Category Archives: Fun
Wordless Wednesday: Deaf Dog Barking
I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.
~Gilda Radner
Our deaf guard dog cracks me up when he barks/growls. It’s not a “normal” dog sound, but it’s his sound. For reference on Skah’s size, he’s on a California King size bed and Huzzy is 6’5″.
To Santa or Not To Santa?
We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers.
~Seneca
I grew up, like 99 percent of my friends, believing in Santa. He was a magical part of life that made me think anything was possible. Come on, if a bajillion year-old guy who lives at the North Pole and flies in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer (nine if you count Rudolph) around the world to deliver presents made by his many tiny elves in one night without freezing his tookus off… anything is possible.
It was magical until I asked my mom if Santa was real. But it didn’t scar me… quite the opposite. 
Every year around this time, there’s debate on whether parents should tell their children about Santa and whether they risk losing the child’s trust for life. Personally, I don’t think this is an issue at all but that’s because of the way my parents handled the situation. One that I plan to repeat with our future children.
When I was seven, I asked my mom if Santa was real. She, in turn, asked me if I really wanted to know. I thought about it and told her no.
The next year, I asked my mom if Santa was real. Again, she asked me if I really wanted to know. I said yes. And this is where she forever changed my life…
My mom sat down with me and told me that the Santa Claus we all know isn’t real BUT he was based on a real person called Saint Nicholas. She went on to tell me that St. Nick was a real person who lived long ago and who really secretly gave people presents and made the lives of those around him better. She told me that we all have a little bit of St. Nick in us and that we must remember to do good to those around us.
She said Santa helps kids learn about how it good it makes people feel to receive things from others for no reason… and that we must strive to do the same thing as St. Nick and help those around us feel the same things as we felt when we opened gifts from Santa.
While Jesus is the reason for the Season… I think Santa Claus can be a part of it too without ruining it—as long as Santa is a tool to teach children about giving rather than greed. Heck, I still get a gift from “Santa” each year. It’s a great reminder to brighten the lives of those around me.
The 12 Submarine (Wife) Days of Christmas
At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.
~Jean Houston
You may see my post on this over at SpouseBuzz, but you can read it here too (though you really should go over to SpouseBuzz if you aren’t already a reader!).
The Twelve Subby (Wife) Days of Christmas
On the first day of Christmas, my subby gave to me:
A seabag of clothes smelling of amine!
On the second day of Christmas, my subby gave to me:
Two phone calls from topside,
And a seabag of clothes smelling of amine (gosh you really stink!)!
On the third day of Christmas, my subby gave to me:
Three strains of boat crud,
Two phone calls from topside (shhh, don’t tell),
And a seabag of clothes smelling of amine!
On the fourth day of Christmas, my subby gave to me:
Four missed holidays,
Three strains of boat crud (*cough* thanks, hubby),
Two phone calls from topside,
And a seabag of clothes smelling of amine!
On the fifth day of Christmas, my subby gave to me:
Fiiiiive emails at once!
Four missed holidays (yes my birthday counts),
Three strains of boat crud,
Two phone calls from topside,
And a seabag of clothes smelling of amine!
On the sixth day of Christmas, my subby gave to me:
Six days of duty…
Fiiiiive emails at once! (Boy did I need that!)
Four missed holidays,
Three strains of boat crud,
Two phone calls from topside,
And a seabag of clothes smelling of amine!
On the seventh day of Christmas, my subby gave to me:
Seven days to pay the rec bill
Six days of duty (New Year’s Eve, again?)…
Fiiiiive emails at once! (finally!)
Four missed holidays,
Three strains of boat crud,
Two phone calls from topside,
And a seabag of clothes smelling of amine!
On the eighth day of Christmas, my subby gave to me:
Eight Single Sailors at dinner,
Seven days to pay the rec bill (WHAT did he spend it on?),
Six days of duty…
Fiiiiive emails at once! (finally!)
Four missed holidays,
Three strains of boat crud,
Two phone calls from topside,
And a seabag of clothes smelling of amine!
On the ninth day of Christmas, my subby gave to me:
Nine different duty stations! …
Eight Single Sailors at dinner (how much do they eat?),
Seven days to pay the rec bill,
Six days of duty…
Fiiiiive emails at once! (finally!)
Four missed holidays,
Three strains of boat crud,
Two phone calls from topside,
And a seabag of clothes smelling of amine!
On the 10th day of Christmas, my subby gave to me:
10 weeks ‘til the next deployment…
Nine different duty stations (I don’t even know where I am!),
Eight Single Sailors at dinner,
Seven days to pay the rec bill,
Six days of duty…
Fiiiiive emails at once! (finally!)
Four missed holidays,
Three strains of boat crud,
Two phone calls from topside,
And a seabag of clothes smelling of amine!
On the 11th day of Christmas, my subby gave to me:
11 still-unpacked boxes!…
10 weeks ‘til the next deployment (yikes, already?),
Nine different duty stations,
Eight Single Sailors at dinner,
Seven days to pay the rec bill,
Six days of duty…
Fiiiiive emails at once! (finally!)
