00

As a couple of you have already noticed, there is a new tab up at the top of this page. A Compassionate Life: My Endeavor is my new blog following my progress as I undertake Karen Armstrong's Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life. There being twelve steps worked out perfectly since I decided to undertake this project in December. Hence, I will be devoting one month to each of the twelve

He Signs

2012-01-20T15:43:00.000-05:00

As I have mentioned before, Flintstone uses sign language. Actually he uses it so much (and I talk about it so much) that a friend of mine on Facebook recently asked if he was deaf. He's not deaf, but he is a very adept little signer. Signing has been an amazing experience for us. It has been a great stress reliever to me to be able to just ask Flintstone what he wants or needs

Back Again

2012-01-20T15:00:00.000-05:00

So I disappeared there for a bit. Last weekend we drove up to VA to do some minor renovations on our house up there. Well, MacGyver did renovations. He starting installing the bookcases to convert a storage room into a library. The changes MacGyver has made to our house so far have been amazing. I love our house. I loved it when we first found it, and I have loved it since, but one

Dear Shampoo, You're Fired

2012-01-12T14:04:00.000-05:00

Natural, organic, crunchy, ethical living can be sort of a slippery slope. When I was in Law School, I cut out bleached carbs, high fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated oils. Gradually, I started switching to a diet that emphasizes veggies above all else. This was all for health reasons. When I became a mother to Punky, I further cut out most juices and junk food except for on special

Holiday Ham

2012-01-10T08:38:00.000-05:00

When I found out the family was coming for Christmas, I was very excited. I immediately called Boo to talk about what they wanted to do while they were here. I also asked him what he wanted for Christmas dinner. "Dangit!" he exclaimed. "I didn't even think of that." "What?" "Mom made the best honey ham for Easter, and I was really excited about having one for

Evolution

2012-01-10T06:26:00.001-05:00

It's 6 o'clock in the morning. The house is quiet and still. The only sounds are occasional doggie footsteps and the regular background hum of the house. This is one of my favorite times of day. I sit alone by the fire and drink my tea and read. It is my half hour of quiet. It started when I was in law school - I would sit in bed and drink my coffee and watch Xena until the

Holiday Pic Explosion

2012-01-06T09:31:00.000-05:00

Yes, the holidays have been over for about a week. That just makes this post unique, right? Our Christmas tree is still up, too. All the other decorations are down, but we haven't gotten to the tree yet. And poor Flintstone was so sad he actually cried when MacGyver packed away the train. Anyway, our holidays were awesome this year. In keeping with the stragely functional

Resolute

2012-01-03T16:36:00.001-05:00

Well, the New Year is upon us. 2011 was a great, pretty low key year - no moves, no births, no real major life changes that I can think of. Even our New Year's Eve was more low key than it has been - probably ever. We went to waterfront park, enjoyed some lattes (fair trade, organic, soy) and watched the fireworks, then hung out at home with friends (and wine) and watched the Ball drop.

For My Pinterest Buddies

2011-12-30T21:50:00.001-05:00

I just saw the most amazing ring on Pinterest, but my stupid phone failed to repin it. It is THE ring I want for our 5 year. I need you all to help me find it again! It is a beautiful emerald ring with a band made of a vine of leaves just like my wedding ring. The emerald is square cut, I think, and surrounded with small diamonds. Please let me know if you see it.

The End is Near

2011-12-30T11:52:00.000-05:00

Both yesterday and today, I started end of the year, cop-out meme posts just to get something up here so you all would know I wasn't dead. I lost interest in both posts half way through. So I figured a random train of thought post might work out better. I'm not dead. The holidays, so far, have been amazing. Just absolutely and completely enjoyable. Even minor

The Longest Night

2011-12-22T16:40:00.000-05:00

Last night, we attended a beautiful Solstice Ritual at our church. It was something of a culminating point for our Earth-Centered Spirituality group. Our friend PaganGuy and I have been fighting the board at our church to recognize and incorporate this group for about a year. Many, if not most, UU churches have Pagan groups - usually (but not always) CUUPs, Covenant of Unitarian

"Sausage" Casserole

2011-12-21T09:04:00.000-05:00

This started out as just a fridge clean-out meal and may become a comfort food favorite. READ MORE>>

