My husband hasn't even seen the proof book and wedding photo discs we got, and I am already attempting to take said discs and start a project I've had in mind for a long time - using an online site to make our own photo book/wedding album (with the possibility of making more in the future). Before I used the reasoning that this method would cost less than having our (wonderful, amazing) photographer make us an album, but the more time I spend on this, the more I am convinced that I LIKE doing it myself, and love the control it gives me. Type A much? Whoops.
That said, looking through the photos I am amazed all over again at the skill of our photographers, not to mention what great people and professionals they are. We really lucked out, and my research also paid off. Hooray for good wedding decisions!
The "obsessed" refers to the fact that I know there are plenty of other things I could do today that would be productive, that hubby hasn't even seen the proof book, and yet I am going full steam ahead in trying to set this album up online. It's time consuming because I want to make sure the album tells the story of the day in an attractive way, AND we have so many photos to choose from - 1284! Sorting through that requires lots of editing, lots of realizing we don't need to include a ton of photos, and the album will benefit from careful choices. But, the truth is I just find it FUN. I love playing around with layouts, choosing the photos and deciding how to group them, and working on creating a visual representation of the day. So, hopefully at some point I will get a bit more reasonable. For now though I am off to check if the ceremony photos are done downloading. :-)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Keeping Busy
So, today was the first of three days in the field for the husband, but so far I am coping even better than last time - don't get me wrong, I miss him, but I am in a good mood from my day today and don't feel TOO lonely tonight. I think it helps that I spent the entire weekend with him too - and made sure to appreciate it as it was happening. Of course, there's also the long weekend coming up, and our little getaway, for which I am very excited!
Anyway, today I went to the gym and the grocery store, much like I did last Monday, in the morning. In the afternoon, I went on a little shopping spree... I had forgotten the joys of retail therapy. I'm partially kidding, really. But, it had been a very long time since I'd added much to my wardrobe, and I had been feeling the need for augmenting certain parts of said wardrobe. I even warned the husband that I was planning this outing, so I don't feel like he will be shocked!
I spent a total of about three hours in two stores - Dillard's and New York & Company. NY&C is a favorite of mine that I've known about for years, especially as I transition out of teendom (ok, so I haven't been a teen in 3 years) and into more professional/young adult life. I'm even more of a "real adult" now than before, and NY&C fits the aesthetic I want to project in a lot of ways, without totally breaking the bank. Dillard's though... is another story. I knew about it because I'd browsed their dresses (online) many a time before special occasions, but I had never been to one, having spent my life in the northeast which seems to be Dillard's-free. I'm enjoying living near a real, live Dillard's here in my new southern home though, and profited from it quite handsomely this afternoon.
My haul at Dillard's:
- 1 maxidress (bold blue/green flower print) that was on sale for a great price. I benefited from still wanting summery clothing on August 30. :-)
- 1 cottony/summery/dressy knee-length dress, white with brown floral print.
- 1 knee-length cocktail dress, with white bust (square neck) and a black skirt - in a satin-like material.
- Two skirts - one black with white print, the other lime(ish) green with black floral design.
- 1 ivory/lacy camisole
- 1 beige cute jacket:
The jacket was the only one I could find online, so I included it here.
The NY&C stash consisted in the following:
- Two cute collared shirts, one in a pretty blue-green color, the other in good old white.
- 1 black pencil skirt (I've been desiring a pencil skirt for some time now!)
- 1 pair of leggings for wearing to the gym
- Three pairs of earrings and a cool new (sparkly) bracelet. I took advantage of an accessory sale. I love building up my earring collection, because I only just got my ears pierced about a year ago! (Aside from the time I did it when I was 13 under my parents' terms and the holes ended up uneven.)
I can't wait to wear some of the dressy/summery stuff this weekend on our trip! The reason I got some more collared shirts and the pencil skirt, aside from being prepared for any possible interviews, is that I took some action to at least give myself something to do - I signed up to volunteer in the legal office on post. While it would be ideal to be paid for such work, there are many benefits to doing this, least of all giving my weeks more structure. If nothing else, it feels good to take some action and give myself something to do. I haven't worked out my exact hours yet, but I'm excited about this opportunity and I think I'll learn a lot!
To round out this post I think I'll share some culinary adventures!
Going backward, today I made myself gazpacho, using Pioneer Woman's recipe. In the process, I learned that the "liquid fill maximum" line on the food processor is there for a reason. Let's just say there was some tomato juice on the counter. And the floor. But, I wiped it up and the gazpacho was not ruined! I'm glad the food processor and I understand each other better now. :-)
Here is a photo of my gazpacho:
I topped it with greek yogurt, which basically functions as sour cream for me, a mash-up of avocado and cilantro, and some pan-toasted Italian bread. I made the whole recipe and obviously only had a bit of it tonight, so there is plenty more gazpacho sitting in the fridge! Particularly since hubby is in the field both tonight and tomorrow, I opted to just plan on having leftovers tomorrow. Aside from my little food processor incident, it was really easy to make!
Last Friday I was really excited to make Red Curry with Vegetables by Eating Well, yet I found that with even more than the recommended amount of curry paste, it was much too bland (and hubby agreed). It was unfortunate, but we must move on. For me though the hunt is on for better Thai-style curry recipes, since I love it so much! I often order panang curry in Thai restaurants, and making it at home would be lots of fun (to cook and eat).
Last week I also made pasta with sundried tomatoes, greens, and goat cheese, based on Giada's Orecchiette with Mixed Greens and Goat Cheese - which was a favorite of mine last year when I used to cook with my roomies at school. Sadly I could not find orecchiette at the store, so I chose another favorite shape of mine, cavatappi. It was tasty, but I certainly wasn't surprised. For me, with pasta + goat cheese + sundried tomatoes, you kind of can't go wrong... There it is down there, yum!
