Life Last Week 2015-15

A bit of a quiet week followed by a frenzy of activity on Saturday.  Nothing much on the calendar except a visit to the endodontist - I don't know why I keep getting the red squiggly spell check line when I type it as it is a word - 

endodontist[en-doh-don-tist]
noun
1. a specialist in endodontics. 

The visit went well; again, very soothing dental assistant and endodontist and I only have a problem (problem = need a root canal) with one tooth.  As I suspected, it's the one tooth that had a lot of work at one time and the tooth has just had enough already. The area of cold sensitivity appears to be coming from a tiny crack in my tooth and replacing the old filling with a new one should take care of that. The tiny crack issue will be taken care of this month with the root canal scheduled for next month.

Nothing else on the calendar until I dried my hair on Friday morning and realized that my bangs had somehow grown exponentially overnight and were now hanging in my eyes.  How had I missed that on Wednesday and Thursday? A quick call to the salon and some gentle pleading (ok, begging) to be squeezed in somehow resulted in a late afternoon spot being available.  Never give up, ladies, when the receptionist says your hairdresser can't fit you in!  Bangs trimmed, I dropped MudLynn off at the kennels as I was going to be up early and back late from the Navy Wives Clubs of America convention on Saturday.

And so it was 0-dark-thirty when I got up and dressed on that very morning.  Off to my friend Christine's as she had offered to drive.  We made the ferry in plenty of time and arrived at the convention.  There were quite a few looks of surprise as we entered the room.  A.  We were new and B. We were quite far under the average age of about 70!  I must explain that the Navy Wives Clubs of America is a national, non-profit organization first established in 1936, long before the days of Family Support Groups (now known as Family Readiness Groups) and long, long before today's assorted social media options keep spouses connected.  The Navy Wives Clubs of America are also a more formal organization than many of today's groups, with established by-laws, conventions, community service projects, and scholarship opportunities.  They run old school, Robert's Rules of Order-type meetings, and are steeped in tradition.  I love this type of group and I only wish I had known about it during my early years as a Navy wife.  I should note that the group will, for as long as I can imagine, be called the Navy WIVES Clubs and not the Navy Spouses or Partners or Significant Others.  They were chartered as such, in the days when a Navy spouse was a Navy wife and partners and significant others were not part of the picture.  Today partners and significant others, female and male, are welcomed as Associate Members (those with the same "aims and goals of the organization").

So, back to our entrance (ta-da!).  I must say that everyone was very welcoming and gracious.  The organization's numbers have been declining steadily and they love new blood! We were introduced and given a lovely geranium plant each as a welcome gift.  The convention began and it was very enjoyable.  There was business to discuss with lots of "I move that we....", motions to approve, amendments to the motions, etc., and there were enough breaks for socializing and getting to know the other members.  The Regional President has been a member for 51 years, can you imagine? The theme for the convention was "Bare Bones on Whidbey" - the hostess club had only a few members and no doubt the budget was sparse but they did a nice job of integrating the Bare Bones theme with some skeleton decor and although I am sure it was not intentional, the lunch was rather Bare Bones as well.  Not that it mattered to me because I am sticking to my Whole 30 program and as a result had a lettuce leaf, a slice of tomato, and about a tablespoon of unsalted nuts (along with a bit of dried mango I had the foresight to bring with me) for lunch.

The convention wrapped up shortly before 2pm and we said our goodbyes as there was a ferry at 2:45pm and we raced to catch it.  It was a rather rough crossing as the waters were choppy but we arrived, safe and sound, at the other end.  I picked up my car and as there was still time, I picked up MudLynn from the kennels and headed home where I fixed a quick dinner and almost succumbed to eating a chocolate-covered digestive biscuit but I put it back.  I think I ate too much dried mango and although it just mango and nothing else, the sweetness of the slices left me craved something sweet.  I should have thrown the biscuits in the bin but I needed to prove to myself that I could abstain and I did!  Only one more week to go before my weigh-in and I am anxious to have a cheat-free Whole 30.  I was really exhausted but persevered so that I could watch Outlander at 9:00pm but sadly, I fell asleep in the middle of it. Thank goodness for On Demand TV so I can watch it again.  I went to bed, slept in on Sunday morning, spent the day making a meal plan and a grocery list, and did the shopping.

Another relatively quiet week coming up - I've made plans for a weekend away when Vic gets home so I'll be firming up those details and working some more on getting this house organized.  Christine is having a yard sale soon and I'd love to get rid of a few things.

Have a great week everyone and there's more A to Z of Washington to come.  Hope you're enjoying reading all about the Evergreen State.

Bare Bones = Chocolate Bone (not for me, thank you very much)

Mr. Skeleton on the podium; Bare Bones also applied to the dress code as jeans were welcome