Lighten Up

2011-12-20T13:13:00.001-05:00

I posted something big and important (to me) this morning. Then I immediately thought, "Man, that post is WAY too heavy (and preachy, and loooong)." So this is my randomness post to make up for it. AND to link up with the wonderful Shawn and IA for Talk to Us Tuesday, the link up with no rules! Yesterday, I was informed by Flintstone's teachers that he is an absolute

The Universe is Screaming at Me

2011-12-20T09:23:00.000-05:00

. . . or, at the very least, it's nudging me very, very hard. Note: I started this post days ago, and have written it in chunks. It may not be cohesive, but I want to get it published because I have follow-up posts I need to write! All Fall, I found myself in a cleansing phase, both literally and spiritually. I went on a cleaning and organizing bender all over the house (which the

Look at All the Sky Fish!

2011-12-16T08:57:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning, when I got Flintstone out of the car at his school, there were birds flying all over the parkinglot. Flintstone "ooo"d and "aaahh"d excitedly. When I put him down he clapped, pointed at the birds, and triumphantly signed "fish!" "Fish!" Flintstone, like his daddy, loves fish. He runs up to the fish tank and signs fish until we pick him up to look at them at

Traditions

2011-12-13T16:46:00.000-05:00

Well I am still not fully in the Holiday spirit, but I think with work as crazy as it will continue to be and the complete lack of snow at this latitude, I probably won't be until the Solstice itself. I do, however, have more holiday spirit than I did last week because we've finally picked up with some of our holiday traditions. We got our first visit from the Elf on the Shelf.

Doing All the Things!

2011-12-09T14:49:00.000-05:00

Recently, I was on a super motiviation high. I got tons of stuff done, had tons of energy, and was a full-on productive adult. Today, I am - um - less so. So, even though I told myself I was going to start writing substantive, useful posts, I am once again reverting to my old favorite: Pointless, random, disconnected bullets. I seriously lost the motivation to even write this post

Tea - Not Just for Throwing in the Harbor Anymore

2011-12-08T12:57:00.000-05:00

Growing up 1/2 Canadian, I've always had an appreciation for tea. While I drank more coffee, tea did make regular appearances in my hot beverages rotation. I love hot beverages - coffee, tea, hot chocolate, hot cider, and hot toddies! Just to name a few. For the last few years, tea has quickly been overtaking coffee - and everything else. It started when I was researching trying

Chores

2011-12-06T12:52:00.001-05:00

The weekly blog hop with no rules!------------------------------------------------------------------ "Why don't you do the dishes?" I whined. "Because I have you," my dad informed me simply, with a smirk - probably the millionth time he'd made such a proclaimation. Both my brother, Boo, and I replayed this banter with our parents on a constantly repeating basis over any

It's Not That I Don't Love You . . .

2011-12-05T16:50:00.000-05:00

If your comment box is embedded below your post. As in, it doesn't come up in it's own window when I click "Post Comment," then I can't comment on your posts. I'm sure it's my government computer system, since I haven't noticed anyone out in blogland complaining about it, but it is still completely frustrating. Then, if I try to email you the comment and you're a "no-reply blogger," well then

Un-Picky Punky

2011-11-30T12:40:00.000-05:00

Back in July, I asked you all to ask me anything you wanted to know about me in order to get the blog juices flowing, and you responded with some really excellent questions that I was very excited to dig into. And I promptly didn't answer a single one of them. Well, that is getting rectified, at least a little, today. Lourie asked, "How do you get your kids to eat so healthy? My

What's On Your Plate?

2011-11-29T09:17:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, Punky and I watched an excellent documentary together that we both want to recommend to everyone. It's called What's On Your Plate? and it follows two 11 year olds on their journey to find out where the food they eat comes from. Punky and I both decided to review the movie right here on Cheap Wine and Cookies. First, a little overview and my take: The film

Fresh Out of the Oven

2011-11-24T23:09:00.001-05:00

Humane, Local, Pasture-Raised, Organic turkey seasoned with rosemary, oregano, and marjoram from the garden and stuffed with Farmer's Market carrots. Sooo Yummy. Happy Thanksgiving!

The Other Side of Giving Thanks

2011-11-23T11:42:00.000-05:00

One day is not nearly enough time for me to take stock of all the things for which I am thankful. My life is nothing if not blessed. Even a year would not be enough time. From the moment I wake up (in a warm bed I am thankful for, next to an amazing husband and perfect child I am eternally thankful for, under a roof I am thankful to have, to get ready for a job I am thankful for, . . .)