Last but certainly not least, my baking adventures of the weekend! Since our friend E's birthday is this Wednesday, I had a terrific excuse to indulge my urge to break out the Kitchen Aid and bake. Using tips and recipes from my mother-in-law (whose cakes I always enjoy), and with a lot of help from the hubby, I created a chocolate layer cake filled with coffee mousse and covered with chocolate ganache! It was definitely the most complicated cake I've ever made, and we had a lot of fun making it! Ever the good blogger-baker, I made sure to document the project in photo form:
Anyway, today I went to the gym and the grocery store, much like I did last Monday, in the morning. In the afternoon, I went on a little shopping spree... I had forgotten the joys of retail therapy. I'm partially kidding, really. But, it had been a very long time since I'd added much to my wardrobe, and I had been feeling the need for augmenting certain parts of said wardrobe. I even warned the husband that I was planning this outing, so I don't feel like he will be shocked!
I spent a total of about three hours in two stores - Dillard's and New York & Company. NY&C is a favorite of mine that I've known about for years, especially as I transition out of teendom (ok, so I haven't been a teen in 3 years) and into more professional/young adult life. I'm even more of a "real adult" now than before, and NY&C fits the aesthetic I want to project in a lot of ways, without totally breaking the bank. Dillard's though... is another story. I knew about it because I'd browsed their dresses (online) many a time before special occasions, but I had never been to one, having spent my life in the northeast which seems to be Dillard's-free. I'm enjoying living near a real, live Dillard's here in my new southern home though, and profited from it quite handsomely this afternoon.
My haul at Dillard's:
- 1 maxidress (bold blue/green flower print) that was on sale for a great price. I benefited from still wanting summery clothing on August 30. :-)
- 1 cottony/summery/dressy knee-length dress, white with brown floral print.
- 1 knee-length cocktail dress, with white bust (square neck) and a black skirt - in a satin-like material.
- Two skirts - one black with white print, the other lime(ish) green with black floral design.
- 1 ivory/lacy camisole
- 1 beige cute jacket:
The NY&C stash consisted in the following:
- Two cute collared shirts, one in a pretty blue-green color, the other in good old white.
- 1 black pencil skirt (I've been desiring a pencil skirt for some time now!)
- 1 pair of leggings for wearing to the gym
- Three pairs of earrings and a cool new (sparkly) bracelet. I took advantage of an accessory sale. I love building up my earring collection, because I only just got my ears pierced about a year ago! (Aside from the time I did it when I was 13 under my parents' terms and the holes ended up uneven.)
I can't wait to wear some of the dressy/summery stuff this weekend on our trip! The reason I got some more collared shirts and the pencil skirt, aside from being prepared for any possible interviews, is that I took some action to at least give myself something to do - I signed up to volunteer in the legal office on post. While it would be ideal to be paid for such work, there are many benefits to doing this, least of all giving my weeks more structure. If nothing else, it feels good to take some action and give myself something to do. I haven't worked out my exact hours yet, but I'm excited about this opportunity and I think I'll learn a lot!
To round out this post I think I'll share some culinary adventures!
Going backward, today I made myself gazpacho, using Pioneer Woman's recipe. In the process, I learned that the "liquid fill maximum" line on the food processor is there for a reason. Let's just say there was some tomato juice on the counter. And the floor. But, I wiped it up and the gazpacho was not ruined! I'm glad the food processor and I understand each other better now. :-)
Here is a photo of my gazpacho:
I topped it with greek yogurt, which basically functions as sour cream for me, a mash-up of avocado and cilantro, and some pan-toasted Italian bread. I made the whole recipe and obviously only had a bit of it tonight, so there is plenty more gazpacho sitting in the fridge! Particularly since hubby is in the field both tonight and tomorrow, I opted to just plan on having leftovers tomorrow. Aside from my little food processor incident, it was really easy to make!
Last Friday I was really excited to make Red Curry with Vegetables by Eating Well, yet I found that with even more than the recommended amount of curry paste, it was much too bland (and hubby agreed). It was unfortunate, but we must move on. For me though the hunt is on for better Thai-style curry recipes, since I love it so much! I often order panang curry in Thai restaurants, and making it at home would be lots of fun (to cook and eat).
Last week I also made pasta with sundried tomatoes, greens, and goat cheese, based on Giada's Orecchiette with Mixed Greens and Goat Cheese - which was a favorite of mine last year when I used to cook with my roomies at school. Sadly I could not find orecchiette at the store, so I chose another favorite shape of mine, cavatappi. It was tasty, but I certainly wasn't surprised. For me, with pasta + goat cheese + sundried tomatoes, you kind of can't go wrong... There it is down there, yum!
Last but certainly not least, my baking adventures of the weekend! Since our friend E's birthday is this Wednesday, I had a terrific excuse to indulge my urge to break out the Kitchen Aid and bake. Using tips and recipes from my mother-in-law (whose cakes I always enjoy), and with a lot of help from the hubby, I created a chocolate layer cake filled with coffee mousse and covered with chocolate ganache! It was definitely the most complicated cake I've ever made, and we had a lot of fun making it! Ever the good blogger-baker, I made sure to document the project in photo form:
The final product!
I've only got two more meals planned for this week - I'll be eating leftover gazpacho tomorrow, making Chicken Tikka Masala (taking inspiration from restaurant faves) Wednesday, and making meatloaf Thursday. On Friday the hubs and I are off on our getaway, which will be a culinary adventure of its own!
I think that's about all from me today. I'm glad that I'm doing pretty well with having the apartment to myself tonight. I'm trying to work on my plan for tomorrow to keep busy and get things done, and I think before I know it the hubby will be coming back home. :-)
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Goal-Setting: Update!