Four missed holidays,
Three strains of boat crud,
Two phone calls from topside,
And a seabag of clothes smelling of amine!
On the 12th day of Christmas, my subby gave to me:
A 12-hour plane ride to see family!…
11 still-unpacked boxes (from three moves ago!),
10 weeks ‘til the next deployment,
Nine different duty stations,
Eight Single Sailors at dinner,
Seven days to pay the rec bill,
Six days of duty…
Fiiiiive emails at once! (finally!)
Four missed holidays,
Three strains of boat crud,
Two phone calls from topside,
And a seabag of clothes smelling of amine!
Thanks to my friend Sespi over at And You Never Did Think for her help in proofreading and giving a few suggestions. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
(oh, and if you are so inclined to copy this or use this ANY where else, please give credit back to me and a link to my blog here)
A (Semi) Quick, Funny Story
Warning: Humor may be hazardous to your illness.
~Ellie Katz
Yeah, I know, three posts in one week, plus my two MFF. Deal with it 
—
So I was on Facebook tonight and one of my friends (E) commented on my status. She was a reporter at the local TV station in Michigan and I worked with her quite a bit until she moved to Arizona. One of the last times I saw her (if not THE last time) was when we were opening a new section of our museum, which included new rides (yes, a museum with awesome rides!).
As the public relations manager, I was the one to meet reporters at 0400 when they came to do morning live shots (okay, I had to be there between 0330 and 0345 to open the place). My CEO would usually join us because he was always interested in media coverage. Anyway, since it was so early in the morning, we obviously didn’t have guests for them to shoot video of so E went on the rides and did her morning reporting while doing them. Until it came to a ride that she needed a second person on.
This ride looks like a big hamster ball. It’s basically a gyroscope for those who know what it is. It will twist and turn and go one way and then another. You really have to have two people on it or the one person ends up spinning wildly (more wildly than normal) on it. My CEO turned to me and said, “You go on it with her.”
I probably looked like a deer in the headlights because I incredulously replied, “Uh, you realize I get sick on spinny rides, right?” He laughed it off and said I’d be fine. So I got strapped in. And when I say strapped in, I mean hair tied back, ankles strapped down, wrists strapped down… the whole she-bang. I looked over at E and warned her that these type of rides and I don’t go well together. She laughed and said to let her know if I needed to stop the ride but the cameras were only going to roll for 10 seconds.
So the camera starts rolling (did I mention this is LIVE TV?) and E does her intro about the museum opening the new section and the ride starts spinning. Upside-down. Left. Right. Violently. As my face goes whipping by, I can see that the camera is still rolling.
Ten seconds goes by. Still rolling… just like my stomach is starting to.
Fifteen seconds go by. It’s creeping up my esophagus.
Twenty seconds go by. I start telling E it’s about time to stop this (thinking the cameras had stopped by now).
Twenty-five seconds go by. I’m urgently telling E it’s time to stop.
Thirty seconds go by… the camera drops down and E says “okay, we’re done.”
And the ride stops.
My head and stomach are still spinning.
I get off the ride and my CEO takes one look at me and immediately starts asking if I was okay (must have looked pretty pale/sick!). He asks if I need a washcloth for my face/forehead. Insists I sit down. I must have really looked bad. I just said softly, “I told you I don’t do spinny rides.”
I look up at E and ask her why we were on the ride so long. She laughs and says the producers were having fun watching the two of us and were hoping one of us would throw up. My jaw dropped. I asked her if the cameras were rolling the whole time. She said yes. I swallow and then ask if it was live the whole time. She said yes.
I groaned and dropped my head and asked if they were able to hear me telling her we needed to quit NOW. She said the producers could hear it and were laughing, but the television audience couldn’t hear it.
So yeah. I was THISCLOSE to becoming a YouTube sensation of yacking on camera fame.
But what brought all this up? Like I said, my friend E commented a Facebook status and I responded and jokingly told her, “By the way, I’ve ALMOST forgiven you for making me nearly puke on air. Well, you and the producers who thought it was funny and kept the segment going longer than planned .”
Her response?
“You made my resume tape with that one 
. “
*groan*
Secret MilSpouse Santa: Looking for businesses to help!
To give and then not feel that one has given is the very best of all ways of giving.
~Max Beerbohm
I have decided to do a Secret MilSpouse Santa this year (including fiancees/fiances and girlfriends/boyfriends). It’s going to have a max of $20 (plus shipping) so we can all participate, even if funds are tight this year.
I’m not ready to do the sign-up yet, but what I AM looking for are businesses that would like to offer discounts on their products (remember, this is a $20 max gift) to participants of the Secret Santa. When I announce the sign-ups for Secret MilSpouse Santa, I’d like to also have a list of businesses that will be offering discounts to the participants so participants.
Hopefully this will help promote MilSpouse businesses and businesses that support our military.
So, if you have a business and would like to offer a discount to participants of the Secret MilSpouse Santa, please send me an email at wifeofasailor (at) gmail (dot) com with your business name, what you would like to offer and a link to your business site. I’ll need to have this list ready by Friday, October 29.