Talk To Us!

2011-11-22T11:59:00.000-05:00

I have been wanting to join Talk To Us Tuesday for quite a while. It's my kind of blog hop in that there are absolutely no rules at all! That said, I've usually already put up my Tuesday post before I realize I could stick the Talk To Us Tuesday button op and the top. But today I remembered! Awesome. Plus, I needed a little somethin' for this post since I don't have anything

Ri-Freaking-diculous

2011-11-19T13:57:00.002-05:00

I'm not a big proponent of the Occupy Wall Street movement. I generally support their cause, but, quite frankly, I don't have time for a new cause right now and I sure as heck don't have time to sleep in a park. But today, my interests are completely overlapping with those of Occupy. And if you don't really "get" what the Occupy movement is all about, this is a perfect demonstration

Uncontemplated Age

2011-11-17T13:31:00.001-05:00

A while back, almost two weeks ago now, I got a package in the mail from my mom. It had this sticker on it: So, of course I couldn't wait to open it. Inside, I found this: Yes, it's that time of year again. Time to take stock of just how stone age old I am getting. Time for MacGvyer to make fun of me and Punky to ask me if we had X or Y when I was a kid (2 years ago, she

In the Works

2011-11-14T14:56:00.001-05:00

I've been absentee lately, I know. I have so much to post about, but no time at all! I have barely touched a computer in days. I really miss you all. I have a couple posts in the works and about 6 billion others stewing in my head. I promise one of these days I'll find the time to make bloggy amends. But for now, there is just too much else I need to devote my attention to. I'm

WWTK Wednesdays: My Style

2011-11-09T16:13:00.000-05:00

" target="_blank">http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g328/OurDandelionWishes/WWTKbutton.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">center> Hosted by Mamarazzi, Queso and Crazymama. This week Mamarazzi is asking the questions and she is asking about your fave, must have make-up items, personal style and your beauty routine. {1} What is your "can't go without it" beauty product/cosmetic? {2}

Quick Dinners

2011-11-09T10:22:00.001-05:00

Any working mom will tell you that an absolutely essential tool to always have in your belt is a good list of quick and easy dinners for "those nights," running in from work, trying to change clothes on the way to the bedroom, shouting directives, and tripping over dogs to get to this or that extracurricular activity or parent teacher conferences amidst distressed choruses of "but what

Halloween Wrap Up

2011-11-03T14:18:00.001-04:00

Halloween this year was awesome as ever. On the evening of the 30th, we attended a Samhain ritual at church. Technically, I was a leader of the ritual, but in reality I was gone all week and my pagan cohort actually put the whole thing together. He is the entire lifeblood of our group. The ritual was a powerful rememberance of those who have passed on to whatever comes after this

Pumpkin Spice Latte

2011-11-03T12:29:00.000-04:00

We've already thoroughly discussed the fact that I am completely in love with Fall. One of my favorite parts of Fall is Fall flavored things - like the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks! Now, I have a deep love for Starbucks. Their coffee is all Fair Trade/Equal Exchange and they treat their employees very well. But I do have a problem with READ MORE>>

Coloration

2011-10-31T16:05:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween All! I hope you're all having as wonderful a holiday as I am so far. Last night was our Samhain ritual at church, and it was a huge success - a very satisfying way to recognize lost loved ones and emerse ourselves in the feeling as the veil between the worlds reaches its thinnest point. This post isn't actually about Halloween, though. You'll get the real Halloween

Business and the Breast

2011-10-27T17:54:00.000-04:00

This is a first draft. I expect to be editing it in the near future The other night, I gave a presentation to the Board of Directors for our church. It was a very important meeting regarding the future status of our organization. I saw it as a professional presentation and was treated with respect and deference throughout. I also breastfed throughout. There was a time

Screw Spring Cleaning. . .

2011-10-26T10:38:00.001-04:00

. . . I'm more a Fall re-vamp sorta girl. For weeks now I've been all over our house trying to instill a little organization and style here and there. We're talking nesting level obsession with organizing and prettifying. I love our house. It is beautiful and bright and has a brilliant open floor plan. And I hate our house. It has this freaking open floor plan that means

WWTK Wednesdays: Shopping

2011-10-26T08:21:00.001-04:00

I'm finally back on the WWTK Wednesdays train! Mostly because I saw the topic and thought, "Crud, I have a whole lot of that to do over the next couple months." Though, surprisingly, there are no questions about shopping for the upcoming winter holidays (and birthdays in my world). This week's theme is SHOPPING! Here are your questions... 1. Do you shop til you drop, or are you in and out

Can't Get Enough

2011-10-25T09:11:00.001-04:00

I may actually be able to get a real post up today, but in the meantime, there are new posts up on both the Ethical Eating and Recipes pages.