Well, as of this morning I am already down one pound from starting weight! I know that progress won't (and shouldn't) be this fast for the whole process, but the sudden tracking of calories (and therefore reduction) along with spending a decent amount of time at the gym the past two days are the main things that I think contributed.
I need to get out of the apartment relatively early today - so I'd better stop here and go get ready!
Very excited to see my husband again tonight! He was only gone one night and yet I feel like I haven't talked to him in so long... I've been spoiled the past few months!
I need to get out of the apartment relatively early today - so I'd better stop here and go get ready!
Very excited to see my husband again tonight! He was only gone one night and yet I feel like I haven't talked to him in so long... I've been spoiled the past few months!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Bugs, Field, Food
I am in a bloggy mood this week! Much like many other posts, I have a few random things to share, and I'm going to get to them in no particular order.
This morning while I was eating breakfast I saw a huge bug crawling across the floor! I followed it into the bathroom just to make sure I saw what I thought I was seeing, freaked out a little, and then grabbed a glass and stiff piece of paper with which to trap the thing. Of course the husband wasn't home, so it was up to me - I could either ignore it or get rid of it. After I grabbed my supplies, it took me a second to find it in the bathroom, but I trapped it against the side of the tub, slid the paper underneath, dropped it in the toilet and flushed it out of my life. Blegh. Still, I am proud of myself for getting rid of it! Up north we don't have bugs that big... and luckily so far we haven't had any other issues in our apartment.
I spent the whole morning at the gym - first on the elliptical in chatting mode, then at Pilates with Lola and three other ladies that I've been hanging out with. It feels so good to spend that much time there. Pilates was difficult, I still feel it in my muscles. But I like that feeling too.
I also got a mailing from my job lead that they're not hiring, but they said it in a very nice way. Luckily I'd started to form my backup plan already, so I might pursue a couple of other things. Mostly I am just trying to stay positive and proactive. Maybe the man was just being nice, but I really appreciated that he said my credentials were "most impressive." It's a nice thing to hear what with this job search not going anywhere!
The husband is out in the field tonight, just one night, for the first time in his training. It's definitely something to get used to, and kind of odd, but the wives I met at the orientation last week decided to do dinner and a movie for whoever wanted to come tonight, so I will be eating out with them and seeing Eat Pray Love! I'm so excited, and it's such a good solution considering I know that hubby wasn't particularly keen on going to see it with me. :-)
So that's where I am! Busy again this week (mostly getting to the gym and socializing and exercising there), but ultimately that's good for me, especially when my husband is at work more and more!
This morning while I was eating breakfast I saw a huge bug crawling across the floor! I followed it into the bathroom just to make sure I saw what I thought I was seeing, freaked out a little, and then grabbed a glass and stiff piece of paper with which to trap the thing. Of course the husband wasn't home, so it was up to me - I could either ignore it or get rid of it. After I grabbed my supplies, it took me a second to find it in the bathroom, but I trapped it against the side of the tub, slid the paper underneath, dropped it in the toilet and flushed it out of my life. Blegh. Still, I am proud of myself for getting rid of it! Up north we don't have bugs that big... and luckily so far we haven't had any other issues in our apartment.
I spent the whole morning at the gym - first on the elliptical in chatting mode, then at Pilates with Lola and three other ladies that I've been hanging out with. It feels so good to spend that much time there. Pilates was difficult, I still feel it in my muscles. But I like that feeling too.
I also got a mailing from my job lead that they're not hiring, but they said it in a very nice way. Luckily I'd started to form my backup plan already, so I might pursue a couple of other things. Mostly I am just trying to stay positive and proactive. Maybe the man was just being nice, but I really appreciated that he said my credentials were "most impressive." It's a nice thing to hear what with this job search not going anywhere!
The husband is out in the field tonight, just one night, for the first time in his training. It's definitely something to get used to, and kind of odd, but the wives I met at the orientation last week decided to do dinner and a movie for whoever wanted to come tonight, so I will be eating out with them and seeing Eat Pray Love! I'm so excited, and it's such a good solution considering I know that hubby wasn't particularly keen on going to see it with me. :-)
So that's where I am! Busy again this week (mostly getting to the gym and socializing and exercising there), but ultimately that's good for me, especially when my husband is at work more and more!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Goal-Setting
Between a slightly lower number on the scale this morning, and the fact that I'm hitting up the gym a lot this week, I felt motivated today to capitalize on these favorable conditions and recommit to keeping track of my calorie intake, with a goal of healthy weight loss. This will be coupled by trying to stick to a gym schedule that has me working out at least three times a week.
Basically, this past semester from about January to April I was very good at keeping track of what I ate (online at Self.com) and along with my gym routine, that caused me to lose somewhere in the range of 5-10 pounds. I put a couple of those back on in the celebratory and non-routine time span from graduation through the wedding and moving, but still kept an overall loss. The past few weeks I have been watching my weight and generally trying to eat pretty well (and work out more), but today I decided that it's time to really take action again, to lose 8 more pounds. These 8 pounds would be very meaningful - would put me in a healthy BMI range and would be the lightest I can remember being probably since high school at least. Mostly, I could prove to myself that I can achieve another goal. It definitely felt good this winter and spring to make a change, and have people complimenting me. I found that just tracking my food was great because it forced me to realize what a serving of things really was and kept me mindful, yet I didn't have to entirely eliminate any one food. (Case in point, tonight I measured out a small serving of chocolate chips to indulge a chocolate craving!)
So we'll see where this goes. If I lose one pound a week, I can reach my goal in about two months! It's really helpful to have so much control over what I eat - we rarely go out and I do all the dinner planning and most of the cooking, so I can definitely vet recipes ahead of time.