TAD

2011-10-24T13:38:00.001-04:00

A little military jargon lesson for my civilian readers: T.A.D. = temporary additional duty. Doesn't sound good, but it's really not a bad deal. Effectively, in most cases at least, its basically time off your regular job to go do something else. In my case, this usually means training. Legal training. And, if you're a dork like me and love school as much as I do (not to mention getting paid to

Title Ideas?

2011-10-21T10:19:00.001-04:00

I will shortly be launching a new blog (yes, another one). The new blog will be my professional law blog - something I'm undertaking with an eye to future employment in the civilian sector. But I'm having a rough time coming up with a title for the new blog. It needs to be something somewhat professional without being too dry, and I don't want to restrict it to one area of law or

Someone Like You

2011-10-19T17:02:00.004-04:00

So Adele is all the rage these days, no? (Yes, I said all the rage. What? I'm old. And a dork. You already knew that.) And I'm totally on board. I love Rolling in the Deep. Her voice is beautiful and powerful and her lyrics - for the most part - are moving. For the most part. But her newer song, Someone Like You, has been getting on my nerves lately. I mean, I still enjoy

Vote For Me! (Pretty Please)

2011-10-18T09:40:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to take moment to direct everyone's attention to my lovely new "Nominate Me" button over in my sidebar ------> I've even included it below, just for your convenience, dear readers. As we all know, I've been working on getting the Ethical Eating, Recipes, and Reading blogs rolling, and I'm trying to use For The Love of Blogs to facilitate that. So if you find yourself

Schooling Myself: Political

2011-10-18T08:54:00.000-04:00

I've mentioned before that I don't often comment on politics in general because I feel the topics are more complicated than most people give them credit for and I don't have the time or the energy to collect enough information to feel completely confident in my opinion. And I think people who buy into the over-hyped spinmiesters are complete tools. This morning, I was listening to

All Hallows Grim

2011-10-13T15:47:00.000-04:00

I rarely join Blog Hops/parties/etc. Mostly because I hate committment (yes I am a Marine and am married to my ONE and ONLY husband, and YES I still have committment issues.). Because I usually find that I want to post other things outside of what's "required" for the blog hop. And because I forget. A lot. But I found this one too hard to resist, 1) because it centers around

For the Love of - Me!

2011-10-13T08:05:00.001-04:00

Woo Hoo, guess who's featured over at For The Love of Blogs today??? I'm tempted to get all cute with the "I'll give you a hint, it's your very favorite neurotic food blogger" or "She has a super hot husband," but I'm trying not to scare anyone away today ;-) My hope had been to have a super fun post up the day my FTLOBs feature came up, but, alas, I think I'm going to fail

Eating Our Own

2011-10-12T11:26:00.000-04:00

I am not a vegan, and I don't claim to be. I am not even a vegetarian. And I don't claim to be. Most of the time the meals I prepare are vegan or at least vegetarian, but I myself can claim neither of those labels. And there are reasons for that. Reasons that have become even more clear to me in the last few days. READ MORE>>

Home Remedies

2011-10-09T15:19:00.002-04:00

Flintstone went into the Dr's office a couple days ago to get his shots, and I'm pretty sure he came back with some sort of a bug. I hate all the germs in Dr's offices. Which is another reason I chose to give birth at home. Poor little monkey has been a congested and snotty and at night seems just generally uncomfortable. During the day he is, for the most part, his usual happy, active,

A Reason to Skip

2011-10-07T12:18:00.000-04:00

As we all know, I'm not one for skipping Holidays. It frustates the heck out of me when I walk into a store that's all fancied up for Christmas/Yule/Chanukka/Festivus and all other holidays on or around Winter Solstice before we've even hit Halloween (or even Patriot Day in some cases!). But I'm breaking my cardinal rule and skipping ahead a holiday. This skipping, however is

"Turn That Trash Down!"

2011-10-06T17:02:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, I think my taste in music kinda dates me. I listen to a lot of classic rock - Meatloaf, Bon Jovi, REO Speedwagon, and Blue Oyster Cult rock my socks, just to name a few. At work, I mostly listen to classical music on NPR (though I do occasionally change it up with my YouTube playlists). At dinner, we listen to classical, smooth jazz, blues, or new-age-y soothing nature sounds

Sex Ed: Amazing!

2011-10-05T14:54:00.000-04:00

When I was pregnant, Punky started asking questions. Nothing too risqué, nothing particularly specific, but it was clear that she was curious. The first time she asked, I was completely unprepared a little surprised. I pulled up some handy internet images of the good old female reproductive system (internal) and promptly bored the curiosity right out of her with talk of cells and

Food Day!

2011-10-04T13:30:00.000-04:00

What could be better than a day all about food? A day all about using food to make the world a better place! Check out my Food Day Post! (Includes an opportunity to be a featured blogger here on Cheap Wine and Cookies).

Reunited

2011-10-04T12:00:00.000-04:00

The 10 year High School Reunion was a smashing success. I know everyone's dying to see pictures of me with random people I knew 10 years ago. Leading up to it, I was super excited. I had been looking forward to my reunion for 12 years. Yes, I'm such a nostalgia junkie that I was already looking forward to my reunion before I even graduated high school. But then when the day of

Pumpkin Pancakes and Flinstone's Take on Weekends

2011-10-03T16:52:00.002-04:00

Check it out here!

The Family That Reads - And Other Big Events!

2011-09-30T13:04:00.000-04:00

So I haven't posted much lately because I've been TRYING to finish the dang post about my HS reunion - you know, before the 20 year rolls around! But work has been super busy (and I've been a freaking rock star, let me tell you), and well, you know how it goes. Still, I'm not neglecting this here little blog. Big things are afoot! Did you see my three fancy new tabs up at the top

Changes

2011-09-28T11:52:00.000-04:00

Well, the migraine is on a downswing now, but it got a whole lot worse before it got better. I did end up in a ball on my office floor and hanging over the porcelin throne. But I'm [marginally] better now, and ramping up to trying to crank out a whole day's work in less than half a day. But first, here's a post I started a while ago and have finally become inspired to really post. I

Ouch

2011-09-28T09:49:00.000-04:00

My head feels like it's going to explode. I am in so much pain right now, I can't even look at my computer screen. I can't work, but I have to do somethingor I'm just going to curl up in a ball under my desk and groan - which isn't exactly professional. The lights are off, the blinds are closed. My head hurts so bad it might make me throw up. You guessed it. I have a migraine.

WhistFall

2011-09-27T14:11:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year again:Source: google.com via Laurel on Pinterest Source: retailtherapyforlife.wordpress.com via Laurel on Pinterest Source: bhg.com via Alli on Pinterest Source: countryliving.com via Andrea on Pinterest On Friday, we went to a wonderful Mabon ritual hosted by some good friends of ours from church. It was simple but beautiful and fun. With rythm from drums and

State of the Flintstone

2011-09-26T17:02:00.000-04:00

Milestones My little man is a year old, and he continues to grow and change at warp speed. There is absolutely no more denying that he is his own complete individual person now. He's terrifyingly, destructively impressively mobile. He's interested in absolutely everything except his toys, and he is on a mission to explore - particularly any place or thing that is particularly likely to

High School

2011-09-22T14:05:00.000-04:00

So I started writing a post about my 10 year high school reunion, but we haven't uploaded the pictures yet, and for some reason I just can't get into the post. I had done this meme that I was going to post before the reunion and then forgot about, so guess what? Instead of writing a real post you get this cop out crap that no one ever reads. Meme Fun!!! 1. Did you date someone from your

525,600 Minutes

2011-09-14T01:25:00.000-04:00

At 12:23 am one year ago, the world changed forever. I could never have guessed the joy you would bring me. I could never have fathomed the new meaning you brought to life. I wanted you to wait just long enough for your Auntie, ScathingLawyer, to make it to us to watch your sister, but you were one step ahead of me. As soon as you decided you were ready to come, you came fast.