I feel like maybe a couple of disclaimers are in order:
1) This definitely comes from me, and is much more about health than my confidence in my own appearance. I generally think of myself as attractive, and my husband never makes me feel anything BUT attractive. Professional wedding photos are certainly an ego boost as well!
2) I don't know if you all (my readers) care about this in as much detail as I am posting, but it's just something about which I'm feeling chatty. I am putting it on here in the first place in an effort to keep myself accountable and sticking to my goal.
I've been doing well with exercise this week - I went to the gym Monday, did zumba again today, and I'm hitting up the ellipticals AND Pilates with Lola tomorrow! On the plus side of being unemployed, it sure leaves a lot of time to get to the gym...
Basically, this past semester from about January to April I was very good at keeping track of what I ate (online at Self.com) and along with my gym routine, that caused me to lose somewhere in the range of 5-10 pounds. I put a couple of those back on in the celebratory and non-routine time span from graduation through the wedding and moving, but still kept an overall loss. The past few weeks I have been watching my weight and generally trying to eat pretty well (and work out more), but today I decided that it's time to really take action again, to lose 8 more pounds. These 8 pounds would be very meaningful - would put me in a healthy BMI range and would be the lightest I can remember being probably since high school at least. Mostly, I could prove to myself that I can achieve another goal. It definitely felt good this winter and spring to make a change, and have people complimenting me. I found that just tracking my food was great because it forced me to realize what a serving of things really was and kept me mindful, yet I didn't have to entirely eliminate any one food. (Case in point, tonight I measured out a small serving of chocolate chips to indulge a chocolate craving!)
So we'll see where this goes. If I lose one pound a week, I can reach my goal in about two months! It's really helpful to have so much control over what I eat - we rarely go out and I do all the dinner planning and most of the cooking, so I can definitely vet recipes ahead of time.
I feel like maybe a couple of disclaimers are in order:
1) This definitely comes from me, and is much more about health than my confidence in my own appearance. I generally think of myself as attractive, and my husband never makes me feel anything BUT attractive. Professional wedding photos are certainly an ego boost as well!
2) I don't know if you all (my readers) care about this in as much detail as I am posting, but it's just something about which I'm feeling chatty. I am putting it on here in the first place in an effort to keep myself accountable and sticking to my goal.
I've been doing well with exercise this week - I went to the gym Monday, did zumba again today, and I'm hitting up the ellipticals AND Pilates with Lola tomorrow! On the plus side of being unemployed, it sure leaves a lot of time to get to the gym...
Monday, August 23, 2010
Short and Sweet
Considering how long my last post was, I will try to keep this one pretty short. I've got three things to share - one fun, one weird, one annoying! I'll start with annoying so we can end on fun...
1) Annoying: Yesterday someone in the apt parking lot scraped up one corner of our older car (which I've been driving). I briefly considered, could I have done this and not known about it? But no, I would have known for sure if I'd been in the car when it happened, and I wasn't. It had to have happened yesterday while it was parked. They didn't leave a note or anything! grr...
2) Weird (also Cool): Today I worked out on post, then went to the grocery store. In the midst of remembering all my gym (and shower stuff) I forgot my grocery list! But I pieced it together from memory, and shockingly I remembered everything on the list except for tomato sauce, which we actually have! I was so pleased with myself and my photographic memory.
3) Fun! Yesterday we had three guys over for lunch here at our place. I made sloppy joes by Pioneer Woman, BLT Salad by Rachael Ray, and chocolate chip/banana bread, recipe from my good friend's boyfriend's mom! I think everyone liked the food, and afterward my husband was telling me how he was wary of sloppy joes since he doesn't normally like them, but that the ones I made were really very good/the best he'd ever had. So thanks, Pioneer Woman! It's always nice to have people over, so we were really glad it worked out yesterday! The rest of the weekend I just chilled with hubby and I really appreciated all the time together. :-)
I hope you all had a great weekend!
1) Annoying: Yesterday someone in the apt parking lot scraped up one corner of our older car (which I've been driving). I briefly considered, could I have done this and not known about it? But no, I would have known for sure if I'd been in the car when it happened, and I wasn't. It had to have happened yesterday while it was parked. They didn't leave a note or anything! grr...
2) Weird (also Cool): Today I worked out on post, then went to the grocery store. In the midst of remembering all my gym (and shower stuff) I forgot my grocery list! But I pieced it together from memory, and shockingly I remembered everything on the list except for tomato sauce, which we actually have! I was so pleased with myself and my photographic memory.
3) Fun! Yesterday we had three guys over for lunch here at our place. I made sloppy joes by Pioneer Woman, BLT Salad by Rachael Ray, and chocolate chip/banana bread, recipe from my good friend's boyfriend's mom! I think everyone liked the food, and afterward my husband was telling me how he was wary of sloppy joes since he doesn't normally like them, but that the ones I made were really very good/the best he'd ever had. So thanks, Pioneer Woman! It's always nice to have people over, so we were really glad it worked out yesterday! The rest of the weekend I just chilled with hubby and I really appreciated all the time together. :-)
I hope you all had a great weekend!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Busy Week!
For me "busy" is a relative term. In no way do I maintain that I am as busy as many working people, or as I would be if I were working, or as I have been when I'm a student, and so on and so forth. However, in the context of my current unemployed life, this was a busy week! Every day had something going on and I went down to post every day except today. I will try to share a bunch of the things that have been going on. I think day/list form is going to be easiest...
On Monday, I went to the grocery store, military style, even though it's sort of a drive. Hoping that maybe trying that out (instead of Publix, despite how much I love Publix) will save us some money. We'll see! I also used some of my time Monday to catch up with one of my closest college friends, who recently started medical school! We've got plans in the works for me to visit her in the first few months of 2011, and I am already so excited!