Like Living in an Action Flick

2011-09-13T23:50:00.002-04:00

Standing duty sucks for all the obvious reasons. It's a super long shift and I have to spend the night away from my family. That's softened a little by the fact that I have the most considerate husband in the world who does things like bringing me my favorite Veggie Massaman Curry for dinner and bringing the kidders to visit me so I can say goodnight - even IF Flintstone was more

Back Up Off my Happily Ever After

2011-09-13T23:50:00.000-04:00

This will be the last you hear of this, hopefully forever, at least for now. If you don't have any idea what I'm talking about, be thankful and please move on to the next post, which is much more entertaining. I've got a bit of a storybook thing going on in my life - family, career, the whole 9. I have an amazing husband who is the best friend, partner, and lover I could ask for.

Chill Weekend

2011-09-11T13:14:00.000-04:00

We had a great weekend. Nothing too particularly exciting, but still pretty enjoyable. I had a girls' night out with some girlfriends Friday night that was SO much fun even though we didn't stay out very late. At home, we watched a few movies, and I spent most of the day Saturday just getting tons of stuff done. It was normal stuff, tidying up, cleaning the floors, laundry, errands,

Someone Else's Loss

2011-09-07T16:06:00.001-04:00

My friend over at Tales of a Kitchen Witch seems to be starting up some conrtoversy lately. I'm not going to try to paraphrase everything that was said, or even what she said. I will say it involves breast cancer "games" and the pain of infertility or loss of pregnancy. And I will say I agree with her. I strongly suggest that you check out this post and this post if you'd like to better

Class

2011-09-07T15:11:00.000-04:00

Still super busy and things are moving and changing. I'm taking some classes in preparation for being the OIC of the Tax Center when Tax season roles around. I'll be out of town on Friday for a completely different class in preparation for taking over as Legal Assistance OIC sometime soon (Legal Assistance = mainly family law). Oh, but I'm still OIC of Civ Law and Review and the

Not That I Have Time

2011-09-06T16:08:00.000-04:00

O K . . . Thanks for bearing with me through all the craziness this weekend. I think we have things worked back out. Or, at least, the kinks are getting ironed. Functionality has been restored. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Drama? Eff. Moving forward, I still have 6 million things I want to post, but I am rolling right along at work right now and don't have a whole lot of time

Don't Worry

2011-09-04T18:52:00.002-04:00

Things are back up and running here at Cheap Wine and Cookies. Those who would try to spread their own unhappiness around have failed. If you're completely confused about what's going on, read no further. All you need to know is I'm still here and everything is fine.

Fixing . . .

2011-09-04T09:55:00.001-04:00

Erg, this thing is all messed up now. Bear with me . . .

Where Have You Been?

2011-08-31T10:35:00.001-04:00

Just when you think things might calm down . . . Ha. Actually, things have calmed down, and that's part of the problem. At least, it's a problem for this here blog. I'm getting boatloads of stuff done at work and am much less frusterated than I have been for a while, so I'm all tied up in my real life and it's completely distracting me from my online meddlings. ;-) But I do so

2011-08-26T16:42:00.002-04:00

The Chocolate Elf seems to have visited my office. Let the Anniversary Weekend begin!

2011-08-26T07:43:00.002-04:00

Almost Done I haven't been posting this week, anniversary related or otherwise, because I have been unbelievably busy. Up at 0400 every morning to get out to the Range, firing for hours, rush home to shower and change (because it's been around 100 most days with 652% humidity), then back to work to conduct the longest Article 32 hearing ever. I've been at work well past 7pm

Anniversary

2011-08-23T10:56:00.001-04:00

Today, MacGyver and I have been married for three years. Last year, I pondered the reasons why it feels like we've been married so much longer than that, and yet feels like we just got married yesterday. That feeling still holds true. I will probably do a big, mushy, or at least thoughtful, anniversary post at some point this week, but it won't be today. I just got back from the

The One: Q&A

2011-08-18T16:39:00.001-04:00

Do you have a good Love/Marriage/Relationship meme tucked away somewhere? Please send it to me! I freaking love memes, and it's been too long since I've done any. In honor of the impedning anniversary, I give you the "The One" meme:What do you call your spouse?MacGyver, Honey, a couple other horrifyingly cutesy things that there is no way in Hell I’m putting on the internet.What first

A Cluttered Mind

2011-08-18T14:12:00.001-04:00

. . . is a sign of genius, right? Or is it a cluttered desk? . . . Either way, I've got both! Here are some of the random thoughts floating around my brain today in the midst of a flood of work/family/anniversary/range/life stuff: Have you been over to Brittany Ann's blog, Living in the Moment? It's awesome. She's pretty busy lately what with the adorable new little girl in her life,

Countdown to 3

2011-08-17T13:05:00.001-04:00

August 23rd, one week from yesterday, is MacGyver and my 3 year wedding anniversary. My intention had been to do a whole week of "MacGyver and Me" or relationship related posts. The only problem with this plan is that I'm on Grass Week for the Range AGAIN, so I may not have much time to post at all. Nevertheless, I'm excited about our anniversary. I doubt we'll do much on the

Drama

2011-08-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

Is it just me, or have I been writing more negative posts lately? Maybe it is just me. I certainly haven't been any more negative in my everyday life. Actually, considering all the crap that's been going on (nothing too out of the ordinary, really, just the same old crud), I think I am pretty dang good at being laid back and happy. But somehow I recently let myself get sucked into some drama.

What's Wrong with Boo Now? Visiting!

2011-08-13T11:59:00.001-04:00

If you aren't familiar with the cavalcade of calamity that follows my brother around, you should really check out this post, and maybe this one for good measure. Go ahead, click over. I'll wait . . . . . . . . .. I've been pretty bad about keeping up on this particular feature lately, but that is certainly not for lack of material. Actually, if I posted every episode, I'd have to

Maybe Miscarriage

2011-08-11T20:49:00.002-04:00

I have a stRong suspicion that I am having a miscarriage. It would only have been a chemical pregnancy; I'm not even sure if that really even "counts" as a miscarriage. I was only a week late, but I felt exactly like I did right before I found out I was pregnant with Flintstone and this is an extremely heavy period. Really, I shouldn't be upset because I have an IUD specifically to prevent

This Summer's MI Recap

2011-08-09T09:46:00.001-04:00

Because I promised a cheerful post to make up for my bitch-fest this morning. The MI trip was - as always - amazing. After the first marathon driving session (during which I filmed my first ever VLOG that no one commented on because it was boring as hell and completely pointless *pout*), we stopped at a waterpark hotel in Indiana for one last blast before dropping Punky off at

Offensive

2011-08-09T08:10:00.001-04:00

I have refrained from saying this for a long time because I KNOW it will offend someone. But I am not having the best morning in the world and I just found out that we lost one of our Marines because he slept with another Marine's wife - and we were already incredibly short staffed. We all know that I detest adulterers. It's gross, dirty, narcissistic, and deceitful - and that's

V is ofr Vacation VLOG

2011-08-07T14:07:00.002-04:00

We got back from our wonderful, awesome, fun, and relaxing trip to Michigan at around 5 this morning. And let me tell you, the last 20 miles was a s t r e t c h. But we're home and settled in now. Flintstone even let me sleep until 8:30 this morning. ;-) I have mountains of stuff I want to post (as always), but I also have a house full of baggage that needs to be unpacked and

If You're Going to B*tch About Taxes

2011-07-21T11:24:00.002-04:00

I grew up in a fairly rural, backwoods area of Michigan. I lived 5 miles outside of one of the small villages that made up the local school district. The median household income (according to the 2000 census) was $31,875. When the economy took a hit even before the rest of the country, things got even worse. My point is, it is not a wealthy area. Growing up, I knew many families

Wide Open Post

2011-07-19T15:49:00.002-04:00

Is there something that you really want to know about me that I've just never mentioned hear on this blog? Or something I've mentioned or alluded to that left you curious? Have I said something or is there something I do on the blog that just drives you freaking nuts? Is there something you'd really like to see or know more about? Do you want to know more about

Psychosomatic Food Poisoning

2011-07-18T12:40:00.002-04:00

If you've been anywhere in the vacinity of my blog (or me) in the last week and a half, you know that last Friday afternoon could not come fast enough. The pistol range went great, but the rifle range was just one effing debacle after another. And you know what? Come Friday afternoon I found out they didn't even have an EFFING score for me! WTF?!? Errrrg. Though, it's probably for the

Photo Apocalypse

2011-07-15T16:23:00.002-04:00

As we all know, I've been on the range for the last week/week and a half. And it has been Hell. Hell on me. Hell on my family. Hell on my poor blog. I've managed a couple of posts from my phone. Over the last couple days, I've sent some pictures with the posts. From my phone. Really, most of the pictures on this blog come from my phone because uploading pictures from our