On Tuesday, I tried a new kind of fitness class for the first time with a few other ladies, which starts with Z and ends with "umba". :-) Having danced in the past, and enjoying the idea of group fitness (though I haven't done a ton of it in the past), it was right up my alley. It made it a lot more fun to go with some girls that I knew, and I had a great time for 45 minutes dancing to some fun music. The instructor lady was tiny, fiery, and yelled at us all to shake our hips and various other things, and really work our abs/thighs/etc. I had a great time and will definitely keep mixing it into my workout routine to shake things up and have some fun.
Wednesday was a busy day. In the morning, I went to an eye doctor appointment, hoping to get a new supply of contacts and pick out some new glasses that I'd actually want to wear.
A bit of background here - I have only been wearing glasses/contacts since I was 17, and at that point I didn't really want to "change the way I looked" with glasses so I knew right away I wanted to wear contacts more often. With that being the case, my parents didn't want to splurge on an expensive pair of glasses, and I also didn't really know what type of glasses I would like to a large extent. Long story short, my 5-year-old glasses are, for lack of a better word, dorky looking. I got transition lenses, and they stay dark and look weird, and just in general I don't like wearing my glasses out in public. I am not saying anything against glasses in general or people who wear them, but just that I never got into the habit, don't love how I look with my current glasses, and have relied a lot on contacts for the past 5 years. Basically, I wear (and have worn) them too much, and in the past few months with life changes, ran out of my supply and have been wearing contacts that were basically too old. Getting back to my visit to the eye doctor, apparently the doctor found that my eyes were irritated and swollen enough that he felt like I couldn't properly test for a new prescription that day. He is having me take a 2-week break from contacts, and take prescription eye drops, then come back after two weeks to hopefully test for the new prescription. I was a bit sad at first, but at the end of the day, I am not shocked to find out that I haven't been nice to my eyes (sad), and definitely want to prevent permanent damage, so I'm glad I have the doctor's help to fix this now. I'm dealing with this mainly by wearing my dorky glasses to drive, then taking them off to socialize, and generally not wearing them in the apartment except maybe sometimes to watch TV. My vision is still good enough that especially with things reasonably close to me, I don't really notice that I'm not wearing eye correction, at least not to a huge degree. But I do make sure to wear the glasses while driving so as not to create a hazard. :-) I'm hoping that after the two weeks I can indeed go to the doctor and get a new pair of glasses that I'm excited about wearing, so I can be nicer to my eyes in the future!
Woo, that was only half of Wednesday! In the afternoon, I went to an orientation for the spouses (read: wives) for my husband's training class. It was nice to get some structured information from the spouses of the commanding officers of the training class, and meet the other ladies who are in my position these few months. There aren't many of us because a relatively small number of the guys training have wives (especially ones who are physically here), but it's nice to know who there is! We're all in a similar situation and as the guys are away more and more, it'll be good to hopefully have each other. There was a small element of "Hey! Get to know each other!" but that's normal and happens, and hopefully from here on out we can develop our friendships since we are connected now. It's also really nice to have specific more experienced spouses to be able to ask questions of and talk to. One of them actually provided me with a possible job lead that, if it works out, would be incredible, but I am trying not to get my hopes up, and out of superstition/trying not to get my hopes up, I'm not going to write more about it here unless I get it. (If I don't I guess I will have to share my disappointment, haha.) Either way it was great to get a lead like that out of the wives' orientation! After that event we transitioned into an event with all the guys, so I socialized with my own hubby, other guys, and some of the other ladies until we headed home. I'm meeting more people, which is always good, and I'm definitely trying to take advantage of these opportunities to develop a social network here.
Thursday included another step toward building social networks, this time working on developing my blogosphere connections into real life ones. I got to meet a great new friend who recently moved down here, who I knew of through blogging, and we mixed working out and chatting into one gym date, which was great. I've never really done that before, and I ended up staying on the elliptical for one hour, which is double what I usually do when I watch TV or listen to my iPod. It was so great to have some good conversation and burn some calories at the same time.
I spent yesterday afternoon mostly pursuing my job lead, and hubby got home relatively early so we got to spend a good chunk of time together last night! I made Chicken Stir-Fry Wraps (that's linked) by Martha Stewart, and we definitely enjoyed them. I love cooking things with ginger and garlic to give food plenty of tasty flavor. :-) I forgot to take a picture, most likely because I was so excited to eat!
Today was another bout of excitement on the domestic front - the delivery of our washer and dryer! The delivery team didn't keep me waiting at all, getting here nice and early, and installing the machines really efficiently and quickly. Our first load of whites is in the washer already! I told the husband on the phone that I was actually really excited to do laundry and he said "Good, ride that wave." :-)
The rest of the day I'm hoping to get some more things done around the apartment, maybe do some actual reading, and then spend time with hubby after he gets home, cook dinner etc. It remains to be seen if we'll do anything social this weekend - it would be great to see some of our friends but as of now we don't have specific plans.
I also booked lodging for our little getaway, so barring any changes or complications, we're off in a few weeks! I'm pretty excited to enjoy discovering a new place with the hubby. :-)
Wow, this has been a doozy of a post - there has been lots going on this week and I felt like sharing a little about a bunch of different things!
On Monday, I went to the grocery store, military style, even though it's sort of a drive. Hoping that maybe trying that out (instead of Publix, despite how much I love Publix) will save us some money. We'll see! I also used some of my time Monday to catch up with one of my closest college friends, who recently started medical school! We've got plans in the works for me to visit her in the first few months of 2011, and I am already so excited!