Flashback Fridays

2011-07-15T14:52:00.002-04:00

I decided to link up with Karen for Flashback Fridays and discovered that it's going to save me a whole post. At the end of this month, we're going on vacation in MI. Punky will probably be going to see BioB. If BioB gets her act together enough to take her. Looking back at my post from this time last year, oh so very little has changed. Erg. Once a year, she reappears. I know it's

Drain Chimp

2011-07-15T08:58:00.003-04:00

A night like any other: MacGyver and I are working together in the kitchen. Tonight, Macagyver's making broccoli manicotti with humane local sausage while I clean the kitchen and feed Flintstone. Then we hear it. The same sound we hear most nights: A sort of squaking croak coming from somewhere near the sink. We're pretty sure it's a frog, but it sounds exactly like a monkey. Even though we've

2011-07-13T19:15:00.003-04:00

Missing from the last post. The aforementioned chile peppers from the garden. This week isn't getting better. Suck. Suck. Suck. Details later. Maybe not. Suffice to say Suck. The whole damn thing is turning into a goat rope. In 120 degree heat. I was almost a heat casualty today. It was probably hyponutremia - no idea how to spell that. Its been too hot to eat. I've lost 4, maybe 5 pounds this

Fck - Pt 1

2011-07-12T07:05:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was a complete azfck of a day. Got up at 0400 to make it to the Armory by 0500 (and barely made it b/c Flintstone decided to get up at 0400, too). Got my M16 and drove over to the range to enure the hour long does-anyone-know-what-the-hell-is-going-on gaggle. Slated for first relay b/c I'm a dual shooter (rifle in the am, pistol in the pm), I ended up getting bumped to third relay b/c

Fck - Pt 2

2011-07-12T07:02:00.003-04:00

(Stupid phone shortening my damn posts) I rushed to the Armory, turned in the M4, and finally made it to the hospital 1/2 hour after I got MacGyver's text. The information person told me I couldn't see him. "They're still working on him," he told me.How awful does that sound? So Punky and I waited. She did pretty well - I'm sure that's mostly because she had no idea what was going on. I reassured

Navigators

2011-07-07T15:00:00.002-04:00

So, remember when we went to GA and it was super awesome and there was so much super exciting EVERYTHING to be super excited about?!?! (If you can't tell, that sentence is meant to be read as if delivered by an excited 5 year old at an amusement park. On speed.) Remember how I tried (and failed) to capture all the awesomeness and tell you about all the amazing groups and activities

WWTK Wednesdays: Grass Week

2011-07-06T15:57:00.002-04:00

So, next week I'm on the range, meaning I have to go back to get my annual qualifications on the M16 and the 9mm. Range week is going to be crazy because it will require me to be out of the office most of the day every day the entire week. Sweating my ass off and showing some little paper guys who's boss. This week is what's called "Grass Week." Basically, refamiliarizing with the feel of the

Totems

2011-07-02T10:44:00.003-04:00

[via] Driving in to work in the morning, I pass through the salt marsh at sunrise. The water is glassy and still, reflecting the green Spartina grass. Pelicans occasionally swoop down, scooping up fish, stirring up ripples on the glassy surface. It's peaceful and beautiful and a little bit magical. And every time I see those pelicans, I think of my grandpa. [via] My

Joint Brain Tenancy

2011-06-30T08:26:00.001-04:00

Today is NotDonna's birthday! This will be one of a very small handful of years when I don't actually get to see her the week of her birthday. *pout* When we were very young, she'd have swimming parties at Baptist Lake. Then we grew into camping parties at Newago State Park. These parties have resulted in a number of embarassing, ridiculous, and all around odd lasting memories. (

Want to Know Wednesdays: Always Late

2011-06-30T07:44:00.001-04:00

I believe that forgetting waiting to post my We Want to Know Wednesday answers until Thursday just makes the posts stand out that much more. 1. What was the last thing you searched for online?I looked up a particular cite from the United States Code regarding Federal ethics. Exciting, right? Before that, I searched for leafcutter ants . . . 2. If we visit your home state, what is one MUST

General Assembly (GA) Weekend!

2011-06-28T10:47:00.001-04:00

We had an amazing weekend. We got up at 3am Saturday morning to drive up to Charlotte, NC for the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly (GA), and it was sooooo worth it. It was exciting, uplifting, fun, intellectually stimulating, heart-warming, and exhausting. GA is the annual get-together of all (or most) of the UU congregations in the US, and some international congregations