On Tuesday, I tried a new kind of fitness class for the first time with a few other ladies, which starts with Z and ends with "umba". :-) Having danced in the past, and enjoying the idea of group fitness (though I haven't done a ton of it in the past), it was right up my alley. It made it a lot more fun to go with some girls that I knew, and I had a great time for 45 minutes dancing to some fun music. The instructor lady was tiny, fiery, and yelled at us all to shake our hips and various other things, and really work our abs/thighs/etc. I had a great time and will definitely keep mixing it into my workout routine to shake things up and have some fun.
Wednesday was a busy day. In the morning, I went to an eye doctor appointment, hoping to get a new supply of contacts and pick out some new glasses that I'd actually want to wear.
A bit of background here - I have only been wearing glasses/contacts since I was 17, and at that point I didn't really want to "change the way I looked" with glasses so I knew right away I wanted to wear contacts more often. With that being the case, my parents didn't want to splurge on an expensive pair of glasses, and I also didn't really know what type of glasses I would like to a large extent. Long story short, my 5-year-old glasses are, for lack of a better word, dorky looking. I got transition lenses, and they stay dark and look weird, and just in general I don't like wearing my glasses out in public. I am not saying anything against glasses in general or people who wear them, but just that I never got into the habit, don't love how I look with my current glasses, and have relied a lot on contacts for the past 5 years. Basically, I wear (and have worn) them too much, and in the past few months with life changes, ran out of my supply and have been wearing contacts that were basically too old. Getting back to my visit to the eye doctor, apparently the doctor found that my eyes were irritated and swollen enough that he felt like I couldn't properly test for a new prescription that day. He is having me take a 2-week break from contacts, and take prescription eye drops, then come back after two weeks to hopefully test for the new prescription. I was a bit sad at first, but at the end of the day, I am not shocked to find out that I haven't been nice to my eyes (sad), and definitely want to prevent permanent damage, so I'm glad I have the doctor's help to fix this now. I'm dealing with this mainly by wearing my dorky glasses to drive, then taking them off to socialize, and generally not wearing them in the apartment except maybe sometimes to watch TV. My vision is still good enough that especially with things reasonably close to me, I don't really notice that I'm not wearing eye correction, at least not to a huge degree. But I do make sure to wear the glasses while driving so as not to create a hazard. :-) I'm hoping that after the two weeks I can indeed go to the doctor and get a new pair of glasses that I'm excited about wearing, so I can be nicer to my eyes in the future!
Woo, that was only half of Wednesday! In the afternoon, I went to an orientation for the spouses (read: wives) for my husband's training class. It was nice to get some structured information from the spouses of the commanding officers of the training class, and meet the other ladies who are in my position these few months. There aren't many of us because a relatively small number of the guys training have wives (especially ones who are physically here), but it's nice to know who there is! We're all in a similar situation and as the guys are away more and more, it'll be good to hopefully have each other. There was a small element of "Hey! Get to know each other!" but that's normal and happens, and hopefully from here on out we can develop our friendships since we are connected now. It's also really nice to have specific more experienced spouses to be able to ask questions of and talk to. One of them actually provided me with a possible job lead that, if it works out, would be incredible, but I am trying not to get my hopes up, and out of superstition/trying not to get my hopes up, I'm not going to write more about it here unless I get it. (If I don't I guess I will have to share my disappointment, haha.) Either way it was great to get a lead like that out of the wives' orientation! After that event we transitioned into an event with all the guys, so I socialized with my own hubby, other guys, and some of the other ladies until we headed home. I'm meeting more people, which is always good, and I'm definitely trying to take advantage of these opportunities to develop a social network here.
Thursday included another step toward building social networks, this time working on developing my blogosphere connections into real life ones. I got to meet a great new friend who recently moved down here, who I knew of through blogging, and we mixed working out and chatting into one gym date, which was great. I've never really done that before, and I ended up staying on the elliptical for one hour, which is double what I usually do when I watch TV or listen to my iPod. It was so great to have some good conversation and burn some calories at the same time.
I spent yesterday afternoon mostly pursuing my job lead, and hubby got home relatively early so we got to spend a good chunk of time together last night! I made Chicken Stir-Fry Wraps (that's linked) by Martha Stewart, and we definitely enjoyed them. I love cooking things with ginger and garlic to give food plenty of tasty flavor. :-) I forgot to take a picture, most likely because I was so excited to eat!
Today was another bout of excitement on the domestic front - the delivery of our washer and dryer! The delivery team didn't keep me waiting at all, getting here nice and early, and installing the machines really efficiently and quickly. Our first load of whites is in the washer already! I told the husband on the phone that I was actually really excited to do laundry and he said "Good, ride that wave." :-)
The rest of the day I'm hoping to get some more things done around the apartment, maybe do some actual reading, and then spend time with hubby after he gets home, cook dinner etc. It remains to be seen if we'll do anything social this weekend - it would be great to see some of our friends but as of now we don't have specific plans.
I also booked lodging for our little getaway, so barring any changes or complications, we're off in a few weeks! I'm pretty excited to enjoy discovering a new place with the hubby. :-)
Wow, this has been a doozy of a post - there has been lots going on this week and I felt like sharing a little about a bunch of different things!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Some more updates
I feel like doing this in list form, it's just a few things about my ever (slightly) evolving life and situation here...
- Job search = frustrating. Nuff' said. Trying to tell myself to just keep trying, but I get discouraged.
- Husband started on a more intense schedule today, so I am seeing him less, which is sad, but it's good he's starting this phase because it means he (and we) are moving closer to finishing his purpose here and moving on to our next location!
- Despite my lack of a job, I've managed to schedule things for myself to do this week, so that at least lends SOME structure to my life. I've got a fitness class date with a few ladies tomorrow, eye appointment and officially sponsored spouse gathering Wed, possibly another gym date Thursday, and on Friday, the delivery of our washer and dryer! We really are moving up in the world... no more saving our quarters and lugging the laundry across the street (to the laundry room in our complex). Nope, now I will be able to do laundry in the comfort of our own apartment! Sweet!! (Can you tell I'm just a bit excited? About LAUNDRY? Crazy.)
- Also have some hopeful plans for a mini-getaway in the nearish future with the hubby, if his employer cooperates. Hoping it happens because it would be pretty wonderful!
- Our online gallery of wedding pictures went up over the weekend, which was very fun! Now I can start in on picking the favorites to immortalize in albums and on the wall, haha.
Looking forward to the rest of the week, hoping I can keep the downtime relatively productive too! (I can certainly aim high...)
- Job search = frustrating. Nuff' said. Trying to tell myself to just keep trying, but I get discouraged.
- Husband started on a more intense schedule today, so I am seeing him less, which is sad, but it's good he's starting this phase because it means he (and we) are moving closer to finishing his purpose here and moving on to our next location!
- Despite my lack of a job, I've managed to schedule things for myself to do this week, so that at least lends SOME structure to my life. I've got a fitness class date with a few ladies tomorrow, eye appointment and officially sponsored spouse gathering Wed, possibly another gym date Thursday, and on Friday, the delivery of our washer and dryer! We really are moving up in the world... no more saving our quarters and lugging the laundry across the street (to the laundry room in our complex). Nope, now I will be able to do laundry in the comfort of our own apartment! Sweet!! (Can you tell I'm just a bit excited? About LAUNDRY? Crazy.)
- Also have some hopeful plans for a mini-getaway in the nearish future with the hubby, if his employer cooperates. Hoping it happens because it would be pretty wonderful!
- Our online gallery of wedding pictures went up over the weekend, which was very fun! Now I can start in on picking the favorites to immortalize in albums and on the wall, haha.
Looking forward to the rest of the week, hoping I can keep the downtime relatively productive too! (I can certainly aim high...)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Changes, Goals, Etc.
I would definitely say that I've been happy lately, but I'm definitely still in transition - it's just a different kind of transition than our first month here. I'm ramping up my job search, I'm working on exercising more, always working on taking better care of the apartment and being less lazy. At the same time, I've given myself some permission these couple weeks to relax when Dave is home, because it's the last couple weeks that he'll be home this much, since he starts a training course next week, where he'll often have late hours and increasingly be gone overnight during the week. Considering all the periods of time apart that I know are in our future, I am letting myself push other things until later when I can spend time with him in the moment. I certainly do feel blessed that I've spent so much time with him in the two months that we've been married.
Today I'm headed on a newcomers' tour on post with some girls I've met recently. I have been here almost six weeks, but just got it together to go on the tour. Ohhh well. It'll be something good to do with the other ladies and I'm sure I'll learn more about the place. After that I'll probably meet up with Dave to hang out on post a bit before dropping off some job materials on post and then in town. I'm thinking it will be a good morning... and now I'd better get moving!
Today I'm headed on a newcomers' tour on post with some girls I've met recently. I have been here almost six weeks, but just got it together to go on the tour. Ohhh well. It'll be something good to do with the other ladies and I'm sure I'll learn more about the place. After that I'll probably meet up with Dave to hang out on post a bit before dropping off some job materials on post and then in town. I'm thinking it will be a good morning... and now I'd better get moving!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Domesticity
We're having some friends over for dinner/general hanging out tonight, which is a terrific motivator to de-clutter the main living areas in our apartment, and clean the bathrooms and all that. I think it's definitely a good idea to have company over decently frequently!
I also just uploaded some photos onto my computer, a task which reminded me to share some of my culinary adventures as of late. In no particular order, here are some reports (many with photos!). And in case it isn't obvious, each title of a recipe is linked to the recipe!
I also just uploaded some photos onto my computer, a task which reminded me to share some of my culinary adventures as of late. In no particular order, here are some reports (many with photos!). And in case it isn't obvious, each title of a recipe is linked to the recipe!
Pappa al Pomodoro, by Rachael Ray
This dish is a sentimental favorite for me, because I ate it multiple times while abroad in Florence my junior year. (It's one dish that I think of as "real" Italian food because I had it over there.) It was hearty without being heavy, and we both enjoyed it even though it's summer (the AC probably helps). The bread didn't break down as much as it always did in the versions I ate in Italy, but the dish was still very tasty and easy!
Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks, by Ree Drummond (aka Pioneer Woman)
This was very tasty. I love pasta though, so I'm not hard to please when it comes to almost any pasta recipe. I don't cook with leeks very often, so that was something fun and new, and I also don't eat bacon very much so that was an extra special treat (but there wasn't too much of it). I did end up using bacon instead of pancetta because I couldn't manage to find pancetta at the store.
Friday night, I made Tuna, Avocado and Romaine Salad by Martha Stewart. I left out the radishes in the recipe, because I couldn't find any at the store, and I wasn't particularly motivated (I had a feeling it would be tasty even without them). Sure enough, it was very tasty. I don't always think of salads as particularly filling on their own, but we both really liked this one. I was already going to be partial due to the avocado, but the dressing added flavor, as did the tuna. It was a nice healthy (mostly) dinner!
I didn't finish this post yesterday (Saturday, when I started it) so now we've had our friends over, and it was very nice. Dave made two pizzas, and I made bruschetta as an appetizer. And we did indeed get the apartment at least partially straightened up, which is nice to enjoy now!
That's about all here. I am trying harder and harder to find a job, we'll see how it goes. (I try not to set myself up for the inevitable disappointment of the inevitable rejections that the job search brings.) Dave's schedule is going to be ramping up soon and I know that in order to not go crazy when he's rarely around, I need some structure in my life, and I know a job would be good in other ways too. In the meantime I'll just keep trying!
Friday night, I made Tuna, Avocado and Romaine Salad by Martha Stewart. I left out the radishes in the recipe, because I couldn't find any at the store, and I wasn't particularly motivated (I had a feeling it would be tasty even without them). Sure enough, it was very tasty. I don't always think of salads as particularly filling on their own, but we both really liked this one. I was already going to be partial due to the avocado, but the dressing added flavor, as did the tuna. It was a nice healthy (mostly) dinner!
I didn't finish this post yesterday (Saturday, when I started it) so now we've had our friends over, and it was very nice. Dave made two pizzas, and I made bruschetta as an appetizer. And we did indeed get the apartment at least partially straightened up, which is nice to enjoy now!
That's about all here. I am trying harder and harder to find a job, we'll see how it goes. (I try not to set myself up for the inevitable disappointment of the inevitable rejections that the job search brings.) Dave's schedule is going to be ramping up soon and I know that in order to not go crazy when he's rarely around, I need some structure in my life, and I know a job would be good in other ways too. In the meantime I'll just keep trying!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Many Updates!
I feel like there is so much to write about - but I will keep it relatively short and sweet. This past weekend I flew back to my (and my husband's) home state to go to the wedding of two of our high school friends - they started dating junior year, less than a year after we started dating! Dave didn't come because his work schedule is so unpredictable, so sadly it just didn't make sense. Anyway, the weather was gorgeous, and our friends had an outdoor ceremony at a golf course, with the reception at the clubhouse right near by. I got to hang out with two of our other high school friends, and meet the new girlfriend of one of them as well. There were a few other Army couples there so I got my fair share of talk about all that stuff in. It was a good time and I'm so glad I got to be there, but I couldn't help but think it would have been even more fun if Dave had been there to dance with me, eat dinner with, etc. Ah well. Someday we'll get to a wedding together (other than our own of course!). After long distance all through college, it was crazy how much I missed him on just a two day trip - but we're newlyweds and we've been spoiled lately. I also noticed that I've already developed home-type feelings toward this place - having gotten to know the area slightly, having built up our physical home (apartment) here, the fact that Dave's work and some of our friends are here... it was just interesting to me to feel how much I was excited to come back here, to our place, to my husband, even though I was in the state where I spent the first 18 years of my life (and got to see my parents and parents-in-law, which was good). I think it's a good thing though - and a good sign for dealing with this lifestyle. Hopefully no matter where we are, we can figure out how to feel at home!
I have the best husband - he had told me before I left he'd make dinner Sunday night (when I got back) and sure enough, I was greeted by the sounds of beef curry bubbling on the stove! While I was gone he also put together a new bookshelf he bought for us and got going on a few other little home improvement projects.
I also finished off two books during my travels - one marriage book (which made me think of goals to become a better wife and together goals to build up our marriage skills) and also In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, which of course had me running to get my hands on all the farm fresh produce I could, haha. Though it might be hard to fully implement ALL the changes Pollan advocates (and in part because maybe we don't need to base our life on ONE book) - it did have me inspired to plant some fresh herbs in a pot on our screened porch. I use herbs a lot, so it's actually a money saving thing as well, assuming I'm successful! I picked some things up today, namely the pot, a drainage tray, a watering can, soil, and some plants (thyme, basil, and oregano!). I'm hoping to add more later, maybe even using some seeds (they didn't really have any seeds when I looked today). I'll keep you blog readers updated about how it goes!
I was back to making dinner tonight (I really love it as I've said, but it was wonderful that hubby made it last night since I was so worn down). I made some Pioneer Woman recipes for the first time, despite how long I've been admiring her recipes (and writing!). What did I make? Well it's your lucky day, I'll tell you - Roasted Garlic & New Potatoes and Ginger Steak Salad. It was easy to make them together - I got the potatoes and garlic going early on and then they just had to cook for a while, and the steak salad just had some easy steps! I do love ginger, and I enjoyed the moderate amount of tasty steak on top of a nice leafy salad with tangy, slightly spicy dressing. It tasted pretty fresh too! And as a bonus, I think Dave enjoyed the food as well.
For fun, some photos:
I have the best husband - he had told me before I left he'd make dinner Sunday night (when I got back) and sure enough, I was greeted by the sounds of beef curry bubbling on the stove! While I was gone he also put together a new bookshelf he bought for us and got going on a few other little home improvement projects.
I also finished off two books during my travels - one marriage book (which made me think of goals to become a better wife and together goals to build up our marriage skills) and also In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, which of course had me running to get my hands on all the farm fresh produce I could, haha. Though it might be hard to fully implement ALL the changes Pollan advocates (and in part because maybe we don't need to base our life on ONE book) - it did have me inspired to plant some fresh herbs in a pot on our screened porch. I use herbs a lot, so it's actually a money saving thing as well, assuming I'm successful! I picked some things up today, namely the pot, a drainage tray, a watering can, soil, and some plants (thyme, basil, and oregano!). I'm hoping to add more later, maybe even using some seeds (they didn't really have any seeds when I looked today). I'll keep you blog readers updated about how it goes!
I was back to making dinner tonight (I really love it as I've said, but it was wonderful that hubby made it last night since I was so worn down). I made some Pioneer Woman recipes for the first time, despite how long I've been admiring her recipes (and writing!). What did I make? Well it's your lucky day, I'll tell you - Roasted Garlic & New Potatoes and Ginger Steak Salad. It was easy to make them together - I got the potatoes and garlic going early on and then they just had to cook for a while, and the steak salad just had some easy steps! I do love ginger, and I enjoyed the moderate amount of tasty steak on top of a nice leafy salad with tangy, slightly spicy dressing. It tasted pretty fresh too! And as a bonus, I think Dave enjoyed the food as well.
For fun, some photos:
Yummy dinner!
Our friends - JUST married!
Me with high school friends
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